What New Air Force Recruits Go Through In Boot Camp | Boot Camp 

the cameraman is now the most experienced and well-trained military personnel on the planet

Respect to the cameraman who enlisted in army, Marines, airforce, seals, Navy

Just graduated BMT almost a month ago. For anybody who's watching this video trying to get a feel for what you're getting yourself into - it's gonna be okay. My motto throughout the entire time was "you're not gonna die, you're gonna feel like you're gonna die, but you're not gonna die". The video is pretty accurate to my experience. Colonel Pixley retired the week before I graduated, so the 737th Training Group in charge of the BMT curriculum has a new guy in charge, if memory serves, named Colonel Wilson. BEAST is now called PACER FORGE and it's only 2 days as opposed to one week, supposedly because BEAST was more tailored towards teaching Airmen to fight in the Middle East and now the curriculum is being changed to prepare us for new wars. The hardest part of BMT is staying awake in class :') Start getting fit before you ship, memorize the Airman's Creed and the Air Force Song before you leave so you don't waste brainpower on it. If you go in with the mindset of "I'll keep my head down and get through this under the radar", you're setting yourself up for failure. Volunteer for stuff. Not chowrunner, don't volunteer for chowrunner, but prove to your flight and your MTI that you can handle other responsibilities and you'll be fine. Once your flight gets it together and starts getting along, BMT is actually a lot of fun. And once you march into the bowl on graduation day, it all becomes worth it. Aim high or something. Good luck!

I am currently serving in the USAF, honor grad, and here's what I'm going to tell all who want to join: the biggest problems you will face are the problems in your own head. Don't lose sight of your end goal. Stay disciplined

There should be a Military Insider at this point

For those about to go to BMT. The hardest part is having to deal with everyone else's problems. Everything else is just you doing what you are told. Go kill it y'all!

My little brother arrived at the BMT today, called me for 2 seconds and said I love you guys as I heard screaming in the background. So this is what he'll be doing the next 7 weeks.. good luck little bro. 😭💕

I never once got mad when I heard another member of the Armed Forces say Chair Force, its brotherly love between the branches. I think as far as quality of life, the Air Force takes 100% better care of their people than any other branch.

I went through BMT at 36, the whole flight called me dad lol. Hardest part was being away from my wife and kids. I was terrible at marching but scored 23/24 at the range

As someone who just graduated from basic, actually in the video. The whole thing is pretty accurate and covers a good bit of what goes on. The only thing that needs correction is at CATM (shooting) they said that you need 12/76 to pass and 22/76 for marksman but it's 12/24 and 22/24. 76 is the total shots you fire but 52 of your shots are practice shots.

I’m a Staff Sergeant and I’ve been in the Air Force for over 7 years now as a firefighter. I’m incredibly proud of what I’ve done and how far I’ve come. For anyone that’s thinking of joining and/or is scheduled to leave for BMT, I promise it’s not bad. It was a little different when I was going through, but overall it’s relatively similar. BMT gets easier the farther along you get, and graduating feels like the best accomplishment you could ever receive, especially if you’re joining right out of high school like I did. The hardest part for me, in my opinion, was being away from my family. Cherish those few phone calls you’re allowed, write letters, and just don’t get discouraged. The Air Force is great and has so many amazing opportunities. If you’re joining, welcome! We’re glad to have you

This brings back some very fond memories. Some key things to remember throughout BMT: the MTIs’ yelling is actually instructions for the entire flight, work together & help your wingman, give PT everything you have, know each instruction & experience has a reason. Stay focused, don’t give up, & we’ll see you on the inside! 👍🏾

As someone who has been through both it seems that the Air Force and Army are really blending into one. Army is getting "smarter" and Air Force is getting "tougher" lol I can dig it! Glad to see the Air Force is changing up their training and not just making it a 24/7 DnC session!

Narrator: "They've survived BEAST week" BEAST week: "Bang. Bang. You're dead. No 360 degree perimeter."

Im a Marine vetern. 1978-82. Parris Island grad. Camp Pendleton 1st Marine div. Air Force boot camp has certainly gotten tougher since the 70's & 80's. My son spent 22 years in the Air Force. He had to go through combat training to prepare for Iraq, 2 tours there. Caught caught in an ambush 1st tour, while on a run for supplies. 1 Airman died. Firefight errupted. So yes, the Air Force is doing what they know will help save lives. If anybody thinks the Air Force is a bunch of sissies, tell that to the Pararescue guys. They're some bad boys.

Army vet here , 6 years of service and deployed for 13 months(Iraq). Basic was sucky during it , definitely didn’t wanna be there but I kept my mouth shut , kept my eyes to the view right in front of me and let shit slide if guys tried to make trouble. You do those things and you’ll be fine. I enjoyed some of it and hated other parts but my deployment was by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Almost didn’t come home and not because of enemies, because the things I did there and the stress it brings, I almost ended my own life because of it all. If you join it will change your life completely, but I also wouldn’t trade it for anything. I learned amazing life lessons I wouldn’t get anywhere else. GL to anyone contemplating or heading to basic soon!

My wife and I are former Soldiers, we told our kids to do well in school and join the Air Force. Both got Scholarships from the Air Force. One is now a Capt the younger one is in AFROTC. Not even a joke. Stay in school and do well young people, that’s where it starts.

The Air Force bootcamp is hard if you never worked out nor haven’t been in a job, but overall its still pretty easy training than any other branch imo

this just seems all so calm and easy after having watched an hour of marine and navy bootcamp

It’s actually cool to see how BMT has changed from the time I graduated (JULY ‘19) to now for example like dorms (lockers/bunks) and even the training length.

As someone who just graduated bmt a literal week ago. Id say this is a pretty accurate depiction of how bmt goes. They spent a lot of time covering beast which is pretty cool. But 70% of the time you are just folding clothes. The whole experience is worth it though!

I went through basic in 1998 and boy has it changed a lot since then. You guys are doing so much more than we did. I didn't learn about chem warfare and the gear or first aid until I was already at my first duty station. Chow runner still existed and it was still the worst job to have. Avoid it at all costs, but, if you do find yourself stuck with it; pay attention to the details. You will make mistakes and you will get yelled at, but, your instructors will still be giving you the information that you need to be successful when they're screaming.

Jeez this brings back memories...been over four years since and a lot has changed for sure.

For those about to ship out, this video is the most accurate in displaying what to expect in this day and age. These MTI's are also correct in what to expect in certain weeks. Best advice I can give you is always remember why you enlisted, and you've got wingmen to fall back to when you need help. Aim High

I will never forget how it felt when I saw my family at the BMT graduation ceremony. Basic is a great experience with the right mindset.

Thank you to all these young men and Women for the sacrifice they are willing to make for this Country..

I’m not even American, but I respect y’all military and veterans. I’m about to go on a pre-training to base that they do in my country that allows us to get an understanding and feel for the military life - than, if we decide it’s for us we have the opportunity to join whatever branches actual training from there. My country doesn’t have many videos regarding our military and airforce, so I love watching y’all’s. I’m nervous as I know it will be both mentally and physically challenging, but I hope I’ll come out of it more self disciplined and confident. Im hoping to take on a Loadmaster role. Which is similar to USA Load Master, but instead of working out of big planes, our fleets primarily only use Helicopters

This is fascinating. I'm a Marine veteran from the early 90's. This is the first time I've ever seen an airforce basic training video. I'm not going to trash talk it but it's certainly a different experience than what I went through.

I just recently graduated BMT and I was dorm chief for the entire experience. The hardest thing isn't what you're being told to do. It's getting other people to want to do the same thing.

Airman basic here just graduated BMT about a week ago and have moved on the tech school. The first 2 weeks absolutely suck. But that 6-7th week is hobestly so memorable. I got a intergrated flight and our MTI had just got her hat. She was an absolute force to be reckoned with and absolutely terrified everyone. Even outside our flight she was noturious for how cut throat she was. But on that last evening breif when we where all getting ready to ship off, she started crying and telling us how proud she was of our flight, and how we would go on to do amazing things. Probably one of the most impactful moments of my life, and joining the Airforce so far has been one of my best life decisions.

Almost 3 years active duty now. This video was a real flash back for me. I actually quite enjoyed AF BMT

Perfect video for anyone joining the Airforce and about to experience basic. I was one of the ones that had a hard time and am better now for it. Best piece of advice is go with the flow, and remember the trainee to the right and left to you are going through the same problems as you. Work together and get through it together. Only way it will make basic easy and SHOW UP FIT!

I see they finally let Airmen see their family at graduation. As an Airman from October 2020, I didn’t get to see my family physically until I was 9 months into my service. I’m glad they had a better experience than us

I have a friend who is in boot camp in the Air Force right now. My respect for following in her old man’s footsteps in military service.

this made me smile, i had a blast towards the end of basic. for me the hardest part was waiting… anticipation was killer lol. i took that time to get to know my flight a little bit. take care of your wingmen, they’ll take care of you!

2:43 was a damn fine instructor. i’m proud to have become an airman under his leadership. hearing his drill brings back some good memories

Went through Fort Benning as 11B and this shit looks like heaven. Should have joined the airforce lol

Graduated Lackland in Jan 98. It was only 6 weeks long. Had a nosebleed my first night. Still serving as a Reservist, today I'm an E-7 enlisted PhD. The Air Force literally changed my life. Much respect to all the veterans in the comments. We have a rep for being a soft service, but this time of life is very challenging for new Airmen.

I'm watching this because my son is going to MEPS in a couple of weeks for he is joining the Air Force. History repeats itself for sure because I remember going to basic in the Army, I went to Ft. Bliss back in 1989. I remember my mom and dad when they came to see me graduate basic training and to see how emotional my dad was. I think about my son now, I am in my father's position and I get emotional thinking about my son graduating. I'm not even at that point of watching him graduate and I am getting emotional.

This really brings back memories for me. I'm an Air Force veteran having served during the '80s and still have all the respect in the world for this branch of the military. And for those who, for some reason, always want to compare AF basic training to, say, Marine Corp basic training, keep in mind that the Corp has a different mission than the AF. While MC basic training may be tougher and more demanding, this doesn't make AF basic training any less tough and demanding. It would be a bad mistake to join the AF thinking it's going to be smooth sailing. You will get your ass served in an MRE if you think that - and daily if you're not careful. My only regret is that I didn't make it a career but I will always have fond memories of my time and service.

The village raid guy's name was not Ang, it was "this is my village"-guy. But he was awesome instructor.

I’m in jrotc at Uvalde High School, We recently took a trip to Lackland Air Force Base. It was a hell of an experience. got to see what goes on from 5am all the way to being able to watch an Air Force Graduation. Had an amazing time!

Respect for all service members that had served regardless of your branch. Hooah!

Morning at 0600 sounds like heaven. One year ago I was at ft Leonard wood army BCT and first formation is at 0430

THIS MILITARY SERIES IS SO SOOTHING.

Currently operational in Japan and still feels like yesterday since I graduated BMT, and it continues to change as time continues but it’s great to always see the next generation of airmen. Aim high! (:

I met Sgt Dodson when I went through basic and she is a very intense individual.

Went to BMT in 2015 my tip; focusing on learning to work as a team, and even if something it not your fault ALWAYS take responsibility, never say sorry, just fix the issue. As a team it is your fault if y'all fail or one person causes you to fail as it's your responsibility to keep the team successful.

"The sea was angry that day my friends, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli."

2:52 "Which for some, can be easier said than done" *camera immediately zooms in on a guy who's not in sync with everyone else* Jeez you dont gotta do him dirty like that 🤣

I used to disrespect my grandma but I watched this video and realized this is what she went through and more now I treat her with so much respect

Been out since 2014… and man they finally got things going good for the trainees … so proud of these women and men. Miss bmt everyday of my life. Lol it did my soul good. 😂

My best friend and sibling just went off to BMT and Im having a hard time without them. This helped me understand what they are going through

Most professional men and women I have ever met. I have the utmost respect for MTIs. Showed me excellence. Polished my soul and body!

It’s crazy how different it is now. I went through from May to July and BEAST is 2 days now. We do CATM and CBRN during 5th week. We can’t wear CBRN gear during red or black flag conditions and we didn’t have “the village” or anything like that. We stayed at the camp got “attacked” once or twice and did a team building exercise building tents and obstacle course. Gas chamber is broken. We got attacked at like 4am and that one of two attacks our time there. I went through the 320TRS which they show briefly on here. PT was usually 6:20 and usual wake up was 0500 or 0545. We had our phone calls every week up till week 3 then they changed the policy and made it 1st,3rd and 5th week unless you earn more calls. You get a base Liberty 3rd week for 2 hours and you have a patio break once in 2nd week. They have tablets now for learning instead of BMTSG’s. A lot easier to learn and pass the EOC from the tablets. Crazy how much everything has changed

My first PT test my MTI really motivated me by yelling at me while i threw up cause i was so nervous. ❤️ he was the best TI.

"Sir Trainee?!" "Wake up guideon bearer!" "Stop being weird, you" "Chow runners go!" "It's not a sir sandwich!" "WaKe uP!" "Sound the piss off!" "Get in step!" "WHERE'S YOUR WINGMAN?!" "You're at attention trainee!"

This video made me tear up! Love seeing how The Village is still standing! I built it from the ground up in 2012 while assigned to Reaper Zone at The BEAST. I wish I were still there!

As someone who's wanting to join Space Force, this video helped a lot. Thanks! God Bless!

12:21 Imagine the enemy politely stealing your gun in a real situation 😂

Been in the Airforce for a year and I actually know a few people in this video. Shows how small the military is, pretty crazy.

Went to basic back in 2016 it wasn’t that bad. All we did was learn Air Force history and folded shirts and socks. Basically like a summer camp

4:32 Tsgt Anderson was one of my MTIs during BMT, he is an amazing teacher. One time a crow came across the parade grounds and hit his cover clean off his head, he cursed loudly for a second and then went back to his military bearing, the whole flight struggled to contain their laughter. I hope he is doing well 🙏

Nothing takes the fire out of an instructor's flame like “oops lemmi adjust my mask” mid scream.

I recognize the people they're interviewing!! Sgt Dodson scared the CRAP out of me, but she was super cool and gave us all fist bumps on graduation day! 323rd Mustangs rule!!!

I graduated from air force BMT about a month ago. All of the clips inside the dining facility happened at my BMT squadron and I recognize all of those MTIs. Also, during beast week only 24 of those 76 rounds are counted for weapon qualification so you need to hit 22/24 for marksman, not 22/76.

At first I spoke to an Army Recruiter to do combat medic then the Navy. I was trying to become a Navy Corspman but after watching this I want to look into the Air Force now.

Just graduated from this 7 weeks ago and for anyone about to leave for BMT, best thing I can say is to not FaceTime anyone for your first phone call. It’s called a “phone call” for a reason. Learned that the hard way…

For those who are wondering, this video is pretty accurate. Just graduated last Thursday and now I'm at keesler for tech school. Just make sure you're physically fit and remember to bond as much as you can with your flight mates. Also, chow running sucks but it would definitely build your confidence. Now I'm just hoping tech school isn't as bad.

6:32, TSgt Jones was my DEP group leader prior to my BMT attendance in June 2019.. She is outstanding! The video is accurate. Also, bless the chow runners, I was EC Coordinator. Beast week was one of the most fun, as was the range. We were too PT female, and 38 out of 49 made expert marksman.

You guys àre awesome. THANK YOU for protecting this Nation.THAN YOU for your services and sacrifice.

Went thru basic training and tech school at 17. If I can do it, any of you future airman watching this video can do it as well. ⚔️🙏🏽🇺🇸

this video hits different when you can recognize all the background locations, shoutout to the 737 TRSS MEDHOLD peeps. 3 month medhold vet, missin the good days i spent with the bois

"The day starts at 0600..." Got me fucked up.

This brings me a lot of comfort to understand what I'm about to go through, thank you.

boot camp has changed so much since i went… especially beast week, actually looks so much fun man these new recruits lucked out though from bot having to get teargassed lol

1:21 was my MTI back in April. Will never forget that first morning, with her banging our door down, “WAKE THE HELL UP”. Amazing MTI though, changed our lives and gave us the motivation to pull through. Flight 544 the best flight 👊

Went to BMT and got injured and sent home. Crazy watching this and knowing I was there. Funny thing is the airman who received his coin was in my flight. Congrats to them and all others who graduated.

Thank you for your service

From a retired USAF member, basic training is definitely different from when I went through it in 1976

YASSSSS Finally!!! Been waiting so long for this

Brings back memories. Been out for 3 years and I miss it. Much respect for the new generation of Airman.

BMT was such a blast having graduated 2 weeks ago I already miss it

I know this is still stressful and extremely important. Just afyer watching hours of marine bootcamp videos, this looks enjoyable lol.

woah this video coming out is crazy cause 6 years ago i was in bootcamp and now i just got finished with my contract! for any young airman who might see this just know TIME WILL FLY Also, being a chow runner was so overwhelming but was probably the best job i could’ve had during basic, really makes you develop a thick skin.

After Air Force boot camp, the only time you have to run again is to the door to meet the pizza man.

"Those who joke, stand a post." Great line, sir.

I know all branches talk shit among each other and absolute respect to anyone that chose to serve. However this does look like the calmest bootcamp ive seen by far 😅

Graduated BMT in July 2021, this video is actually super accurate! Recognize a lot of the places in it. Definitely most accurate video of the experience

When I went thru BMT it was only 5 weeks. I do not remember why they had a 8-week session back then. I was fortunate that I took weightlifting at the local YMCA and was better fit for the training I was subjected to. We did not have great food Being the third shortest in my flight I had to practically swallow my meals unchewed! There were much mental stress on guys in my flight. Most of the flight were guys between 18-20 and never away from home. These guys had a tough time adjusting to having to make their bunks, maintaining their BMT fatigues, personal care, home-sick, etc. We did have an obstacle course and were it not for my weight training I would not have made it through all those wet rungs on the testing equipment. We had to navigate under barb wire with simulate battlefield conditions with blasting caps going off around us. I was so fortunate(??) to be behind a young kid from another flight that froze in place when one those explosion went off!! All through this video I guess the training is updated due to current world conditions. We also had to rattle off our Chain of Command from the President down to our DI. There was a honor code we needed to know because you never know when a DI would walk up to you and demand reciting Code XX. If you fail, you were assigned to meet at the drill pad on Saturday. I do not recall any AWOLs but after lights out there were numerous sounds of crying. One guy had an anxiety attack and Medical was scrambled. I never saw him return.

the most accurate video I've seen about bmt.

Went through Lackland in November-December 1977. Best decision of my life.

Man oh man ... nothing like I remember from Oct/Nov 1969. This version looks like more fun and much more difficult than the BMT I went thru. Good luck to all in your future endeavors.

The camera man is the most well trained soldier on the planet. He's got experience in the Navy, Marines, Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, and Special Service.

I leave for basic on Valentines Day of this year. Nervous, but I am excited at the same time.

This is a long way away from what we did in 1998 (which was just 6 weeks) glad they're making it so practical.

I had the instructor at 8:20. She helped me a lot with my stability and trigger pull

Alot of things have changed over the decades. All of those changes are great improvements since the 1970s. Each Airman should be very proud of their accomplishment.

12:21 I cracked tf up. "Can I see? Oh, thank you"

I went to basic training in 2008, and got out of the Air Force in 2018. It looks like they've improved the field training quite a bit, which is good. I encountered a few people while deployed who probably weren't mentally prepared for something bad happening, and this will probably reduce that to some degree. That being said, it looks like training instructors still demonstrate a leadership style that is completely out of touch with the job that the Air Force does. As an NCO, I got new airmen who were straight out of tech school. A lot of them would need me to explain in great detail exactly what they were supposed to do, I suspect because basic training conditioned them into having this response to an order. The problem was that I was trying to prepare them to be ready to deploy, most likely working the night shift alone as the only person in their specialty, so if a problem came up, they needed to be able to solve that problem without specific guidance. It normally took some time before I could unteach people what they learned in basic training, that it was ok if they did things a little different, ok if they made mistakes as long as they owned them, and excellent if they innovated, as long as it stayed within some left and right limits. I found a lot of what basic training taught to be negative training.