More than any other question about basic training, I get the following email exchange:

Recruit: “SGT Volkin how do I get into special ops?”

SGT Volkin: “Well, have you been to basic training?”

Recruit: “No”

SGT Volkin: “Well, it’s probably best to see how you do in special ops first”

I use the analogy of picturing a couple 6 year olds throwing a football around pretending that they are in the superbowl making the winning touchdown with seconds on the clock. They dream big and let their imaginations run wild. However, only a very small percentage of people actually get to play professional football, let alone a superbowl. Picture, in this scenario a special ops soldier being the equivalent of a professional football player playing in the superbowl. Special ops soldiers are the best of the best of the best.

Special ops soldiers are highly trained to carry out extremely risky missions. Sure, it sounds exciting, like being an international spy, but the amount of dedication and physical and mental toughness that goes into qualifying to be a special ops soldier is absolutely life consuming.

Special forces soldiers are capable of carrying out a number of missions including:

• Offensive action toward enemy armies
• counter-insurgencyand counter-terrorism missions
• Sabotage
• Demolition
• Hostage rescue
• and many others

So what does it take to qualify to be a special ops soldier? (aka Green Berets)

Other than extreme mental and physical toughness some of the basic qualifications are:

• Qualify for a secret level security clearance.
• Take Defense Language Aptitude Battery or Defense Language Proficiency Test
• Achieve an overall minimum score of 229 on the Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT)

Like all soldiers, if you want to be in special ops you have to pass basic training and advanced individual training first. Then, you must go to Infantry School to learn how to fire and become proficient with various firearms. This Infantry School is four weeks long.

After this training, it’s off to Airborne training, which is 3 rigorous weeks and requires plenty of mental and physical toughness.

After all of the above, you then must attend yet another course called the Special Operations Preparation Course. This course is 30 days long and located at Fort Bragg. This course heavily focuses on physical training (PT), and I mean they will PT the livin’ hell out of you. Picture the worst most physically exhuasting day you have ever had, multiply it by 10, the extrapolate that by 30 days. You will also become an expert at land navigation. Land navigation comes naturally to many people, and sadly for me, it is something that just doesn’t register in my brain. If I don’t have a gps with me, I will get lost. Picture a mission where you are dropped in a foreign country with no equipment and you need to get to a particular location as fast as possible without anyone noticing you or asking for help. Could you do this? Now, passing this course does not guarantee you will pass the Special Forces Assessment/Assignment and Selection (SFAS).

So yes, another school now. Once you pass the Special Operations Preparation Course, you have to pass the SFAS. This 24 day survival course will test every aspect of your mental and physical toughness, in ways that you have never been tested before. The select few you pass this, get to go on to the Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC). Their are 5 phases to the SFQC, each phase taking many weeks to complete. You will learn all of these skills (and more):

• Small Unit Tactics
• Advanced Special Forces Tactics
• Survival Skills
• Language and Cultural Training
• Language training, SF Common
• Unconventional Warfare
• Survival, Escape, Resistance, and Evasion
• Advanced combat survival tactics

At the end of all of this training, at the very least, you will be fluent in at least one other language if not two (other than your native language)

At this time, you will be considered a member of the Special Forces and you will be a specialist in one of 6 areas. You will be any of the below:

• Weapons Sergeant
• Engineer Sergeant;
• Medical Sergeant
• Communications Sergeant
• Assistant Operations and Intelligence Sergeant
• Operations Sergeant

Still want to go into the Special Forces? I hope this page inspired you to pursue your dreams, but also educated you as to the very small percentage of people who say the want to be in special ops, and actually become a member.

If you complete this training, you will be a Special Forces Soldier, one of the Army’s experts in Unconventional Warfare.

By the time you complete basic training you will have rolled more shirts, folded more towels and made more beds than you will care to remember. However, there will be some things you wont be able to do right no matter how many times you try. For some people it’s making hospital corners on their bed, for others it’s folding towels into perfect rectangles with every edge the same length. For me, it was getting my duffle bag perfectly folded into a square. No matter how many times I tried I couldn’t make it perfect. On the other hand, rolling socks and shirts into perfect, wrinkle-free tubes was easy for me.

Don’t be afraid to seek help from your fellow recruits. For example, if you can’t role a shirt but can make a great hospital corner, find someone that can roll a perfect shirt faster than a roadrunner on speed, but who’s hospital corners look like a deformed taco. In other words, help each other out. Much of basic training is learning to work efficiently with other people, and the training starts with the little things, such as folding clothes and making beds.

This article was written by SrA Nick VanWormer, author of The Ultimate Air Force Basic Training Guidebook available at www.UltimateBasicTraining.com

Ditching her sugary image as a sweet California girl, the West Coast singer gets over her ex-boyfriend by joining the marines and going to a boot camp.

From: AceShowbiz.com

Katy Perry is breaking up with her boyfriend in a music video for her newest single “Part of Me”. Confronting the guy after catching him flirting with another woman, she decides that she’s done with the drama. Inspired by “all women are created equal, then some become marines” sticker, she chops off her shoulder-length hair and runs away to join the military.

Premiered on MTV, the Ben Mor-directed music video was shot in February at the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base in Oceanside, California. Joining real-life marines doing their basic training programs at the boot camp, Katy “learned how to flip someone,” “learned how to flip them on their back,” and “learned how to wrestle underwater.”

According to Katy, the video visualizes “an affirmation of strength.” Instead of dwelling with her broken heart, she decides to create a new path in her life. “I wanted to go the strongest route I ever could,” she gushes. “Literally, I was like, ‘I’m gonna join the service. I’m gonna join the Marines.’ We used only Marines. For three days, I was a wannabe Marine, which was so difficult.”

“Part of Me” is taken from Katy’s “Teenage Dream” repackage, “Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection“. The single peaked at No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100. Soon after the video premiere, she tweeted, “Thank u to everyone for the love & support on the video, I have SO MUCH respect for anyone serving any role in the service after this shoot!”

As a military fitness trainer, you might think I am a big advocate of sit-ups.  Actually, I despise sit-ups and rarely ever do them, but many people ask how I maintain my 6-pack abs at the age of 35 without being on a diet. Well today, I will tell you my secret.

There is a muscle called the Transverse Abdominus that acts as a stabilizer to the middle part of your body, located right behind your abdominal muscles.  If you’re not familiar with this muscle, sign up for the military, your drill sergeants will be very aware of how to work make it sore.  Drill sergeants love exercises that involve the Transverse Abdominus because when this muscle is strong, your back and stomach are strong.  In order to obtain 6 pack abs, this muscle must be strong.

I have to admit, I was doing sit ups for most of my adult life, but when I reached 30 I realized that my ab muscles were getting harder to see. No matter what I ate (or didn’t eat) and no matter how many stomach exercises I did, my abdominal muscles kept slowly disappearing. Then, I did some research on the anatomy of the stomach muscles and found the Transverse Abdominus.  Ever since then, I am happy to say my stomach muscles are more prevalent than ever before. Not only that, my posture is better.  Why? The Transverse Abdominus is connected to your back, ribs and pelvis.  In essence, it is the ultimate stabilizing muscle for your entire mid-section.  There is a catch though; it’s a difficult muscle to strengthen.

After doing a thorough internet search, I found many techniques and exercises for strengthening the Transverse Abdominus.  However, only a few of these exercises placed primary emphasis on the Transverse Abdominus which allowed me to give a quality 6 pack shape to my abdominal muscles.   Here are the exercises that I found work the best:

The Focused Crunch – Do not mistake this exercise for an abdominal crunch.

• Put your back on the floor with your knees bent and your feet should be firmly on the floor.
• Put your hands just below and to the sides of your belly button. Press a couple fingers from both hands into your lower abdomen.
• Begin by drawing your lower abdomen down towards the floor but do not move your pelvis.  Your chest should rise slightly.
• Stop drawing in your stomach as soon as you feel your muscles being to tighten. The muscles underneath your fingers should feel tight. If you move too far, you will stop working your Transverse Abdominus and begin stressing your oblique muscles instead.
• Hold this position for 10 to 15 seconds while breathing normally.
• Do ten to twelve repetitions if this exercise is new to you, increase repetitions as needed.

Scissor Kicks – A drill sergeants favorite

• Put your back on the floor with your knees bent and your feet should be firmly on the floor.
• Place your hands under your buttocks.
• Raise one leg about 12 inches off the ground and slowly lower it back down.
• As you lower one leg, raise the other in the same manner.
• Start with three sets of ten to twelve repetitions, increase repetitions as needed.

The Modified Plank- This is a tough exercise, proceed with caution.

• Start in the push-up position with your palms on the floor and toes on the ground.  Your back should be straight and your feet should be hip-width apart.
• Raise one leg as high as you can and then to a push-up.  Switch legs and repeat.
• Start with three sets of ten to twelve repetitions, increase repetitions as needed.

For other great workout tips, consult the Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook

SGT Michael Volkin is the author of The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook: Tips, Tricks, and Tactics for Boot Camp Survival UltimateBasicTraining.com

For a lot of recruits, basic training is the first time they receive and write actual hand written letters to friends and family. With e-mails, texting and instant messaging, there isn’t much reason to write letters to friends and family anymore.

Being unable to send abbreviated messages every other minute to your boyfriend or girlfriend is just one of the harsh realities of being in a basic training environment. Without these modes of communication, letter seems to be a recruit’s only viable option of communication.

If you have a loved one at basic training, make sure you are aware of the following guidelines about sending mail to recruits in the military:

1. Do not send anything that is prohibited. A list of prohibited items can be found in The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook. Among these are candy, chewing gum, cookies, soft drinks, and tobacco products. Avoid sending any food. Any packages received during basic training will be opened in front of Drill Sergeants and the rest of the recruits.

3. Don’t send clothes. Not only will your recruit not be able to wear it, but they will have to pack it wherever they go, and space is very limited.

4. Don’t send letters that smell of perfume or cologne. This is a favorite for drill sergeants when they are handing out mail. This tactic gives the drill sergeants fuel to endlessly make fun of your favorite little recruit.

5. Don’t send pictures you don’t want others to see. Any pictures that you send will be passed around. Provocative pictures will be confiscated and who knows, may even appear on the internet some day.

What you should send are letters filled with words of encouragement, love and support. Those words of encouragement go a long way and are exactly what your recruit will want to read.

For more tips on training for the army or any military branch, visit UltimateBasicTraining.com

It’s normal for all recruits to think at one time or another that they have made a mistake by joining the military. Usually this thought occurs during the first week of basic training.  Some trainees will find it hard to avoid thinking about their cushy civilian life.   If you think you may be one of those recruits that lay awake at night dreaming of your family and friends, keep these tips in mind:

Tip #1

Understand the first week of training is the hardest.

Yes, everything is new and no one seems to likes you. Don’t worry, you aren’t doing anything wrong. Everyone is feeling the same worries and fears.  At this point, just understand what is to be expected of you and try your best to accomplish those tasks.

Tip #2

Hurting yourself or others will not get you home sooner.

As crazy as it may sound to you now, there are recruits desperate enough to leave basic training that they will hurt themselves to get discharged. Unfortunately this tactic doesn’t work. As a result, the recruits who self inflict an injury spend more time away from home stuck in military medical facilities while the other recruits have graduated.

Tip #3

You’re not alone.

Even though you are living night and day with fifty plus other people, at first you may feel like you are going through hell and you’re all by yourself. That’s because you have not yet connected with the other recruits. After the first week of training, you’ll find that you have built a friendship with the other recruits.

A parent of a military recruit who is currently going through basic training asked me “What will the military do if my son doesn’t want to finish basic training?” My answer to that is – the fastest way out of basic training is to graduate from basic training.

For more basic training tips and tricks from Sergeant Volkin, go to UltimateBasicTraining.com and buy the best basic training book available: The Ultimate Basic Training Guidebook.

One of the most common pieces of advice you will hear before leaving for basic training is “Never volunteer.” In The Ultimate Air Force Basic Training Guidebook, I even give specific examples of when you should not volunteer during basic. However, there are times during basic training when volunteering will actually help you instead of simply getting you stuck with the crummy jobs (such as cleaning toilets).

After your first couple of weeks in basic training you will eventually settle into a routine. You routine will include a lot of classroom time and hands on applications. During both the classroom and application time the instructors will often ask for volunteers. The instructors my simply say “Give me two people,” or whatever number of people they need. They won’t be speaking to anyone specifically, but rather everyone in the group. In this setting it is ok to volunteer for the task at hand.

A perfect example of when to volunteer is during the application portion of the Self-Aid Buddy Care in Air Force Basic Training. If the instructors ask for someone to volunteer more than likely they are simply looking for someone to demonstrate with in front of the class. Volunteering during these situations actually helps you by showing to the instructors you are putting effort into your training, which will only help you in the long run.

This article was written by SrA Nick VanWormer, author of The Ultimate Air Force Basic Training Guidebook available at www.UltimateBasicTraining.com

In basic training you will become very familiar with the M-16 rifle, unless you’re in the Navy. Recruits in the Navy don’t fire a rifle at basic training; they fire an M-9 pistol.  You will learn how to assemble and disassemble the rifle in a matter of seconds.  You will also become extremely familiar with cleaning the rifle.  Don’t worry if you have never shot a weapon before, the Drill Sergeants will take you through the entire process.  Recruits love to go to the firing range, because often the Drill Sergeants are nicer to you.  Not because they are starting to like you, but because they are surrounded by dozens of untrained recruits holding powerful rifles.

On a typical day on the firing range, you will go to the Armory and sign out your rifle. You will be assigned one rifle, treat it like your baby, give it a name and handle it with care.  Every rifle is numbered, be sure to remember that number and never forget it. After you have possession of your rifle, you will march or ride to the firing range where you will wait several hours for about 10 minutes worth of time on the range.  Take this time to observe others firing their weapons and learn the ebb and flow of how a rifle range works. When it’s your turn to fire, you will first zero your weapon.  This means, you will customize the weapon to your body and find its true center mass.  Once it’s zeroed, the weapon will be customized perfectly for you.  You will then fire from what’s called the prone supported and prone unsupported positions at targets of varying distance.  The fun part for recruits is based on how many targets you hit, you can win awards that you can display on your uniform. 

After you fire your weapon, you will sign your rifle back into the Armory and continue with the days activities.

A couple important tips to remember at the firing range are:

• Never ever leave your rifle unattended
• Always be conscious of what’s called muzzle control- Always point your weapon in the direction of the range (called down range) and never point your rifle at someone else, or anything you don’t intend to shoot for that matter.
• Never call the rifle a gun, your Drill Sergeants will definitely show you how much they don’t like that.

For those leaving for basic training in the near future you have probably realized that you will be there during the holidays, and you probably have questions as to what will happen at basic training during Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The following is for Air Force Basic Training only.

Thanksgiving

The Air Force has a program called Operation Homecooking which has been around for 35 years. For Thanksgiving, and only Thanksgiving, trainees will get a break from training and have the opportunity to spend this holiday in the home of a local active duty member (don’t worry it won’t be your Instructor’s). Participation in this program isn’t guaranteed.  If you are in your first couple of weeks of training you will not go anywhere. Instead you will continue with training but that night’s dinner usually consists of turkey. The number of trainees that can participate in Operation Homecooking is dictated by the number of active duty members who volunteer to host a trainee. If you are selected to participate it is important to remember the following information which your Instructor is sure to give you.

-         You are not allowed to drink any alcohol, even if offered by your host family.

-        You must remain professional and respectful.

-        Don’t badmouth your Instructor or fellow trainees.

At the same time it’s alright to relax and have a good time away from Lackland AFB.

Christmas

Historically Christmas is a relaxed training day. With Christmas being on a Sunday this year you will have the option of going to church that day. Sundays are normally non-PT and appointment days which means you will spend the day in your dorm. Usually you will be given cleaning details or told to work on your wall locker, but your Instructor will stay away as much as possible which will make the day a lot more relaxed.

Remember, before leaving for BMT remind your family not to send you presents while at basic training.

This article was written by SrA Nick VanWormer, author of The Ultimate Air Force Basic Training Guidebook available at www.UltimateBasicTraining.com

Receiving Mail at Basic Training

For a lot of recruits, Air Force Basic Training is the first time they receive and write letters to friends and family. With e-mails, texting and instant messaging, there isn’t much reason to write letters to friends and family anymore.

Being unable to send abbreviated messages every other minute to your boyfriend or girlfriend is just one of the harsh realities of being in a basic training environment. Without these modes of communication, letter seems to be your only viable option and becomes the lifeblood of communication for your close circle of friends and family.

If you’re about to leave for basic training, make sure your friends and family are aware of the following guidelines about sending mail to recruits in the military:

1. Do not send anything that is prohibited. A list of prohibited items can be found in The Ultimate Air Force Basic Training Guidebook in Chapter 10 – Packing for BMT: Helpful Tips on What to Bring.

2. Avoid sending any food. Any packages received during basic training will be opened in front of Drill Sergeants and the rest of the recruits.

3. Don’t send clothes. Not only will the receiver of the clothes not be able to wear it, but they will have to pack it wherever they go, and space is very limited.

4. Don’t send letters that smell of perfume or cologne. This is a favorite for drill sergeants when they are handing out mail. This tactic gives the drill sergeants fuel to endlessly make fun of your favorite little recruit.

5. Don’t send pictures you don’t want others to see. Any pictures that you send will be passed around. Provocative pictures will be confiscated and who knows, may even appear on the internet some day.

What you should send are letters filled with words of encouragement, love and support. Those words of encouragement go a long way and is exactly what your recruit will want to read.

SrA Nick VanWormer is the author of  the ALL NEW book: The Ultimate Air Force Basic Training Guidebook available at UltimateBasicTraining.com.