United States Military AIT (Advanced Individual Training): What to Expect

A service member in the military may attend one of several specialized skill training schools after basic training is complete. Each military Advanced Individual Training (AIT) school requires the utmost in discipline and work ethic from its soldiers to better prepare them for military assignments and duties. In this article, we discuss what AIT is, what you can expect from AIT with details from each program and what happens after AIT.

What is AIT?

AIT is the next step after you complete Basic Combat Training. During AIT, you learn the necessary skills, discipline and work ethic you need to perform your specific Army job.

What to expect at AIT

A service member will attend a diverse skill training school depending on their career specialty. The purpose and fundamentals of AIT are uniform throughout the many branches of service, but each contains its own individual experience. The Army is one of the largest branches of the military and it trains individuals in everything from food service to business administration.

You can expect to receive instruction through hands-on training, classroom sessions and field instruction. There are two phases of AIT: Phase IV and Phase V. AIT can last anywhere from four to 52 weeks depending on the Army career specialty.

Types of AIT schools

Here are a few of the AIT schools you may consider being trained in for your Military Occupational Specialty (MOS):

• Infantry School

• Air Defense Artillery School

• Adjutant General School

• U.S. Army Intelligence Center

• Military Police School

• U.S. Army Armor Center

• Aviation Logistics School

• Ordnance Mechanical Maintenance School

• Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) School

• Ordnance Munitions and Electronics Maintenance School

• Department of Defense Fire Academy

• Quartermaster School

• Engineer School

• Transportation School

• Field Artillery School

• Financial Management School

• Signal Corps School

Infantry School

Infantry school is combined with Basic Training and Advanced Military Training called "One Station Unit Training (OSUT)". The infantry's main purpose is to always be ready to defend. The Infantry focuses on the use of small arms and indirect fire weapons during combat missions.

Location: Fort Benning, Georgia

Skills:

• Minefield safety

• Communications equipment operation

• Preparing fighting positions

• Constructing barriers

• Weapons operation and maintenance

• Vehicle operation and maintenance

• Land reconnaissance

• Map reading and navigation

Air Defense Artillery School

Air defense artillery school or ADA is one of the most technologically-advanced training programs in the army. In ADA, you can expect to learn about the systems that protect forces in the U.S. from aerial attack, enemy surveillance and missile attack.

Location: Fort Sill, Oklahoma

You will become knowledgeable about the following systems:

• PATRIOT missile system

• AVENGER system

Adjutant General School

You can expect to learn about how to support the Army in AIT Adjutant General School. You will learn about personnel management and how to help commanders keep soldiers combat-ready.

You will be trained in personnel management similar to human resource professionals and office managers for corporations.

Location: Fort Jackson, South Carolina

Skills:

• Replacement management

• Information management

• Postal operations

• Morale, welfare and recreation support

• Personnel services

• Combat readiness

• Strength reporting

• Casualty operations

U.S. Army Intelligence Center

During AIT for the U.S. Army Intelligence Center, you will be expected to learn how to use different sources to gather intelligence.

Location: Fort Huachuca, Arizona

Depending on your Army position, the sources you will learn how to use to gather intelligence will be:

• Human subjects through interviewing

• Digital sources such as photographs taken from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Military Police School

Military Police (MP) serve as law enforcement for the Army to maintain law and order, as well as carry out discipline. The United States Army Military Police School (USAMPS) has an all-encompassing law enforcement training site for Military Police Soldiers. You will be trained as Military Police Soldiers for stability operations, war, peace and any civil support.

Location: Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

U.S. Army Armor Center

When you attend AIT at the U.S. Army Armory Center, your basic training will be combined with your AIT, called One Station Unit Training (OSUT). In OSUT, you will learn about combat operations that include modern armories like tanks and other vehicles.

Location: Fort Benning, Georgia

You will learn skills that will help you with:

• Vehicle operations

• Vehicle maintenance

• Surveillance

• Communications and weapons

Aviation Logistics School

During Aviation Logistics School, you learn how to perform maintenance on the Army's highly advanced fleet of helicopters.

Location: Fort Eustis, Virginia

Depending on the specific Army job you get, you can specialize in the maintenance of one of these helicopters:

• CH-47 Chinook

• OH-58 Kiowa

• AH-64 Apache

• UH-60 Black Hawk

Ordnance Mechanical Maintenance School

AIT Ordnance Mechanical Maintenance School will teach you how to perform electrical and mechanical maintenance on tanks, trucks, small arms weapons, mobile electric power generation systems, air conditioners and other systems. You may also learn welding and machinist skills depending on the Army job you procure.

Location: Fort Lee, Virginia

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear (CBRN) School

When you go through AIT at the CBRN school, you learn the latest defense technology to detect and identify hazards and operations techniques associated with CBRN equipment and vehicles.

Location: Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

Ordnance Munitions and Electronics Maintenance School (OMEMS)

In OMEMS, soldiers are trained to repair and maintain electronics, missile and ammunition systems and safely disarm and dismantle explosives

Location: Fort Lee, Virginia

You can expect to gain hands-on experience with:

• Disarming explosive devices remotely with robots

• Repairing the electronic systems of missile systems

• Transporting munitions that are highly explosive

Department of Defense Fire Academy

During AIT for the Department of Defense Fire Academy, you will learn the necessary skills to fight fires, both in the military and outside the military.

Location: Goodfellow AFB San Angelo, Texas

You can expect to learn these skills:

• Fire protection fundamentals

• Fire behavior

• Fire alarm communications

• Building construction

• Fire prevention

• Emergency medical care

• Structural firefighting principles

• Ropes, knots and rescue practices

• Ladder and ventilation practices

• Structural fire ground operations

• Aircraft rescue firefighting

Quartermaster School

During Quartermaster School, you learn the logistics of providing soldiers certain supplies during relief or military operation. These supplies include water, food, petroleum, repair parts and any other necessary supplies.

Location: Fort Lee, Virginia

Engineer School

When you begin AIT for Army Engineering, you learn various engineering skills that may include electrical repair, structural maintenance and bridge-building. There are three specializations you may choose from in Engineer School. These specializations are:

• Combat Engineer Operations

• General Engineer Operations

• Geospatial Engineer Operations

Location: Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

Transportation School

Transportation School prepares you to keep the Army on the move. You learn how to operate and maintain various transportation vehicles in the army like watercraft and tactical trucks.

The Army has training facilities and simulations that teach you:

• Transportation operations

• Traffic management

• Convoy operations

• Cargo transfer

• Cargo documentation

• Movement control

• Operation of heavy material handling equipment

• Sailing and maintenance of army vessels

• Unloading aircraft, ships, railcars and trucks

Location: Fort Lee, Virginia

Field Artillery School

During AIT for Field Artillery School, you learn about different communications and electronics platforms that support combat operations. You also learn how to operate a variety of weapons and munitions systems.

You can also expect to receive further training in procedures, techniques and tactics for the employment of fire support.

Location: Fort Sill, Oklahoma

Financial Management School

Financial Management School AIT teaches you financial skills that help the Army to manage Army soldier finances including travel, commercial vendor vouchers and transportation expenses. You also learn accounting and disbursement of public funds. As a Financial Management soldier, you also support medical, logistical and supply requirements during missions.

Location: Fort Jackson, South Carolina

Signal Corps School

Signal Corps School deals with Army defense communication. In Signal Corps School, you can expect to learn the necessary technical skills you need to automate, receive and transmit data and voice information to keep branches of the Army informed, so they can be prepared to respond.

There are three different specializations you may choose from during AIT. These three specializations are:

• Information Systems Operations

• Signal Operations

• Visual Information Operations

Location: Fort Gordon, Georgia

What happens after AIT?

Once you meet all of the AIT requirements and graduate from AIT, you usually have a short graduation ceremony. This is followed by 10 days of leave before receiving orders to join your unit at your next station of duty. AIT prepares you to become an expert in your MOS. Below are a few military occupations you may be placed in for your first Permanent Duty Assignment (PDA) based on your MOS:

• Indirect fire infantryman

• Infantryman

• Avenger crew member

• Patriot fire control enhanced operator/maintainer

• Patriot launching station enhanced operator/maintainer

• Paralegal specialist

• Religious affairs specialist

• Cryptologic linguist

• Signals intelligence analyst

• Human intelligence collector

• Military intelligence systems maintainer/integrator

• Military police

• Criminal investigations special agent

• Calvary scout

• M1 armor crewman

• Aircraft powerplant repairer

• Aircraft electrician

• Small arms/artillery repairer

• Tactical power generation specialist

• CBRN specialist

• Ammunition specialist

• Combat engineer

• Information technology specialist

• Signal support systems specialist

• Cannon crewmember

• Joint fire support specialist

• Cargo specialist

• Motor transport operator

• Financial management technician