To me Basic training should still have the responsibility of breaking you down from your civilian habits and reform you to the standards and needs of the Military.
Marine Corps Boot camp:
Arrival is shock and awe,arrive in the midle of the night,get screamed at,run through dumping your civilian stuff,get rid of civilian clothes,get rid of your hair,sit butt to belly button on the floor,waiting to go to the next station or waiting those few minutes where you doze off and are awakened by a indoc DI.
Get picked up by your platoon DI's and the Fun begins of going from Maggot,whale crap to Marine.
Basic is to instill in you the immediate response to orderds,which is what drill is and what Marines Pride themselves on.
Do what you are told, when you are told and ask no questions,just get it done.
Basic is meant to use fitness,drill and platoon against platoon events to develop Esprit De Corp,Commaraderie.
You go to the rifle range to learn to use your tool to KILL.
You do pugil sticks to learn to Kill.
You do H2H to learn to Kill.
You run to be fit enough to do what needs to be done,so when you put on your MOP Gear you are not straining to breath,you learn to work in the confines of the gear you have and do it so you stay alive and to keep your buddies alive.
Fitness levels allow one to be in adrenaline dump or run to an engagement and still have body control to
Breath ,Relax,Aim,Stop and Squezze the trigger on your weapon and hit the target.
When you graduate you are ready to go do what needs to be done in what ever job you do,but you know if need be you can and will know how to Fight and Kill and do the job ,as you know immediate response to orders,you know the weapons and tools to survive and get the job done.
If Bootcamp does not break one of Civy street and rebuild them ,under pressure,to deal with pressure and welcome it,then Boot camp has failed and reading these stories,Bootcamp is failing and not just in the US but in European Militaries as well.
After Graduating Marine Corps Boot Camp I felt I made it through one of the Greatest Challenges in my life and I was glad to be in the 30 percent of originals who made it,while others in the 70 percent fell back to be put out or to be recycled.
I Felt there was nothing in this world I could not do and I have done and been everything I have wanted to this day in Great Part Thanks to My Marine Corps Boot Camp experience.
Guys used to come back from Boot camp different,today I know many who return as immature as when they left,Boot camp changed nothing as it is the softer more understanding more relaxed Boot camps who want to get you through and coddle you till your time is up,up either through the test of battle or over because you did your time.
Special Operations across the board wants to expand and grow.
How will that be done by the softer,more gentle boot camp?
At what point does the pressure go on?
Does the pressure go on in the Q course/SFQC,does it start in BUDS,does it start in Ranger or Recon or Force Recon Indoc?
Once these people make it to that level they should have been broken and remolded.
Before you went to SFQC you had to have time in the military,proven yourself worthy,now you can sign up for SF from day one with the recruiter,hey but you can do this in the SAS as well .
So what is the future of the Elite units when the men who make it up have never been pressure tested until they get there or to the Battlefield?
Again it is trickle down,easy boot means easy schools afterward,it can be no other way as the Military across the boards need bodies and the jobs and units across the board need bodies in percentile proportion to the other units,so everything is hacked down how ever many notches to keep the percentages as needed.
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Topic: Standards bottoming out (Read 1595 times)