Basic training

Basic Training or bootcamp is a short intensive program for induction of recruits into an army, navy, or air force. In the United States a few military bases have special units devoted to basic training. The jargon of the service is introduced as well as the fundamentals of military discipline and the recruits are trained in the basic skills of their service. A great deal of emphasis is placed on proper wearing of the uniform, grooming, and drill.

Army recruits are often instructed in the firing and care of guns; Navy recruits get a short introduction to firefighting, and the air force focuses on education.

An urban legend holds that soldiers, sailors, and other young men in institutional situations are secretly administered saltpetre in their food, especially during bootcamp, to suppress their sexual urges. It is conjectured that the troops were employing a folk etymology and replacing "salt" with "soft". The reduction in sexual urges does in fact occur, but is caused by physical exhaustion related to intense training.