History Channel Goes Basic

The grueling pace of transforming civilians into soldiers is the subject of a
new series from The History Channel.

In Basic Training, History will follow six recruits -- four men and
two women -- as they go through the paces of Army basic training and its
attendant success, failure, pain and elation from revelry to bedtime.

The network said that for the weekly series, premiering Aug. 5, the Army
afforded it unparalleled access.

History's cameras followed the fates and fortunes of the six recruits over a
three-month period, tracking the men and women as they learned marksmanship,
unarmed combat, teamwork and survival techniques.

Basic Training will also detail the disciplinary actions and punishments
meted out to the recruits by their superiors.