Army drops bayonets, busts abs in training revamp

FORT JACKSON, S.C. – At 5 a.m. on the Army's largest training base, soldiers grunt through the kinds of stretches, body twists and bent-leg raises that might be seen in an "ab blaster" class at a suburban gym.

Adapting to battlefield experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Army is revamping its basic training regimen for the first time in three decades by nixing five-mile runs and bayonet drills in favor of zigzag sprints and honing core muscles.

Trainers hope the switch will better prepare soldiers physically for the pace of combat, with its sudden dashes and rolling gun battles. They also want to toughen recruits who are often more familiar with Facebook than fistfights.

In this age I’d figure you’d be more likely to get hung up or even hurt with the thing than ever use it to any advantage. The negatives outweigh the positives at this juncture. I’d rather rely on a knife or my fists.

I don't get that, I have a pretty thorough history of fighting, and have always loved the bayonet, by the time I went into the army we had the M-16 which was shorter than the old German Mauser and it's more traditional bayonet size that I had practiced with as a boy, but nonetheless, I had great confidence in it.

In the right hands, an M-16 with a bayonet on it is a total weapon for hand to hand, with many options and capabilities that are not available to a man with nothing but a knife, and the idea of some normal man trying to survive my bayonet and rifle butt (and don't forget that protruding magazine) with nothing but his fists is just too difficult for me to imagine.

If you have faced knives in fights then you may remember how easy it is to disrupt the attacker with anything in your hands, a light chair, a lamp, almost anything, to actually have a bayonet fixed rifle that you like and are trained with, gives you a huge advantage.

When I first got to VN I heard we were mounting '06 rifles on mules. I thought - Wow, that's Old Corps.

I busted a gut laughing at that!

Hell...from what the poster above has said, these modern Army troops could probably carry a 106 on their shoulder like a squirrel rifle.

He’s not an idiot, and he sure as hell knows what he’s talking about. He wasn’t awarded a Bronze Star following a long tour in Iraq leading combat troops for nothing.

He also happens to be my son, so watch your language.

The bayonet is not only a last resort it is also a

“state of mind”,,,

Notice the fact that for years some guns sold in the USA

had the lugs sawed off...Be safe...;0)

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