Chief Hospital Corpsman Jaime Kalaw, a recruit division commander at Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, disciplines a new recruit during “Night of Arrival” at the Navy’s only Boot Camp. US Navy photo by Austin Rooney.
In December 2021, the Navy announced that future sailors would experience a longer boot camp to better prepare them for naval life. On January 3, 2022, this change was put into effect. Navy recruits will now complete 10 weeks of boot camp compared to the old standard of eight weeks.
The additional two weeks of Basic Military Training at Recruit Training Command aboard Naval Station Great Lakes, Illinois, the Navy’s only boot camp, includes the new “Sailor for Life” module. Targeting the conversion of recruits from civilians to sailors, “Sailor for Life” is geared towards setting new sailors up for success in their lives after boot camp. “Identity transformation in eight weeks is a lot to ask,” Fleet Master Chief Wes Koshoffer told reporters. “We know that habit change, lifestyle change, developing toughness, resilience, forging character, are processes that take time … that two weeks really makes the difference.”
Following the established eight weeks of boot camp, recruits will become sailors but remain at Great Lakes to reinforce the lessons they learned in training. Sailors will be provided with additional resources and training focused on the fleet and their success in it. “Our ships, submarines, aircraft and other fleet units have got a lot on their plate and they do not have the time to do basic training,” Rear Adm. Jennifer Couture, Commander of Naval Service Training Command, said to reporters. “That’s my job to do basic training.”
Moreover, “Sailor for Life” also includes a life skills curriculum. It covers topics like sexual harassment and assault prevention training, suicide prevention training, anti-hazing training, organizational skills, financial management, and time management. Sailors will also be taught how to conduct a permanent change of station move, techniques for living aboard ship, and higher education opportunities available to them. This additional education aims to better equip sailors for the daily challenges of life in the Navy and provide them with the tools to be successful.
With the introduction of “Sailor for Life,” the Navy aims to enable the fleet with capable and adaptive sailors prepared for service and life. By teaching important skills at boot camp, the Navy allows leaders in the fleet to focus shipboard training on specific jobs rather than life lessons like not buying a car from the used car lot off base at 25% interest.
This article was originally published by We Are The Mighty. Read more by We Are The Mighty here.
Read Next:
Coffee or Die is Black Rifle Coffee Company’s online lifestyle magazine. Launched in June 2018, the magazine covers a variety of topics that generally focus on the people, places, or things that are interesting, entertaining, or informative to America’s coffee drinkers — often going to dangerous or austere locations to report those stories.
Nondice Thurman, a spokesperson for Fort Campbell, said Thursday morning that the deaths happened the previous night in southwestern Kentucky during a routine training mission.
Master Sgt. Richard Stayskal was diagnosed with lung cancer long after military doctors missed a tum...
After living in and reporting from Ukraine the last nine years, conflict journalist Nolan Peterson h...
With bandaged heads and splinted limbs, the wounded soldiers are stretchered into the waiting medica...
While it’s not the first time the U.S. and Iran have traded airstrikes in Syria, the attack and the ...
"The Gift" tells the story of the first Marine to receive the Medal of Honor after the Vietnam War. ...
The U.S. Navy's 7th Fleet said that a statement from China's Southern Theatre Command that it had fo...
For the first time, a team of (mostly) US veterans and active-duty service members will run in The S...
