Soldierization: training an Army of One
Soldiers-in-training enter first basic combat training phase

Story and photo by Carmen Slaybaugh/Fort Jackson Leader

Part Two of a four-part series examining the training required to transform a civilian into a member of a warfighting team.

FORT JACKSON, S.C. (TRADOC News Service, July 13, 2005) – In the first three weeks of basic combat training, the civilian is being rubbed off, starting to show the green – Army green.

Red Phase is the first official soldierization phase of BCT.

Designed as milestones for Soldiers during their initial-entry training, the three phases of BCT are red, white and blue, each lasting about three weeks. Transitioning from one phase to another is viewed as moving through a “gate” or “passage” for the Soldiers.

As the volunteers step off the bus that brought them to 2nd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, the process of building a Soldier begins. As drill sergeants start barking out orders, the Soldiers-in-training, some struggling, run to fall into formation.

Their first team-building task, one of the keystone elements taught in BCT, begins. The bag drill is designed to show the importance of working as a team.

Prior to the Soldiers’ arrival at 2nd Bn., 39th Inf. Regt., their duffel bags were stacked into two large piles.

The Soldiers have a limited time to find their own bag, retrieve it, return to formation and place it in front of them in the way the drill sergeants have demonstrated. Failure results in reinforcing corrections – in this case, push-ups in temperatures hovering in the 80s.

By the third try the Soldiers had figured out that working together as a team made the task “doable.” They have taken their first steps to becoming a team of warriors.

“I have a good feeling about the Soldiers coming in today. They know what is going on in the world. They came in to protect the nation. When they come in, they are all different, but they want to be team players,” said 1st Sgt. James Wafe, Co. E, 2nd Bn., 39th Inf. Regt.

The Soldiers still seem unsure of themselves at this early stage, as they look for guidance from their drill sergeants or try to react quickly to commands.

“Right now, the drill sergeants are taking them by their hands,” said Capt. Oswaldo Maxwell, commander, Co. E, 2nd Bn., 39th Inf. Regt.

“A disciplined Soldier is a trainable one,” said Maxwell. Over the course of Red Phase, the Soldiers are introduced to the rudimentary skills they need.

Throughout this period, Maxwell said the goal is to teach the full and comprehensive meaning of Army Values and the Soldier’s Creed, as well as fundamental Soldier skills.

“Everybody has values,” said Wafe. “It might not be the exact Army Values, but they have values inside, and we are trying to grab that out of them.”

“The first few days (of Red Phase) are administrative, just teaching them about things like military justice, who the chaplain is and how to walk and talk like a Soldier,” said Maxwell.

However, BCT is not only about training the minds of Soldiers, it also encompasses building up their bodies.

Since many of the new Soldiers do not enter BCT with the level of physical fitness needed, the drill sergeants gradually train them so they can safely meet the exacting physical demands of the Army.

Foot marches begin slowly, the weights of loads carried gradually increases and Soldiers begin being acclimated to wearing the type of gear some will wear on a daily basis if they are deployed to places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

At the end of Red Phase, Maxwell said there are four areas in which the Soldiers must be able to perform proficiently. “The basic areas we test for during the Red Phase STX (situational training exercise) are: react to combat, map skills, radio skills and buddy aid,” he said.

Maxwell said the Soldiers receive training in each of these skills in the cantonment area prior to going to the field. Additionally, during Red Phase, the training remains at the team level.

He said the Soldiers are more able to pick up some of these complex skills simply because they are working as a team.

“What you find is one Soldier is weaker in one area, but he has his buddy to help him out so he is not dangling out there. He might be struggling by himself, but they come together as a team,” said Maxwell.

Teamwork and learning to rely on your battle buddy is the type of mentality that is constantly developed in the Soldiers.

Despite the stress of working as a team, the BCT Soldier leaders in the battalion begin to rise to the top even during this initial timeframe.

Drill sergeants and other cadre in the battalion begin noticing the natural leadership of individual Soldiers and the potential of others.

“During Red Phase, the drill sergeants are looking for the ones who they think could be leaders. But, you also want the Soldiers who have never been (a leader) before to execute and go through the pain of being a leader,” said Wafe.

Maxwell agreed, “We are trying to build as many leaders as we can.”

As Wafe passes a Soldier leaning casually in his foxhole, the first sergeant snaps out, “Sit up.”

The Soldier, though he has successfully accomplished his passage through the initial gate of the BCT phases, and his fellow Soldiers are several weeks away from receiving the much-sought-after beret and their completion of BCT.

Staff Sgt. Adam Farmer, a drill sergeant with Company E, 2nd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, supervises his Soldiers-in-training as they practice buddy aid during a Red Phase situational training exercise.

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