RTC is a 10-week process, including initial processing, intended to teach fundamental naval discipline, teamwork, and water survival skills.
Processing Week "P-days"—processing days—last five days or a little longer depending on weekends, holidays, and the schedule of arriving recruits. Recruits begin at Building 1405, Golden Thirteen, the Recruit In-processing Center in Camp Moffett. Recruits arrive at all hours, but mostly during the night. Before formal training starts, recruits are screened medically, dentally, and administratively. They receive inoculations, an initial issue of uniforms, and their first military haircut. They are introduced to their recruit division commander (
drill instructor). They are taught basic grooming standards, the
Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), and standards of conduct. Recruits are taught the basics of watch standing, are given information to memorize, and begin learning to organize their equipment. Around their fifth day of training, recruits must pass their baseline Physical Fitness Assessment. Those who fail will be set back in training and offered a few more opportunities to pass. Should they still fail, they will be separated/discharged from the Navy. P-days conclude with a commissioning ceremony, led by the recruits' group commander (ship's leading chief petty officer), in which each division's guidon (divisional flag with division number) is unrolled. This ceremony marks the official start of their training.
Week 8 This week is centered on two major tests that determine a recruit's fitness and operational readiness.
Battle Stations 21 is a 12-hour comprehensive exam and capstone event. It is designed to test a recruit's ability to operate under stress, fatigue, and as a cohesive team. The test takes place aboard the USS
Trayer, a 210-foot-long simulator of an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer. Recruits must successfully complete 17 high-stress, simulated shipboard scenarios that require them to apply all the skills they've learned: • Damage control: Fighting simulated fires in full gear and patching severe pipe leaks (flooding). • Mass casualty drills: Coordinating triage and administering first aid to injured personnel. • Watchstanding: Standing watch on the bridge, in engineering, and on the deck. • Security: Responding to terrorism and hostile attack scenarios. Upon successful completion, the recruits attend the Capping Ceremony. They trade their "RECRUIT" cap for the "NAVY" cap, signifying their change in status to U.S. Navy sailor. Recruits are then sworn to secrecy about the specifics of the BST test. To graduate, recruits must also pass the final physical fitness assessment: Finally, each sailor must pass a water survival assessment by jumping from a 10-foot tower, swimming 50 yards, floating prone for five minutes, and treading water while correctly inflating trousers or a shirt for buoyancy.
Week 9 With the core training complete, the focus shifts to professional life skills and administrative processing.
Sailor for Life This module focuses on ensuring the new sailors are prepared for life in the fleet. It covers: • Professional development: Reinforcing the Navy's core values, ethics, and leadership principles. • Life skills: Financial management, career planning, and resilience training. • Mentorship: New Sailors receive final, focused mentorship to help them transition from the strict structure of boot camp to the day-to-day life of a Sailor.
Administrative and logistics • Final inspection: Divisions undergo a final drill and personnel inspection, which must be passed. • Final uniform issue: New Sailors receive their final issue of uniforms and civilian clothing allowance. • Orders and travel: Recruits finalize their travel arrangements and receive their orders for their next duty station, typically an "A-School" for job training.
Week 10 The final week culminates in the traditional public graduation ceremony called the Pass-In-Review. The new sailors execute precise military drill movements in a large ceremonial drill hall in front of their families. Immediately after the ceremony, Sailors are granted their first period of liberty (time off base) to spend with their families until a set curfew, before they leave for their "A-School." == Gallery ==