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Army Basic Training Locations 2024 | By MOS & Females

Army Basic Training Locations
Army Basic Training Locations

An Army Basic Training location is a military base where new army recruits go to complete Basic Combat Training (BCT), the first stage of the US Army Training.

You’re considering joining the United States Army, knowing you must undergo basic training. You want to know where you might go for Army basic training.

In today’s post, I’ll cover locations to do army basic training while also diving into how they determine where you will go so you can get an idea of where you might go for your training. 

Let’s start with the Army’s basic training locations. 

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Army Boot Camp Locations for 2024

There are four locations in the United States where the Army conducts basic combat training (BCT). These locations are:

  • Fort Benning, Georgia
  • Fort Jackson, South Carolina
  • Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
  • Fort Sill, Oklahoma

These basic training locations have both male and female recruits.

What about Fort Knox? Well, that no longer has army basic training. It’s just dwindled down to these four locations. 

Army Basic Training Locations
Army Basic Training Locations

Here are some quick facts about each Army Basic Training location:

Fort Benning, Georgia

  • One Station Unit Training (OSUT) for Infantry and Armor branches
  • Hosts the US Army Airborne School, Sniper School, and Ranger School.
  • Climate: hot & humid summers, mild & short winters

Fort Jackson, South Carolina

  • Largest and most active initial entry Training center in US Army
  • Trains more than 50% of all soldiers and nearly 60% of Female Soldiers
  • Climate: humid subtropical climate with mild winters & hot, humid summers

Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

  • Home to the Maneuver Support Center of Excellence Motto.
  • OSUT for Military Police, Engineer, and Chemical Corps
  • Climate: humid continental climate with cold winters and hot, humid summers

Fort Sill, Oklahoma

  • Home to the US Army Field Artillery School & US Army Air Defense Artillery School
  • It’s the only Active Army installation equipped for joint forces artillery missions
  • Climate: humid subtropical climate with hot, humid summers and mild to cold winters

Army Basic Locations Summary Table

Training LocationSpecializationsNotable FeaturesClimate
Fort Benning, GeorgiaInfantry, ArmorAirborne School, Sniper School, and Ranger SchoolHot or humid summers, mild or short winters
Fort Jackson, South CarolinaVariousLargest initial entry Training centerHot or humid summers, mild winters
Fort Leonard Wood, MissouriMilitary Police, Engineers,
and Chemical Corps		Maneuver Support Center of ExcellenceHot or humid summers, cold winters
Fort Sill, OklahomaField Artillery, Air Defense ArtilleryOnly active installations for joint forces artilleryHot or humid summers, mild or cold winters

What makes these Army Basic Training Locations unique?

All of these army basic training locations have the same length: 10 weeks of basic training. However, Fort Jackson is often considered the easiest, mainly because it is reputed to have a more relaxed atmosphere.

The Army has the same standards at each location. It may vary slightly based on how strict the drill sergeants are and how crazy they act during a specific class cycle. But for the most part, the training is the same at every location. 

None of these locations are necessarily harder or easier. Instead, it varies based on how those drill sergeants are during a specific class. 

You will hear various stories from different soldiers about their experiences at different locations. Still, each experience is unique to each person, and the standards are the same across the board.

Which Basic Training location will you be assigned to?

So now, if you’re trying to figure out where you might go for army basic training, there are a few ways to figure that out, especially if you’ll do OSUT (One Station Unit Training), as that has a dedicated location. 

  • If you want to be an 11X, an 11 Bravo, or an 11 Charlie,  you will go to Fort Benning.
  • A tanker MOS, 19K, also falls into this category.
  • Military Police train at Fort Leonard Wood,

If you know your MOS, which involves OSUT (One Station Unit Training), you can easily predict your training location.

Other MOSs, such as 88 Mike, 68 Whiskey, etc., don’t have a dedicated location for basic training.

They have a dedicated location for their AIT, which is the advanced individual training they’ll go to after basic training, but their basic training location could still vary. 

If you’re in that boat, the Army usually tries to figure out how to get you to the same location as your AIT. That’s not always the case, but that’s often what they’re trying to aim for. 

If the Army cannot do that, they will ship you off to your AIT location, which is what I did because I went to basic training at Fort Benning. Then, after I graduated, they put me on a plane and sent me over to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, to start AIT. 

But there were many people I remember seeing in AIT who started off with basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, and then once they were done with basic training, they walked across the street and started AIT.

So that’s usually what the Army will try to do. You might do basic training there if your AIT is at Fort Leonard Wood.

Suppose your AIT is at a location that does not have basic training. In that case, it’s hard to predict where you will go.

Female Army Basic Training Locations

Suppose your AIT is at a location that does not have basic training. In that case, it’s hard to predict where you will go.

Also, it’s probably important to mention that if you’re a female wanting to join the Army and trying to figure out where you might go to basic training, Fort Benning is not one of the ones that do integrated female training unless you will be there for OSUT. 

Here are some of the MOSs that typically undergo OSUT and their respective training locations:

  1. Fort Benning, Georgia
    • 11B (Infantryman)
    • 11C (Indirect Fire Infantryman)
    • 19D (Cavalry Scout)
    • 19K (Armor Crewman)
  2. Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri
    • 31B (Military Police)
    • 12B (Combat Engineer)
  3. Fort Sill, Oklahoma
    • 13B (Cannon Crewmember)
    • 13F (Fire Support Specialist)
  4. Fort Eustis, Virginia
    • 15 series MOS (Aviation-related MOS)
  5. Fort Huachuca, Arizona
    • 35F (Intelligence Analyst)

If you’re going there to be an 11 Bravo, an 11 Charlie, or an 11 X contract, you’ll still go to Fort Benning because females can join those MOSs. 

But if you are enlisted for MOS, such as 88 Mike or 68 Whiskey, which do not include OSUT, then you will not go to Fort Benning, as they do not do integrated male and female training for that specific case, but they do at the other locations. 

Can you request a Training location?

Just in case you’re wondering, can I request where to go? No, it’s not something you can do. 

As I said, there are a lot of logistics involved, and they will try to make it as cheap as possible.

It saves the army money if they send you to a location where you can do your basic training and AIT.

If they don’t have to get you a flight to send you off to AIT, they’ll get you a bus. They can keep you at one location, which saves money. But it’s not always available. 

If that basic training is already full, they will have to stick you somewhere else and then ensure you get off to your right AIT from there. 

There is no exact way unless you’re doing OSUT. For all other scenarios, it primarily depends on availability. 

Conclusion

So, if you’re reading this article and are currently in the Army or a veteran, I want to hear in the comments section where you went to basic training and where you went to AIT.

If you’re interested in joining the Army but haven’t signed up yet, I’d love to hear where you hope to go. Also, where is the location where you would like to attend Army basic training?

Please leave that in the comments section below as well. If you don’t fall into any of those categories, maybe you’re not sure about joining the Army yet, you’re not in the military, or you’re just curious about it. 

I want to hear your most creative suggestions for new names for army basic training locations and installations.

George N.
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