LifeZette:
[…] Just over a year ago, I happened to attend my son’s graduation from basic training. It was an event that was interesting to say the least. I showed up the day before for Parents’ Day and noticed that something was off with the trainees. They seemed to meander instead of moving with a sense of purpose. I remembered my days in basic, and you always moved as if you had a fire lit underneath you; doing otherwise was a sure-fire way to get the negative attention of a drill sergeant (DS). I spent some time talking to my son about the rigors of basic and how tough it was, and he completely burst my bubble.
I found out that over half of his class had failed their end-of-course physical fitness test, but they were still going to their Advanced Individual Training anyway. I was blown away by this — how could you send troops on to further training when they were not even able to meet the minimum standards in basic training? He explained to me that part of this was because each DS was only allowed to make the recruits do sets of 10 four-count pushups at a time (total of 20 pushups).
…And I was shocked when kids were coming to the unit telling me they got to wear SNEAKERS… What’s next, Ballet and Tutus? If a DI didn’t like you he/she could take a garbage can to your head, and our female DI had a black belt. They broke the parental roles very effectively. Some of the guys found that out the hard way. You got ‘recycled’ if you didn’t meet the minimum, had to do it all again. I owe my soul to some gang-bangers from Detroit who made me do Roman situps with a 25-pound barbell weight. I did our final “fun run” – 8 miles in raining 40 degree weather with a fever of 102.
Those before me had it MUCH worse.
DS?
I thought it was DI?
I heard that pink pussy hats are now acceptable?
“The more you sweat the less you bleed.” Has been Obama’ized down to
prizes for things you might want
to try later.
All I can say is my son got his ass kicked to hell and back at Parris Island…almost a year since his crucible. It seems the drill instructors find ways to get around the regulations and manage to make the experience pretty damned miserable. He had some pretty good stories.
About three quarters through AFBMT I developed debilitating shin splints and an ear infection which put me in the hospital for three days. The only thing I could think of the whole time — which terrified me — was that I wouldn’t graduate with my flight and I would be “set back” to join a later flight. We’d been through eight tough weeks together and I had developed close relationships with the members of the squad I led; we were on target for taking most of the honors in our flight. But I was welcomed back from my hospital stay with small BX gifts and cards and great hoorays! I’d never been through anything as physically or mentally grueling as BMT and for the last 40 years whenever I have an opportunity to encourage a young person to join up, I take it. Those who do learn and earn what it’s like to push to the edge and beyond, life training you couldn’t buy anywhere. It’s a shame progressives want to cripple young adults at a time when they most need to be relied upon. I hope Secy Mattis and those he chooses to work under him see things differently.
It’s no longer training them to fight. It’s conditioning them to die.
We too went to see our son graduate from basic, 30 years after I went thru. Hadn’t changed much, but that was on Bush’s watch. Those young troops were in top shape and scared shitless of the big black DI with 60″ shoulders and 32″ waist who could make 100lb. barbells levitate just by glaring at them. His bark even scared us parents.
Went through basic in July of 81….The Instructors informed us they could no longer call us bad names….So instead they would say “Mathews, even though You are not the biggest piece of shit I have ever seen” “Even though You’re not the dumbest Motherf*cker I’ve ever met” and on and on….bad for Me…cuz I was a giggler
I went in 81, November.
Fort Jackson didn’t get the memo. 😉
JOE
DI = Marine Drill Instructor
DS = Army Drill Sergeant
The picture in the article shows Marines with their DI.
I can guarantee you every Marine passed the PFT (Physical Fitness Test) with no exceptions.
The entire article is about the Army.
I am not disparaging the Army. My cousin retired as a full bird Army Colonel, my son-in-law is a retired Army mustanger Major. As a Marine I was assigned to the 199th Light Infantry Brigade, 11th ACR, the 1st Air Cav. and Special Forces. I have nothing but the greatest respect for those who have served and are serving in the US Army, Navy, USMC, Air Force and Coast Guard.
With General Mathis (A true Warrior) as Secretary of Defense, many things will naturally change to the better in all of our Military Services.
The first words I heard from the Drill Instructor when I got off the bus at The Navy Training Center (bootcamp) in San Diego on the evening of Aug. 31, 1972 was, “All right you mother effers get off that bus.” And the first thought that went through my head was what in the hell had I gotten myself into. I did make it through boot camp rather unscathed for the most part except for a lot of marching on the grinder on Worm Island the first couple of weeks. I can’t march worth a damn but I learned to march the hard way. And I don’t think they greet new recruits the way did with us in 1972 nowadays.
I went through AF Basic in April of ’83. Was no where near as tough as I expected, But then it was the Air Force, we were mainly corporate military but there were a LOT of committed people serving with me.
Can they even say to the new recruits in a seemingly endless chow line, “Nut to butt, make the guy in front of you smile,” nowadays like they did with us.
Coast Guard ’93. Our DI’s were CC’s, Company Commanders. Traditionally all new recruits had to wear green belts until they were able to answer various questions when drilled by the CC. If you still had a green belt after your 3rd week, you definitely stood out in your company. They stopped doing that in ’94, probably so the snowflakes wouldn’t feel self conscious. It seemed like they would just push recruits through and let their assigned units deal with them. Like we didn’t have enough to do. Bootcamp was supposed to weed out the weak ones.
^^^^ Tough group, the USCG. In 2001 my son-in-law got thrown in the ice-cold Atlantic to tread water for 20 minutes off Cape May until a fast boat picked him up. That was just one of the things he had to do. Honestly, there aren’t many in the USCG, but with their training we don’t need that many.
I can still feel the thrill of marching w/o thinking on the grinder – knowing that I and 90 other GUYS were moving and acting together. There were whites, blacks, latinos, and even a chinese guy from Brooklyn.
I remember the manual of arms and how good it felt (after about 5 weeks of practice).
The danger of being quizzed on military protocol and even general orders for sentries (can still say about all of them).
They trained us to learn the Navy way and Chief Ledbetter had a southern drawl that scared ti bejesis out of us northern guys.
It’s where I started to learn to become a man. (During the Nixon years)
BTW 18 yr olds could drink in Milwaukee in those days!!!!
I don’t know much about the Air Force boot camp except what I saw in the movie No Time For Sergeants. My Dad was in The Air Force between World War 2 and The Korean War and he didn’t say much about it except for being at Templehoff Air Base in Berlin during the Berlin Airlift in 1947-48. As for The Marines who were next door to us at the Marine Corps. Recruit Depot, whenever they saw us on the other side of the fence from them they were always yelling at us Navy recruits that we were a bunch of pussies and far worse etc.
… not Army Infantry …. least not since the mid ’90’s anyhow
Basic Training = ARMY
Boot Camp = NAVY/MARINE CORPS
Summer VayCay = Air Force
Peace Corp=liberals
It’s official. Americans are prevented from losing weight, even in the military.
Back in the ‘Old Corps’ the nicest thing they did was give you five minutes to eat lunch and then have you do PT until you puked. That was an easy day. And if you were one of the “malformed, grabastic pieces of rancid dog sh!t” who didn’t ‘get it’, there was always the Motivational Platoon.
But after you got a taste of humpin’ the boonies in I-Corps, you were grateful for every minute of Boot Camp.
Orlando Navy Bootcamp Dec 1987. From the airport in the van getting on the freeway to boot, I saw a palm tree for the first time in my life, that’s when I said (just like geoff) “what have I gotten myself into”.
Boot camp October ’84 Great Mistakes. We
were lucky, our company didn’t have any suicides.
We did have a Chief’s son, complete with anchor
tattoos on both fore’arms piss his bed until they
kicked his ass out of the Navy. Hehe…..
First day: 0430 (4:30am) Drill Sergeant Perez walks down the isle of the bus. Gets to the back and starts yelling “get the F**K off ‘my’ bus you useless bastards!” Throwing bags and kicking butts while repeating “get the f**k off ‘my’ bus!”
0432: Drill Sgt Jackson, “put your damn feet on the yellow foot prints”
0433: Senior Drill Sergeant Randell, ” For the love of Christ how the f**K am I suppose to make soldiers out of this sh*t when they don’t send me humans anymore”
0434: I realized I may have made an error of judgement.
Fast forward – 25 years later – SFC, Platoon Sergeant, Retired. To this day I’m glad my Drill Sergeants “liked me” and took special interest in my suffering during my initial training. I would not have been the soldier I was nor half the man I am today without their “special guidance”.
thank you all for your service
oxoxxooxoxoxoxoxo
Boot camp at Fort Knox in October 1976.
I turned 18 in Boot Camp at Ft. Leonard Wood (Lost in the Woods)in July of 1978. Didn’t tell anybody it was my birthday. I still see that as a good decision.
Everybody remembers the name of their “Instructor” LOL
Staff Sergeant Besada!
And I can picture him clear as day right now.