Hello,
My husband just left on the 15th of October transferring from the Airforce reserves to the AD Army. He is supposed to be an 11B and I just wanted to know what the schools are like...How long and when we should be recieving our first paycheck. Thank you for any information you can give me in advance.
Jennifer

Do you know if he is going to a Warrior Transition Course or is he going straight to Ft. Benning?

He went straight to Ft. Benning.

It looks like your husband is going for the whole camping trip.

This being Sunday, you should have gotten a call.
If you did not, please don’t worry.
He should get a chance next Sunday.

You will receive a packet soon on his unit he is training with.

The pay for the 1st of November may not get there because he only has two weeks there.
Look for things to get caught up on the 15th at mid month pay.

These units are the ones he may be in depending on his date to start training.
Reception and processing can take some time.
They try to get all that done in a week.

C/1-50 of Task Force 1-50 IN starts 16-Oct-09 and finishes 5-Feb-10

E/1-50 of Task Force 1-50 IN starts 23-Oct-09 and finishes 12-Feb-10

B/2-54 of Task Force 2-54 IN starts 23-Oct-09 and finishes 12-Feb-10

B/1-19 of Task Force 1-19 IN starts 30-Oct-09 and finishes 19-Feb-10


FAQs

Family Day

The day before graduation, normally Wednesday, the battalion commander meets with friends and family members at their unit to discuss your soldier’s recent experiences and answer your questions. You will also meet the drill sergeants that trained your soldier and observe some demonstrations of soldier skills. Most importantly, you will meet with your soldier.

That afternoon graduating soldiers with visiting adult family members (spouse, parents, grandparents or legal guardians) may receive an on-post pass on Family Day and following graduation until a time determined by the chain of command. While on pass soldiers must remain in uniform and are not allowed to drive vehicles, drink any form of alcoholic beverages or use any tobacco products.

Graduation Day

Graduation is the following day, usually on Thursday at Pomeroy Field. The ceremony is at 10:00 a.m. from October through March and 09:00 a.m. from April through September. In case of inclement weather, the ceremony will take place at the Regimental Chapel and the time schedule may change to accommodate more than one ceremony.

Day After Graduation

The day after graduation soldiers will usually not be allowed to go on pass. This day is designated as a travel day for their follow on Advance Individual Training (AIT).

Thank you so much for all the help. I have been trying to find this information, and I could not find it anywhere. I really appreciate the effort.

Several people here can also help with 'things to do' if you decide to visit Benning for graduation.

Where is your home of record?
Sometimes it is easier to drive to Benning than fly. Especially if you have a housefull of kids.

There is also a spouses forum on these discussion boards.
A lot of experience there with the regulars.
They can answer a lot of your questions and just talk if you need too.

Well, I am in east Tx so flying would probably be simpler..lol. I have been looking for a place online where people would understand the military life. Where I am at, there is absolutely no military. So, I am stuck with questions and noone to ask them to. When he left, I kinda thought it would be like when he was in the Marines and he would atleast be able to call...lol. I guess I just need to get used to the Army now.

He is only restricted while in training.
They use phone calls home as a motivator.
Once he is out of training, things will be a whole lot different.

By training do you mean basic??? I thought he didnt have to do basic again... His orders showed only 7 weeks and 4 days, what should I expect after that?

If it helps you out at all in the driving vs flying decision. From Plano, TX (North of Dallas) it's approx 6 hours driving time to Jackson, Mississippi. 10 hours to Pensacola, FL

So, You figure another hour to get out of Mississppi and 2 for crossing Alabama.

Probably be approx 10-11 hours driving to Ft. Benning, GA. less if your in far East Texas. If you fly in, fly into Atlanta and it's pretty easy to find Ft. Benning from there using road maps in a rental car.

Make your reservations early at Columbus area hotels and stay North of Exit 6 on the main Freeway to Columbus from Atlanta. On your way back if he flys with you in Atlanta they will escort you past the TSA checkpoint, you don't have to be searched. If he is Regular Army he is probably not flying back with you unless he takes leave. He should know the date for Family Day about week 6-7 I would guess, I only got 2-3 weeks advance notice when my Nephew went through. Graduation Date he should know by Family Day.

Each OSUT Company is different but generally they will give him a weekend pass for Family Day (starts Friday afternoon ends Sunday afternoon). Another for after graduation. Starts Friday afternoon ends Saturday afternoon....I think, not sure.

He will be able to call you about week 3-4 of his training. They isolate them from friends and family for the first 3-4 weeks while they apply the psych stress, head games, initial discipline, etc. (thats why the communication is cutoff). They want to find out who can't handle stress or simple instructions before they issue the rifles and live ammo, in short who can adapt (thats the main reason...safety). They do this for initial entry Soldiers only. Prior Service surprises me that they are doing this if he was in Marines but every OSUT class is different, my guess is they might not have wanted to differentiate.

When he calls he will fill you in on a mailing address, mailing procedures, contact info, etc.

They could have put him in the "AIT" phase of OSUT, right after the others got done with their 36-hour pass. If that's the case, he's probably in a very strict company. Regardless, he has mail priveledges at all times.