What comes after AIT?
Today I will attempt to answer number four of six total question. To find all of the questions when I am finished, you can reference the original post. Please note that in these answers I refer to soldiers as “him” and “his.” I have two sons who are soldiers, so it comes naturally. The information is good (for the most part) for female soldiers too.
A couple of posts ago I discussed what AIT is and what you can expect while your soldier is going through it and we talked about what you can expect if your soldier is injured during BCT or AIT. We are going to talk today about what happens when he/she successfully finishes both BCT and AIT. What is next?
Some soldiers who finish AIT may opt to join a program in the Army called Hometown Recruiter Assistant Program (HRAP). The name says it all. If your soldier participates in HRAP he/she will work with the local recruiting station for up to 14-days before shipping off to their permanent station (and that is determined by orders they receive in AIT). Not every soldier can participate in HRAP. Soldiers have some basic requirements that they must meet to qualify.
Sometimes there are follow-on schools your soldier may attend. Jump school, air assault, sapper, Ranger, etc. may fit into your soldier’s schedule and may be training he wants/needs for his job in the Army. Sometimes these schools can come right after AIT, and other times they may come after your soldier has reported to his station and started his daily duties.
If your soldier does not participate in HRAP or a follow-on school, he will have a short time between graduation and getting to his/her receiving unit. Your soldier will know where this is while in AIT. Usually there is enough time for a short visit, but don’t count on spending a lot of time with your soldier between AIT and when he needs to check in and start his job in the Army.
The same disclaimer applies here as with other posts about what will happen. There are lots of rules and exceptions to those rules. There is no formula for you to use to figure out exactly what will happen. This is a part of military life that can be hard for parents of soldiers to get used to. The sooner you realize it and accept the smoother it will go for you as you support your soldier throughout his career in the Army.
Next week we will talk about the topic that many military parents dread – deployment.
