Posted on 06/28/2005 6:03:43 AM PDT by cll
FORT KNOX, Ky. (AP) - The recruits of Echo Company stumbled off the bus for basic training at Fort Knox to the screams of red-faced drill instructors. That much was expected. But it got worse from there.
Echo Company's top drill instructor seized a recruit by the back of the neck and threw him to the ground. Other soldiers were poked, grabbed or cursed.
Once inside the barracks, Pvt. Jason Steenberger says, he was struck in the chest by the top D.I. and kicked ``like a football.'' Andrew Soper, who has since left the Army, says he was slapped and punched in the chest by another drill instructor. Pvt. Adam Roster says he was hit in the back and slammed into a wall locker.
Eventually, four Army drill instructors and the company commander would be brought up on charges. Four have been convicted so far.
The tough-as-nails D.I. who berates and intimidates recruits with remarkably creative profanity is a familiar figure to generations of men who went through the Army or the Marines, and a stock character in the movies - ``Full Metal Jacket'' and ``An Officer and a Gentleman,'' among them. The idea is to break the recruit down, instill discipline and make him a well-trained part of a cohesive fighting unit.
But Army regulations in effect since 1985 say superiors cannot lay a hand on their recruits to discipline them. The Army's Training and Doctrine Command regulations also disallow any physical or verbal hazing, which includes ``cruel or abusive tricks.'' Vulgar or sexually explicit language is also prohibited.
The guidelines reflect some of the lessons of the Vietnam era and the changing culture of the Army, which became an all-volunteer force with the end of the draft and began accepting women.
The Army gets complaints of abuse by drill sergeants ``all the time, but we often find that they are not founded,'' said Connie Shaffery, a Fort Knox apokeswoman.
The Fort Knox case, involving a unit of the 1st Battalion, 81st Armor Regiment, was unusual, too, in that a company commander was convicted.
The abuse took place in early February. An Army investigation began the next week, as the company's leaders were removed and the 25 recruits were sent to another command. Six of the trainees have since left the Army, including two who went AWOL.
``It was just chaos - constant commotion, constant yelling,'' Sgt. 1st Class Paul Holley said. Holley said he had come over from another company that day to help out, but was quickly turned off by what he perceived to be abuse, and left.
``In my eyes, it wasn't the way I would conduct an initial pickup,'' he said.
Staff Sgt. Jason J. Harris, a drill instructor who has not been charged in the scandal, testified at one court-martial that it was the worst treatment of recruits he had ever seen.
Staff Sgt. David H. Price, Echo Company's head drill sergeant, said on the witness stand at his own court martial in April that he was ``burned out'' from being a D.I. for too long. He also said that he felt that the guidelines on abuse limited his ability to turn recruits into tough soldiers.
The evidence in the scandal included a 25-minute video - taken by a sergeant as the recruits stepped off the bus - that showed the recruits being poked, grabbed and berated. Recruits are often videotaped on arrival, and the footage is shown during their training graduation or at family days to show how far they have come.
Capt. William C. Fulton, 35, the company's commander, was convicted last week of false swearing and dereliction of duty for not halting the abuse. He was sentenced to six months' confinement.
Earlier this year, Price was convicted of maltreatment and demoted, as was Staff Sgt. Ricky L. Stauffer. Staff Sgt. Michael G. Rhoades was found guilty of maltreatment and impeding an investigation, and received a bad-conduct discharge. Staff Sgt. Bryan G. Duncan is awaiting a court-martial.
Harvey Perrit, a spokesman for the Army Training and Doctrine Command in Fort Monroe, Va., said there 120 allegations of abuse against Army drill sergeants in fiscal year 2004, and as a result 16 drill sergeants were relieved of duty.
So far in fiscal year 2005, there have been 42 complaints of abuse, and six sergeants have been relieved of duty, Perrit said.
Shaffery, the Fort Knox spokesman, said reforms put in place before the incident helped reveal the abuse. ``We are holding to the policies and systems we have in place now, which discovered this situation within six days,'' she said.
Wait a second. I went through Reception Station Fort Dix in '83. We got there after midnight also. All the yelling we got was from other trainees when we entered the barracks and disrupted their sleep. Next day we were hand-held by a very nice E-4 to get our shots, uniforms, haircuts, etc. It wasn't too bad at all. They even gave us sodas and ice cream at the mess hall. I kept saying to myself, this boot camp stuff is easy.
Until the cattle wagons arrived. They stuffed us, well, like cattle with our duffle bags still attached to our backs. The same E-4 waving us goodbye with a smile. Then the doors opened when we got to our actual training unit. It reminds me of that scene in what's-its-name movie of fresh russian soldiers arriving by cattle car at Stalingrad...
"changed from running in boots during PT to running in sneakers."
Really? Are we really wearing sneakers? This is not just an exaggerated joke?
AND...this reporter should be satified that the Army initiated an investigation that led to convictions. What more do they want? Cash settlements where sissies and their families don't need to work for the rest of their lives?
They were clearly off base with that behavior.
Can't train them?
Screw it, break them so your incompetence is forever hidden.
Far lass than they would get in a war zone!
82nd ABN 1/508th BN Bco
"fury from the sky"
When you're on welfare, you have to go get your check.
It's unconfirmed for a reason.
Our drop zones weren't too bad, either.
Jump School at Benning during the summer never did seem like a good time to me.
I'm not kidding. Running shoes, running shorts...the works.
In most BT companies there was always a platoon of the injured, and the wash-outs. The DI's called them openly "Jerry's Kids".
A marching cadence, which the DI's led us with as we marched past a female company went like this: "They say that in the Army the women are mighty fine...they're short fat and ugly and march like Frankenstein".
And yes, boot camp is now integrated also.
This was instituted during slick willie.
They also determined that the packs were too heavy for the 'girls' so they bring them up to the front in a truck instead.
All standards are lower for 'girls' and now it seems we're to lower the standards for the boys too.
Heaven help us.
Sounds like my brother's experience at Camp LeJeune (sp?)
"The Company Commander lined us up at attention, walked up to the young man and brought his heel down on the bridge of his foot breaking it.....The guy processed out that week and we started winning competitions....."
Your company commander sounds like a real wimp. The Rooskies take new recruits and beat them mercilessly. Dropkicks to the face and chest aren't uncommon. It's not unusual for recruits to die from the abuse during basic but I'm sure it just makes the survivors tough. After all, look at what a great army they have. Your commmander should have pistol-whipped the guy and then broken his digits one by one. That would have really showed what a real leader he was.
507th PIR Cherry Jumper. Became an aviator after that (UH-1, UH-60, C-12).
After that it was Air Assault School. Motto: "Too scared too jump, too lazy to walk, Chocking Chickens, Hooah!"
Agree. Never during my 8 1/2 years did I ever lay a hand on my soldiers.
If I really needed to give one of my subordinates "a positive learning experience", I'd let myself get creative, like "go down to the motor pool and get a bucket of steam, and clean that jeep's engine".
As a platoon leader, I had the nukeular option. The trooper had a choice: he could shape up and continue to enjoy the benefits of being stationed on an Air Force Base (Hahn), or he could get transferred in 48 hours to our sister battalion at the 1st Infantry Division.
With very few exceptions, the young men would straighten up.
The above quote from a "new" recruit mix in one "AP" -- The Associated Quislings" -- & add the recent drumbeat of that same AP announcing recruiting goals are not being met & y'know what it spells, my friend?
*Shill*
...Americans are painfully stupid.
This comes down to a question of discipline, not the "discipline" the DIs or the Company Commander thought that they would instill in the recruits, but the lack of discipline the DIs and the Company Commander showed by making up their own rules instead of following established policy and orders.
Exactly, It is amazing how many people think we need to abuse people to make an army. These rules have been around for TWENTY years. I think the results speak for themselves. If a DI can't follow them kick 'em out. Rule breakers are no example for the new recruits.
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