Airman's Week

You arrived at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland (JBSA-Lackland) as a civilian. You'll leave as an Airman. The final days of BMT hand you your first real freedom since you stepped off the bus, reunite you with your family, and put you on a bus or plane to technical training.

The week that used to be its own program

Originally, Airman's Week was a standalone 31-hour program run by the 326th Training Squadron (1). After graduation, trainees spent an extra week in small-group sessions on ethics, resilience, and financial management, all orbiting one question: "What now, Airman?" In November 2018 the Air Force stretched BMT from 7.5 to 8.5 weeks and folded that content into the entire curriculum instead (2). BMT dropped back to 7.5 weeks during COVID adjustments in 2020, but the integrated approach stayed. Today "Airman's Week" simply means graduation week, and the goal is unchanged: professional, resilient Airmen grounded in Air Force core values, ready to contribute from day one at their first duty station.

The week itself works like a decompression chamber. The Air Force doesn't flip a switch from "trainee" to "Airman"; it releases restrictions gradually, so you practice making your own decisions while structure and supervision are still nearby. (How the current curriculum builds to this point: Weekly Training Overview.)

Three days, three ceremonies

Graduation events run Wednesday and Thursday, with departure Friday (3). Mornings start early and the timeline moves fast. Wednesday's events happen at or near the Pfingston Reception Center (PRC), 1800 Truemper St, Bldg 6330.

Wednesday: the run, the coin, the tap out

The Airman's Run kicks off at 7:30 AM: a 1.5-mile celebratory run through the "Airman's Arena" in your PT gear, covering the route twice so families get two chances to cheer. This is the first time they've seen you in nearly eight weeks. It will be emotional. Plan for that.

The Coin and Retreat Ceremony follows at about 9:30 AM. The Wing Commander or Command Chief Master Sergeant presents your Airman's Coin, the first and most significant challenge coin of your career: U.S. Air Force Symbol on the front, Core Values on the reverse, a tradition dating to late 1999 (4). A military band plays, the flag comes down for the formal Retreat, and then comes the "tap out": family members physically tap you on the shoulder to release you from formation. That tap is the first physical contact you've had with your family since you shipped out.

Your first Town Pass begins around 10:30 AM, with liberty until 8:00 PM.

Thursday: pass in review

The formal Graduation Parade steps off at 9:00 AM at the parade grounds across Military Highway, in dress uniform. You reaffirm your Oath of Enlistment and recite the Airman's Creed in unison with your fellow graduates. Historical aircraft from the Lackland Airpark surround the field, occasional flyovers add to the spectacle, and after the ceremony families tap out their Airman again (the aircraft make popular photo backdrops). Thursday's Town Pass runs from about 10:00 AM until 6:00 PM. Note the earlier return.

Friday: gone by late morning

Out-processing happens early Friday and most Airmen leave by late morning. There is no leave between BMT and tech school; you proceed directly to your next assignment. Details in the departure section below.

More freedom, not free

The contrast with earlier weeks is dramatic, and every graduation cycle someone misreads it. Graduation week means increased freedom, not unlimited freedom.

What you gain:

• Movement. No more marching in formation everywhere; after duty hours you walk the base normally.
• Meals. Dessert and soda at the DFAC, no speed-eating sessions, no portion restrictions.
• Communication. Extended phone time, activity centers with computers (your first email and social media in weeks), the Mini-BX open most evenings, library access.
• Base liberty. The Chaparral fitness center, golf course, activity center, and other approved facilities open up. Classroom sessions this week are co-ed, unlike the gender-separated flights of earlier BMT weeks.

What still stands: uniform at all times (no civilian clothes), no personal cell phones in the dormitory (phone use during liberty hours is at your MTI's discretion), dorm details and responsibilities, and strictly enforced curfews. MTI oversight continues at lower intensity. And the wingman policy is non-negotiable: you go nowhere alone, not to the BX, not to the fitness center, not off base. Hard rule, not a suggestion.

Town Pass runs on rules

Town Pass is your first chance to leave Lackland since you arrived for BMT, and it is an earned privilege, not a guaranteed right, governed by 737th Training Group (TRG) Operating Instruction 36-3 (5). All graduates get it Wednesday and Thursday; additional Sunday passes may be awarded for achievement, including Warhawk Fitness standard achievers, top physical training performers, flights with top academic status, and Honor Graduate recipients. Misconduct can revoke it.

Where you can go: within about one hour of JBSA-Lackland by navigation app (5). Downtown San Antonio, the River Walk, the Alamo, SeaWorld, and Six Flags Fiesta Texas are approved, and you may visit family staying near other local military installations, including JBSA-Randolph.

Getting there: VIA express buses depart from the front of the PRC about every 20 minutes on event days starting around 0920; you can ride as a passenger in a privately owned vehicle (you cannot drive); taxis and rideshares like Uber and Lyft drop off at the Luke East Gate or Valley Hi Gate visitor center parking.

What you carry: your military ID (losing it creates serious problems), 341 forms, money list, cash or a debit card, the CQ (Charge of Quarters) phone number, and your cell phone. During hours of darkness, add a reflective belt and a working flashlight.

What you cannot do, and this list is enforced:

• Drive any motor vehicle
• Wear civilian clothing
• Consume alcohol, tobacco, or vaping products
• Swim at hotels or theme parks
• Get tattoos, piercings, or brands
• Public displays of affection beyond a brief appropriate embrace
• Purchase or possess aerosol products or obscene materials
• Bring food back into the dormitory
• Visit off-limits establishments (briefed before your pass)
• Stay overnight off base

Trainees have drawn major disciplinary action for graduation week violations, administrative actions that follow you into your permanent record and affect your career. The rules feel excessive this close to the finish. They exist because someone before you made exactly the mistake you're thinking about.

What your family needs to know

After nearly two months of limited contact, preparation makes the reunion smooth instead of stressful. The full visitor playbook (event schedules, briefings, what to wear, parking) is in Graduation Week; here is what can't wait.

Base access starts before you ship. Every visitor 18 or older needs a background check: you get the Visitor Access Request Letter (VARL) from your recruiter, fill in your guests' information, and hand-carry it to basic training. Checks take several weeks, and Visitor Access Passes typically reach guests around Week 3 of training (6). You can request up to six adult guests (children under 18 enter free with a pass-holding adult and don't count against the limit), holders of valid DoD ID cards need no pass, and every adult shows a government-issued photo ID at the gate. If a pass is denied or hasn't arrived, you can sponsor the guest through the Luke East Gate Visitor Center (210-671-6169), a slow, first-come, first-served process. Foreign nationals cannot have background checks processed by Security Forces at all; personal sponsorship at the gate is their only route, and it takes even longer.

Logistics that bite late planners: on-base lodging is extremely limited and fills months in advance, so most families book off-base hotels (many offer military rates) or vacation rentals in the Valley Hi Gate and SeaWorld areas. Book refundable or transferable tickets, because graduation dates occasionally shift, and plan to arrive by Tuesday evening to beat Wednesday's early start. Make restaurant reservations for Town Pass meals; graduation weeks pack the popular spots, especially along the River Walk. The Airman's Run happens outdoors regardless of weather, and photography is permitted at every ceremony.

If they can't attend, graduation proceeds anyway, and the 37th Training Wing records every ceremony for its official YouTube channel, both the Coin Ceremony and the Graduation Parade. Live streaming was discontinued in mid-2022 (7). COVID-era limits are gone: the Airman's Run returned as a public event in November 2021 after graduation reopened to families (9).

Straight to tech school

The military arranges and pays for all travel to technical training, and the method depends on your destination:

• Bus for closer Texas bases: Sheppard AFB in Wichita Falls (aircraft maintenance, medical, civil engineering), Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo (intelligence, firefighting), or staying at Lackland (Security Forces, some cyber and intelligence fields)
• Commercial flight for more distant locations: Keesler AFB in Biloxi, Mississippi (administrative, air traffic control, electronic systems, cyber), Vandenberg Space Force Base in California (Space Force operations), and others

Packing: everything issued at BMT goes in your duffel bag and one small carry-on, and space is tight. Families should not bring personal items from home expecting you to pack them; ship them to your tech school address instead (your MTI can provide it). Keep electronics (laptops, chargers, phones) out of your BMT luggage too, along with aerosol cans and items on hangers: ship those separately.

Your personal cell phone comes back as you leave the BMT dormitory on departure day. At tech school, you resume normal calls, texts, and video chats when not in class or on duty.

On arrival, you check into the tech school dormitory and switch from BMT regulations to that installation's rules. A phase system initially restricts your liberty: Phase I keeps you on base and in uniform, and phasing up typically takes 2 to 4 weeks of passed room and open-ranks inspections before privileges like civilian clothes, driving a private vehicle, and off-base liberty return (8). For training programs longer than 20 weeks, the military may pay for spouse relocation.

One component note: Regular Air Force, Reserve, Guard, and Space Force Guardians all complete identical BMT and graduation ceremonies at the 737th Training Group. The paths split after graduation week: Active Duty ships to tech school Friday; Reserve and Guard members may return home first and attend tech school later, depending on their unit's training schedule and their AFSC; Guardians proceed to Space Force-specific technical training. More in Component Comparison.