Hooah!! Welcome back for your Week TEN update. CONGRATULATIONS! 

The day you have been waiting so long for has finally arrived! Your Soldier has successfully navigated the rigors of Basic Combat Training (BCT). BCT is designed to lay a strong foundation for your Soldier. They will draw upon the lessons and instruction they have received here for the rest of their Army career. Now they are ready and prepared for any challenge that comes their way. 

WEEK TEN EXPECTATIONS

In their last week in Fort Jackson, Soldiers will have a great deal of independence in comparison to the weeks prior. Your Soldier will spend their final week cleaning their equipment and preparing for the graduation ceremony by conducting drill and ceremonies training and final uniform, barracks, and lay-out inspections. Soon enough, Family Day and the graduation ceremony will be here!

FAMILY DAY

The first major event of the graduation celebrations will be Family Day. Family Day will occur the day before your Soldier’s graduation. Be sure you get out the door early. It can get very congested with traffic. There will be hundreds of families coming for Family Day.  

There will be a ceremony first thing that morning. The ceremony will last roughly an hour. After the ceremony is over your Soldier will be released to you to spend the day on Fort Jackson. They will not be allowed to leave the base. 

There are plenty of things to do on Fort Jackson during the day. One of the first things your Soldier will want to do is visit the main Post Exchange (PX). The PX is a one-spot shopping store that sells merchandise ranging from clothes, shoes, perfume, to toys.

Once you are done visiting the PX, try to take in some of the sights on Fort Jackson. There is a Basic Training Museum, a bowling alley, and a movie theater. Please visit the Fort Jackson website for more information on the accommodations on the base.

Remember, your Soldier will have to be back in the barracks before 2000 hours, that’s 8 o’clock. They will need to prepare for the big day.

GRADUATION

The day is finally here, Basic Training Graduation. Get your tissues ready, there won’t be a dry eye in the stands. The graduation ceremony usually starts at 0900 hours in the morning. Make sure you plan ahead and leave early. The graduation ceremony will take approximately 1 hour. This can vary depending on how many Soldiers are graduating this cycle.  

Once your Soldier has graduated, they will be granted an off-post pass for the day. They will be allowed to go out on the town and spend some time with you away from the base. I am sure they will have some food they have been craving or are looking forward to relaxing on a couch for a little bit. They have surely earned the opportunity to kick back and relax a little bit.

Make sure you verify with their leadership what time they have to be back on base in the barracks for the night. They will probably depart for their Advanced Individual Training (AIT) the very next day.

THE MAKING OF YOUR SOLDIER

On behalf of all of us at Sandboxx, congratulations! We’re honored to have been a part of your journey, and are so excited to welcome you all into the military community.

If you can’t make it to graduation, there is still time to send your Soldier a final letter congratulating them on this incredible accomplishment, plus you can include an AAFES gift card as a last minute graduation gift. 

You can always find me via chat in the Sandboxx app or happiness@sandboxx.us — just ask for Kris, and myself or another teammate will get back to you as soon as we can.

Hooah!

SGM Kris Broadus, U.S. Army (Ret)