Air Force Boot Camps



Posted: Friday, January 27, 2006

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Air force boot camps are basic military training courses for air force recruits that are conducted at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. Here the trainees are instructed in discipline, ethics, courtesies, dress code, drills, physical fitness, use of equipment and survival tactics in warfare. It extends for a period of six weeks and the last week is called as the Warrior Week, which involves combat training.

Air force boot camps are supposed to be less physically strenuous than the military and the marine boot camps. In these boot camps the emphasis is more on playing on the mindset of the trainees rather than on physical dexterity. They are also less formal, which allow the trainees to address their instructors as sir or madam, instead of their titles and posts. The air force training instructors often play mind games with their trainees in order to make them stronger for decision taking situations in future. They holler and yell and blow a fuse even if anyone speaks to them without the reporting line. They do not flinch in calling their trainees names and reprimanding them even if they have seemingly done a good job.

All this physical exertion serves the purpose of making air force trainees stronger individuals as they leave. Apart from this mental wrangle, the air force trainees are much better than their marine or military counterparts. Their waking hours are more relaxed, followed by a drill before breakfast. Then again exercise after breakfast until lunch. And so the process continues. The whole day is made up of exercises, with a lot of mental pressure thrown in.

Trainees are also given instructions about flight practice, pilot controls and more. Trainees are also instructed on what to do when there are life-threatening situations in midair. There are confidence building courses, and courses that teach about teamwork.

In these times of war, it is estimated that about 85 percent of the air force trainees will be deployed to some war area, making military training essential. The last week of the air force training is called as Warrior Week. In this week, a warlike atmosphere is simulated and trainees are given practice with the M-16 rifle. It includes cleaning the rifle, loading and target practice. Then there is the dreaded gas chamber drill. However the gas used is harmless tear gas. Yet it teaches the trainee how to cope with a gas-leak situation especially when it comes to chemical and biological warfare. Most trainees at air force boot camps cherish this week as their most favorite time at the boot camp.

When trainees finish their training they are called airmen. Airmen can secure admission to the Air Force. Most recruits leave their jobs early and go on to higher paying civilian jobs. Training is designed with that end in mind.

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