Send Me: The making of a Soldier | Week 7

Official Statements

• Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office, November 12: “FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. — More than 100 Fort Leonard Wood trainees entered the field for Week 7 of [U.S. Army Basic Combat Training](https://www.goarmy.com/army-life/basic-training) to tackle the Anvil Field Training Exercise, the culminating challenge of White Phase. Before sunrise Nov. 4, 2026, recruits assigned to Company A, 3rd Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Chemical Brigade, stepped off into a chilly drizzle for a nearly 8-mile ruck march to Training Area 241, where they spent the next three days training in the Ozark woodlands.”

• Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office, November 12: “Trainees ruck to Anvil to provide a more realistic combat scenario,” said Staff Sgt. Joseph Welch, Company A senior drill sergeant. “They leave from the company and conduct a foot patrol to a training area where they will set up a patrol base just as they would during dismounted operations.” He said the trainees’ physical fitness has advanced over the past seven weeks through structured performance nutrition and disciplined daily physical readiness training.”

• Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office, November 12: “The trainees’ physical readiness has greatly improved since the beginning of BCT. All trainees are constantly put through conditioning - whether they are running everywhere they go or conducting physical readiness training. Their bodies adapt and become more accustomed to exercise as the weeks move forward,” Welch said. He added that the trainees have especially progressed in their ruck marching, increasing both the distance they can cover and the weight they can carry.”

• Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office, November 12: “We did not have any fallouts on the 7.5-mile ruck leading to Anvil. We have incorporated rucks into previous weeks, which has improved their abilities drastically,” Welch said. Upon arriving at their FTX site, trainees constructed fighting positions to serve as their sleeping areas before transitioning into battle drills. Welch said Anvil builds on the skills trainees developed during Red and White phases and forges their ability to react decisively to enemy contact and maneuver with discipline across roads, open terrain and other exposed areas.”

• Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office, November 12: “Conducting the battle drills with no chaos is easy, we need to see how they perform with loud noises, casualties and with a gas mask on. We implement the use of blank rounds that simulate live rounds and pyrotechnics that simulate grenades, artillery and gas,” Welch said. “When they see smoke, they know they must don their gas masks and move upwind. When they hear a whistle followed by a loud boom they know they need to evacuate the area.”

• Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office, November 12: “In another training scenario, trainees were reacting to enemy contact when a simulated grenade detonated nearby, notionally injuring a member of the element. “They used tactical combat casualty care that they learned in Red Phase to treat and evacuate the casualty,” he said. Spc. Cassidy Smithberg, basic combat trainee with Company A, said the cold nights and long days were challenging, but the FTX was rewarding and worthwhile.”

• Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office, November 12: “I learned a lot from the battle drills and patrolling at night. I was responsible for waking everybody up for fire guard,” Smithberg said. “We have been talking about different battle drills for so long, it was insightful to execute them with my battle buddies. Putting our new knowledge into practice helped bring the training we have received into focus, especially the importance of always maintaining accountability for our weapons.”

• Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office, November 12: “According to Welch, the rifle marksmanship training trainees receive during White Phase serves as a critical foundation for the Anvil FTX. “By this point, they have become extremely familiar with handling their weapon system. Anvil is a direct reflection on the muscle memory and attention to detail that the trainees learn while on the live ranges,” Welch said. “In the Army we have a crawl, walk and run stage for everything. The crawl stage, regarding FTXs, is Hammer. The walk stage is Anvil.”

• Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office, November 12: “According to Welch, those repetitions prepare trainees to run in Blue Phase - the final and most demanding BCT stage. “While rifle marksmanship teaches trainees how to shoot. Anvil teaches trainees how to shoot, move and communicate,” he said. “Buddy team live-fire training, conducted during Blue Phase, will consist of trainees performing those tasks with live rounds. White Phase is what solidifies weapon safety and basic squad tactics to enable them to perform under stress that they will endure during Blue Phase.”

• Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office, November 12: “In addition to executing the FTX, trainees completed hip stability training and a cohesive company run. The physical demands of the Army met military heritage Nov. 2, 2026, when trainees caught a glimpse of the professional Soldiers they are transforming into while being fitted for their Army Green Service Uniforms, which they will wear at graduation in less than a month.”

• Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office, November 12: “More Anvil FTX photos from Week 7 are available to view on [Fort Leonard Wood's Flickr](https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjD5vjS). Company A blasts into Blue Phase on the grenade range before testing their strength, speed and grit with a Combat Field Test competition and buddy team live-fire training during Week 8 of BCT.”