WSJ: Marching Orders: To Keep Recruits, Boot Camp Gets A Gentle Revamp

[wellst0nev0ter]

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. -- 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," says Col. Edward Daly, whose basic-training brigade graduates about 11,000 soldiers a year. Last fall, Col. Daly began meeting with all new recruits shortly after they arrive at boot camp to thank them. "We sincerely appreciate the fact that you swore an oath and got on a bus and did it in a time of war," he recently told an incoming class. "That's a big, big deal." He usually is accompanied by two male and two female soldiers, who can answer questions the recruits may have.

"The idea is to get rid of the anxiety and worry," Col. Daly says.

The new welcome is a window on the big changes sweeping boot camp, the Army's nine-week basic training. For most of its existence, boot camp was a place where drill sergeants would weed out the weak and turn psychologically soft civilians into hardened soldiers. But the Army, fighting through one of its biggest recruiting droughts, now is shifting tactics. Boot camp -- that iconic American experience -- may never be the same.

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,' " says Command Sgt. Maj. William McDaniel, the senior enlisted soldier here.

MORE. . .

I dunno if this is already posted, but if it isn't, this is freekin' HUGE!!!

[acmejack]

1. Whoa!

A kinder, gentler Military? Inconceivable!

[wtmusic]

2. Going about it bass-ackwards

Instead, let's try only fighting as a last resort, yet maintaining high disciplinary standards, 'kay?

[HereSince1628]

3. As an alum of Leonard Wood's A-3-2 I want to know how

they get recruits to carry all the bedding, clothing, and gear to the 3rd floor of the barracks without the help of the epinephrine rush of that "shark attack?"

At the end of basic it took me 3 trips to carry DOWN all the shit I RAN up the stairs with in single trip two months earlier.

[landdaddy]

4. B-5-3 here

went thru basic at lost in the woods back in Jan. '68 and the cold bothered me more than the DI's! All in all I didn't find the DI's all that bad but, back then, they were trying to push us thru pretty damn fast.

[HereSince1628]

5. I loved those fall strolls back from the firing ranges.

[landdaddy]

8. I remember being at the range

stamping around and rubbing my hands together because of the cold and being so damn hungry I would lick up my saved C rat creamers. Had my cleaned M14 bolt freeze closed :shrug: overnight during bivouac because it was too damn cold to put in my sleeping bag with me. Learned a valuable lesson that morning!

[Nikki Stone 1]

6. Will this change the readiness of troops in any way, or is it cosmetic

as changes go?

I don't know enough about this to make a judgement. How important or useful is the "weeding out" process?

[wellst0nev0ter]

7. Sorry Guys, Bad Link

Here I fixed it

http://stevegilliard.blogspot.com/2006/02/kindler-and-gentler-basic-training.html

[DS1]

9. Christ - another "gentling down" of American expectations of youth

First it's GIVE EVERYONE A STAR because not getting a star on quizzes makes teenagers feel bad.

Now you get a tea-party version of bootcamp. I'm sooo glad I'm not ten years younger, sheesh.