The US Navy has announced that it is shortening the Basic Military Training (BMT) program for new recruits, following a positive shift in recruitment numbers.
According to a news release issued Wednesday, the service’s BMT program will be reduced from ten to nine weeks beginning in January next year.
The change is intended to eliminate inefficiencies in the schedule and remove unnecessary “redundancies” in the training curriculum.
Key areas affected by the reduction include the Warrior Toughness program, physical fitness training, and professional development.
“We figured we could do some applied training throughout that might provide similar or better benefit where we didn’t have it before,” Lt. Cmdr. Mack Jamieson, spokesperson for the Naval Service Training Command (NSTC), told Military.com.
‘Joining the Fleet Faster’
After two consecutive years of missing its recruitment goals, the US Navy has seen significant improvements for Fiscal Year 2024, contracting a total of 40,978 new sailors from the intended 40,600.
With recruitment numbers on the rise, the focus now is on preparing recruits more efficiently, allowing them to join the fleet sooner.
The reduced training time will also help prevent overburdening staff and trainers, providing them with an additional month of recovery time annually.
“This optimization doesn’t just shorten the time-to-train; it enhances our recruits’ ability to transition seamlessly into the fleet and contribute immediately,” NSTC commander Rear Adm. Craig Mattingly said.
‘We Don’t Need This Extra Period’
Before implementing the 10-week program in 2022, the US Navy had used an eight-week compressed schedule.
However, the service added an additional two weeks for “post-graduation” activities, which included coaching and life skills instruction.
“When we went to that 10-week model, it was based on some unknowns. They built in some extra time there to make sure we were getting that across,” Jamieson noted.
“[But] we’re getting this across to them in this amount of time (nine weeks) — we don’t need this extra period.”