During AIT, are people sometimes let out on weekends?

it depends on your definition of "let out". It also depends on your MOS, since AIT is MOS specific.

I was at Ft Lee (92A), and our AIT was 13 weeks long, the first three weeks, we were not allowed to leave post. After that, we could go out during weekends as long as we did not go further than 50 miles from the post. I honestly don't think any of us went more than 5 miles from post.

Also, it depends on your Drills. If they decide that your class needs to remain in the Company area all weekend, you'll be in the Company area all weekend.

Do they still call those first weeks "total control"?....that's what it was when I was at AIT (many moons ago). We couldn't wear civilian clothes or leave post. After that our time was our time.

we were on lockdown most of the time at AIT. Our DS was a new who was trying to prove how tough he was. His first platoon the one right before ours was one that he helped out on while waiting on our platoon and no one in the platoon listened to him or anything. Kind of made him mad.

It's the Phase system now. For my AIT (at Fort Meade, MD), we spent the first 4 weeks at phase IV. In this phase, we couldn't wear civilian clothes or leave post. And we couldn't leave the company area without a buddy. We were also required to be in our rooms for bed check at midnight on the weekends, but then we could get up and go to the day room.

After that was phase V, which we were at for 5 weeks (I think). As a Phase V, we had civilian clothes and could leave post on the weekends. Bed check was at 2 a.m. unless you were signed out for the night. As a phase V we were allowed to stay one night off post on the weekend, but it's not like that anymore.

After that, if you were still there, you phased up to VA. At VA, you could leave post any day of the week, but on school nights you had to be back for 9 p.m. bed check. You could also spend both Friday and Saturday nights off post, this has since changed to only one night a weekend off post. If you aren't signed out to be somewhere, bed check is at 2 a.m.

Also, we weren't allowed to drink until VA.

Anyway, that's how it was where I was. It's different everywhere, though.