A rucksack on your back, a rifle in your hands, a kevlar helment and a sturdy pair of boots... these are the things road marches are made of. These and several kilometers, that is.
Road Marching is a test of endurance, important for all soldiers to master. It is also different from formation marching on several counts. While a regular march formation is four columns front to back, a roadmarch formation splits the soldiers evenly to each side of the roadway. Here you will mindlessly trudge, which though boring is advisable over singing (yes, the latter has happened, with unhappy results for the singers). There is also no cadence calling on a roadmarch, as it would be tactically disadvantageous to shout and sing in enemy territory. Weapons are pointed outward off the trail on each side, to prep for a surprise attack. In Basic Training, however, such attacks rarely occur. Watch your drill sergeants carefully, though... you never know when or where one of them might pop up.
Road march endurance, like PT, improves with time and practice. You will not be expected to hike twelve miles in the first week. Rather, you increase distance gradually until suddenly you find yourself marching distances previously only imagined. Besides, you don't have to roadmarch each time you go out to the ranges- that's what those cattle cars" are for. But if you want to take the scenic route, you'll know you can. And you will.
