Soldiers undergo new basic training

By Dave Moniz
USA Today

WASHINGTON — The Army is overhauling its basic training to help recruits survive the particular dangers of missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The changes add or beef up instruction on skills that include traveling in convoys and fighting in cities.

The program began last month and will be in use at all basic training installations by spring.

The changes are some of the biggest since the Vietnam War, says Col. William Gallagher, who helped devise them.

Army basic training is designed to transform civilians into fighters by teaching them to march, shoot rifles and kill the enemy. Every Army recruit attends basic training for a minimum of nine weeks.

Gallagher says soldiers must be ready to fight the moment they arrive overseas.

"When soldiers arrive in Baghdad ... they are immediately thrust into combat operations," he says. "They have to go in with a mindset that they will engage and kill the enemy on their first day in country."

The Army made similar changes to basic training during the Vietnam War. Recruits were taught how to avoid booby traps and how to search villages where Viet Cong guerrillas might be hiding.

Among the changes the Army is making:

• More weapons training. Recruits will be taught to fire weapons other than the M-16, the standard rifle for foot soldiers. New troops will learn how to fire other weapons, including a variety of machine guns.
• New training on how to identify and counter remote-controlled bombs known as IEDs, or improvised explosive devices. Those bombs have killed dozens of soldiers in Iraq.
• Convoy tactics. For the first time, recruits will ride in convoys and face simulated ambushes. They will learn how to place sandbags inside vehicles to protect against bombs, grenades and machine guns.
• Urban combat. Soldiers will learn tactics for fighting enemies who blend in with civilians.
• Increased first-aid training. Officials say it is important for all soldiers to have better lifesaving skills, because troops are traveling in smaller groups and can be ambushed without a medic or doctor nearby.

The added lessons will not lengthen basic training, but recruits will drill more frequently on Sundays, traditionally a light training day.