Posted on 10/12/2006 11:02:51 AM PDT by stm
WASHINGTON - Hollywood may have to tone down its portrayal of the military’s screaming, in-your-face boot camp drill sergeant. In today’s Army, shouting is out and a calmer approach to molding young minds is in, says the head of Pentagon personnel. The Army says it has reduced by nearly 7 percent the number of recruits who wash out in the first six to 12 months of military life.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Nothing personal JOC, but when was the last time you were in a firefight and had AK rounds ricocheting off walls and streets all around you?
You probably needed all that crap.
But most don't.
Don't know when you were in but as the recruiting pool inproved, the methods of training changed as well.
You don't train intelligent high school grads who volunteer the same way you train draftees or drop outs given a 'jail or army' option.
And if you can't see that...
Something happened like that when I was in boot in Great Mistakes. The first time we went to the pool to qualify for swimming, some guy forgot his trunks and brought his diddy bag instead. The CC had him tie the thing around him like a Tarzan lion cloth. Afraid and laughing at the same time.
I trained with all high school grads. Many had college and beyond.
Some draftees, some drop outs.
Insulting my generation gets you nothing but my contempt. A whole society insulted my generation, you can't match what they did to us.
Intelligence has nothing to do with the world of dogs, animals and war.
I don't think you know as much as you think you do.
This country is killing itself.
I recently (two years ago) attended a Navy leadership course. One of the things that came out of it was a number of studies concluded that modern kids are vastly different in their outlook and attitudes than previous generations. Modern kids want to know why something has to be done and will not simply accept "because I said so." They are also able to spot BS a lot more readily than their parents.
The old style training does not work with the current generation. The military can either continue doing things the old way and suffer increasing Basic drop-out rates or it can adapt to the times.
Back when I came in most SP4 and above had been to VN and had combat patches and medals.
So many of them were dumber than dirt that it was readily apparent that their only way to make a buck was the Army and then they weren't professionals but Lifers. They were often marginal in their abilities and slowed progress down with the old 'we've always done it this way' attitude.
The proved that surviving combat tours did not mean that they were able o evaluate or conduct effective training.
Never had, and I thank God every day for that. Still and all, times change, people change, and the methods used in the past might not work today.
My nephew just graduated Basic at Ft. Jackson not two weeks ago. I can guarantee you that he certainly DIDN'T think the DI's were being PC. They worked him HARD.
He knows what it means to be a soldier.
I wore the 'salad suit' years ago. I wasn't mollycoddled. I don't think this story indicates that DI's are getting soft on recruits. AND I don't think DI's need to beat a recruit to death to get the point across.
The Marine Corps should jump at this opportunity, pointing out that THIS SOFT STUFF IS EXACTLY WHAT *WE* DON'T DO.
I pray this liberal Democrat PC crap never infiltrates the Marine Corps.
The Marines were able to resist the scumbag Clinton Administration's attempts to feminize it like the other branches and I hope they will continue to stand tall and tell the panty-waist Pentagon liberals to have a happy heart attack and drop dead.
I recently saw some Marine Corps boot camp training video (I don't know if it was PI or SD) and it showed Women Marines training male recruits. This was something I never saw at Parris Island 25+ years ago, that's for sure. I love women but I hope this doesn't represent the start of a slippery slope for the Marines.
Semper fidelis,
LH
Oh, BTW, the rate's changed. I'm now a Chief Mass Communications Specialist (MCC).
Of course you don't, LOL.
A whole society insulted my generation, you can't match what they did to us.
If ya can't play the race card, then ya gotta play the 'pity me I served somewhere from 68-75 card.
Training techniques were already changing by the time the VOLAR came about. And the improvements were vast.
As I pointed out in another thread, it simply makes good business sense to eliminate or reduce recycles or washouts due to preventable injuries such as shinsplints and stress fractures caused by running on pavement in boots.
It also makes good business sense to ensure that the training techniques fit the demographics in order to stay efective.
You simply don't train motivated, educated, intelligent volunteers the same way you train reluctant draftees and those who had no other options.
Vince Lombardi worked wonders in Green Bay in the 1960's but that style wouldn't work well for most teams today.
They reduced their washout rate... this is another way of saying that they left losers IN.
Myth: Most Vietnam veterans were drafted.
2/3 of the men who served in Vietnam were volunteers. 2/3 of the men who served in World War II were drafted. [Westmoreland] Approximately 70% of those killed were volunteers. [McCaffrey]
Your premise that Vietnam vets are all draftees is just something some pinko pulled out his ass, and the rest of the world believed.
No "victimhood" here. Just anger that so many still believe all that fart gas about us was true. Like you seem to be doing.
They just did things to piss us off, like finding a speck of dust in the barracks at a 2am inspection resulted in them tossing all our beds, our lockers and giving us 5 minutes to have it back in order. I didn't get to touch base and express my feelings with the DI much either.
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