— Graduation guides · Air Force and Space Force
Every Air Force and Space Force trainee graduates at Lackland, Joint Base San Antonio. These are the questions families ask the week before, answered from the official BMT pages. Checked against official sources in September 2026.
— Questions families ask
BMT is 7 and a half weeks. Most trainees arrive on a Tuesday of Zero Week, and the graduation parade is almost always the 7th Thursday after arrival if nothing delays them. Every trainee mails home a welcome letter from the BMT Commander with that week group's exact graduation week information; keep that letter, it is the one document that answers most of the questions below for your specific week. Holiday weeks shift events, and the letter says so. Source
No one at BMT can, by law. Federal privacy rules mean staff cannot release a trainee's status or progress without the trainee's written permission, even to parents, even in medical hold. Trainees get a handful of voice-only phone calls during BMT, timing set by the flight, and they write letters. If a trainee is moved to medical hold or another flight, they are always given a call to tell you. Silence between calls is normal. For a true family emergency, the American Red Cross Hero Care line at 877-272-7337 delivers the message through the squadron. Source
In the first day or two every trainee photographs a pre-printed address card and sends it home. Whatever they sent is correct: AB Last Name, First Name, squadron number TRS/FLT flight number, 1320 Truemper St, JBSA-Lackland, TX 78236-6407. Dorm numbers are no longer used. If they change flights they are allowed to tell you the new address. Mail is delivered Monday to Friday and never held as punishment; if your trainee is out when mail is handed out, the letter goes back to the post office until the next delivery day. Source
Send letters and tasteful photos. Any package is opened in front of the Military Training Instructor, and food or contraband is thrown away. Do not send electronics or cameras. Trainees can buy every essential on base and have almost no storage, so care packages are not recommended. BMT does not publish a take-back list for liberty; those rules come from the MTI and the welcome letter. Treat gifts, cash and food as things to share during liberty and take home yourself, then hand over the real gifts at tech school. Source
Events are Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday morning is the Airman's Run and the Coin Ceremony and Retreat at the Pfingston Reception Center; sign language services run 7 to 11 a.m., so plan to be seated before 7. Thursday morning is the graduation parade on the parade field, services 8 to 10 a.m., so be seated before 8. After Thursday's parade trainees have base liberty until 6 p.m. and must stay on base. Friday afternoon and Saturday they can leave on town pass. All graduates leave for technical training on Friday after the events, so ask your Airman on the first call when their flight leaves. Source
Guests without a DoD ID enter on a visitor access pass that your trainee requests for you, up to 6 adults, with children under 18 riding with a passed adult; the request starts with the recruiter before they ship and the welcome letter confirms the gate details. Every adult needs a REAL ID license, a current passport, or another federally approved document. A non-REAL ID license is not enough on its own and an expired passport is not accepted. Drivers also need registration and proof of insurance. After the parade your Airman can sponsor extra family at the visitor center, but it is slow and first come, first served. Source
The 37th Training Wing streams the Thursday parade on the Air Force Basic Military Training Facebook page and posts recordings on its YouTube channel, both linked from basictraining.af.mil. It is free. Anyone asking for a card number to watch is not official. Source
The first paycheck usually takes 30 to 45 days. On arrival every trainee gets a $500 prepaid card for essentials, and that amount comes out of the first check, along with any allotments and tax choices they made. Trainees with dependents get housing allowance based on their home of record, but it can take several pay periods to start and is paid in full once the paperwork clears. Source
Request your Official Military Personnel File free from the National Personnel Records Center at vetrecs.archives.gov or by mailing a signed SF-180. It records your training squadron and flight. Scanned BMT flight photos are searchable by year and flight number on the volunteer Military Yearbook Project and the Internet Archive, and many flights have a Facebook group named by squadron, flight and year. Source
In the first day or two every trainee photographs a pre-printed address card and texts it home, so the address usually arrives before any letter does. That photo is the correct address. Letters follow once they settle into the flight, typically the second week, and trainees get a handful of voice-only calls during BMT with timing set by the flight. Mail goes out to trainees Monday to Friday and is never held as punishment. Source
The 37th Training Wing posts the Thursday parade recording on the Air Force Basic Military Training YouTube channel, linked from basictraining.af.mil. Wednesday's Coin Ceremony and Airman's Run are usually on the same channel and the official Facebook page. Look there before trusting a screen recording shared in a group. Source
Sandboxx is a paid third-party app that prints your letter and mails it to Lackland, and many families like it for speed. Know one thing BMT says plainly: the app's delivery receipt means the letter reached the base post office, not your trainee. Instructors pick up mail Monday to Friday, and with up to 7,000 trainees the sort can take days. Regular stamped mail to the address on the photo card works the same and costs a stamp. Source
— By post
Every graduation photo becomes a numbered keepsake card, front and back, with the unit, the base and the date. You get a video and one page the whole family can open. Graduated a while ago? It is not too late.