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Why do the Army Reserve Soldiers work so hard to keep their skills sharp? Because the Army depends on them to perform their jobs during actual missions. Watch the Soldiers of the 143rd Transportation Command put their skills to the test in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Photo of Reserve Soldiers during Unit Training

BECOME SOMEONE EXTRAORDINARY. BECOME ARMY STRONG.

Your first six months in the Army Reserve will prepare you to become something extraordinary'a Soldier. In nine weeks of Basic Combat Training (BCT), you'll learn the skills and values you'll need to become a Soldier. Next, you'll attend Advanced Individual Training (AIT), where you'll become an expert at your Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). Most Soldiers complete AIT in fewer than nine weeks. Both BCT and AIT are full time.

After BCT and AIT, you'll return to your family and life as a civilian, but still you'll keep your Soldiering skills sharp. You'll spend one weekend a month at an Army Reserve Unit Training Assembly at your local Army Reserve Center. And once a year, you'll be put to the test in an intense, two-week Field Training Exercise (FTX).

Army Reserve Unit Training

Field Training Exercises (FTX)

Army Reserve Soldiers keep their skills sharp during Army Reserve Unit Training Assemblies like these.

	MILITARY POLICE UNIT TRAINING Watch the 327th Military Police Battalion from Arlington Heights, IL practice fingerprinting and other advanced policing skills.
	HELICOPTER GUNNERY UNIT TRAINING Watch CH-47 Chinook Helicopter units practice their shooting skills during Army Reserve Unit Training.

Once a year, Army Reserve Units participate in intense, two-week Field Training Exercises (FTX) like the ones below.

	BRIDGE CROSSING FTX (BRIDGE-X) Get inside an official Army bridge crossing FTX. Army Reserve and Active Duty units participate in this monster-sized exercise.
	BIOLOGICAL DETECTION FTX Check in with the Soldiers of the 375th Chemical Company as they monitor battlefield conditions and detect chemical or biological threats.