Texas State Guard Basic Training: Length, Tracks, and What Recruits Learn Before Becoming Soldiers

Major General Roger O. Sheridan, the new Commanding General of the Texas State Guard (State Defense Force), walks through exactly what recruits can expect from TXSG Basic Training. He explains the course length and how the pipeline differs for prior-service versus non-prior-service recruits—highlighting an accelerated path for those with previous military experience while maintaining a full, standards-based curriculum for first-timers. Sheridan describes how the program builds core soldier skills and discipline from day one, with an emphasis on physical readiness, teamwork, and safety. He also addresses whether training elements like Search & Rescue and obstacle course fitness events are incorporated, clarifying how they’re used to reinforce practical readiness. The conversation closes with a look ahead at a forthcoming policy update that may add formal firearms training to the Basic Training Program and why that may be needed for future missions.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This episode was made possible by Dustin Colgrove, Colonel C McAdams, Sr.
Colonel Phillip Smith, and other Patreon members. Support us at
patreon dot com forward slash State Defense Force.

Speaker 2 (00:12):
So I guess my next question would be moving on
to So let's actually move on to basic training. This
is one of my favorite topics. So one question I
had is how many days in total from beginning to end.
I guess there's a Texas State Guard recruit who has
no prior military service undergo in basic training before graduating.

Speaker 3 (00:38):
Well, we get it broken down into two phases. One
is called ARBOT excuse me obot, and then the next
one is ARBOT. The first part is that they're basically
doing online courses and things, giving them prepared a lot
of FEMA courses, and so that could take anywhere from
if they're hustling sixty days all the way to roughly

(01:02):
ninety days. And then from there they will send them
to BOT, which is a five day course in which
they do a whole bunch of training and that's in person.
And so once they complete the whole training phase, they
come out with a they're certified. They'll make sure where

(01:22):
etn our tracking system. They'll be certified in our MOSQ,
which is Military Occupational Skills Qualification, which is a shelter
person mass care specialists. So we'll use those FEMA terminologies
to actually get them a certification, and so when they
go to the unit, they're ready to deploy out. So overall,

(01:48):
for a person that has no prior service, it could
take one hundred and twenty one hundred and fifty days,
maybe a little bit longer depending on how fast he
can get the o bot partner on. But if your
prior service, you can, you know, maybe thirty days, sixty days,
depending on how fast you get your stuff done, and

(02:08):
then we get you back in the system.

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Oh wow, Okay, So I guess what types of training
would a typical recruit undergo in basic training? I know
you guys have obstacle courses. I've seen numerous pictures of
Texas State Guard troops repelling, but I think that's your

(02:31):
SAR unit. Can you tell us a little bit more.
Do you guys go through firearms training? Do you guys
go through shelter management training? Things like that?

Speaker 3 (02:43):
Well, I'll answer, I guess for the for the most part, yes,
we do incorporate an obstacle force and you know if
there's repelled repelling, No, that's not our primary focus. There
is a lot of team building exercises, but for the
most part, when you come to our our body, you're

(03:05):
going to learn how what is the State Guard, and
you're going to learn the capabilities to make you a
service member. That is, you've got to learn how to
shelter management, you got to learn how your tracking system,
and you know the basic military customs and courtesies. So
that's what you're going to get. You're going to get
a basic credential person and within five days. There's not

(03:31):
a lot of time you can get that all done. Now,
you talked about weapons training, so the current stance right
now is that we do not do weapons training. Now
we can go and support National Guard Airguard on h
and we actually do compete, but it's not a State
Guard sanction event and we do not practice maneuvers or

(03:54):
anything of that nature. So with the new policy coming
out and being reviewed, you know that our stance could
change that they do want us to be more prepared
with weapons systems, we could engage our law enforcement agencies

(04:14):
and additionally, it depends really what the need in the
mission is coming up in the near future, so but
right now as far as weapons training, there is none