Best advice for basic training?

Keep your mouth shut, don't volunteer for anything, and do what is asked/told of you without question.

There are times and places for volunteering (such as you volunteering to join the Army) but Basic is NOT one of them.

With that said, good luck and let us know how Basic Training was once you complete it!

I would say basic training is your indoctrination to the Army. It's alot different from my BCT of 22yrs ago....the whole object of boot camp is to get the couch potato lifestyle out of you! I had a great Army career, it will be what you make of it! EMBRACE THE SUCK, take leadership positions such as squad leader and PG and DRINK WATER. Don't be around troublemakers and those who circumvent rules.

Best advice, when you get to your first duty station after BCT and AIT, don't let that unit be your outlook of the Army if the unit "seems bad" to you! Take re-enlistments a few years at a time and you'll be at 20years real quick! My whole career was a blur...and I'll be retiring next summer! Try to get overseas assignments so you can see the world in your spare time!

Honor the uniform, keep your mouth shut, do as you're told, pay attention to orders, details, be respectful, and above all, remember what your purpose is. You are gong to become a soldier. Aspire to be the very best. On a lighter note, be prepare for what awaits you. Ouch! But in the long wrong, it will be worth it. I salute you.

Just realize you signed a contract and commit to fulfilling said contract. Just be - listen, act, react, and absorb everything. Do not presume to already know - because you don't know, yet. Give your best effort and take pride in every little accomplishment. If you don't know, ask your squad leader first. Always follow chain of command. Your time will pass quickly and you'll be amazed at how much you've learned in such a short time. Be humble, be honest, and enjoy.

Start doing physical training now(your recruiter can get you started), start studying whatever the current basic training book is, especially the medical stuff(lots to memorize, again see your recruiter) and eat everything they put in front of you, even if you hate it(like spam, i hate spam but i ate it). It wont be easy. They want strong, motivated people. Believe in yourself. Thanks for your service.

Be humble work hard, Face your Fears, Live Your Dreams! If you run into leaders that are losers and less then what you deserve you work that much harder too,be the leader, that the soldiers deserve behind you!

One thing to do before starting Basic, if you are not already...
Get in shape. You'll get whipped into shape in Basic, but if you do some simple workout routines you will get by a little better. I ran a couple miles a day before going into Basic. Also did sit-ups, pushups and lifted some light weights. If you can find some monkey bars to practice on, that was one thing that a lot of guys had a hard time with, particularly if they were of a more normal weight, and especially if they were a bit overweight. I was a skinny guy weighing about 105 pounds at 5'10" tall. All muscle though. I came out of Basic weighing around 115. This was many moons ago, July of 1975 is when I went in, so the training may have some variances from what I experienced.
Just remember too, when you feel like you are getting your butt kicked, there isn't ANYone in your Basic training unit that is not going through the very thing that you are. That knowledge kept me going and I had a relatively easy time of it. Did Basic at Fort Dix, NJ and Field Artillery FDC training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. I was then stationed in the former Panama Canal Zone at Fort Kobbe. Great duty. At the time the Army was in a bit of a slump, I was fortunate to be stationed where I was as the training was hard, when anything broke down we got replacement parts in a hurry. Elsewhere in the Army at the time, vehicles would remain deadlined for long periods of time. The mission of the military in the Canal Zone enjoyed a relatively high priority which helped make things run smoothly overall. I was there pre-Noriega and the times were very enjoyable.

Head up. Stay awake. Follow orders. Have faith. Trust your drill sargent's. If you have to think about it for more than 5 seconds it's probably a bad idea. Finally don't do stupid shit
Foremost welcome to the army.

Welcome! Congratulations on your decision and thank you in advance for your service. There is no greater calling than to put on a uniform and put others ahead of yourself. The friends you make will be lifelong! As will the memories. I still keep in touch with my battle buddies and it's been 20 years! There will be some suck I'm not going to lie but you will learn to embrace it and eventually enjoy it. So my tips.. DONT keep your head down! You will not be able to coast through I can promise you that :-). DO push yourself out of your comfort zone! You will be amazed how present the weather is out there :-). Listen to your instructors, even when they are being difficult. YOU WILL GET YELLED AT repeatedly. Don't take it personally, it's all part of the process. It will help your mental toughness improve. And remember that the worst that will happen is you will wind up doing push-ups until you can't anymore then you will roll over and do flutter kicks until you can't do those any more. And you will come out the other side a BAD ASS :-)
Enjoy it my friend and welcome to the brotherhood!

My advice for you as I too went to basic at Benning at echo hill back in 83. Don't take the BS too seriously. I assume you are doing osut. So 13 weeks and then on to your duty station. Once your out of the first 6 weeks then start training for your MOS the Suck will be less. Embrace the physical part of the days and dont let it get you down.So to sum it up, Suck it up and drive on Airborne,