Marching Orders

Check out this article about the changes in Basic Combat Training. My boyfriend mentioned it to me in a letter, and told me to look it up. The BCT situation is not looking good, in my opinion.

I would imagine this gentler approach to be quite ineffective in hardening the soldiers for war. "'Could we all just stand up together?' Sgt. Gilmore said, sounding more let down than angry. 'It would look so much nicer.'" Yeah, that's really going to get the recruits in line. Staff Sgt. Nagel said exactly what I was thinking when I read the article: "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?"

Cutting the amount of physical activity (running) is also a bad idea. If recruits are getting injured because they have never exercised, why are they in the Army? I think giving them extra aid to meet physical requirements before BCT is acceptable, but by the time they get there, I don't think showing so much mercy is going to help with the overal quality of the soldiers in the long run.

Letting overweight recuits eat dessert is stupid--it's not helping them any. As a matter of fact, it's hurting them, because eating dessert will make it harder for them to lose weight and do the required physical exercises. Aside from this, though, the whole food situation may sound a little bit softer in the article than what it might be in reality, because I know that the recruits are not always given time to finish their meals, or get seconds.

However, I do believe that some of the changes that have been made are good. Training privates for things like urban combat and spotting roadside bombs are very necessary now, with all that is happening in Iraq. I also think allowing soldiers with asthma to carry an inhaler, or depression to take Zoloft, is good. Obviously, asthmatics that can't control their asthma and very depressed people are disqualified from joining the Army. Making these small allowances for mild symptoms is a good way to boost the ranks.

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Word of the Day: Assuage