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‘After Basic' social show offers live reaction, analysis to BMT docuseries
November 12, 2021 — A live social media after show on the Air Education and Training Command Facebook page focuses on the Air Force Recruiting Service's new docuseries about basic military training, "Basic."... MORE

Picture of computer screen with scene from Basic docuseries

'Basic' docuseries goes behind-the-scenes at USAF BMT beginning Oct. 28
October 27, 2021 — An unprecedented look behind the scenes at U.S. Air Force basic military training will be available to the public through a docuseries on the Air Force Recruiting Service’s YouTube channel beginning Oct. 28... MORE

Basic military training instructor in face of Airman

USecAF gets firsthand look at AETC’s values-based approach to foundational readiness
October 6, 2021 — Under Secretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones visited Joint Base San Antonio Oct. 1-4, seeing firsthand how Air Education and Training Command ingrains dignity and respect throughout the force, and how the command implements a values-based approach to training and readiness. ... MORE

Undersecretary of the Air Force talking to Airmen.

U.S. Space Force Guardians helping to shape the future of the force
September 2, 2021 — When they arrive at basic training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, the newest members of the U.S. Space Force will see one of their own wearing the distinctive headgear of a military training instructor... MORE

Sgt. Michelle Holt, center, poses for a photo with two fellow U.S. Space Force military training instructors on August 6, 2020, at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

New Second Air Force commander tours Gateway Wing
August 24, 2021 — The Gateway Wing recently had the opportunity to showcase its mission and people last week to provide the new Second Air Force commander a close-up and in-depth look into the 37th Training Wing mission... MORE

Air Force Basic Military Training graduation reopens to the public
July 23, 2021 — After 16 months without families being able to attend Air Force Basic Military Training graduations at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, more than 1,200 guests viewed the ceremony July 22, with many shedding tears of joy at finally seeing their Airman recite the oath of enlistment in person... MORE

BMT trainees now able to get COVID-19 vaccines while at JBSA-Lackland
June 21, 2021 — Recruits at Basic Military Training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland now can become fully vaccinated against COVID-19 during their training... MORE

Trainees signing up at table for vaccine.

502nd LRS traffic managers provide safe, reliable transportation for BMT graduates during COVID-19
May 25, 2021 — Despite the challenges brought about by COVID-19, the 502nd Logistics Readiness Squadron’s Deployment and Distribution Flight at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland is helping to provide safe and reliable transportation for Basic Military Training graduates transitioning to their technical school locations... MORE

Airman prepare to load a commercial aircraft.

From siblings to wingmen, a family of service for BMT grads
April 19, 2021 — It’s not unusual to see several family members joining the Air Force at the same time. This is true of three siblings from Yucaipa, California, who recently graduated basic military training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland within weeks of one another... MORE

The Vandenabeele siblings graduated Basic Military Training just three weeks apart.

U.S. Space Force makes history at Basic Military Training
December 11, 2020 — History was made here Dec. 10 as the first seven people to enlist directly into the U.S. Space Force graduated from Basic Military Training... MORE

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas -- History was made here Dec. 10, as the first seven people to enlist directly into the U.S. Space Force graduated from Basic Military Training.

MTI of the Year attributes win to coworkers, leadership
November 17, 2020 — Master Sgt. Roslyn Ball, 319th Training Squadron, credits the mentorship and bonds she’s shared with her fellow Military Training Instructors in receiving the 2020 MTI of the Year award... MORE

Construction picks up for new Airman Training Complex at JBSA-Lackland
November 16, 2020 — The Air Force Civil Engineer Center, or AFCEC, is leading a massive $700 million, multi-year construction project to modernize the Gateway to the Air Force for new Basic Military Training recruits at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. ... MORE

Steel frame of the dining and classroom facility for Airmen Training Center West Campus goes up

Blue Rope of the Year extols rewards of MTI career
November 4, 2020 — When 20-year-old Holly Vaught walked into an Air Force recruiter’s office in the summer of 2003, she was by her own account, emotionally lost with $2 and a half tank of gas to her name. She admitted... MORE

Master Sgt. Holly Vaught is the 2020 Blue Rope of the Year.

Recruiters, MTIs, MTLs lay foundation for tomorrow’s forces
October 26, 2020 — For Air Education and Training Command, developing the Airmen we need doesn’t happen magically. It takes the right Airmen with the right training at the right time with the right focus. It means investing in our future by investing in force generators – recruiters, military training instructors and military training leaders... MORE

U.S. Chief Master Sgt. Erik Thompson (left), command chief for Air Education and Training Command, talks with Senior Master Sgt. Lorenda Wong (right) 737th Training Support Squadron superintendent, during a tour of the Pfingston Reception Center Oct. 15 at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.

Space Force enlists first trainees to BMT at JBSA-Lackland
October 20, 2020 — The Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. “DT” Thompson swore in the first four Space Force recruits at Fort Meade, Maryland, Oct. 20, placing them on a direct path to Basic Military Training and marking another milestone in the new service’s growth and development... MORE

The Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David D. “DT” Thompson swore in the first four Space Force recruits at the Baltimore Military Entrance Processing Command station, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, Oct. 20, 2020. The first four recruits will join others from Colorado, placing them on a direct path to Basic Military Training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and marking another milestone in the new service’s growth and development.

Centralized Cargo Operations unique team with critical mission
October 2, 2020 — One of the precautions taken by Joint Base San Antonio at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic was adding a second Basic Military Training location at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, to help better ensure physical distancing between recruits. Accomplishing this task required many other logistical modifications, and one group of people had a key role to play in achieving this... MORE

David Howard, a 502nd Centralized Cargo Operations, or CCO, maintainer at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, reviews a shipment work order Oct. 5. After the release of a shipment, the CCO tracks packages so the recipient knows when it will arrive.

First DRIVE program candidate placed into civil service
September 29, 2020 — Elizabeth Ross, an Oklahoma State University graduate with a degree in zoology and former Airman, was recently hired as an animal caretaker with the Military Working Dog Center, 341st Training Squadron at JBSA-Lackland through the DRIVE Program. ... MORE

AETC teams come together to supply BMT uniforms
September 8, 2020 — With Air Force Basic Military Training coming to Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, due to COVID-19, the mission of the base has become to not only train, but create premier warfighters. ... MORE

Airmen with the 81st Logistics Readiness Squadron help basic military training trainees from the 737th Training Wing Detachment 5 try on issued military clothing at the squadron’s warehouse at Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi, Aug. 26, 2020. The squadron worked with different Air Education and Training Command units to support basic military training at Keesler by providing uniforms for trainees.

Boyd's rite of passage, history as greatest instrument of learning
September 2, 2020 — A respected researcher and writer of history, Gary W. Boyd, the command historian of Air Education and Training Command, has lived through several significant periods of history — all of which he believes has determined our present and shapes our future... MORE

Gary W. Boyd, Air Education and Training Command historian, reads through documents of the formation of Randolph Field July 28, 2020 at Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph, Texas. A respected researcher and writer of history, Boyd has lived through several significant periods of history—all of which he believes has determined our present and shapes our future.

502nd Logistic Readiness Squadron helps recruits continue training during pandemic
August 31, 2020 — The 502nd Logistics Readiness Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland has been providing clothing to new recruits at an alternate Basic Military Training location since March 2020 to help the U.S. Air Force continue forging America’s future Airmen during the coronavirus pandemic... MORE

Man wearing a mask speaking to a woman in military uniform. People sewing clothing in the background.