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The Complete List of What's NOT Allowed at Air Force BMT

JoshU.S. Air Force VeteranBlog
The Complete List of What's NOT Allowed at Air Force BMT
Table of ContentsShow
  1. Substances: what you can't consume
  2. Phones and visitors
  3. Movement: where you can't go
  4. Conduct: how you can't act
  5. Relationships: the bright red lines
  6. Test integrity: the one that's a crime
  7. The odds and ends that catch people
  8. Here comes the motivational speech
  9. Want more?

Every trainee gets briefed on the rules of conduct in their first days at BMT, usually while too overwhelmed to absorb any of it. So here's the entire list now, while you can actually read it calmly, because the trainees who get in trouble at basic are almost never the rebels. They're the ones who genuinely didn't know.

The blanket principle BMT itself teaches: if you have to ask whether something is allowed, it probably isn't. When in doubt, ask your MTI first. Now, the specifics.

TL;DR - the big ones people ask about:

  • No phone use until the coin ceremony at the end of training
  • No visitors until then either
  • No outside food in the dorm (authorized nutrition bars are the only exception)
  • No supplements or OTC meds unless a military doctor clears them (cough drops are fine)
  • No alcohol, no tobacco or vapes, no energy drinks
  • No PDA, and no going anywhere without a wingman
  • Breaking test-integrity rules isn't a house rule, it's a federal crime

Substances: what you can't consume

  • Alcohol. Any kind, any amount, the whole 7.5 weeks.
  • Tobacco. Cigarettes, dip, vapes, all of it. If you're a nicotine user, start weaning now, because BMT quits for you cold turkey on day one.
  • Supplements and over-the-counter meds. Your preworkout, protein powder, melatonin, and ibuprofen stash all stay home. The exceptions: cough drops, and anything prescribed or cleared by a military medical doctor.
  • Aerosol products. Strictly prohibited. Don't even buy them at the BX.
  • Obscene or pornographic material.

And the one that genuinely surprises people: no outside food in the dormitory. The only exception is authorized nutrition bars. Grandma's cookies in a care package will not survive contact with this rule, which is why my care package post exists.

Phones and visitors

Phone use is prohibited until the retreat/coin ceremony near the end of training, unless squadron leadership grants express permission with direct oversight. Your phone gets locked away on arrival, and you'll sign a roster acknowledging the policy and its consequences. Same timeline for visitors: none until after the coin ceremony, including meetups at the chapel.

This is the rule families struggle with most, so I wrote a dedicated post on how BMT communication actually works: When Do You Get Your Phone at Air Force BMT?

Movement: where you can't go

BMT runs on the wingman system, and the movement rules exist to enforce it:

  • Never travel without a wingman. Anywhere. Ever.
  • No operating motor vehicles while at BMT.
  • No off-limits areas, on or off base, including mechanical areas of the dorms.
  • No entering the opposite-sex dormitory without an MTI present. If the MTI leaves, you leave.
  • No empty rooms (empty bays, supply rooms after hours, linen closets) unless you have a same-sex wingman and a clear training reason to be there.
  • No hitchhiking or flagging down rides.
  • Stay on your own squadron's patio unless leadership approves otherwise.
  • No leaving base except authorized Town Pass and official duties.

Conduct: how you can't act

  • No profanity or obscene language. Yes, really, and yes, this one is broken constantly and corrected constantly.
  • No degrading or threatening language toward other trainees. Slurs of any kind end careers before they start.
  • No PDA. No kissing, hand-holding, hugging, or walking arm-in-arm. The single exception: brief, moderate affection at homecomings, deployments, and graduation. So yes, you can hug your family at graduation. No, you cannot make it weird.
  • No collecting or soliciting money from other trainees, and no gambling or games of chance.
  • Touching other trainees only when a training task requires it. Talking is fine; contact is not.
  • The modesty rule: at minimum, a towel around you traveling to and from the shower or latrine.

Relationships: the bright red lines

Two categories here, and both are treated with zero tolerance:

  1. No sexual advances toward anyone, and no seeking or accepting favors from anyone, trainee or staff. If you experience or witness sexual misconduct, report it. The SARC is available 24/7, and you can request a confidential, anonymous referral through a chaplain.
  2. No social, personal, intimate, or sexual relationship with your MTI or any staff member, through any channel: in person, letters, DMs, social media, anything. This prohibition doesn't end at graduation either, so don't go friend-requesting your MTI from tech school.

Test integrity: the one that's a crime

You may not solicit, share, receive, or obtain any information about BMT tests or answer sheets, before, during, or after testing. That's Article 92 of the UCMJ, a federal offense, not a slap on the wrist. Study the material all you want (that's what the EOC guide is for). Never touch test content.

The odds and ends that catch people

  • Stay in uniform at all times, including Town Pass, unless directed otherwise.
  • No wearing OCPs or service uniforms for gym workouts or golf.
  • No swimming at hotels or theme parks during graduation liberty.
  • During graduation week, no visiting base housing or lodging unless your family is actually staying there, and even then only with squadron approval.

Here comes the motivational speech

Read that list again and notice something: not one of those rules is hard to follow. There's no rule requiring talent, just awareness. Most trainees who catch trouble at BMT didn't decide to break a rule; they wandered into one they never knew existed. You just read the whole list in five minutes, which puts you ahead of half the trainees who will stand next to you in formation. Follow the boring rules, bank the easy wins, and save your energy for the parts of BMT that are actually hard. I believe in you.

Every one of these rules comes from the current BMT study guide, and the full version, with every briefing and policy in context, lives in the free AF099 Basic Training course. Know the rules before someone yells them at you.

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