FortJacksonFamilyDay.com is an independent guide built to help families plan their trip to Basic Combat Training graduation at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina.
Graduation week is a proud, emotional, and surprisingly logistics-heavy event — families travel from across the country, often on short notice, and need to sort out hotels, transportation, base access, and how the ceremony works. This site gathers that information in one place so you can focus on your Soldier.
45,000+
Annual Graduates
1917
Established
20 min
From CAE Airport
Who Writes This
This guide is edited and maintained by Sawyer Cole. Every page is built from official Fort Jackson and Army sources — including home.army.mil, published visitor guidance, and the official graduation calendar — cross-checked against accounts shared by other military families who've been through Family Day and graduation themselves. Pages are reviewed and updated as policies change, like the new 2026 visitor pass requirement.
This site is not affiliated with the U.S. Army, the Department of Defense, or Fort Jackson. Every effort is made to keep information accurate, but dates and policies change, so always confirm details with your Soldier and official Fort Jackson sources before you travel.
Some links on this site are affiliate links — see the affiliate disclosure.
Hotels near post