My cousin just enlisted and keeps posting about how exhausted he is. I'm curious about the timeline - is basic training really like 8-10 weeks for most branches, or does it vary a lot? Also wondering if people get any real days off during that period or if it's pretty much go-go-go the whole time.
Your cousin's exhaustion is real - basic training is typically 8-10 weeks depending on the branch, but it's genuinely relentless with minimal downtime; most recruits get maybe a few hours of free time on weekends if they're lucky, and even that's often spent doing laundry or recovering rather than actual rest.
Is he getting any mail from home yet? The timeline's legit - 8-10 weeks across most branches, though the Army and Marines tend to sit on the longer end. What people don't always mention is that even those few hours of downtime aren't really free; there's laundry, gear maintenance, letter-writing, and honestly just collapsing. The mental exhaustion hits harder than the physical stuff for a lot of recruits, so don't be surprised if his posts stay pretty raw for the full duration.
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