SSG Chavez puts it best: "I went from a boy to a man in a matter of two months." That's what Basic Combat Training (BCT) can do for a Soldier. But BCT is only the primer. During Advanced Individual Training (AIT) at the Air Defense Artillery School, SSG Chavez had to rely more on his mental strength to learn the technical skills of his Army job: Patriot Operator and Maintainer.

"I went to Basic Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Basic Training was pretty much the roughest time of my life, I have to say. But at the same time the most rewarding.

I was pushed to my limits, both physically and mentally, and I came out successful. I went from a boy to a man in a matter of two months.

Army training is designed so that it's a step-by-step method. The first step was Basic Training, learning how to become a Soldier. Basic Training gave me the foundation to start building up all of my experiences and all of my knowledge.

When I went through AIT, in the 14E course as a Patriot Operator and Maintainer, I learned how to protect the skies over not only the Soldiers that are in the forward units, but the innocent civilians that happen to be around these Soldiers.

In AIT, it's more mental than it is physical. The instructors there throw a lot of information out at you. You learn how to bring up launchers, how to shoot missiles. We learned how to fix anything that might break inside of the engagement control station.

I never really thought that I could absorb that much information in such a short period of time. You will never stop learning. That's one of the things that I like about the Army. Eight years into my Army career I'm an instructor, and I'm still learning stuff on a daily basis."