Listen Up! Before you enter the U.S. Army’s Basic Combat Training Museum, you need to know one thing—they don’t sugarcoat it for you.
From your first step inside the exhibit hall, to your last step out the door, you are hustled along by holographic drill sergeants who are every bit as tough on museum guests as they are on their soldiers.
“It’s meant to put visitors in the field and experience what our new recruits must feel each day,” says curator Henry Howe. “They bark orders at you just like they would a real recruit. These are actual drill sergeants who agreed to be videotaped.”
In fact, says Howe, about the only difference between the museum boot camp experience and the real thing is “we don’t make you do push-ups.”
Located on the grounds of Fort Jackson in Columbia, the 7,500-square-foot museum covers the evolution of U.S. Army training from World War I to today, by recreating the 10-week basic training regimen currently used to turn civilians into combat-ready soldiers.
“Basic Combat Training is divided into three phases: the Red, White and Blue,” Howe says. The Red Phase covers hand-to-hand combat. In the White Phase, soldiers learn to operate M16 rifles and undergo intense physical training. In the Blue Phase, the recruits apply everything they’ve learned by participating in field exercises.
The galleries of the museum are organized to follow the same Red, White and Blue phases of training, each introduced by a different drill sergeant. Throughout the self-guided tour, visitors will witness impressive displays of military gear and experience how training methods have— and haven’t—changed since 1917. The museum also features displays on recruitment, barracks life, the history of Fort Jackson, military heroes and the Army’s Advanced Individual Training programs.
Since re-opening in August of 2011 after a two-year renovation, the state-of-the-art facility has drawn approximately 55,000 visitors—many of them the family members of recruits graduating from real basic training at Fort Jackson. The base is the U.S. Army’s largest initial training post, and is responsible for producing 50 percent of all new soldiers who enter the service each year.
The museum, which is free and open to the public, allows graduating soldiers an opportunity to show their loved ones the rigors of military service, Howe says.
“Every man and woman who survives Army basic training has a story to tell,” he says. “We give you a lot of insight into how difficult that transition from civilian to soldier can be.”
_____
Get There
The U.S. Army Basic Combat Training Museum is located in Building 4442, Jackson Boulevard, on the grounds of Fort Jackson in Columbia. The visitor entrance to the base is on Forest Drive, off Exit 12 from Interstate 77.
Visitors will be asked to show a photo ID, car registration and proof of auto insurance at the gate. After entering, turn right at the second light onto Jackson Boulevard. The museum is located across the street from Post Headquarters.
Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday–Friday; 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Family Day (when recruits graduate). Closed weekends and federal holidays.
Admission: Free.
Details: (803) 751-7419 or visit Fort Jackson's website.