To get the regiment into shape Shaw appoints the tough Irish Sergeant Major Mulcahy to drill the men. Mulcahy is hard on the men singling out those who he feels are weak and cannot handle a weapon. At one point in the movie Mulcahy is beating a recruit named Thomas who is a personal friend of Shaw because he thinks Thomas cannot properly thrust a bayonet. When Shaw intervenes to ask Mulcahy if he is being too hard on the men Mulcahy replies "you grew up with him huh?" "Well let him grow up some more." For the majority of their training the men go without uniforms and shoes. This shortcoming in equipment is the result of a corrupt Quartermaster who thinks that other white regiment's needs are more important than the all black 54th's needs. It is only when Shaw makes an aggressive personal appeal to the Quartermaster than the unit receives the shoes it needs.
The regiment's training phase is depicted as a period of bonding and trying times for the men. They gain respect for themselves and the men training with them. For a time some of the men seem resentful of Colonel Shaw particularly Trip. But a powerful scene in the movie helps change opinion throughout the ranks. The men are lining up to receive their first pay check and while in line Shaw reads a decree that states colored soldiers shall be paid ten dollars a month compared to white soldiers" regular thirteen dollars a month. Some of the men accept the lesser amount but Trip is furious saying "a black soldier can stop a bullet just as good as a white man can." The scene shows the men's strong sense of pride as they began to realize what they were becoming. They were becoming soldiers just like white men in training and if they were to be payed less because they were black then they would accept no pay at all. Trip rallies the men to take their checks and "tear it up" once Shaw sees this he realizes how the men feel he gets their attention and says "if you men will accept no pay then none of us will" and he tears his check up as well.