Freedom Watch Afghanistan

In the army, how much freedom do you get during AIT? What is AIT like? How does it compare to Basic Training?

I leave for army basic training on July 15. After that I go to Airborne Orientation and then to Airborne school for three weeks. Then I go to 15 weeks of AIT (Advanced Individual Training) to be a 92R parachute rigger. One of my friends is soon gonna go to 8 weeks of AIT (it used to be 6 weeks but the AIT for this MOS got extended last year) to be a 92Y Unit Supply Specialist. Both of these MOS’s do AIT at Fort Lee, VA. What is AIT for these MOS’s like? How much freedom do you get during it? Do you have the freedom to watch TV, go to the movies, cruise around Post or go off post? Are there any written tests during AIT? Do you ever get weekends off and what kind of stuff do they teach you during the course of AIT? Also, what is it like being a 92Y or a 92R? Do people in these MOS’s ever get deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan?

First off I want to say you have made an awesome decision to join the Army.

I was in the Army from 1991-1995. I was an Administrative Specialist/Postal Clerk and my AIT was at Ft. Jackson SC. so I can only speak of what I know about AIT at Ft. Jackson. After the 2nd week in AIT we were allowed to go out at night to the bowling alley or to the NCO club. On the weekends if you qualified for a weekend pass you were allowed to go off post and go to the mall or wherever, but we weren’t allowed to leave the city. We could also stay off post at a hotel/motel…alot of soldiers did this just to get away from the barracks and have some fun. There was much more freedom in AIT than in Basic training. The weekend pass was from Friday night(usually around 9 pm) til Sunday at 6 p.m. I hope this helps and good luck in your training.

Freedom Watch Afghanistan — Aug. 20