Not Your Father's Army
Dave Gibson
April 25, 2008
The same U.S. Army which defeated the German Imperial Army in World War I and the fearsome Nazi SS units of World War II, has now ordered their fire-breathing drill sergeants to lower their voices and treat new recruits with more sensitivity! The same forces which are yielding generations of weak civilian Americans have now apparently taken hold inside the United States Army.
Official U.S. Army policy no longer allows drill sergeants to yell in the faces of their green recruits. The boots are being given more sleep and so-called downtime. Upon completing boot-camp, they are asked to fill-out a survey, which among other things asks if they enjoyed the quality and variety of the food!
In 2005, the Army assembled a study group consisting of senior officers, sociologists, psychiatrists, and even a vice-president of MTV. The move to a more resort-like feel to boot-camp was the result of this historic meeting.
The Army has also instituted a boot-camp based program called Warrior Rehab. The program is designed for injured or out-of-shape recruits, who may have sprained an ankle during the nine weeks of training or arrived in an obese condition. These corpulent boots participate in low-impact aerobic exercises in a heated pool.
Over the last few years, the Army has reduced the amount of running in boot camp by 60 percent. However, some recruits are still not able to handle the much lighter running program. In order to retain those who traditionally would have been dropped, the Army now allows recruits with asthma for instance, to carry their inhalers while training. If that was not ridiculous enough, the Army also allows and encourages depressed recruits to take anti-depressants such as Paxil and Zoloft!
Col. Edward Daly of Ft. Leonard Wood Army base actually welcomed the changes because he has been looking for ways to reduce stress and anxiety amongst those entering boot camp. Col. Daly said: "I told my drill sergeants to stop the nonsense." Instead of the old so-called 'shark attack' which put drill sergeants swarming around the recruits as soon as they stepped off the bus, Col. Daly wants a kindler, gentler approach. He now personally greets the boots and tells them: "We certainly appreciate the fact that you swore an oath and got on a bus in a time of war."
Perhaps, it is unfair to spend all of your laughter on the words of the hyper-sensitive Col. Daly. After all, he is only parroting the new dogma of senior Army officials. Maj. Gen. Randal Castro said of the gentler boot camp: "This generation responds to a more positive leadership approach. They want to serve and they want people to show respect for that decision."
However, not everyone agrees with the changes. Ft. Leonard Wood drill instructor Sgt. Clayton Nagel said: "If the privates can't handle the stress of a drill sergeant yelling at them, how will they handle the stress of bullets flying over their heads?"
The reason for this new touch-feely approach is simple, the Army had been falling well short of its recruitment goals. In 2005 alone, they missed the mark for active-duty troops by eight percent and by 20 percent for National Guard troops. The Army is now spending much more time on their recruits, simply to get them through basic training. In the past, many of them would have and should have washed-out. Since re-instituting the draft is no decision that our politicians are willing to make, the Army is simply lowering their standards.
Does it make you feel safer to think about our soldiers popping Prozac and stopping to suck on their inhalers?
Combat must be the most stressful situation which anyone could ever experience. The stress working in a war-zone, even if only doing so in a support role is incredibly taxing. While actually taking part in the fighting should only be reserved for the strongest amongst us.
Our military is stretched farther than ever before and though our weak-willed president will never do it, a draft should be re-instituted. The draft ensures that the best and brightest will be recruited as well as the worst and weakest. Of course, the latter would be washed-out.
We need strong, tough soldiers in these most dangerous times, not mental and physical wrecks. Weakening our military is not the answer to our problems, unfortunately the draft is.
Official U.S. Army policy no longer allows drill sergeants to yell in the faces of their green recruits. The boots are being given more sleep and so-called downtime. Upon completing boot-camp, they are asked to fill-out a survey, which among other things asks if they enjoyed the quality and variety of the food!
In 2005, the Army assembled a study group consisting of senior officers, sociologists, psychiatrists, and even a vice-president of MTV. The move to a more resort-like feel to boot-camp was the result of this historic meeting.
The Army has also instituted a boot-camp based program called Warrior Rehab. The program is designed for injured or out-of-shape recruits, who may have sprained an ankle during the nine weeks of training or arrived in an obese condition. These corpulent boots participate in low-impact aerobic exercises in a heated pool.
Over the last few years, the Army has reduced the amount of running in boot camp by 60 percent. However, some recruits are still not able to handle the much lighter running program. In order to retain those who traditionally would have been dropped, the Army now allows recruits with asthma for instance, to carry their inhalers while training. If that was not ridiculous enough, the Army also allows and encourages depressed recruits to take anti-depressants such as Paxil and Zoloft!
Col. Edward Daly of Ft. Leonard Wood Army base actually welcomed the changes because he has been looking for ways to reduce stress and anxiety amongst those entering boot camp. Col. Daly said: "I told my drill sergeants to stop the nonsense." Instead of the old so-called 'shark attack' which put drill sergeants swarming around the recruits as soon as they stepped off the bus, Col. Daly wants a kindler, gentler approach. He now personally greets the boots and tells them: "We certainly appreciate the fact that you swore an oath and got on a bus in a time of war."
Perhaps, it is unfair to spend all of your laughter on the words of the hyper-sensitive Col. Daly. After all, he is only parroting the new dogma of senior Army officials. Maj. Gen. Randal Castro said of the gentler boot camp: "This generation responds to a more positive leadership approach. They want to serve and they want people to show respect for that decision."
However, not everyone agrees with the changes. Ft. Leonard Wood drill instructor Sgt. Clayton Nagel said: "If the privates can't handle the stress of a drill sergeant yelling at them, how will they handle the stress of bullets flying over their heads?"
The reason for this new touch-feely approach is simple, the Army had been falling well short of its recruitment goals. In 2005 alone, they missed the mark for active-duty troops by eight percent and by 20 percent for National Guard troops. The Army is now spending much more time on their recruits, simply to get them through basic training. In the past, many of them would have and should have washed-out. Since re-instituting the draft is no decision that our politicians are willing to make, the Army is simply lowering their standards.
Does it make you feel safer to think about our soldiers popping Prozac and stopping to suck on their inhalers?
Combat must be the most stressful situation which anyone could ever experience. The stress working in a war-zone, even if only doing so in a support role is incredibly taxing. While actually taking part in the fighting should only be reserved for the strongest amongst us.
Our military is stretched farther than ever before and though our weak-willed president will never do it, a draft should be re-instituted. The draft ensures that the best and brightest will be recruited as well as the worst and weakest. Of course, the latter would be washed-out.
We need strong, tough soldiers in these most dangerous times, not mental and physical wrecks. Weakening our military is not the answer to our problems, unfortunately the draft is.
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