thedrifter
05-15-07, 08:04 AM
Editorial: Recruits come out ahead
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Posted : May 21, 2007
For Marines who like to boast that the Corps is tougher than the Army, they’ve been given a whole new arsenal.
The two services face similar problems. Both are dealing with a tough recruiting environment as an unpopular war drags into its fifth year. At the same time, both services are trying to boost their end strength. And the fact that both are wrestling with ethical problems on the battlefield, ranging from detainee abuse to accusations of murder, certainly isn’t helping them increase their numbers.
But their course of direction following these problems couldn’t be more different.
The Army, in the eyes of many, has lowered its standards, especially when it comes to basic training. The issue was highlighted in the Feb. 12 edition of Army Times, which quoted numerous soldiers showing outrage at what has become of their basic training. Many said drill sergeants are forced to coddle their recruits. They can’t even yell at them. In certain circumstances, they allow recruits to do push-ups on their knees.
Contrast that with Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., which this month began its revamped, 12-week training regimen that will be capped off with a new and tougher version of its 11-year-old exercise, the Crucible.
The 54-hour event, which wasn’t for slouches before it got tougher, now features longer hikes and hits recruits with ethical decisions along the way — decisions officials hope will help recruits determine the difference between lawfully killing the enemy on the battlefield or creating an international incident. The exercise has been moved back to the end of training, with the aim of cementing the values-based training recruits have learned along the way. Later this year, similar changes will reach the other depot in San Diego.
And here’s the biggie: If instructors believe a recruit’s performance in the Crucible doesn’t cut it, that recruit goes home. He doesn’t get recycled into another platoon for a later go-around — he’s done, even though the Corps invested 11 weeks to get him that far.
The thinking is, if a recruit can’t cut it in boot camp, he won’t cut it at war. It’s this kind of vision that will keep the Marine Corps elite, and hopefully decrease the ethical lapses — which sometimes lead to tragedy — on the battlefield.
Ellie
-
Posted : May 21, 2007
For Marines who like to boast that the Corps is tougher than the Army, they’ve been given a whole new arsenal.
The two services face similar problems. Both are dealing with a tough recruiting environment as an unpopular war drags into its fifth year. At the same time, both services are trying to boost their end strength. And the fact that both are wrestling with ethical problems on the battlefield, ranging from detainee abuse to accusations of murder, certainly isn’t helping them increase their numbers.
But their course of direction following these problems couldn’t be more different.
The Army, in the eyes of many, has lowered its standards, especially when it comes to basic training. The issue was highlighted in the Feb. 12 edition of Army Times, which quoted numerous soldiers showing outrage at what has become of their basic training. Many said drill sergeants are forced to coddle their recruits. They can’t even yell at them. In certain circumstances, they allow recruits to do push-ups on their knees.
Contrast that with Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., which this month began its revamped, 12-week training regimen that will be capped off with a new and tougher version of its 11-year-old exercise, the Crucible.
The 54-hour event, which wasn’t for slouches before it got tougher, now features longer hikes and hits recruits with ethical decisions along the way — decisions officials hope will help recruits determine the difference between lawfully killing the enemy on the battlefield or creating an international incident. The exercise has been moved back to the end of training, with the aim of cementing the values-based training recruits have learned along the way. Later this year, similar changes will reach the other depot in San Diego.
And here’s the biggie: If instructors believe a recruit’s performance in the Crucible doesn’t cut it, that recruit goes home. He doesn’t get recycled into another platoon for a later go-around — he’s done, even though the Corps invested 11 weeks to get him that far.
The thinking is, if a recruit can’t cut it in boot camp, he won’t cut it at war. It’s this kind of vision that will keep the Marine Corps elite, and hopefully decrease the ethical lapses — which sometimes lead to tragedy — on the battlefield.
Ellie