Military training instructors are responsible for training new recruits at the United States Air Force's 7 ½-week basic military training. But before they're certified to train new recruits in boot camp, they must graduate from the eight-week military training instructor school. Business Insider spent four days with future MTIs as they relearned military basics, trained their command voice, and met the physical qualifications to don the iconic campaign cover and prepare the next generation of airmen.
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00:00 You're telling me things I already know.
00:02 Why don't you actually do your job
00:04 and actually choose to represent me
00:07 the way you're supposed to?
00:09 Go away!
00:10 Before these Air Force military training instructors
00:13 can do this...
00:14 [shouting]
00:21 They must first do this.
00:23 [shouting]
00:27 They're practicing what's called the command voice.
00:31 And once they master it,
00:33 they'll be able to lead a flight of Air Force recruits.
00:37 And we use it specifically as a way
00:39 to grab the trainee's attention
00:41 and to notify them that it's time to move
00:43 in whatever direction that is,
00:44 so that way we can communicate with the entire flight at once.
00:48 If you're not given specific clear directions,
00:50 then the task is not going to get done
00:52 or is going to get done in a way that it's not supposed to be.
00:55 [shouting]
00:59 Military training instructors, or MTIs,
01:03 are the equivalent of Marine drill instructors...
01:05 [shouting]
01:07 ...or Army drill sergeants.
01:09 At ease, the soldier may move, however.
01:12 And while there are similarities,
01:14 MTIs have their own unique methods and philosophies
01:18 when it comes to training new recruits.
01:21 Left face. Left face.
01:24 We spent four days at Lackland Air Force Base
01:27 observing future military training instructors
01:30 during their 8 1/2-week course
01:33 as they learned to lead new recruits in drill...
01:36 Hush!
01:37 ...and train them to meet the Air Force's physical requirements.
01:41 But it all starts with learning how to use their voice.
01:45 Side down, side down, side down!
01:47 Except for my guide, element leaders, dorm chief,
01:49 if you're tall enough to train, you need to put on your seat belt
01:51 and move forward now.
01:52 Don't run. Don't be the center of urgency.
01:55 Raising our voice, what we call command voice,
01:57 is just one of the many tools that we have
01:59 as military training instructors
02:00 in order to get that desired outcome from our recruits.
02:03 [shouting]
02:06 Military training instructors use the command voice during drill
02:10 when they order a group of 40 to 50 recruits,
02:13 known as a flight,
02:15 to move to different locations during the day.
02:18 Halt!
02:19 In their first week of military training instructor school,
02:23 or MTIS, students practice exercises
02:26 that help them tap into their volume
02:29 and their ability to sustain it.
02:31 Hut! Two! Three! Four!
02:33 Hut! Two! Three! Four!
02:35 We repeat, expelling our air from our diaphragm,
02:40 and it is just a matter of repeating, "Huh, huh, huh,"
02:43 and that is used so that we can practice using our diaphragm
02:47 and also getting as loud as possible with our command voice.
02:50 Hut! Two! Three! Four!
02:52 Hut! Two! Three! Four!
02:55 So you got to get that diaphragm for real active
02:57 so that you get it like it sounds stronger.
03:01 [shouting]
03:02 Exercises include hunching over
03:04 [shouting]
03:06 and hanging from a pull-up bar while shouting.
03:09 Hut! Two! Three! Four!
03:11 Hut! Two! Three! Four!
03:13 Forcing them to use their diaphragm
03:15 to achieve the necessary volume.
03:17 Hut! Two! Three! Four!
03:19 It doesn't sound throaty like nasally,
03:21 because that would be your nose,
03:22 but you need to like get down here,
03:24 like that whole, like somebody's punching you.
03:27 Huh! Huh!
03:28 But volume is just one element of the command voice.
03:32 We focus on distinction, loudness, inflection,
03:35 projection, and snap of that command voice.
03:38 Come left, hunch!
03:40 Right, hey!
03:42 So the reason why a lot of the words sound differently
03:45 than what a lot of people are accustomed to
03:47 is to be able to provide the enunciation
03:49 of the word itself.
03:51 You can hear it clearly in the way
03:53 military training instructors deliver cadence.
03:56 Hut! Two! Three! Four!
03:58 Hut! Two! Three! Four!
04:00 The added P, or H, helps keep the command distinct
04:04 and at a high volume.
04:06 The way you get the distinction in your voice
04:08 is by making sure you pronounce every letter
04:11 when you are using your command voice.
04:13 Let's say you are saying one, two, three
04:17 to keep everybody in step, or left, right, left,
04:20 you have to enunciate, so that way it is distinct
04:24 when it comes out as a command voice.
04:27 Flight, halt!
04:29 Get your cover, get your dress.
04:31 The command voice is also used to give corrections.
04:34 This is what it looks like when an MTI
04:37 uses their command voice during actual boot camp.
04:40 Everyone's waiting on you, but you're taking your time.
04:43 It feels very empowering to use the command voice.
04:46 It's almost like a battle cry,
04:48 and so you kind of get to get that lion's roar out
04:50 to get command and control of your flight.
04:52 While every branch of the military
04:54 has its own version of the command voice,
04:56 Air Force MTIs have a reputation for being less aggressive
05:00 than some of their counterparts in the Army and Marine Corps.
05:04 In 2018, the Air Force ranked fourth
05:07 among the Armed Services branches
05:10 for the number of hazing complaints.
05:12 We're very firm, definitely demanding,
05:14 but before everything, we're fair.
05:16 Left, forward, left, forward, left, right, left.
05:20 Air Force MTIs will use everything they learned
05:23 about command voice when they lead new recruits in drill.
05:28 Left, face!
05:30 Forward, march!
05:33 Left, right, forward, halt!
05:36 But learning how to lead drill requires its own training.
05:40 Left flank.
05:42 I would say it's more challenging than it is exhausting.
05:45 It's just constantly focusing on being precise
05:48 with every single movement you make.
05:50 MTI students spend 85 hours practicing the movements,
05:54 relearning how to march and step
05:56 and make precise turns on command.
05:59 That carries throughout when you're doing left face,
06:01 right face, left flank, all of those.
06:03 You gotta understand where your head needs to be,
06:06 where your arms gotta be.
06:07 Learning drill at basic training,
06:09 it was all new, it was foreign.
06:12 However, as I learned those movements,
06:14 all I had to do was apply.
06:16 There's a huge difference between learning and applying
06:19 versus learning, applying, and teaching.
06:21 So now I have to come back, break down each one of those movements
06:24 into individual steps, and now share that
06:27 and teach these trainees how to actually perform the movements.
06:30 You're gonna be out here on this pad practicing until 0900.
06:36 This is the go command or the execution command.
06:38 This student is in week six of training,
06:41 and this is a military training instructor, instructor,
06:46 who is responsible for evaluating his ability
06:49 to teach the left flank,
06:51 which is a turn to the left when marching in formation.
06:54 March 20. 24 inch step.
06:57 We focus on their ability to actually perform it
06:59 and to be able to break it down step by step,
07:01 how to effectively communicate the instructional portions
07:05 of the lesson while also performing it.
07:07 Training right here, what do you think your responsibilities are?
07:10 Students are evaluated on their ability to follow the Air Force teaching format,
07:14 which includes how they present information and how they ask questions.
07:19 I have my cover? I do not have my cover again.
07:22 Do I have any questions over anything that I just went over?
07:25 The biggest issue I would say with today's lesson was your questioning techniques.
07:29 It was a lot of do you have any questions, are there any questions.
07:33 You did that seven times.
07:35 All MTIs across any squadron,
07:37 they're using that standardized teaching format is important
07:40 so that any trainee, when they graduate from here,
07:42 they leave with the same knowledge,
07:44 regardless of what squadron they were assigned to during their time here.
07:47 So all your transitions were seamless, tied it all back into your--
07:50 I gave you steps like three here first, I was like, "Steve, go."
07:53 Before they graduate from MTI school,
07:55 these students will teach drill to a flight of recruits
07:58 under the supervision of a certified military training instructor
08:02 in the final phase of their training, known as Technical Qualifications, or TQ.
08:08 Step.
08:09 You also need to suspend arms, so bring those hands back to your side.
08:12 Change step, march right away, and then get cadence.
08:15 Change step, march.
08:18 It is a slight pause, you are not stopping.
08:21 Today we are realistically training not just our replacements, but our upgrade.
08:25 [marching commands]
08:34 I think what drives the physical aspect of being a military training instructor
08:39 is you are constantly on the move.
08:41 You're going to be constantly marching all over base,
08:43 taking your trainees to various appointments.
08:46 [marching commands]
08:50 And then also in the mornings during PT,
08:53 you're going to be out there not just showing them how to do PT,
08:56 you're going to be performing PT and setting that example for them.
08:59 Every morning, MTI students perform PT, or physical training,
09:04 as if they are commanding a flight of recruits.
09:07 [marching commands]
09:09 Students take turns leading PT from a distance,
09:12 where they practice the lessons learned in their command voice training,
09:16 projecting their voice across the drill pad to call out the exercises.
09:20 Next exercise is in and out.
09:23 Session of exercise, right up.
09:26 Begin.
09:27 One, two, three.
09:29 And call cadence.
09:31 One, two, three.
09:32 One, two, three.
09:34 Another student observes from the sidelines
09:37 and corrects their classmates as if they are recruits.
09:40 Arms are fully extended, back straight.
09:42 Hips out of the air.
09:44 PT is set up that way for the MTI school,
09:46 so that way it gives the students an opportunity
09:48 to truly understand how to be able to lead organized PT.
09:51 And so that way they understand what are the key points for each part
09:55 before they step out to the line squadron
09:57 and they're standing in front of 200, 600, 800 trainees
10:01 and leading them in organized PT.
10:03 Military training instructors must pass a physical assessment
10:06 outlined by the Air Force based on age and gender.
10:10 To get into the training course,
10:12 students must be recommended by their leadership
10:15 and pass a psychological evaluation.
10:19 Military training instructors receive a special duty pay of $450 per month
10:25 on top of their base salary.
10:27 Ten, five, eight, seven.
10:31 Basic military training, or BMT,
10:33 also includes teaching recruits how to meticulously make a bed and fold clothes.
10:40 [indistinct]
10:43 And again, these MTI students are expected to perform these tasks to perfection.
10:49 For some of these students, they haven't potentially made a bed
10:51 since they were last at BMT.
10:53 In week five of their training, students practice making beds,
10:57 rolling shirts, and other dormitory procedures to the Air Force standards.
11:03 And they inspect each other's work,
11:05 practicing the corrections they will be giving recruits in just a few months.
11:09 [indistinct]
11:12 So we teach them the current standards,
11:14 and then we evaluate them on their ability to organize those items.
11:17 And then immediately following that,
11:19 we evaluate them on their ability to teach those standards.
11:22 The lesson we're going to be going over today is the end-of-bed display.
11:25 They have exact words they need to say
11:27 so the trainees know the exact details of what these lessons consist of.
11:30 So the level of corrections that we're looking for
11:32 with the students teaching this evaluation
11:35 is just their overall stage presence,
11:37 how comfortable they are with teaching this lesson,
11:39 how comfortable they are with the actual lesson plans themselves.
11:43 To ensure it is draped evenly, we can pinch at the bottom
11:46 to ensure that they're flush.
11:48 Give it a little tug.
11:49 These instructors are kind of talking to the wall,
11:51 talking to their water bottle in some instances,
11:53 but they are going by the format.
11:55 This is essentially the dry runs that they're running here at MTIS,
11:58 where they actually get to the line and then figure out
12:00 how to master what we're teaching here at MTIS.
12:02 When I look down at this shoe from the top,
12:04 I should be able to see any of your shoe laces.
12:07 Can you see your shoe laces?
12:09 Yes, Sergeant.
12:10 In their final phase of training,
12:12 they will be responsible for instructing a flight of recruits
12:15 on the dorm lessons they learned at MTI school.
12:18 It is important for us to learn how to teach this to the trainees
12:22 because they need to know our standards
12:25 and they need to learn as well to practice their attention to detail.
12:29 The last 60 seconds is about usually probably 90 seconds.
12:33 Honestly, though, do you think trainees are probably going to do the same thing?
12:35 Whether it's you loading missiles, loading bombs, whatever the case may be,
12:38 the attention to detail of you putting the correct amount into everything
12:41 is the importance that we are teaching here at BMT.
12:44 At this time, Captain Cole and Senior Master Sergeant Morrell
12:47 will present the class their graduation certificates.
12:50 This class is graduating from the basic MTI training,
12:54 but they won't receive their campaign cover
12:57 until they've completed the final phase of training.
13:00 So upon graduating from MTIS, we'll have two weeks of cadre training
13:04 where we actually spend some time with the standard eval section here at MTIS.
13:08 After spending two weeks with them, we'll actually go out to our line squadrons
13:11 where we'll begin the TQ process,
13:14 where we'll actually be on the line with a trainer
13:16 getting qualified to become a fully certified instructor.
13:19 I found that I actually have a passion for teaching,
13:21 which I didn't really know that before.
13:23 It's really taught me more about myself.
13:25 It's taught me a lot about my strengths
13:27 and the things that I need to work on as an MTI.
13:29 Hut, top, trip, hop, hut, top, trip, hop, come left, march.
13:36 [BLANK_AUDIO]