You might be wondering first hand as to why I have put this article in the, "self improvement" category, with a subcategory of, "achievement" right? Well that is because I believe one of the greatest things you can do to improve yourself (especially in the eyes of society) and achieve selfless goals it is to be a member of the United States Military.

If you are reading this article, you are more then likely looking to join the Air Force and wonder if "Basic Training" (BMT) is hard. I will get into explaining this as well as my experiences I had with it after going through it as recent as May of 2011. But first...

I really have to congratulate you ahead of time in the fact that you are about to make one of the most selfless commitments and embark on a journey that will lead to your greatest self improvements and achievements you never thought were possible.

Okay, so you want to join the Air Force, and you're wondering is Air Force basic training hard. Awesome, you must be one smart cookie cause this is an elite force of some really intelligent individuals, and I know that you are.

To start to answer your question I will let you determine how hard Air Force basic training was for me by telling you a little bit of my experience.

I left for BMT last May 3rd. of 2011 and I was nervous as heck. It was going to be the biggest thing in life I have ever done, and the first time I had been away from home for such a long time.

Arriving at the airport in Texas that night at around 10pm is one night I will never forget..

The weather was nice though as I had flown in from Chicago so the change in climate was a nice first impression. On the buss ride over to Lackland Air Force Base I my hands were sweating and I couldn't help but to think, "what have I done!" We were dropped off at a building where we were given a boxed meal, and checked in.

Then they started to divvy us up among the different squadrons. I sat with about 6 of my buddies from MEPS who I left with and prayed that I be put in the same flight with at least one of them. I did eventually get called to be put in the 326th squadron with one of the few of my remaining friends so that was a relief.

But by that time it was already about 1 in the morning and all we wanted to do was go to sleep we were exhausted from traveling all day. We were in for a rude awakening however. When we arrived in front of our squadron I set my eyes on the first real smokey the bear hat wearing MTI (military training instructor) I had ever seen.

MINE, the meanest, baddest looking smokey the bear hat wearing MTI on base, SSgt. Cline...

He hopped on the bus and yelled at the top of his lungs, "Come on, get the hell off this bus. Get going, move it move it. Line up in 4 rows and don't put your bags down till I tell you to." We all looked like complete a** as we had a long way to go before we were going to call ourselves "Airman".

I never stopped thinking, "what the he** did I get myself into" but I think that it is totally normal and understandable as all you want to do is get the heck out of there once you are actually there.

Anyway, I am not going to go into detail as I don't want to give away all the surprises in store for you, but to answer your question better as to if the Air Force basic training is hard or not I am going to hit on that some now..

If hard for you is standing still while someone is yelling at the top of there lungs an inch from your face then you must have had some nice parents growing up, lol. Just kidding. It is really not as intimidating as you may think. So long as you can keep your composure and not look them in the eyes, you will be fine!

Waking up at 4:45 every morning and going to bed at 9:00 was probably the hardest part for me to get used to. In fact, I never got "used" to it, its just one of those things that kind of sucks for the whole 8 1/2 weeks, you just have to deal with it.

PT (physical training) was not fun for me either. It was not "hard" per-say, but if you are not in any kind of shape before you go either it is definitely not "easy" either. I hate, and let me say this again, HATE running. This was probably the absolute hardest thing for me.

Every morning you are going to wake up, and either have a run day where you will run for about 26 minutes or a strength day where you will do push ups and sit ups, that kind of thing. Otherwise, just being there and following the crowd kind of thing is the easy part. The days are long but the weeks become short as they pass.

You will get used to looking forward to Sundays as they are the best day of the week whether you are religious or not only for the fact that this is the only time frame in the whole week you will be free from MTI's. Afterwards is lunch, and it is always grilled cheese on Sunday, so you will hear the saying, "Grilled Cheese's and Jesus" a lot. Haha.

It really is the best day too because when and if you decide to go to church it is a fa-nominal experience and you really build comradery there by singing and crying with your mates. Sound gay? Wait till you go, I promise you'll break a tear just by the sheer joy you can get away from it all for these two hours.

It may not be the first week or so, I get it your that tough guy right? But by the 6th week or 7th knowing your almost out of there you will cry like a baby, maybe just inside if your too man enough to show it but it will happen either way!

The other hardest thing for me had to be eating in about 5-7 minutes and only 3 meals total in the day. If your flight was good your MTI might of rewarded you with a 10 minute dinner, but I will say this..

I got darn good at piling an enormous amount of food down my through in 5 minutes it still amazes me to this day how much I was able to get down. But when you are that hungry, and it is one of those things you look forward to day and night, well..

The heat didn't really bother me too much, yes it was hot as **** being Texas in the summer it would get up to about 100 degrees sometimes or more, but I would rather the hot then the cold. Personal preference I suppose, I don't think I would have made it if it were winter lol.

Lets see, what else.. I could really go on all day and tell you all about every day from my experience but I will conclude with saying that if you are looking for a definite answer as to if the Air Force Training being hard or not, I will have to say no. Challenging? Sure, but what good things come in life without being?

The biggest thing you will have to overcome is going to your recruiter and actually signing up! From there, you just push yourself again and again. I still push myself to doing things to this day being in the operational Air Force, and cannot believe I have accomplished so much this far.

I wouldn't take back a single experience I had in Air Force Basic Training either as it shaped me into the ultra cool and responsible airman I am today. Is Air Force Basic Training Hard?

I think the real question here is, "Are you mentally strong or not?" Because that is what it all comes down to, and I believe that any one can make it through basic training if they want it bad enough. You've got to want it, as with anything in life!