As the rest of her classmates spend the last few days of summer vacation shuffling through clothing racks for back to school outfits, rising high school senior Audrey Mewborne, 17, marches on Fort Jackson's Hilton Field Aug. 4 saluting the colors with her unit at graduation.

While most people her age go back to school with new haircuts and stories about the trips they took, Audrey is coming back with 10 weeks of military training and a new title: Pvt. Mewborne of the U.S Army Reserves.

"This experience has helped me gain confidence and become more assertive," she said. "I've never shot a weapon before and the kick back scared me, but I got through it."

Audrey is a part of the Split Option program. The program allows juniors in high school to enlist in the military and complete Basic Combat Training the summer before their senior year. After graduating high school, they will attend advanced individual training.

Staff Sgt. Leander Outlaw, who is the senior drill sergeant for Charlie Company 1-34, says that there is no difference in training someone in high school from training someone that just got out.

"These military millennials have different ways of learning but we do everything by standard," said Outlaw. "Some of them are hands on, some of them are more textbook. We just try to incorporate how they learn into how we train them."

Audrey's decision to join the military early was part getting a jumpstart on her military career and part following in the footsteps of her father, Fort Jackson's director of personnel, Lt. Col. Clifford Scott Mewborne.

"Now that I've gone through basic I realize everything my father was teaching me were Army Values," she said. "Everything I've learned while here have been things my father has already instilled in me."

As proud as he is that his daughter decided to join the Army early, it's hard for Scott to wrap his head around that just three months ago his baby was just 16 years old.

"I know what's she's going through," said Scott who completed his basic training at Fort Jackson in September 1987. "In the letters she's been writing home, I read them out loud to my wife and hear what she she's been dealing with, I say 'ah yeah that sounds very familiar.' Not a lot has changed."

Audrey said what she missed most while being in basic training was her father.

"I wasn't worried about her," admits Scott. "Physically she's in good shape, she's mentally strong, she knows who she is, she's a solid Christian lady and her values are solid. I knew nothing would get to her because she's just a strong, strong girl."