Thank God I chose the Air Force. It was my home for over 5 years. 1962-1968.

When I went to Air Force Basic Training in May 1973, on the night of our arrival they showed us an outdated film of what Basic was "going to be like" while we were there. Weeks later, about two-thirds of the way through our 30 days of training, they hustled all fifty of us and the guys in the Flight next door out for PT early. Soon after getting in PT formation out on the drill pad, a film crew showed up and the TI informed us they were making an updated version of the film we had previously seen. With his hands on his hips and a scowl on his face, he hissed at us, " I don't know WHY they picked YOU PEOPLE, but I had better NOT see a smile on ANYONE'S face when they are filming you!!!" When I spotted this video I was sort of hoping that it would have been that film!

That was great. My husband was in the Air Force from 1972 to 77. It was a great foundation in a future IT career. Those were wonderful years for us as we were newlyweds and lived at Lackland, and then shipped out away from all our friends. Thankfully, Facebook brought us all back in communication 30+ years later. About fifty years have come and gone, and we are both so thankful for the great life we had through the Air Force.

Went through Lackland November-December 1977. TSgt Hinkle and SSgt Timmons. Best decision of my life.

Spent 1967-1971 throughout Asia: Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan. Wonderful experience. Bought our first house thanks to a VA loan.

I went through summer of 1974. I was in the 3703 BMT. Only a few things in the film were accurate as I remember. They ran the dog out of us. Three guys in my squadron died in one week from heat stroke while running on the PT pad. They were all from far northern states and couldn't adapt to the heat and humidity at Lackland. I was lucky as I lived about 200 miles North of San Antonio. Hard times for a lot of guys. I had to wait for my top secret clearance to be done and I got to spend some time in the old wooden WWII barracks. We got to paint curbs, mow grass, move furniture, etc. I was glad that I was there only two weeks. I did one tour active duty and over 25 years in the guard. 29 years and three months in uniform. I loved every bit of it. I entered as an E-1 and retired as an O-5. I miss all the good times with good friends. JJ Golliday

I was at Lackland 20 Feb thru 2 Apr 1970. Opeing tune, "I've Got a Song" is based on Jim Croce's 1973 hit "I've Got a Name." I served at RAF Chicksands, Bedfordshire England that entire year. (The soundtrack music overpowers the speaking.).

Hey, I never had any Base liberty like what is shown in the movie here. Never saw go-carts, pool tables, PacMan games, or inside "clubs." I was at Lackland in 1979. All I remember getting to do during free time was hanging out on "the pad" (paved area under a building) in a co-ed group. In the evening we stayed in the barracks (I think we called it a dorm, though) and watched TV but had to go to bed at 8 or 9 pm. Towards the end of our time in basic, when we were wearing dress blues, we did go out one Saturday and see the ritzy parts of San Antonio on a bus tour and then walked around downtown a bit (I remember seeing the Aztec Theater lobby) before taking a public bus back to Base. Someone on the bus asked if my friend and I worked for the Post Office, because of our blue uniforms. I can't believe they didn't recognize Air Force attire so they must have been teasing us.

Thanks for sharing. I went through BMTS in 1978, this is the exact program I went through. I even recognized some of the instructors!

3701st BMT Squadron FLT 458 1June 1978. Great way to start off!

I was there in 1978. We used M16's retro fitted to shoot .22lr for rifle qualification. And Smith & Wesson Model 10 .38special revolvers for handgun qualification. Only ribbon I received in my short AF career was for Marksmanship. I had a bad experience in the AF. Which would be a long story. But they let me out(Honorable Discharge) after serving just 2 years.

Hasnt changed all that much! I graduated 2 weeks ago.. much of this is still in place to this day.

3706 BMTS Jan 1974. I was in the old 2 story wooden barracks. That was a lifetime ago!

This is the same video I watched at the recruiting station in San Diego back in Feb 1979. Thanks a bunch fir the memories! Go Air Force. Aim High!

I went in May 16th 1966...Flight 1015. Then Went to Lowry AFB in Colorado the Munitions Tech School. Then back to Lackland as Permanent Party for a year. Then off to Cam Ranh Bay Viet Nam for a year. Then Off to Hill AFB In Ogden Utah until I got Discharged in March of 1970.

The background music broke my ears!

First training base after basic when bus arrives at squadron in 1970: "ping, ping,ping ,ping" by your seniors. That was the supersonic sound of hair growing back out.

I I went through basic training in 1980. 3723 BMTS Flight 374. SSgt Quigly and Sgt Smiley.This brought back some memories. Retired in 2003

What a great experience!

BMTS 3707 Flight 067 (as close as I can remember) January 17, 1977 to February 1, 1997 retired E-5…best times ever!

I was there. Oct 8 1974. I recommend it today to anyone that wants to get started in a good job/career. Even to my own kids I recommend the US Air Force.

3709 BMTS (December 17,1982-January3,1983)Flight 600. Had to come out on Jan. 3; long story short, lost my nerve, ashamed to admit that, but, here at 59, if I could do it over, I'd be more determined than ever to break that major obstacle in my life, and make my Mom and Dad in Heaven proud.

I served from 77 to 95. Went through basic in Feb-Mar 1977. This brought back a lot of memories and things i had not thought of in years. The TI's are a lot quieter here than in my squadron. chuckling at the memories. I don't remember my squadron or my flight, something i thought i would never forget. I do remember those metal heel taps, that I will never forget. I remember we called ourselves The Black Sheep Squadron after a popular tv show at the time.

. August 1979. Hot, Humid . Flight 183. 3723'rd BMTS. I was 21 years old. I wish i could go through that again. Last of the baby boomer's.

Was at basic training at Lackland September - November 1972. Don’t remember it being this simple. Never sat on the floor like some of these guys did. Was in the newer barracks for the time. Building 3701. Right down at the end. Ended up staying at Lackland through to August 1973. Crypto school. Loved it.

The Academic Instructor was one of mine...TSgt Quick...in April 1972. Gateway was one of the mandatory films that were shown to recruits prior to going active duty...and this particular one I showed 1982-86.

Sept 29 1976. Funny how I remember the exact date. Dorm was right across the street from the PX.

Feb 69 did my basic training (Flt 0308). Stayed in two story white barracks, as first shown, but all double bunk beds, no singles. Training instructors were much louder and always wore fatigues, never blues, just like the rest of us.

Graduated from Lackland in Jan. 1970.

I was in the old dorms with foot lockers instead of the wall units (1975),

Was at Lackland for BMT from Sep to Oct 1997. Sq 321, Flight 484. Video is ancient here…lol….but good. We were in the same barracks. Lol

This had to have been made sometime after April 1976. At 5:17 he is showing the Honor Graduate certificate (and ribbon) which was first authorized in April 1976. I was in 3703 BMTS starting on 7-Aug-1972.

Was there 6 Aug - 17 Sep 1971. Don't remember my Squadron or Flight numbers. Was in the old wooden WWII buildings. They only had about 4 of newer barracks with AC at the time.

Air Force boot camp 18 Nov 69 to 5 Jan 70 . Flt 1820 . Tsgt Garvin was a good TI . Tsgt Miller was a grouch . Christmas Day they let us sleep in till 7 , but we didn’t get morning chow . I stayed in the old barracks. Not the new dorms . Didn’t go home after basic , went straight to tech school in Denver, Lowry AFB .

Basic training 1970 1994 retired no problem love it

Definetly made me a better person and was very proud to serve 72-76

I was at Lackland spring 1974 . Coming up on 50 years 😮

I went in the Air Force on 30 June, 1977 and retired in August 2007, combination of active duty and reserves, I wish I had done 20 years of active duty but no regets. I'd do it again.

Man those fatigues are cool. Wish they were still around when i went through...

I went through basic at Lackland in 2003 and other than the utility uniforms (BDUs) there were very few changes from this film. Same procedures, same dorms, same TI speeches, same classrooms and dining halls, not too many differences. It’s interesting how little changed at basic between the 70s and early 2000s.

It’s been almost a year and 1/2 since my Dad passed, who went to basic training 50 yrs ago today…watching this brought tears to my eyes as I recall how proud he was at my Marine Corps graduation on Parris Island, where I received the Company High Shooter Award. He’d taught me to shoot when I was a kid, and my mom still talks about that day being the only other time she ever saw him shed a tear, other than the birth of each of us kids. My God I miss him so much 😖 But it’s pretty cool to get a glimpse into what would’ve been his world 50 yrs ago

I was there in 79. Funny how they leave out the yelling and screaming.

3752nd BMTS, Flight 941, SSGT John Klopfer as DI. June 1969 or thereabouts. I did my four years, flew 1000 hours as a combat aircrew member on the Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center during the Vietnam War. Great experience over all.

I actually remember parts of this video. I'm sure it's the one my recruiter showed me in 1977 before I joined on the Delayed Entry Program...

I went to BMT in the mid '70s, and I got a chuckle out of this film. Some comments here say their recruiter or someone showed them this film prior to going off to BMT or soon after arrival, but this is the first time I'd ever seen this highly sanitized production. Our arrival was not like the film at all. We departed the airport on the big blue bus about sundown, and by the time we got to LAFB, passed through reception, in-processing, they fed us, and we arrived on the pad behind our BMTS (3708), it was around midnight. The non campaign hat-wearing NCOs who herded us through in-processing were gruff but not too awful, and as we laughed about later, we were all thinking hey, these people aren't so bad. Ha. Those guys were admin, not TI's. The bus dropped us off on the drill pad around midnight, closed the door, and pulled away with the semi-friendly in-processing NCO on board. Just as I would have been, he was probably laughing his ass off as the bus drove away and left us standing there alone in the dark, wondering what was going on. We were about to abruptly meet our TI's, and they were not happy to see us. The grand performance (a farce minus the comedy) was about to begin. For some odd reason (hmmm), the film doesn't show any of the standard or more creative shenanigans that went on that night. Those shenanigans included putting a long-haired, mirrored sunglass-wearing fake recruit in with us somewhere during in-processing. As we much later surmised, his job that night was to be the slowest to do everything so the TI's could chew on him constantly while the arrogant smirk never left his his face. In spite of the yelling in his ears (one TI on each side) he failed to move any quicker, which made the yelling worse. Ultimately, at just the right time for dramatic effect, came the show's grand finale. The smirking fake recruit got his smirking ass (fake) curb stomped by the TI's right in front of us and was bodily ejected from the barracks. We didn't start suspecting we had been played until much later in BMT, but we were never 100% sure. It was a clever bit of theater that did exactly what it was intended to do - put the fear of God in us right from the start. I guarantee you that none of us wanted to be last to do anything after that. After a couple hours of running, yelling, "pick 'em up put 'em down", standing in our tighty whities with our nose against our locker, and other assorted BS, we finally got to hit the racks about 2 am, but within about 30 seconds the lights came on again and they burst back in yelling at us to get out of those effing racks and fall out. Then we hit the racks again, lights out, and a minute later the lights came on again, get out of those effing racks, fall out, etc. Finally, about the third time we hit the racks the lights didn't come back on, but of course our stress level was through the roof expecting it to happen again any second. Reveille was less than four hours later. Getting all of that on film might not have done wonders for recruiting, but it would have been far more entertaining. It was difficult to see the method to the madness at the time, however BMT and the AF of that era in general was a great experience. We were forced to grow up and get our minds right "most riki-tik". If you had told me in BMT or even in my first full year how long I would stay in the military, I would have said you're out of your mind.

76, The class room footage is spot on. They were training support personnel not fighting soldiers.

May of 66. Stayed in the newer barracks that were airconditioned. I'm sure this pissed off the recruits in the older 2 story barracks. It was easier than I thought it would be but was glad to get my tech school assignment

Arrived at Lackland AFB July 1988. Got to the base about 01:30 hrs and didn't hit the rack til 03:30!! 3701st. Hot the whole time there for 6 weeks but will never forget it

I was there June-July 1976. 3708 BMTS, flt 590. This film seems to line up for the time I was there. I ended up AF civil service after my 4 active duty. Also completed 30 years military in the Guard and Reserve. Damn it was hot in the summer, so glad I joined the AF.

My late father was at Lackland May 73 Sq 3724 flt 398

October 1974, Squadron 3704, Flight 1160; SSgt Williams, TSgt Voss. 21 years - Minuteman ICBM, Ground Launched Cruise Missile, and treaty inspector in the former Soviet Union.

I was at Lackland 24 Oct 1972 for about 8 to 9 weeks. All I remember is getting screamed at a lot and the first word out of your mouth was sir. The hardest part was sewing my pants up. I'd never sewed anything in my life.

September 1977, 3706 BMTS, Tsgt. Michael Furey. "You'll forget your mother's name before you forget mine." I miss my mom, good old what's-her-name.

You were lucky and were assigned to good places. My first assignment in 1970 was one year at Da Nang Air Base, in VietNam. It had the nickname of "Rocket City", as the VC or NVAs' frequently sent rockets onto the base.

I was sent to Lackland AFB in 1970.

Give me a 341!

right after high school i went enlisted in Air force I learned more after High school than after.

This was the one the recruiter showed me Was there in 06 September 1979 3709 BMTS Flt 299

I love this film ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Enlisted in the air force sept 29 1966.sqiqrdon 3707 flight 2144.sargent Crofton senior di and airman 1st class ming's my assistant di. 56 yrs later and I still check my gig line.

Flt 1376 November 1970. We got the privilege of being there for Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve,Christmas, New Year's Eve, New Year and I think they still had Presidents day in January. None of those days counted as training days. The longest basic training for any flight. Got picked out of rainbow flight and assigned the most important job, Fire Warden. I'm the only one that didn't lose my job. I am thankful I had a TI that taught us how to take care of ourselves. I feel sorry for these poor Russian troops that have no idea what is going on and don't live long enough to find out.

Went through the gates of Lackland AFB the 20th of may 75. It was 1am in the morning. Boy was it humid. Got to bed at 5am and woke right back up in thirty mins. lol

I went through boot camp in spring of 1971. I can honestly say the only females i remember seeing were the the civilian ladies who cleaned our uniforms. I never saw a female Air Force recruit.

12 feb 1974. It was a blink of a eye.

Best days in basic were the confidence course and wet fire. Worst thing, as far as I was concerned, was having to be chow runner. However, I never had KP because I was chow runner, so it probably balanced out. I was one of the smaller women in my flight, but during the GI parties I ran the giant floor buffer. It needed someone to cooperate with it, not muscle.

I went to Lackland in 2003. This is obviously ancient...

This is the most violently disturbing music to listen to

Thank you❤ junior john shipman🎉

Memories March of 73

First and foremost, the music is absolutely, horrendously terrible. Now to my remarks. I enlisted in the USAF in July 1965. What is shown here is not at all how it was at that time. It would appear basic training had changed somewhat by the time this video was made.

BMTS 3723/FLT035 basic training Jan-Feb ‘83👍👍

It was NOTHING like this. The M16-A1s we shot looked like they had been used as tent pegs and shot like crap

Thats the same video I watched back in 1983.

I was at BMTS in 77. I felt silly saluting plywood officers.

I'm guessing the recruits were beginning to miss their folks by the time the plane that they were on landed at the airport. They probably wanted to be in the loving arms of their moms and their dads rather than sleep and stay at a perplexing and companionless place that was far away from where they grew up. That's why I'm never joining the flying corps, it's all too much for me. I mean, staying in a dorm room doesn't sound that eerie, but to me, it's terrifying.

This does not look like the Lackland basic that I went through in 1965, old barracks , screaming D.I.'s, and no sleep.

February 24 1975 for me!

USAF 69 to 73.

Aug.13 1979. 3702 Flight 188.

1970 - 1974 Security Police

What Air Force was this guy in, absent is yelling and physical abuse.

I have a roster with pictures of the men from 1960s lackland air force base squ# 3709

I laughed at the way they made it look like the TI's were nice. They yell at you a lot more in real-life Basic Training, and you say "SIR, YES SIR" and not YES SIR as in this video. The DREAM SHEET and the moral story was a joke. They want to see where you want to go so they can send you far from there. I put in for the East Coast and the West Coast and got Lubbock Texas. Go figure. Moral my ass.

Shame the video is so bad.

1-966 BASIC TRAINING NO PROBLEMS 1966-1974 SGT R. S. BUTLER

Rainbow rainbow don't be blue you'll be green in a day or two!

Wait... Women in the military? Whaaaaaaat??????