Advanced Individual Training (AIT) is where you will learn the skills for your MOS. Some AITs are actually combined with basic training and are called One Station Unit Training (OSUT). This just means that your BT training and your AIT training will be conducted on the same post, while you are in the same company and with the same set of drill sergeants who will also be in your MOS. Some of the MOSs that come to mind that have OSUT include Infantry, Armor, Artillery and Military Police.The remainder of IET consists of Advanced Individual Training (AIT), where you train in your specific career field. Each Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), or US Army career, has a different school that will give each recruit the training needed to succeed in the tasks for that particular job. AIT courses vary in length a great deal; they can last anywhere from 6 to 52 weeks. Despite the focus changing to a more instructional format, recruits are still continually tested for physical fitness and weapons proficiency. You also continue to be subject to the same duties, strict schedule, rules, and discipline as in BCT.
Since the AIT courses are spread out throughout the US on different posts with different training programs, your liberties and living conditions will vary widely. Some MOSs will see two man rooms with an attached bath, sort of like a dorm room, others will see barracks life not much different from BT! Most of the combat MOSs will have living conditions similar to BT. As far as liberties go, AITs are split up into phases, just like BT. You will gradually get more and more freedom the longer you are there. These freedoms are not automatic though; they have to be earned by hard work and good behavior. Some of the longer AITs (such as some of the Military Intelligence MOSs) even allow you to bring a car and other such privileges. In any case, you'll find in AIT that you will get passes here and there for a few hours, most on-post.If you are lucky, you will see some overnight off-post passes also. You must remember that in AIT, you are still considered a trainee in a training environment and will still have lots of restrictive rules to follow (ie no alcohol), plus there are regulations against other soldiers stationed at that post in interacting with trainees.
A major part of AIT will be field excercises and classroom time, training in your chosen MOS (Mlitary Occupational Specialty). The classroom time can be a challenge, try to stay awake as most of it will be very dry. Now comes the fum stuff, FTX or Field Training Excercises. This is where you'll put all your training to the test to see what you've learned this far, It's also a challenge but exciting as well. You also won’t be showering. You’ll be up every few hours to conduct fireguard or go on patrols and you will be tested on how well you perform. The Drill Sergeants and other platoons will be opposition forces and you’ll be trying to break through their defenses, repel attacks, react to indirect fire and form ambushes. Some Companies also issue out simunition rounds during this stage of training. This special type of ammo fires a small paint cartridge that hurts about 50 times worse than your average paintball gun. You’ll know when an attack is coming though because you’ll have to put on special gloves and a face mask. Remember the army just poured thousands of dollars into you so they don’t want your eye being blown out. Everything is focused on drill and ceremony for graduation and cleaning your equipment. If your equipment isn’t spotless then the civilians who issued it to you will hold your graduation up. What’s funny is the crap wasn’t spotless when it was given to you.
You’ll attend meetings with the liasion attached to your Company and learn all you need to know about leave, transport to your unit, additives to your contract, and where you’ll be going. You’ll also be able to buy your Company and platoon photos at this time and be lured into buying all sorts of other crap that will likely end up in a box. Cell Phones will be given back out and you’ll be permitted to use them on personal time but don’t get caught using it on fire guard, cq or anywhere outside of the Company area or you’ll ruin it for everyone. You will also get back your personnel items on the last day before you graduate so you can finally get out of those horrendous military underwear.
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