Brutality in Basic Training

[blackhawknj]

This topic occasionally comes up in conversation with non-veterans or prospective recruits.
My examples concent the Army, veterans of other services are welcome to add theirs.
1. Fort Dix, Summer of 1964. One veteran said there was a fatso in his platoon. At every meal, one of the DIs would follow him down the chow line. No bread or potatoes, no desserts-the kid
lost 50 pounds. Another alumnus of Fort Dix from the same time told me the "Biggest Loser" in his company lost 55 pounds.
2. Fort Dix, Fall of 1966. Another Fort Dix alumnus said they had a fatso who was a real loudmouth redneck-and an NG (National Guard) to boot. They would be standng in the chow line, one of the black or Hispanic DIs would tap him on the shoulder saying "Let's go for a run."
They'd come back 15-20 minutes later, the DI barely breaking a sweat, the loudmoth all red in the face, gasping for breath, on more than one occasion heaving his guts out.
3. Fort Dix, Summer of 1974. One DI had to deal with-"The Gasser"! One recruit who was constantly passing gas and stunk to High Heaven. He gave them their gas mask training early, gave them a big pompous speech about how only the President jas the authority to initiate gas warfare but one individual has arrogantly taken it up himself to initiate it, etc.. He told them "If One of you detects this individual launching gas you will shout "GAS!" and he has to put on his gas mask and 20 25 pushups! If I or any other the other cadre detect it first YOU WILL ALL PUT ON YOUR GAS MASKS AND DO 25 PUSHUPS!!" The next day he dropped them 4 times, one of the other DIs droped them 4 times, one of the officers dropped them once, one of the other cadre dropped them once-while they were in the chow line.
4. Fort McClellan, 1980-One veteran said he arrived for MP OSUT, found out he was classified as a "Heavy Drop"-AKA a fatboy. He arrived 6'4", 240 pounds, left 12 weeks later, 6"4", 180 pounds.
5. Fort Jackson, the 1980s. Several veterans from that period said they were restricted to the Company Area for the whole cycle, no snacks, no CARE packages from home, you ate what they put on your tray and that was it. There was a Fatboys conmpany-restricted diet and extra PT. Also I think about that time the "No Smoking in Basic" restriction took effect. Those who thought their DIs had been born yesterday saw the error of their ways.

[Ron James]

So, where does the brutality part come in, When they left basic they were lean , mean and a whole lot healthier. JMHO as a ex senior NCO or maybe my attitude is wrong?

[Dan Shapiro]

Recalling my own experience in Basic back in 1967 at Ft Ord, I never saw any "brutality". I did see a group of NCO's who were charged with turning a bunch of draftee's, enlistees and National Guardsmen into soldiers in a span of just 12 weeks.

Yeah, the 'fatties' suffered. They didn't like it, but one's I knew were proud of their appearance 12 weeks later.

First day at reception center we got haircuts. As we filed into the barber shop, I noticed a gaggle of civilians (later learned they were Congressmen) - Some officer was telling them that the recruits could look up on the wall and see photos of 6 different hair styles. The recruit would tell the barber the number of the hair style he wanted. When the Congress people left, the DI's sent everyone back in and they all got a #1.

I guess, today, that would be called "brutality".

[jon_norstog]

Second week of boot camp my foot hurt like crazy, so they let me see the medic. Medic told me there was nothing wrong, get back out on the grinder. Week seven the DI sent me back 'cause it didn't look right to him, the way I was running and marching. This time there was a doctor there who did an X-ray and diagnosed a broken bone, what they call a "march fracture." By then, inspite of the constant beating, the fracture was halfway healed.

By then most of the drill and running was over and we were in classes. It really hurt, but I kept up with my company. It was one of those deals, they punished the whole company if one boot failed to perform. No way was I gonna fall behind.

So they wouldn't let me march in the graduation drill. By then I would have preferred finishing the whole thing out. The DI was an old Lifeboat Station Boatswain's Mate One. He was so bent about the deal he turned in his resignation - too bad, 'cause he was a good DI. I would have told him to stay with it.


jn

[Garden Valley]

Well .....,lets see

There was the guy who was a screw-up and two DI's put him in a wall locker and beat on the locker with baseball bats for about 20 minutes. He came out a little dazed but more attentive. Does that count?

Then there was the crud of the platoon who was repeatedly visibly dirty and stunk so the Platoon Commander sent him to the showers with the two house mouses and their scrub brushes with instructions not to bring him back until he was clean all over. He really looked rosy when they brought him back. Does that count?

Then there was the time the Platoon Commander was irritated with us and the entire platoon did 1000 up-and-on-shoulders with the M14. Does that count?

And then there was the time a poor performing recruit was placed in the front-leaning-rest position on the squad bay floor and an unsheathed M6 bayonet was placed upright centered under his chest and he was admonished not to relax. Does that count?

I don't believe monitoring food intake at the mess hall even comes close to brutality.

[rider]

At Ft. Knox in '72, a couple of Drill Sregeants in our basic training company used trainee "enforcers" to to beat and physically intimidate the recalcitrant trainees. At the end of out training cycle, these same Drill sergeants were busted for personally beating trainees in the latrine. Those two were just back from Nam and whacked-out. About a year later at my permanent station, I saw one of the "enforcers", and when he recognized me he was definitely afraid - not of me but that I might rat him out to his new homies.

[Art]

The stuff in the OP was fairly mild compared to the treatment in my Basic Training. There can be a fine line between the hazing (yes I did use that word) necessary to prepare soldiers, as much as possible, for the realities of combat and sadistic brutality. I don't think this country has ever had the kind of truly brutal training Japanese soldiers were subject to in the past or Russian soldiers are today nor do I think it's necessary. The stuff mentioned in the OP and most of the posts is not "brutality" in my view though rider's does, in my opinion, cross the line.

[BOB LOUGHLIN]

Basic Training FT.POLK, May,1963,North Post (Tiger Land ). We all learned to eat a light breakfast. Two mile run right after eating. A lot of T shirts changed out on those early mornings. The most terrifing moments I recall was the first week being put on Pig Patrol. Tiger Land had not been used for a very long time and the wild hogs had taken the place over. There I was, walking around the baracks with a four foot broom handle, about three AM when I came face to face with one or maybe two of those displaced kridders. They grunted and I almost craped my pants. They ran off and I ran to find the OD. He was laughing his butt off. To this day I believe the DI's had herded the pigs my way. Some things a guy never forgets. BOB.

[Hal O'Peridol]

This topic occasionally comes up in conversation with non-veterans or prospective recruits.
My examples concern the Army, veterans of other services are welcome to add theirs.

4. Fort McClellan, 1980-One veteran said he arrived for MP OSUT, found out he was classified as a "Heavy Drop"-AKA a fatboy. He arrived 6'4", 240 pounds, left 12 weeks later, 6"4", 180 pounds.

Are you sure you aren't talking about me here? Got to Ft McCellan, MP OSUT 12 May 1980, weighed almost exactly 240 pounds. And I am 6'4" tall.

First breakfast I went down the line, had a black coffee on my tray, a slice of dry toast with peanut butter on it, and a banana. SSG Brumfield made me put the banana back. This was my breakfast for the next six weeks of basic.

At the end of OSUT (Echo Co, 10th TNG Bn) I weighed 180 pounds. Lost so much weight I was entitled to an entirely new basic issue of uniforms, including boots! I went from a size 12 boot down to a 10 1/2 wide.

Brutality? didn't think so then, nor now. The DIs had a job, to whip us into something approaching a soldier in a short period of time. And that included how you handled stress and deprivation. If you couldn't hack it in Basic, how could you in combat?

[phil441]

I joined the AF in early '61. In Basic we had a guy in the barracks who never showered and stank to hi-heaven. Our TI instructed two of the group to take him to the shower and clean him up with the old stiff bristle brushes used for everything needing cleaning. When he came out he (still wearing fatigues) was clean. The guy never made it thru basic, but we were all grateful to the TI for making it so we were able to breathe in there.
There were two fellows who just couldn't get along. The TI had us clean out an empty room usually reserved for an Assistant TI and line the walls with spare mattresses. He put those two guys in there and told them to get it out out of their systems and locked the door behind them. After a lot of noise finally died down one of the guys knocked on the door. They both looked like hell but there was no more discourse in the barracks after that. One of those guys had his head rammed through the sheet rock wall but it was fixed by base maintenance people who were told by the TI that a couple of his stupid recruits had knocked the hole while moving furniture.
We all smiled at our little secret.