The Brutal and Unforgiving Army Basic Training......
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  1. #1

    The Brutal and Unforgiving Army Basic Training......

    The U.S. Army has replaced the chaotic reception recruits entering basic training have long received from shouting drill sergeants with a training event designed to create a bond with their teammates and leaders.
    Day one of Army Basic Combat Training has always been a rite of passage that involved menacing groups of drill sergeants descending on terrified recruits, yelling commands and ordering trainees to perform push-ups and other exercises with packed duffel bags strapped to their backs.

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    "Commonly referred to as the shark attack, this non-documented period of instruction was developed during our draft Army years," Command Sgt. Maj. Robert Fortenberry, the CSM of the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, said in a video presentation at the recent 2020 Maneuver Warfighter Conference.
    "Drill sergeants were charged with the [evaluating] trainees' ability to handle stress, singling out the perceived undesirables by enveloping them in a manner that emulated a shark attack," he continued. "This activity, however, does not instill the spirit of the infantry; it betrays the innate trust between teammates and, worse, betrays the crucial bond of trust with our leaders."
    Fortenberry described how Benning's 22-week infantry one-station unit training has replaced the shark attack with "The First 100 Yards," a new introductory training event being instituted at Basic Combat Training sites across the Army.
    The new training exercise is designed to put new trainees through a series of physically and mentally challenging events that will build an initial foundation of "belief in one's self, belief in your teammates, and a belief in the leaders with whom they serve," Fortenberry said.
    The Army began creating this new approach to the beginning of BCT during the spring, when it had to implement new safety procedures to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, Col. Richard McNorton, spokesman for Training and Doctrine Command, told Military.com.
    Recruits coming in during the pandemic were already facing a highly stressful environment, so leaders at all the basic training bases agreed that the shark attack ritual should go, McNorton said.
    "That's not how we want soldiers to view our NCOs," he said, adding that the new approach is being taught at the Drill Sergeant Academy at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. "It's completely changed the dynamic of how we have done Basic Combat Training for the past 50-60 years."
    The First 100 Yards begins at the reception station a few days before trainees go to their BCT units. It covers information, which they will be quizzed on later, about their training battalion and motto, as well as unit chain of command and unit history.
    On day one of BCT, trainees are organized into platoons and given a resupply mission, requiring each platoon to work as a team to complete an essential operation, Fortenberry said in the video, which shows footage of trainees running with boxes of Meals, Ready to Eat.
    Platoons then conduct events from the new Army Combat Fitness Test, which is scheduled to replace the Army Physical Fitness Test across the Army on Oct. 1. They do the leg tuck, hand-release push-ups and the standing power throw, performing as many reps as possible for a combined platoon score, Fortenberry said.
    "The platoons that fail to obtain the [highest score] will be given an appropriate corrective training exercise," he said.
    Drill sergeants will also quiz trainees about the information they learned at the reception station and dole out corrective training for incorrect answers.
    The trainees are then instructed to retrieve their baggage, which is staged in a specific location, and move it quickly to the company training area.
    "This is not designed to be a hazing event but [to] promote attention to detail and urgency to execute a task in a timely manner," Fortenberry said.
    Next comes a demonstration by a squad of infantry in full battle rattle, moving with M4 carbines and other weapons through smoke and pyrotechnics.
    "The infantry demonstration squad inspires the trainees to stay the course and complete the last 100 yards of training," Fortenberry said.
    The First 100 Yards concludes with the drill sergeants marching trainees to their platoon bays to begin what will be the first two weeks of isolated training, known as "controlled monitoring," as part of the COVID-19 safety protocols the Army began in the spring.
    While it's too early to have significant data on the program, McNorton said the Army plans to evaluate the effort to see whether it reduces attrition in basic training and advanced individual training.
    "This is an all-volunteer Army, and we need to focus on building trust, teaching values, and connecting to them," he said.
    Fortenberry said the new training approach will help build teamwork and esprit de corps from the start of infantry training.
    "It is critical that our newest generation of soldiers have the experience at the beginning of their journey to become an infantry soldier," he said. "This lays the foundation for the next 22 weeks of infantry training."

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  2. #2
    Marine Platinum Member Zulu 36's Avatar
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    Just before I went to boot camp, I read an article that the Marines were "reducing stress" during Receiving Phase so recruits could be more relaxed while taking tests to determine their MOS.

    When I got there and the SHTF, I was on the footprints shaking like a cat pooping razor blades thinking, "I'm glad I got here after they reduced stress. Imagine what it was like before."


  3. #3
    I'm thinking that the "shark attack" was copied from Marine Boot Camp.... now in today's "kinder, gentler military" we can't be subjecting recruits to such stress, it might turn them into REAL Marines or soldiers, capable of taking on any enemy.... instead, what we're going to be getting is a bunch of "gender identity challenged" wusses that can't figure out what head to use...

    Si vis pacem, para bellum

  4. #4
    Super Moderator Platinum Member USMC 2571's Avatar
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    With all this going on, why not just do it ONLINE, and be done with the terrible trauma inflicted upon recruits who have never been told what to do in their entire short lives? Why subject them to going to basic training AT ALL?


  5. #5
    Super Moderator Platinum Member USMC 2571's Avatar
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    No weapons, just train them in counseling, so on the front lines, their sole function, since they will have no rifle, is to talk to the enemy, cajole him or her into seeing things our way? That should be effective, and think of the stress it will relieve on both sides in this kinder, gentler, more understanding environment.
    Counselor Smith, Sir, Ready For counseling with the Enemy, Sir!


  6. #6
    Super Moderator Platinum Member USMC 2571's Avatar
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    Where does Billy dig up this stuff??


  7. #7
    H e l l if I know, but the "counselors" won't work, unless the people they are "counseling" can "relate" to the "gender confused" counselor... and we all know pretty much how out enemies think about such foolishness....

    Si vis pacem, para bellum

  8. #8
    Marine Free Member m14ed's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by USMC 2571 View Post


    Where does Billy dig up this stuff??

    No More Drill Sergeant 'Shark Attack': Army Moves Toward Kinder Basic Training Start


    https://www.military.com/daily-news/...ing-start.html

    Mongoose

    *NEVER TELLS*


    doesn't have to


  9. #9
    Super Moderator Platinum Member USMC 2571's Avatar
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    It's simple. We eventually will not even be armed, we will just talk to the enemy, counsel him or her, convince them to surrender. Very simple. No need for basic training or boot camps, no need for drill instructors to scream at poor recruits.


  10. #10
    I'm waiting for them to install "safe rooms" for recruits that might be triggered by something those mean Drill Instructors said.


  11. #11
    The real reason Basic Training is becoming passive, is because there have been thousands of recruits in recent years, filing for PTSD benefits, right out Basic Training. I realize ya'll are Marines, so it's hard for you to even comprehend the terror and brutality of Army Basic Training. The trauma of mental exorcism and limitless physical torture is all in a days work for Army Spartan Recruits. Their D.I.'s are the Devils offspring, spawned in Hell. They eat bullets and gun powder, and Shet hand grenades. So......you Sweetpeas will never understand....


  12. #12
    you laugh, Billy but years ago, I had a guy come in that wanted to file a PTSD claim because his DI called him a Pu$$y in boot camp.... I told him that his DI was RIGHT, so get out of my office Pu$$y.....

    Si vis pacem, para bellum

  13. #13
    Where Billy gets his information is top secret.. And if he told us, then he would have to kill us...


  14. #14
    in that case, I can think of several people that he can inform immediately...

    Si vis pacem, para bellum

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