By Robert Johnson
Managing editor
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It all starts with Basic Combat Training. Whether you are planning a 30-plus-year military career, or want to be an Army Reservist long enough to help you through college, your transition from civilian to Soldier begins with Basic Combat Training.

Basic training is a universal equalizer. It doesn’t matter whether you come from a rich family or a poor family, just graduated high school or just graduated college; it doesn’t matter if you are black, white, Asian or Hispanic; male or female, tall or short — basic training treats you all the same. Your time at basic training will stay with you the rest of your life as a rite of passage, and suddenly, you will know what your father meant when he talked about the tough drill sergeants at Fort Benning or when your grandfather recalled a letter your grandmother sent to him during his days at Fort Dix before shipping out to Korea.

For the next 11 weeks, the GUIDON is proud to bring you Basic Combat Training through the eyes of four Soldiers who have volunteered to be part of something great — the U.S. Army. Our own photojournalist Melissa Buckley is following privates Tayler Douglas, Andrew Jobes, Darwin Rivera and Jessica Vanheel as they complete their Initial Entry Training.

Our goal is to show you the personal side of becoming Army Strong — the emotional toll that BCT can thrust onto a person, as well as the physical and mental aspects of this demanding time. Not everyone who comes to basic training is successful, but those that do leave with a sense of Warrior ethos that is unlike anything else they can imagine. At graduation, these four will hopefully find a new sense of pride, more confidence in themselves and a feeling of accomplishment that will forever separate them from the average citizen.

We know that we cannot convey every aspect of Basic Combat Training in a weekly article, but we hope that we can convey the transformation these new Soldiers will experience as they become part of something greater than themselves, and earn an honor within our society, our community, and our hearts.