SEC 13 / THE SCHOOLHOUSE

LEARN THE LANGUAGE BEFORE DAY ONE.

The Schoolhouse is a free learning center for what the Guard assumes you already know: the ranks, the customs, the language, the test. Read a lesson, then put it to work: flashcards, practice questions, and calculators built into the ones that need them. Everything is sourced and pulse-checked against people serving right now, and none of it needs a login.

FREE FOR RECRUITS · VETERAN-BUILT · THE ANSWER MIGHT BE NO

SEC 14 / THE COURSE

Start at the top, or jump in anywhere.

The lessons run in an order, from deciding whether the Guard is for you all the way through your first year in. Every lesson links to the next one, so you can read the whole thing straight through. Or take what you need and leave the rest.

BEFORE YOU DECIDE

START HERE

LESSON 1 OF 1 Is the Guard right for you? An honest filter: who it fits, who should think twice, the real commitment, and Guard vs Active vs Reserve. PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 · 6 MIN

GETTING IN

5 LESSONS · 1 WITH PRACTICE

LESSON 1 OF 5 How you actually join Who can join (17 to 42), the steps from recruiter to Basic, and what MEPS is really like. PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 · 5 MIN LESSON 2 OF 5 · DRILL READY The ASVAB, explained The test that decides if you can enlist and which jobs you can pick. The AFQT, line scores, how to prep, and practice questions. 16 PRACTICE QUESTIONS · PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 LESSON 3 OF 5 Medical qualification and waivers The MEPS exam, disqualifying conditions, how a waiver works, and why honesty and documentation matter most. PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 · 4 MIN LESSON 4 OF 5 What is MEDPROS? The system that decides if you are medically ready, and the PULHES score inside it. PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 · 3 MIN LESSON 5 OF 5 The benefits, honestly A paycheck, education, health, retirement, skills, and job protection. The honest version, no dollar figures. PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 · 6 MIN

LEARN THE LANGUAGE

7 LESSONS · 4 WITH FLASHCARDS

LESSON 1 OF 7 · DRILL READY The ranks, and how to address them Enlisted, warrant, and officer. The insignia, the pay grades, and what to call each one so you never have to guess. 29 FLASHCARDS · PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 LESSON 2 OF 7 · DRILL READY Values, creeds, and oaths The Army Values, the Oath of Enlistment, the Soldier’s Creed, the Warrior Ethos, the General Orders, and the Army Song. 27 FLASHCARDS · PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 LESSON 3 OF 7 Customs and courtesies Who salutes whom, when and how, how to report, and what to do when the flag goes up or comes down. PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 · 6 MIN LESSON 4 OF 7 The chain of command From the President down to your team leader, plus the second chain that runs through the Governor. Who holds each seat, and how it works. PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 · 4 MIN LESSON 5 OF 7 Drill and ceremony basics How a command is built, the difference between the preparatory command and the command of execution, and the first movements you will learn. PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 · 5 MIN LESSON 6 OF 7 · DRILL READY Phonetic alphabet and military time Alfa to Zulu, zero six hundred, and the pro-words on the radio. The stuff you are simply expected to know. 26 FLASHCARDS · PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 LESSON 7 OF 7 · DRILL READY The fitness test, and how you train for it The Army Fitness Test with the pass and max standards for your age, a score calculator that grades every event, and the whole PT session: Preparation Drill, strength and mobility work, and Recovery Drill. SCORE CALCULATOR · STANDARDS BY AGE · PULSE CHECK JUL 2026

GETTING AHEAD

3 LESSONS

LESSON 1 OF 3 How you get promoted The time-based early ranks, the promotion-point system for sergeant, and what you actually control. PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 · 5 MIN LESSON 2 OF 3 Stripes for Buddies, explained How verified referrals can move your starting rank, and what nobody gets paid for. PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 · 4 MIN LESSON 3 OF 3 Stripes for Skills, explained Two different things hide under this name. Here is what we can verify on both. PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 · 4 MIN

AFTER YOU SIGN

3 LESSONS

LESSON 1 OF 3 Basic Training, what to expect The ten weeks, the three phases, what they test, and how to show up ready. Fort Jackson for many SC Soldiers. PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 · 7 MIN LESSON 2 OF 3 Guard life: the drill weekend One weekend a month, two weeks a year, and how people balance drill with a civilian job or school. PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 · 5 MIN LESSON 3 OF 3 Money: pay, budgeting, and protections How the pay works, a simple way to handle it, the legal protections that are yours while you serve, and the free help you can use. PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 · 6 MIN

REF

REFERENCE

LOOK IT UP ANY TIME

REFERENCE The glossary Every acronym in one place: MEDPROS, PULHES, AFT, MOS, TAG, RSP, and the rest of the alphabet soup. 54 TERMS · PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 REFERENCE The South Carolina Army National Guard The outfit our recruits join: a militia line that runs back to 1670, the storms it answered, and the two chains of command it serves. PULSE CHECK JUL 2026 · 6 MIN

EVERY LESSON CARRIES A PULSE CHECK. THAT IS THE DATE CADRE LAST VALIDATED IT AGAINST CURRENT POLICY AND AGAINST PEOPLE SERVING RIGHT NOW. WHEN THE RULES MOVE, THE LESSON MOVES.

Learn it here for free, no login. When you are ready, the real thing is a drill: the classes happen in person, at drills and on weeknights.

Come to a drill See the Zero Packet

COMING LATER: A PERSONALIZED VERSION THAT REMEMBERS WHAT YOU HAVE DRILLED AND BUILDS YOUR STUDY PLAN.

SEC 15 / THE OUTFIT

The outfit we prep you for.

Right now, Drill Zero is South Carolina. Our drills run here, our Cadre served here, and the outfit our recruits join is the South Carolina Army National Guard. So you should know who they are.

The South Carolina Guard traces its line to a colonial militia that was already mustering in 1670, more than a century before there was a United States Army to join. The right to raise it was written into the Carolina Charter of 1663. It has cleared roads and pulled people out of the water after storms you remember by name: Hugo, Matthew, Florence. It stands as the United States' National Guard partner to the Republic of Colombia. And it answers to two chains of command: the Governor of South Carolina when the mission is here at home, and the President when the nation calls. That last part is the whole point of the Guard.

Read the field history →