thedrifter
03-25-04, 12:43 PM
Issue Date: March 29, 2004
Not all rites of passage equal hazing
By Barry R. Fetzer
Initiation rituals and rites of passage, terms included in the Marine Corps’ definition of hazing, aren’t all bad.
Most Marines have demonized them, however, because of interpretations of the Marine Corps’ orders on the subject, because of an overreaction to our culture’s ever-expanding over-sensitivity regarding our own self-image and because of a few past leaders who allowed initiation ceremonies to get out of hand.
In the 1970s and ’80s, when I came of age in the Corps, initiations and rites of passage were common, tolerated and even encouraged.
At Army jump school in 1972, the “lead wings” of a basic parachutist were presented with a single punch into the chests of every graduate. We proudly displayed on the white undershirts we wore under our sateen utilities the little red splotches that marked our initiation.
In 1980, qualifying as an aircraft commander in the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter was a memorable event — made even more so by the initiation imposed by other new aircraft commanders and the enlisted aircrew and mechanics. Hosed down by the fire rescue crew, “piled on” and held down while duct-taped to a maintenance cart, smeared with aircraft grease and paraded down the flight line, I was happily “humiliated” into the club of qualified “Frog” pilots.
In 1993, my new lieutenant colonel rank was set ceremoniously into place by sharp slaps on my collars followed by a welcomed punch to my left shoulder by the brigadier general promoting me.
Properly supervised and imposed, these were harmless rites of passage. But they clearly would not meet the spirit and intent of today’s orders against hazing.
The turning point was a videotape shown on the national news in the late 1990s of Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C., being initiated into a parachute-qualified outfit — their newly won gold wings repeatedly and brutally ground into their chests by fellow Marines.
Rightfully embarrassed, the Corps ordered broad prohibitions against any act that could be construed as ritual initiation.
Marine Corps Order 1700.28 regulates hazing. Its “scattergun” approach to the issue defines hazing as “any conduct whereby one military member, regardless of service or rank, causes another military member, regardless of service or rank, to suffer or be exposed to an activity which is cruel, abusive, humiliating or oppressive.”
According to this order, “Hazing includes, but is not limited to, any form of initiation or congratulatory act that involves physically striking another to inflict pain, piercing another’s skin in any manner, verbally berating another, or encouraging another to engage in illegal, harmful, demeaning or dangerous acts. Hazing need not involve physical contact among or between military members; it can be verbal or psychological in nature.”
As a result of a broad interpretation of this definition, today’s leaders avoid even light taps to the shoulder during promotion ceremonies.
The result is that aircraft commander rites of passage are gone, and time-honored naval traditions of initiations for those crossing the equator and Arctic Circle for the first time also have been eradicated or watered down so much as to make them unmemorable.
But the Marine Corps is a tradition-bound organization.
Though former Commandant Gen. Charles Kulak once said that the only required initiation for a Marine was successful completion of boot camp or Officer Candidates School, events accurately described as rites of passage still occur because Marines thrive on making things tough on each other, both mentally and physically. Some call it “practicing to bleed.” Others call it “improvise, persevere and overcome.” Either way, it’s the Marine Corps way.
These occur, hidden within approved training programs such as Warrant Officer Basic School.
There, though many students have a score of years under their belts as Marines and long ago successfully completed the “only required initiation,” a recent “inductee” wrote that, rather than being treated like an officer, he feels like a recruit again.
In addition to the expected strict training regimen at The Basic School, he has been required to purchase his own cleaning gear, buy his own toilet paper and even paint the bachelor officers’ quarters.
And if the “rite of passage” at The Basic School required that he stand on his head for six months in order to become an officer of Marines, that’s what he’d do. He’s a Marine, after all.
Barry R. Fetzer is a retired Marine living in eastern North Carolina.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-2731823.php
Ellie
Not all rites of passage equal hazing
By Barry R. Fetzer
Initiation rituals and rites of passage, terms included in the Marine Corps’ definition of hazing, aren’t all bad.
Most Marines have demonized them, however, because of interpretations of the Marine Corps’ orders on the subject, because of an overreaction to our culture’s ever-expanding over-sensitivity regarding our own self-image and because of a few past leaders who allowed initiation ceremonies to get out of hand.
In the 1970s and ’80s, when I came of age in the Corps, initiations and rites of passage were common, tolerated and even encouraged.
At Army jump school in 1972, the “lead wings” of a basic parachutist were presented with a single punch into the chests of every graduate. We proudly displayed on the white undershirts we wore under our sateen utilities the little red splotches that marked our initiation.
In 1980, qualifying as an aircraft commander in the CH-46 Sea Knight helicopter was a memorable event — made even more so by the initiation imposed by other new aircraft commanders and the enlisted aircrew and mechanics. Hosed down by the fire rescue crew, “piled on” and held down while duct-taped to a maintenance cart, smeared with aircraft grease and paraded down the flight line, I was happily “humiliated” into the club of qualified “Frog” pilots.
In 1993, my new lieutenant colonel rank was set ceremoniously into place by sharp slaps on my collars followed by a welcomed punch to my left shoulder by the brigadier general promoting me.
Properly supervised and imposed, these were harmless rites of passage. But they clearly would not meet the spirit and intent of today’s orders against hazing.
The turning point was a videotape shown on the national news in the late 1990s of Marines at Camp Lejeune, N.C., being initiated into a parachute-qualified outfit — their newly won gold wings repeatedly and brutally ground into their chests by fellow Marines.
Rightfully embarrassed, the Corps ordered broad prohibitions against any act that could be construed as ritual initiation.
Marine Corps Order 1700.28 regulates hazing. Its “scattergun” approach to the issue defines hazing as “any conduct whereby one military member, regardless of service or rank, causes another military member, regardless of service or rank, to suffer or be exposed to an activity which is cruel, abusive, humiliating or oppressive.”
According to this order, “Hazing includes, but is not limited to, any form of initiation or congratulatory act that involves physically striking another to inflict pain, piercing another’s skin in any manner, verbally berating another, or encouraging another to engage in illegal, harmful, demeaning or dangerous acts. Hazing need not involve physical contact among or between military members; it can be verbal or psychological in nature.”
As a result of a broad interpretation of this definition, today’s leaders avoid even light taps to the shoulder during promotion ceremonies.
The result is that aircraft commander rites of passage are gone, and time-honored naval traditions of initiations for those crossing the equator and Arctic Circle for the first time also have been eradicated or watered down so much as to make them unmemorable.
But the Marine Corps is a tradition-bound organization.
Though former Commandant Gen. Charles Kulak once said that the only required initiation for a Marine was successful completion of boot camp or Officer Candidates School, events accurately described as rites of passage still occur because Marines thrive on making things tough on each other, both mentally and physically. Some call it “practicing to bleed.” Others call it “improvise, persevere and overcome.” Either way, it’s the Marine Corps way.
These occur, hidden within approved training programs such as Warrant Officer Basic School.
There, though many students have a score of years under their belts as Marines and long ago successfully completed the “only required initiation,” a recent “inductee” wrote that, rather than being treated like an officer, he feels like a recruit again.
In addition to the expected strict training regimen at The Basic School, he has been required to purchase his own cleaning gear, buy his own toilet paper and even paint the bachelor officers’ quarters.
And if the “rite of passage” at The Basic School required that he stand on his head for six months in order to become an officer of Marines, that’s what he’d do. He’s a Marine, after all.
Barry R. Fetzer is a retired Marine living in eastern North Carolina.
http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story.php?f=0-MARINEPAPER-2731823.php
Ellie