Snugg Harbor

We Are The Folksong Army

"So join in the folk song army!
Guitars are the weapons we bring
To the fight against poverty, war, and injustice.
Ready, aim, sing!"

Tom Lehrer "That Was The Week That Was"

Why start a rant about basic training with a clip from a Tom Lehrer song? Well, in today's Wall Street Journal, in their "Page One" section, or on the front page left hand column (if you happen to have access to the paper version), there is an article about the "kinder, gentler, Army". After reading it, all I can say is, "May god have mercy on this country, cause if we get into a major scuffle....we are going to have some major concerns to work around." These concerns would not have been there (or at least not to the same degree) had basic training been exactly what it was, say, 30 years ago.

My recruiter, to his credit, told me the main purpose of basic training was to see if I could handle the pressure, and physical stress the military (potentially) could demand. It (boot camp) was a weeding out process as much as it was a major learning experience. The benefit to (in my case, the Navy) the respective service was they got someone who would be able to handle themselves when it mattered. The benefit to the Airman, Soldier, Sailor, or Marine....was they got a *gut check* and once tested...knew more about themselves and their abilities then ever before...and could build upon that.

New recruits used to be welcomed to boot camp here with the "shark attack." For decades, drill sergeants in wide-brim hats would swarm around the fresh-off-the-bus privates shouting orders. Some rattled recruits would make mistakes, A few would cry. Today, the Army is opting for a quieter approach. "I told my drill sergeants to stop the nonsense,".

Nonsense?!?! I suppose this "nonsense", which was nothing more than a tool used to start the weeding out process, to see how the new recruit would react to sudden change/stress, and give drill sergeant(s) a heads up as to which recruits may be potential concerns....was just a waste of time. Never mind it worked. And was a start to the process of changing individuals into becoming a member of a well trained fighting force. What appears to be more important, though the "Journal" did not come out and say it, is we have to preserve the individuals self esteem. Don't raise their stress levels!! They might get too upset and want to go home to mommy! And though this may be part of the Army's reasoning...it isn't the real reason, that is brought to light a bit further down (it gets worse).

For most of it's existence, boot camp was a place where drill sergeants would weed out the weak and turn psychologically soft civilians into hardened soldiers.......Once-feared drill sergeants have been ordered to yell less and mentor more. "Before, our drill sergeants' attitude was 'you better meet my standard or else.' Now it's I am going to do all I can to assist you in meeting the Army standard,'"

Funny, back in the day, my Company Commander (the Navy version of a Marine Drill Instructor or Army Drill Sergeant) was the standard to be met...period. He WAS the Navy in our eyes. He was GOD. The Alpha and Omega. Besides the fact all instruction(s) given by him or his fellow instructors were to be considered law, and followed to the letter, his "standard" and the Navy's "standard" were one and the same. Sounds like a cop out on the Army's part and a further erosion of the Drill Instructors authority. (To be fair...the other services seem to be heading in this same direction....people, we are all in trouble.)

Recruits still must meet the same basic standards and pass the same tests for physical fitness and marksmanship to graduate, say Army officials. But more variable criteria that in the past might get a recruit expelled-such as whether a Drill Sergeant thinks a recruit has the discipline and moral values to be a soldier-have been jettisoned. "Now it doesn't matter what the Drill Sergeant thinks. We work off the written standard."

Sheesh, forget about eroding of the Drill Sergeant's authority....this sounds like an out and out mudslide!

Some Drill Sergeants worry that the "kinder and gentler approach"-as Drill Sergeants have dubbed the changes-is producing softer Soldiers. "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 head?" "War is stressful. I think we overcorrected."

At least it appears there are some among the Senior NCO/NCO ranks who still understand what is (or should be) the end result of basic training.

So, what group of numb-nuts and fuzzy thinkers produced the current "kinder gentler" setting at basic??

A team of 20 officers from the Army's training command was formed to figure out how the service could help more Soldiers survive the first six months. they consulted sociologists, and psychiatrists and even flew in MTV's senior vice president of strategy and planning, in search of fresh ideas fro motivating today's youth.

Hmmmmmm social engineering strikes again!! But why does the Army (the other services are going down this path as well....with the possible exception of the Marines...bless their hearts!) feel the need to, yet again, soften what is possibly the single most important environment a young man or woman will be immersed in....to produce an American service member second to none?

The WSJ alludes to the answer on the second page of this article.

The new approach is helping the Army graduate more of its recruits. Last month, only 23 recruits failed to make the cut at Fort Leonard Wood's largest basic-training brigade, compared with 183 in January 2004. Army -wide about 11% of recruits currently flunk out in their first six months of training, down form 18% last May.

That's just a tease...a hint at the real bottom line...which comes a paragraph or two later...

The Army's decision to overhaul basic training came last spring. The service was having a hard time bringing in new recruits. It ultimately missed its 2005 recruiting goals for active-duty troops by 7,000 Soldiers, or 8%, and National Guard Soldiers by 13,000 or 20%. Meanwhile, boot-camp attrition was climbing. New Soldiers brought in to replace those who were tossed out weren't much better. "We realize that the further you go into the barrel, the lower the quality"

Bingo!!!! There it is. The real reason for all this sweetness and light. Fact is, the Army couldn't reach it's target numbers. So instead of attacking the root causes of this. They (as have the schools, the colleges, and others) took the easy way out....THEY LOWERED THEIR STANDARDS

There is more in this outstanding article by Greg Jaffe at the WSJ, and it is worth reading and commenting on. But for two things, the web access to WSJ is a subscription site, and more importantly, after reading it my blood pressure has reached the danger zone.

We are, as a rule, always going to have excellent men and women in our Armed Forces. But when the Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines who would have met the standard, regardless of where the bar was raised....now have to (at least subconsciously) worry about the ability of their fellow service member to be able to do whatever they are tasked with because they were not weeded out in the first place, then you've the potential for some serious problems.

Oh, it may not be as big a concern when facing an Army from some third world nation or another....or one that cuts and runs at the earliest opportunity. But there are folks out there watching this with great interest.

Terrorist leaders. Cowards they may be, but they will constantly be looking for any and all weakness to exploit. Knowing our standards are being lowered, has to be something they would relish.

The North Koreans. They are NOT like the foes we have recently fought. Ask a vet from the little skirmish we had with them back in the 50's. These are (or at least have a history of) being battle hard and ready to fight.

The ChiComs. They are and have been willing to fight and fight well. Also, they are not too far behind us in technological expertise....the one trump card we (IMHO) tend to place far far too much value in.

Any or all of the above, gain a substantial boost in morale (if nothing else) when an adversary determines/decides our troops are no longer being trained up to previous standards. Or the (potential) overall quality of our troops is suspect. This can and will effect battle plans being drawn up and decisions/discussions regarding possible conflict with US Armed Forces. (ie: The Chinese electing to take over Taiwan for example. If you think this kind of thing is not a factor being weighed by the Chinese....you need to back up and regroup.)

There is, and has been, social engineering within the Armed Services. We had to deal with it starting back in the late 60's early 70's. That it has gone to the levels it has, and is being used to adjust for problems residing in society at large, well, we may as well let new recruits sing Kumbia while holding hands around a camp fire....or teach them Tom Lehrer's song quoted at the beginning of this rant. Cause if current trends continue, that is all we will be good for, is being a "Folksong Army".

Posted by Guy S at February 15, 2006 05:37 PM | TrackBack