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 ...
I don't know man. That kind of shock and brainwashing method seems awfully simple-minded to me. I'm not a veteran so I don't know that much about it. But there have to be better ways to motivate people to work in a team and fight for their country. In the business world, companies don't use brainwashing and they develop great cohesive teams to take on tough assignments, and they're not just motivated by money. Often there's not much financial reward, but people still work very hard to not let down the team. Let's see what other methods the Colonel has to offer.
This man is a frakking idiot and is going to get people killed. I acknowledge that thanks or some kind of kudo should be given ... by the RECRUITER. At the same time, making boot camp too easy, shielding recruits from harsh lessons is going to make the shock of combat that much more intense and will reduce their effectiveness. Killer instinct and aggression is something they try to put into you when you join; mollycoddling recruits will not do it EVER.
I got back from a nine month deployment to Kuwait not too long ago and oh, how I hated those types of officers. The sad thing was that there were so many of them. I imagine the combat arms outfits have less of that type.
Funny story: I'm a Navy LT now and the Army O's and NCOs would call me "Captain, Captain, Captain". One time a Marine O5 called me "Captain" and responded, "Usually, I get annoyed when the Army does that, but from a Marine, I think that's a compliment." He laughed.
Well, it only makes sense.
After all, al Qaeda fighters are generally very polite and well-groomed people, asking nicely if they can rip you apart with a bayonet before plunging it into your jugular.
I agree w/ him. If I had to enlist today, hands down in would be the Marines or the Coast Guard.
This seems the opposite of what's needed. IMHO, someone who signs up in wartime wants and expects a tough boot camp. They want to feel they've accomplished something when they graduate and are ready for war, if need be.
Ping!
Google feminize military where there is a wealth of info. One example:
"...We need a new generation of leaders, officers who don't want tender drill instructors...pink slip stress cards..."
From here Feminizing the Black Beret
What works in the business world makes absolutely no sense whatsoever in a military context, my friend.
And in the end, that's the only metric that should be used to gauge basic training.
Well, I guess there's no better time to start learning to deal with stress than when you've got rounds coming in or when your buddy is lying bleeding next to you and you've got to treat him while at the same time repelling the enemy. I think it's now called multitasking. What ever happened to "kill your enemy" and win the war?
Kind of like how the enemy will gradually increase the pace of combat so as not to disrupt the soldiers' biorhythms?
I just got out of the army after nine years (and five back surgeries). I could not believe how many people I was stationed with over the years that had no business or desire to do anything even remotely close to putting their neck on the line for our country. Alot of people (too many) had an attitude that showed that they were only there to collect a check and hang on until they hit 20 years and were able to start collecting retirement. I also saw quite a few people who were so overweight that it looked like they had to sew two uniforms together just to fit into it. Not to mention the number of people I wouldn't trust with a water gun who were pulled and pushed through range qualifications.
I worked in an infantry basic training unit at Ft. Benning for two years. The best drill sergeant in my company was also the quietest. He understood that his task was to prepare civilians to become technically and tactically proficient, physically fit infantrymen, ready to take their places in the ranks of the Army -- not to provide great stories about basic training.
He was ridiculously hard on the soldiers, training them to standard, motivating them, and making them want to be a better soldier -- but in two years, I think he raised his voice maybe twice.
There's more to turning civilians into soldiers than yelling and screaming.
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