Posted on Mar 2, 2019
PFC Cannon Crew Member
10.4K
27
19
1
1
0
How long (hours) does a drill day usually go on for?
Posted in these groups: USARNG53e46e2f 11B: Infantryman
Avatar feed
Responses: 10
SFC Harry H.
7
7
0
All dependent upon then unit. Generally if it’s a home station drill, about 10 to 12 hrs on Saturday and 8 to 10 hours on Sunday.

If it’s away, obviously it’s over night and again 8 to 10 hours on Sunday. Then there is the possibility of a Muta 5 and 6. Which means you basically show up Friday after work or Friday all day.

A UTA stands for Unit Training Assembly. It is a four-hour period of drill. A typical drill weekend, a MUTA-4 (Multiple Unit Training Assembly) consists of four, four-hour periods or two days. If you drill for 3 days straight; this would be a MUTA-6 - consists of six 4 hour periods. So, for every 4 hour period drilled, add them up and that would determine the MUTA-#. For more information go to the link attached and check out NGR (AR) 350-1. Hope that helps.
(7)
Comment
(0)
LTC Wayne Brandon
LTC Wayne Brandon
7 y
Great answer, SFC Hutton!
(1)
Reply
(0)
PFC Cannon Crew Member
PFC (Join to see)
7 y
SFC Harry H. Very informative, thank you. I was also wondering what usually a day would consist of, such as going to the field, or if it’s mainly classroom.
(0)
Reply
(0)
SFC Harry H.
SFC Harry H.
7 y
PFC (Join to see) in the Guard it’s a lot of yearly requirements, classroom and field. Which keeps the units readiness mission capable and ready to deploy. You will do a lot of hip pocket training and practicing your battle drills outside. And as always, vehicle, weapons, pro mask and othe equipment PMCS (maintenance). Your real hands on training comes during Annual Training and pre mobilizations. You may feel at times that you’re r not being trained to par, but keep in mind. You are a Soldier now. Even when you are not at drill you should be studying up on your FM’s. Imfantry handbook FM 3-21.8 and even the Ranger handbook. Become the SME (subject matter expert) of your squad.
(1)
Reply
(0)
SFC Harry H.
SFC Harry H.
7 y
PFC (Join to see) out in the Field is an all new animal. Ranges, which equals trigger time. Out in the woods perfecting your battle drills. Sitting around being cold, hot and bored. Learning to shoot, move, and communicate. Mounted and dismounted patrols, building and obstacle clearing, rapelling, day and night live fire exercises, being bored some more, setting up GP smalls or mediums, being hot or cold nothing in between, road marches, back to the barracks where more sit around and wait will be conducted along with boredom and guys getting in trouble for something and NCO’s and team leaders perfecting their art of smoking Soldiers. If your out in the woods you’re sitting around a patrol base on guard scanning your 10 and 2. Then picking up and moving out closer to your ORP. Oh did I mention being bored at times with a pinch of rain to make the day suck just a little more. I know I left something out.
(2)
Reply
(0)
Avatar small
SGM Jeff Mccloud
4
4
0
Edited 7 y ago
Typically, there is a lot of waiting at every drill.
Whether you are at a home station drill or at an installation for weapons qual or other training, you may find yourself in line for hours waiting for limited computers to complete a 15 minute online class or fill out an online form (similar to if you did SSD1 online at RSP drills).
Do yourself a favor to save yourself hours every drill: buy yourself a $10 CAC reader on Amazon. Check out militarycac.com to set it up on your laptop. Find out what online classes or forms are required for drill, do them at home prior to drill or bring your laptop and CAC reader to drill.
Being proactive for about 15 minutes a month prior to drill will save you hours at every drill.
Do this very simple thing, and you may find that on Sundays, when everyone is lined up to use a couple of computers to sign their OCIE hand receipts on AKO or complete an online class, you have already emailed the completed pdf to your squad leader, platoon sergeant and AGR, your platoon sergeant might just say, "you're done, you can go home at 1630," while those that refuse to buy a CAC reader or do anything on their own laptop at home before drill, or on their own laptop at drill, will be stuck in line until 2100 and getting home at midnight.
You'll run into MDAYs who say "f*** that, I'm not buying anything, or doing Guard work on my own time not getting paid." To me, $10 and 15-30 minutes of my own time once a month between drills is definitely worth saving 2-4 hours of sitting around waiting at every drill.
(4)
Comment
(0)
LTC Ken Bowers
LTC Ken Bowers
>1 y
It is truly unfortunate that the MDAY guardsman get jacked around by having to take "online training and briefing using the computer at the armory. There is a lot of time that gets pissed away during a drill weekend before automation. Automation has not improved things much. In my state JFHQ started the "MEGA Drill" MUTA 8 for the purpose of updating personnel readiness tasks. As a commander I was not in favor of anymore that a MUTA 5, and that was for a field training event. A MUTA 5 at home station is like getting paid for 4 hours of scratching your ass. If the guard is serious about a high degree of readiness they should authorize each Guardsman 1-2 additional MUTAs per month to complete all the happy horseshit briefing and inventories (OCIE) and let drill weekends focus of MOS/Squad, weapons training, Gunnery/Maneuver training, and maintenance. Active duty units have to do the same dumb-ass brief, but it is part of the duty day! The TAGs and NGB need to be more steak and less sizzle! Hell's Guard!
(0)
Reply
(0)
Avatar small
SGT Fire Team Leader
3
3
0
Those senior non-coms hit the center of the black with their answers. Welcome to the Guard, kid.
(3)
Comment
(0)
Avatar small
Avatar feed
What is a typical drill like for a Infantry Unit in the Guard?
SFC Platoon Sergeant / Troop Readiness Nco
2
2
0
It all depends on the task. If you are homestation expect a 7am-5pm work day doing AWTs, briefs, or Paperwork. If in the field expect anything from continuous ops to just shooting at the range.
Regardless, show up with PTs, OCPs, the ability to sustain yourself through final formation for the weekend, and ensure you've talked previously with your first line leader with the key tasks for the weekend.
(2)
Comment
(0)
Avatar small
SPC Driver/Gunner
1
1
0
As far as hours, like a lot of guys are saying, home station drills, generally Friday and Saturday both units I've been in (one a light/leg unit, one heavy weapon truck unit) are usually like 0600-1700 give or take, usually with an hour break for lunch whether it's catered, MREs, go-and-get, whatever. Field drills we'd usually have first formation anywhere from 0300-0500 on the reporting day and be "doing stuff" till at least 1700. Usually there's some type of night ops involved that starts once it's gotten however dark it's gonna get and chow is done. Field wake up is usually 0600 or so. At my leg unit we usually got dismissed a little later than we do at my current unit. That's just gonna vary from unit to unit. Sometimes leadership takes longer to get their stuff done, sometimes lower enlisted takes longer to get their stuff done but you're not leaving Sunday until everyone is done with everything so word of advice, if you're done with whatever you personally needed to get done on Sunday, go ahead and start getting the armory, vehicles, battle buddies squared away. You'll find that hurry up and wait is actually not always a bad thing. No matter what you've got going on that weekend, do everything you can do to help get everyone's job done. The sooner all required training and maintenance is done, the sooner leadership can have their senior leader meeting and you can leave. What kind of unit are you going to?
(1)
Comment
(0)
PFC Cannon Crew Member
PFC (Join to see)
>1 y
258th FA
(0)
Reply
(0)
Avatar small
SSG(P) Squad Leader
1
1
0
Depends on your training cycle and unit. Last year, my unit had 4 day drills of long days and nights out in the field and on ranges, and a 14 day drill at Ft Drum more of the same in prep for NTC. next year, we have all home station drills minus 2 which will likely be 9-5 saturday and sunday doing a whole lot of Hip-pocket training.
(1)
Comment
(0)
Avatar small
2LT Earl Dean
1
1
0
Depends on the unit and what they have to do. Most stay at home drills there is a ton of cleaning and some classes. Break every two hours. Drills can be long very long depending on subjects matter. Away drills I always found better because you were out moving and doing something. But if at home count on ten or twelve hours. Away at least 24 hours
(1)
Comment
(0)
Avatar small
CSM John Ryan
1
1
0
Depends on commander. Muta is a 4-8 hour block. Muta 4 is a two day muta means active duty day pay. So you get paid for four active days for two days of duty. So when I had a stay they were long weekends.
(1)
Comment
(0)
Avatar small
SFC(P) Senior Shower And Laundry Nco
1
1
0
It also depends on if your in one of the infantry units that want to be high speed. They will do a 4-5 day drill
(1)
Comment
(0)
SPC Driver/Gunner
SPC (Join to see)
>1 y
We had a bunch of those scheduled this year and somehow we got it approved to do an extra 9 day drill so that we just had 2-3 day drills all year. I don't know who made the suggestion but it was pretty much unanimously approved BN-wide.
(0)
Reply
(0)
SFC(P) Senior Shower And Laundry Nco
SFC(P) (Join to see)
>1 y
Well I do know NGB thinks we don’t do enough training so infantry gets the short end of that stick. Personally my job would not like me bein out for 9 days. SPC (Join to see)
(0)
Reply
(0)
Avatar small
SPC Zach Lockhart
0
0
0
My unit only did Muta 6’s. Normally 0700 Friday through 1700 Sunday. Some drills were long and boring. Others were very fast paced. It wasn’t unusual to not sleep and/or eat very little that weekend so bring snacks. It was probably 50/50 split between getting barracks and sleeping outside. Some units get little tents -ours didn’t. Bivy cover and wet-weather bag will be your best friends. Most importantly, try to have fun because it’s easy to hate your life during drill weekend.
(0)
Comment
(0)
Avatar small

Join nearly 2 million former and current members of the US military, just like you.

close