No — if you’re on active duty, you don’t go home after Air Force Basic Military Training. You ship directly to technical training school the Friday after graduation, with only a short town pass on Wednesday and Thursday to spend a few hours off base with visiting family. Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve members are the exception: when there’s a gap before their tech school start date, they return home to wait. Your first real trip home as an active-duty Airman comes after tech school, weeks or months later.
What Graduation Week Actually Looks Like
BMT graduation events run Wednesday and Thursday at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland.1Air Force Basic Military Training. BMT Graduation Information Wednesday is the Airman’s Run and Coin Ceremony; Thursday is the formal parade. On both days, new Airmen get a town pass to leave the installation with family, but only within one hour of Lackland.2Air Force Basic Military Training. Liberty
The window is tight. Wednesday’s curfew is 8 p.m. back at the squadron. Thursday tightens to 6 p.m. Late returns bring disciplinary action.2Air Force Basic Military Training. Liberty For most families, that means a couple of meals in San Antonio and some catching up. It’s the first personal time an Airman has had in nearly eight weeks, but it isn’t a trip home.
Why You Ship Straight to Tech School
On Friday morning, the day after the parade, every new Airman leaves Lackland for their technical training base.1Air Force Basic Military Training. BMT Graduation Information There is no detour home. The Air Force assigns your tech school location based on your career field, and training length runs from roughly four weeks to a full year.3U.S. Air Force. Training
You carry everything you own when you ship, including all government-issued gear from BMT. Official guidance discourages families from loading Airmen up with extra bags at graduation because space is limited. If you want to send personal items, mail them to the tech school address instead.4Air Force Basic Military Training. Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Take Leave During Tech School?
Active-duty Airmen earn 2.5 days of leave per month of service, and that clock starts on your first day at BMT.5Department of the Air Force. DAFI 36-3003 Military Leave Program After a few months of tech school, you may have five to ten days banked. Whether you can use them is a different question. All tech school leave requires approval from your Military Training Leader, and shorter courses may not offer any leave windows at all.
The main opening is the holiday stand-down around Christmas, commonly called Exodus. Airmen in training over the holidays can typically take roughly 10 days off using accrued leave, at their own expense for travel.6Sheppard Air Force Base. Holiday Exodus Approaches If your course runs only a few weeks and doesn’t cross a holiday, you may finish without a single day of leave.
Guard and Reserve: The Exception
If you’re joining the Air National Guard or Air Force Reserve instead of active duty, you often can go home after BMT. When there’s a gap between your BMT graduation date and your tech school start date, you return to your home unit to wait.7Department of the Air Force. DAFMAN 36-2136 These gaps are common: Guard and Reserve members get lower priority for tech school seats than active-duty Airmen, so waits of several months are not unusual.
The Air Force Reserve formalizes this through the Split Training Option, which lets non-prior-service recruits finish BMT and then return home until a slot opens.8507th Air Refueling Wing. Split Training Option Flight – Theyre Not a Forgotten Force During the wait, Guard and Reserve members typically drill with their home unit one weekend a month. Gap length varies widely by career field, so ask your recruiter what to expect.
Your First Real Trip Home Comes After Tech School
For active-duty Airmen, the first genuine chance to go home is after graduating tech school. At that point, the Air Force issues Permanent Change of Station orders to your first duty assignment, and there are a few ways to work in a trip home before you report.
Leave En Route
You can request chargeable leave between tech school and your first duty station through your chain of command.9MyAirForceBenefits. Permanent Change of Station PCS CONUS It uses your accrued balance. If you don’t have enough days, you can request advance leave, which lets you borrow against future accrual and puts your balance negative.5Department of the Air Force. DAFI 36-3003 Military Leave Program Advance leave requires commander approval and means you won’t earn usable leave for a while after arriving at your new base.
Watch the cost. The Air Force pays for transportation from tech school to your first duty station by the most direct route. Detour home and you’re reimbursed only up to what the direct trip would have cost. Any extra comes out of your pocket.10DoD Travel Allowance Guidance. DoD Travel Allowance Guidance Appendix B
Recruiter Assistance Program
The Recruiter Assistance Program offers up to 12 days of non-chargeable leave for Airmen who agree to help a recruiter in their hometown.11AF Accessions Center. Recruiter Assistance Program RAP The program is authorized under DAFI 36-3003. You go home, but you’re expected to work: sharing your experience at local schools, helping with recruiting events, and supporting the Delayed Entry Program. There’s no per diem or travel reimbursement, so flights and food are on you. The 12-day window can include only one weekend.12AF Accessions Center. Recruiter Assistance Program RAP Operations Handbook It’s worth considering if you want to visit family without burning your leave balance.
One Thing Permissive TDY Isn’t
You may hear about permissive temporary duty around a PCS. Your gaining or losing commander can approve up to 10 days of permissive TDY, and it’s non-chargeable.5Department of the Air Force. DAFI 36-3003 Military Leave Program It is specifically for finding off-base housing at your new duty station, not a free trip home.
A Realistic Timeline
- BMT graduation (around week 8): a few hours of town pass liberty in San Antonio on Wednesday and Thursday. No trip home.
- Tech school (roughly weeks 8 through 16 or later): little to no leave unless your course spans Exodus or runs long enough to accumulate meaningful days.
- After tech school: your first real chance to go home, using chargeable leave en route, advance leave, or RAP.
For a short tech school of six to eight weeks, the total time between leaving for BMT and first arriving home can run about four months. For career fields with longer training pipelines, it can be six months to well over a year. Guard and Reserve members with a break in training remain the clear exception, often heading home within days of BMT graduation.