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| Yes | 57% | 69 votes | Total: 121 votes | |
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Add to FavoritesAbuse is the basis for military boot camp training. It can be no other way, because in wartime or preparing for war, schoolboys and schoolgirls must be quickly transformed from the easy life of Mom's apple pie to be able to kill another country's young men and women. Don't talk to me about the immorality and inhumanity of it all. Get real! As General Patton said, "You're not expected to die for your country. Your job is to make some other poor, dumb bastard die for his country."
I went through Navy boot camp many, many years ago, and later as a CPO, I was a boot camp instructor. We all know that Marine boot camp is by far the toughest of all, because they are trained as shock troops who must go in where the combat is close up and brutal. However, Navy basic training is never a pleasant summer at Camp Hiawatha. I question the use of the word abuse in this essay, as if it were a sweeping indictment of everything that happens at boot camp. The job of the instructors is to take civilians and make them into capable military men and women. If that takes some abuse, then so be it.
Of course, there are the stories that break out once every year or so about a recruit who is severely injured or dies as the result of boot camp activities. That is tragic, but no more so than when a military aircraft crashes or someone is shot on the rifle range. You can be sure military officials closely monitor all training programs, and any situations that could be interpreted as outright abuse or other dangerous practices are thoroughly examined. A boot camp instructor is usually a "lifer", which means he/she has made the military a lifetime career of 20 to 30 years. It makes no sense that any instructor would deliberately jeopardize that career by using illegal treatment on recruits.
Of course, boot camp is harsh, and instructors deliberately make it very unpleasant for teens who aren't used to the unremitting discipline imposed on him/her. However, the training is meant to toughen up the body and mind for what may lay ahead in the service. The regimentation is intended to make the recruit into an unquestioning part of a unit, who will act promptly on command, no matter what the dangers or distractions of combat. Call it brainwashing if you will, but it should be actually more described as self-survival and the protection of those who depend on you.
The job of boot camp instructor can be a thankless one. Not many of us started out as gruff-voiced tormentors of teens, but that's the only way to do the job. Some of my proudest moments were when I learned several members of my boot company had later qualified for flight training, and several others were accepted as students at the Navy Academy at Annapolis. One of my fondest memories is when one of my former boots, now 25 years later and wearing the four stripes of a Navy captain, said, "Chief, all through boot camp I hated your lousy guts. It seemed you always picked on me to yell and give me extra duty. Now that I outrank you, and can return the favors, all I want to say is: thanks for everything!"
Learn more about this author, Ted Sherman.
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No
Every few weeks, depending on the branch of service, a new group of young adults, at least by the definition of our country's laws they are considered adults, enters into a military environment after arriving at a local airport, bus station, or if close enough by being driven.
They pass through the gates of where they will reside for the next few weeks; length of time will depend on which branch of service they are entering.
Those in charge of their training have a preset number of weeks to try to instill into these often arrogant individuals the importance of following orders, the principle of team work, and try to remove all bad habits before they pass into the fleet, field, or wherever their final destination will be.
In addition, they have to do it so that these newly graduated recruits will not kill, injure, or maim someone by stupidity once they move to become productive into their chosen branch of service.
It takes dramatic measures to accomplish this in a short period of time.
It begins with the harsh reality of separation from "mommy and daddy" that many have never experienced. Much like a foal ripped from its mare when the appropriate age has been reached, these young men and women have to learn quickly that they must follow orders and refusal is not met with a pat on the butt and the withholding of a meal. Welcome to the real world and reality!
In a matter of weeks, a new recruit must learn the regulations governing their service's branch, marching, the proper wearing of the various uniforms including when to wear particular items, how to recognize various ranks of not only their chosen branch but the other branches as well on sight, the UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice), and many other aspects of military service.
Of these new recruits, some may have very little problem with doing what is expected, however, there will always be a select few who refuse to follow the regulations laid before them. "You can't make me do this stuff."
The program is geared towards them, if they cannot learn to fit into the program they will be dropped from military service, most likely with a Re-Enlistment Code that will prevent future attempts to return, even in another branch.
Within the military system, abuse, hazing, and other demeaning actions are part of a "zero tolerance" effort. Recruits are not abused, even though some may believe so. These are the ones who think being forced to rise before noon is abuse.
Every aspect of boot camp has been carefully designed to accomplish whatever the end goal is for that topic. Those who cannot conform will be rejected and those who pass will continue into the service for whatever lies ahead.
Abuse, not here. As a graduate of a class in 1981, I can certainly confirm that in many cases I was doing something I would prefer not to participate in, years after; it was that training that helped me in real-world circumstances. Tear gas isn't pleasant, but neither is exposure to nerve agents. Being soaked repeatedly in a mock hull of a ship is uncomfortable, but treading water in the middle of the ocean is an even more undesirable situation.
It may take years for a recruit to fully understand the lessons being taught in boot camp, the good ones will figure it out. Those who do nottypically aren't suited for military service anyhow and the system will eventually show them the door.
The bottom line for military boot camp is that our young men and women voluntarily choose to enlist into a branch of the service. If they do not wish to be exposed to the treatment received in boot camp, simply do not enlist. It may seem harsh to some, but it is necessary to instill that the military is not a democracy; you do not get to vote and in most cases decide for yourself certain things. It must be that way in order to meet the requirements placed upon the military personnel. If they cannot handle boot camp, they probably cannot handle combat or other situations that may require instantaneous responses.
Learn more about this author, B. L. Babb.
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