The Future Soldier Preparatory Course

The Army launched the Future Soldier Preparatory Course in August of 2022. This innovative new program was initially done as an experiment to help young men and women qualify both physically and academically for service in the United States Army.

The Future Soldier Preparatory Course: Academic Track

The preparatory course consists of two tracks — fitness and academic. The academic track focuses on improving word knowledge, reading comprehension, arithmetic reasoning and test-taking skills. The goal of the preparatory course’s academic track is to help students improve their Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery, or ASVAB, scores.

The Future Soldier Preparatory Course: Fitness Track

In the fitness track, students are educated on the five holistic health and fitness readiness domains — physical, mental, nutrition, sleep and spiritual readiness. The goal of this track is to help students meet the Army’s enlistment body fat composition standards.

Recruits can participate in a single track or both based on their personal needs.

Both the academic and fitness track have a 95% graduation rate over the first year of the program. Students in the preparatory academic track increase their ASVAB scores by an average of 18.5 points. While students in the Future Soldier Preparatory Course fitness track lose an average of 1.7% of body fat per week.

Thousands of men and women have completed the Future Soldier Preparatory Course and successfully moved on to Basic Combat or One Station Unit Training. As a result of the success of this program, what was once an experiment is now a permanent fixture in the Army’s training operations.

Sending Mail to Trainees in the Preparatory Course

There are two units at Fort Jackson that manage Trainees for the Preparatory Course. You will need to receive their address for which unit they are in to be able to write them. Here is an example of how to format the address for your Trainee in the Preparatory Course.

PVT Smith, John
__ CO, __ PLT, 1-61st IN BN
11907 Golden Arrow Blvd
FORT JACKSON, SC 29207

PVT Smith, John
__CO, __ PLT, 2-39th IN BN
10400 Hampton Pkwy
FORT JACKSON, SC 29207

Note: You will need to know the company and platoon. The company (CO) will be either A, B, C, D, or E. The platoon (PLT) will be 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th.

Once your Trainee completes the preparatory course, they will ship off to start their Basic Training or One Station Unit Training journey. Many will have the opportunity to pick a MOS and may even change bases to start their training journey after completion of the preparatory course.

Regardless of where they are in their journey, you can stay in touch with your trainee by writing letters with Sandboxx. Simply download the Sandboxx app and add your trainee’s address, Sandboxx takes care of the rest. Please remember, when your trainee finishes the Future Soldier Preparatory Course, their address will change. You can update their address in the Sandboxx app, or contact our Customer Happiness team via email at happiness@sandboxx.us.

Sandboxx Community: During and After the Preparatory Course

While your Trainee is in the Future Soldier Preparatory Course at Ft. Jackson, you are encouraged to join the Ft. Jackson Community! Located in the Sandboxx app, this is the best way to connect with other families, friends, and supporters of future Soldiers at Ft. Jackson, find valuable information about training and activity, and experience real-time updates from others in your shoes.

Whether you are new to military life or a seasoned vet, there is something for everyone in the Sandboxx Community.

Once your Trainee graduates the Future Soldier Preparatory Course, there is a chance that they will change bases for Basic Training to Ft. Leonard Wood, Ft. Benning, or Ft. Sill. If your future Soldier changes bases, please contact our Customer Happiness team to update your Sandboxx Community access via email at happiness@sandboxx.us.