In April 2020, trainees arrived at their battalion at Fort Jackson, South Carolina to begin the 10-week journey to become American Soldiers. During that time trainees were training under a new model called “2+8” in which training is done “at platoon-level, with trainees being exposed to the smallest amount of people possible. The “2+8” training took place for two weeks before trainees began eight weeks of more interactive training. Basic Combat Training was still 10 weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic but this new model helped stop the spread of COVID-19, and if a trainee did have symptoms, the virus could easily be contained. Also, during this time family members could not attend graduation in person. It wasn't until April 2021 that Fort Jackson resumed in-person graduation as part of a pilot program where up to 500 family members were allowed to attend the ceremony.