U.S. Army Soldiers with the Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, stand at attention during drill and ceremony practice at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vt., April 23, 2016. Soldiers perform a multitude of basic Soldier...

U.S. Army Capt. John Lescure, commander, Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, shakes hands with Pvt. Amy Michalczyk, human resources specialist, Headquarters, Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain...

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Sean Myers, operations non-commissioned officer, Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, gives Pfc. Joseph Marcoux, aircraft powerplant repairer, Detachment 2,Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 224th Aviation R...

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Sean Myers, operations non-commissioned officer, Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, gives Spc. Keith Lewia, intelligence analyst, Headquarters, Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regime...

U.S. Army Capt. John Lescure, commander, Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, shakes hands with Spc. Keith Lewia, intelligence analyst, Headquarters, Headquarters Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain), during...

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Sean Myers, operations non-commissioned officer, Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, shakes hands with Pfc. Brett Johnson, medic, Headquarters, Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 172nd Cavalry Regiment (M...

U.S. Army Capt. John Lescure, commander, Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, shakes hands with Pfc. Brett Johnson, medic, Headquarters, Headquarters Troop, 1st Squadron, 172nd Cavalry Regiment (Mountain), during the Battle hand-...

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Sean Myers, operations non-commissioned officer, Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, gives Pvt. David Delong, military police, Detachment 1 (Military Police), Headquarters, Headquarters Company, Special ...

A U.S. Army Soldier, Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, performs the run event of the Army Physical Fitness Test during drill at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vt., April 23, 2016. Soldiers in blue phase, those about ...

A U.S. Army Soldier, Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, performs the run event of the Army Physical Fitness Test during drill at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vt., April 23, 2016. Soldiers in blue phase, those about ...

U.S. Army Pvt. Hunter Brouillette, Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, stands at parade rest during drill and ceremony practice at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vt., April 23, 2016. Soldiers perform a multitude of bas...

A U.S. Army Soldier with the Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, performs the push-up event of the Army Physical Fitness Test during drill at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vt., April 23, 2016. Soldiers in blue phase, ...

U.S. Army Pvt. Hunter Brouillette, squad leader, Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, conducts Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System training during drill at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vt., April 23, 2016....

U.S. Army Pfc. Dylan Raymond with the Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, checks a hand receipt for the issued items at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vt., April 23, 2016. Soldiers are given an initial issue before lea...

U.S. Army Pvt. Amy Michalczyk with the Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, checks a hand receipt for the issued items at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vt., April 23, 2016. Soldiers are given an initial issue before le...

U.S. Soldiers with the Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, unload supplies at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vt., April 23, 2016. Soldiers are given an initial issue before leaving for their units. (U.S. Army National ...

A U.S. Soldier with the Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, stands at parade rest with the unit guidon at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vt., April 23, 2016. The Recruit Sustainment Program focuses on preparing Soldier...

U.S. Army Pvt. Hunter Brouillette, Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, surrenders items prohibited at drill at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vt., April 23, 2016. The Recruit Sustainment Program forbids soldiers from h...

U.S. Army Pvt. Taylar Larock, Recruit Sustainment Company, Vermont Army National Guard, signs in at the beginning of drill at Camp Ethan Allen Training Site, Jericho, Vt., April 23, 2016. The Recruit Sustainment Program focuses on preparing Soldiers ...

To prevent these losses, the Army National Guard designed the Recruit Sustainment Program (RSP) to prepare and educate Soldiers for the realities of basic training. Since instituting the program the number of guardsmen discharged during training has reduced.

"What we've done in RSP is we have a controlled environment where the instructors and cadre members are well trained to educate recruits on what they need to focus on for Basic Training," said Capt. John Lescure, Recruit Sustainment Company commander, Vermont National Guard. "They learn how to wear a uniform, they learn the rank, they learn how they're supposed to get paid, and they learn the programs the military has initiated."

"A lot of the skills I learned here I used right off the bat and it helped set me apart," said Pfc. Zebulon Benoit, a Soldier with the Recruit Sustainment Company who has completed his training. Because of the program, Benoit was a step ahead of his peers.

The program is focused on all aspects of the basic training experience.

"We try to manage that expectation and make sure they're prepared for the emotional stress that they're going to feel at basic training, and the physical stress that they're going to encounter," said Lescure.

The exercises at the RSP help to further skills that make a Soldier successful.

"We do a lot of team building exercises," said Pvt. Hunter Brouillette, a soldier with the Recruit Sustainment Company. "Since I started coming here I learned to work in teams."

Though the program focuses on teaching Soldiers the necessary skills and attitude for excelling in basic, it is also the Soldiers' first introduction to life in the National Guard.

"All they've done up to that point is work with a recruiter, go to MEPS (Medical Entrance Processing Station) and that may be all they know of the military," said Lescure.

So the RSP is structured to introduce Soldiers to what is available to them and what jobs there are in the National Guard.

"No matter what their MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) is we're going to tell them a little bit about that, so they can remain excited while at basic training about coming back to the unit they're going to be assigned to," said Lescure.

Despite the effectiveness of the program, there is still a way for Soldiers to improve.

"The more questions you ask, the more you're going to learn. The more you learn, the better prepared you are for when you get there," said Benoit.

Giving Soldiers the opportunity to see outside of the Recruit Sustainment Program helps give them the motivation to finish training.

"We've seen a lot of unit commanders, unit first sergeants, platoon sergeants, platoon leaders, come and visit RSP, and we really encourage that because we want these recruits to understand what they're coming back to after they go to basic training and AIT (Advanced Individual Training)," says Lescure. "What really keeps them going is knowing the unit they're going to go to when they get back."