Unless you are in an active war zone, under fire, an NCO has no business "smoking", or otherwise engaging in mal-treatment of any other military person.
For those unfamiliar with the term "smoking", it refers to strenuous exercise assigned to a Soldier who "messes up". The lenght and intensity directly corelates to the severity of the messup; ranging from a few pushups for something minor to a half hour for something severe. Its actually a good way to correct an otherwise good Soldier, as opposed to putting the incident on paper, which can affect their career later. For some people, its the only way to get a point across so that when you DO get into a real-world situation, dicipline issues arent present.
That is the Army I came up in. Soldiers who couldnt "Be in the right place, at the right time, in the right uniform" spent their evenings and weekends undergoing corrective training. And it wasnt unethical. Soldiers who forgot their gear spent their free time participating in uniform drills. Soldiers who couldnt get to work on time had to report to Staff Duty at the top of the hour, 12 hours a day for the weekend. I partook of a few of those myself early on, and I think I didnt turn out too bad. Nowadays, in the "Kinder, gentler Army" we cant do any of that stuff anymore. Drill Sergeants in Basic Training can't raise their voice at recruits, and all the new Soldiers carry around "Stress cards" that they present when they start feeling "stressed". AITs dont even HAVE Drills anymore. That was a BIG talking point for me last summer when I was at Ft Rucker and asked the TRADOC CSM when he was going to put Drills back in AITs. His excuse was that we need those NCOs out in the field (though between OIF being over for awhile and OEF coming to an end as well, that doesnt make sense) and that big Army cant afford to pay them the extra incentive pay ( though Im sure I read that the Army is shifting its focus..and budgeting goals to training). My DSs were men to be emulated--they were the best in all aspects of being a Soldier. Now they are gone, and replaced with any Tom, Dick, or Harry that DA selects to go "fill the slot" I was appauled at what I saw at Huachuca when I went down there for Grey Eagle school. There was a E7 "Platoon Sergeant" down there that was so fat that she couldnt walk correctly. Yet she somehow is charged with motivating young, HIGHLY IMPRESSIONABLE Soldiers to pass their APFT and meet the Army's minimum height/weight standards (my PT score is the 3rd highest in the platoon...and thats the way it should be) There were many simmilar sad cases like her.
And you know what...the end product is a direct reflection. I'm getting Soldiers out of AIT who cant pass PT tests, have crap for dicipline, are soft skinned, and just, quite simply arent Soldiers. They go cry to IG if they I shake my finger at them to much, dont tell them that they are the best Soldier in the whole Army, or take their video game privledges at work away if they fail an APART exam. *Note: I am in no way exaggerating.
In a technical duty classification, military personnel of all ranks soon realize that everyone must pull together to a common goal
And it is THESE people that I have to throw in the seat of a $15 million aircraft, carrying live munitions, to prevent harm to troops on the ground. This stuff takes teamwork...a completely absent concept to these Troops by the time they make their way to me, and now I have to do the job that Drill Sergeant AND that AIT Platoon Sergeant should have done in the first place....while downrange. The idea of paying 100 bucks for a CL kit and getting a big block of balsa wood in the mail--as well as the saying "you dont learn how to drive a car on Memorial Day weekend"--comes to mind.
At least, that is what I observed during my military service.
Is todays service branches the same as they were back in the 50's and 60's. My brother talked to me a lot before I tried to join. Just look at the news now the so called media puts out.
So to answer both fine gentlemens' question, the only thing about the Army that you would recognize today is that "U.S. Army" is still on everyones left chest. Beaurocracy, Political Correctness and Sensitivity, Leaders who demonstrate the rhetorical prowess of a politician and who write policy and regulations, not based on morals or ethics but because it "briefs well" and looks great on their evaluation report. Picture Capitol Hill in with guns, tanks, and camoflage.
Read this if you dont think any of my assessment is realistic. How many contests have I missed due to training? Yet I havent shot anyone, and we weren't seeing these types of incidences 10 years ago...
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2014/04/07/fort-hood-shooter-snapped-over-denial-request-for-leave-army-confirms/
Topic: 10th Birthday/Aniversary/whatever (Read 3462 times)
