Basic Jacks Valley Info
Good Evening Families!
As promised, now that the basics should be settled in, in their new home for the next 10 nights, I thought I would tell you a bit about Jacks Valley.
Although 95% of you already know what Jacks Valley is, I'll just give the "Webguy's Digest" version.
Jacks Valley is a 3,300 acre training complex located within the Academy boundaries. The location is the valley north of North Gate Boulevard. It is named after the Jacks family who used to own the land. For years I thought it was named after someone name Jack. But I digress. So, to keep it simple, the basics go out there, pitch big tents, and camp out.
What do they do out there? Remember when we were young and watched movies like Private Benjamin, Stripes, Officer and a Gentleman, etc? Well, actually I'm dating myself (again), but you get the idea. All those old movies are on Netflix. If you never heard of them, you can check them out. Anyway..., All of the running over obstacles; falling in the mud; crawling through dirt. That's it! Below is a picture showing where Jacks Valley is in relation to the Cadet Area.
Here is the layout. The tents are set up in groupings by squadrons, each tent holds 10-12 Basic Cadets. Each basic has a cot and a sleeping bag. Every two basics will share a trunk where they can store their stuff.
As far as the dining goes, the basics eat in a large quonset hut also known as Mitch's. There are long picnic tables usually holding 30 or so basics. The way they eat in Jack's valley is much the same as they did in BCT 1. They just get to do it a picnic tables.
NOTE: All of the Squadrons have restrooms and shower facilities down in Jacks Valley. They do get time to shower and keep up with personal hygiene. They also still get their mail, so keep writing.
Tomorrow the courses start. We will have coverage every day of most of the courses. There is one exception, the LRC (Leadership Reaction Course). That course is like solving a puzzle through teamwork and we don't take pictures because we don't want to give away the solution. So every day there will be a squadron on that course and that will be the squadron we don't cover that day. Tomorrow it will be the Cobras. We should have coverage of every other squadron.
Ok, that's it for tonight. I will have more about the courses tomorrow. Just a word about expectations. Just like in BCT 1, our goal is to get a glimpse of every basic at one time or another. It is unlikely that you will see your basic on every course. I encourage you to just take in the whole experience and know that even if you don't see yours, you can still root for them all, just like we do.
Lots more to come tomorrow! Till then, have a great evening.