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To Keep Recruits,Boot Camp Gets A Gentle Revamp
The Wall Street Journal ^ | 2/15/06 | Greg Jaffe

Posted on 02/15/2006 9:35:13 AM PST by jjm2111

New recruits used to be welcomed to boot camp here with the "shark attack." For decades, drill sergeants in wide-brim hats would swarm around the fresh-off-the-bus privates, shouting orders. Some rattled recruits would make mistakes. A few would cry.

Today, the Army is opting for a quieter approach. "I told my drill sergeants to stop the nonsense," says Col. Edward Daly, whose basic-training brigade graduates about 11,000 soldiers a year. Last fall, Col. Daly began meeting with all new recruits shortly after they arrive at boot camp to thank them. "We sincerely appreciate the fact that you swore an oath and got on a bus and did it in a time of war," he recently told an incoming class. "That's a big, big deal." He usually is accompanied by two male and two female soldiers, who can answer questions the recruits may have.

"The idea is to get rid of the anxiety and worry," Col. Daly says.

The new welcome is a window on the big changes sweeping boot camp, the Army's nine-week basic training. For most of its existence, boot camp was a place where drill sergeants would weed out the weak and turn psychologically soft civilians into hardened soldiers. But the Army, fighting through one of its biggest recruiting droughts, now is shifting tactics. Boot camp -- that iconic American experience -- may never be the same.

Once-feared drill sergeants have been ordered to yell less and mentor more. "Before, our drill sergeants' attitude was 'you better meet my standard or else.' Now it's 'I am going to do all I can to assist you in meeting the Army standard,' " says Command Sgt. Maj. William McDaniel, the senior enlisted soldier here.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Front Page News; Government
KEYWORDS: army; boot; bootcamp; camp; recruitment
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To: familyop

um....are you directing that at me?


201 posted on 02/16/2006 11:24:42 AM PST by jjm2111 (http://www.purveryors-of-truth.blogspot.com)
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To: MeanWestTexan

In your wettest dream...


202 posted on 02/16/2006 12:26:49 PM PST by FrankR (Don't let the bastards wear you down...)
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To: FrankR

Gee, from that last post, I guess you would have had trouble passing the "don't ask, don't tell policy," in addition to peaking in basic.


203 posted on 02/16/2006 1:01:51 PM PST by MeanWestTexan (Many at FR would respond to Christ "Darn right, I'll cast the first stone!")
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To: MeanWestTexan
You're the one who was talking about what you do to guys "after lights out"...

How's that working for you in civilian life?
204 posted on 02/16/2006 3:55:04 PM PST by FrankR (Don't let the bastards wear you down...)
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To: leadpenny

Thanks, I've been here before, I just never got around to creating an account. This particular topic struck a chord in me, however. Basic has gotten easier, anyone who's been in the Army would tell you that.

I think the All-Volunteer Military is a great thing. But even with All-Volunteers, you get people who have joined for the wrong reasons and make life miserable for the rest of us, maybe things will change. We had a few washouts in basic, a few medical and others who didn't want to make it. I don't want to go to Iraq with someone who was just shuffled through training and don't know their weapon from a hole in the ground, but that's just me.


205 posted on 02/16/2006 9:54:03 PM PST by PVT4evr
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To: vrwc0915
If you cant handle someone speaking to you in a harsh tone how are you going to hold up under fire.

Or as a POW.

206 posted on 02/16/2006 9:57:50 PM PST by Lancey Howard
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To: jjm2111

Basic training is tough enough on the recruits. (I speak from experience, circa 1973, Aniston Alabama, WAC.) Many young people are away from home for the first time. It's an adjustment, so why not help as many recruits get through the process as possible? They all want to serve their country, and they've taken a big step by volunteering. Give 'em a break, I say.


207 posted on 02/16/2006 9:58:34 PM PST by Ciexyz (Let us always remember, the Lord is in control.)
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To: mbynack
If a recruit can't take being yelled at, what's he going to do when someone starts shooting at him?

That sums it up very nicely. There comes a point in time when the hand-holding has to stop. If you don't do it in bootcamp you'll have an army with many weak links.

208 posted on 02/17/2006 6:13:34 AM PST by Barney Gumble (A liberal is someone too broadminded to take his own side in a quarrel - Robert Frost)
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To: Ciexyz
It's an adjustment, so why not help as many recruits get through the process as possible?

One of the important functions of boot camp is to weed out the people who would wash out later before the military invests hundreds of thousands of dollars in training them and then entrusts them with multimillion dollar equipment.

When I went through basic in 74 we only had about three or four washouts, but 40% of the guys who started quit. They went to the TI (the AF equivalent to the DI) and told him they couldn't take it and wanted to go home to mommy. I would much rather have them quit in basic than to wait until they were in the field and quit.

209 posted on 02/17/2006 6:53:01 AM PST by mbynack (Retired USAF SMSgt)
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To: mbynack

I see from your tagline that you are retired military, USAF SMSgt. I salute you, Sir, for your service.


210 posted on 02/17/2006 12:00:25 PM PST by Ciexyz (Let us always remember, the Lord is in control.)
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