I've been reading all these posts and articles about how they are changing Army training.

Now don't get me wrong, the Army is bad ***. They get it done.

However, I'm not joining to go to the Boy Scouts. I'm not trying to act like some tough guy or say I only want to go in for a challenge. I'm not even in that great a shape.

But in all honesty I'm not going to feel I have earned a graduation if things really get like this. Ladders off the back of a truck? What the hell is this. Is there a new MOS called a 5-TON LADDER CREWMAN?!

The point is, if I found it soft could I ask to be not so well looked after.

I read this back to myself. It seems like I've written it in a stupid way and not made my point too well.

You get my drift though.

I apologize if anyone takes offense to my remarks.

It's no secret to anyone in the military that BCT has become "softer" and that we seem to be moving towards a "kinder, gentler" Army. Yeah, I can't believe they have ladders on the back of the trucks either! Wasn't that way when I went through.

That said, you really don't want to draw too much attention to yourself on either end of the spectrum during BCT. You could voice your opinion about something being too easy for you and have a desire to not be "so well looked after" but you could very well regret that. Go in being too "hooah, hooah" and you're going to stick out like a sore thumb. Go in being too laid back or lazy, you're going to stick out like a sore thumb. Best thing I can tell you is just do what you're told and don't complain about anything, even if you think it's "too easy" or "too soft". Just do your personal best.

This wast he approach I was going to take.

But I mean what happens if I feel really unprepared after training? I just want to get through it like the next guy but not if it's going to endanger me because of the way I may react if I was ever in a combat situation.

No, I didn't think you would take that approach, but...

While the Army has become "softer" during BCT, you will not come out of it "unprepared" for whatever the Army life may throw your way. That would really defeat the purpose of training in the first place. You will still receive some of the best training out there that will prepare you for your future in the military as well as any future deployments. You will also continue to receive training and mentorship from your first line supervisor(s) when you get to your unit of assignment.

When I say I was going to take "that" approach, I meant just keeping my head low and getting through it.

And I'm sure I'll receive some damn fine training. I don't know, it just seems off. I guess it may not be so bad for me because it will be the only military life I know. But it seems people in other branches and even older Soldiers are shunning this new idea.

I would like to be trained the same as everyone else.

Oh well, I guess this will just leave more up to the individual. I guess with proper motivation I will do well.

On the one hand, it seems to nurture a Soldier as an individual which, while it may seem "weak" to others, may not be a bad thing. It seems like the old training regimes were just to get people to be able to follow an order without thinking when bombs are going off. Special Forces of all branches appear to favor an unconventional and creative approach to combat.

Perhaps this will prepare Soldiers to think for themselves and apply sound judgment to a circumstance instead of just applying text book knowledge.

I just have mixed feeling about this as well.

Even just on a morale level it has to be bad. The Army isn't exactly everyones favorite branch of heroes. They don't seem to have the same notoriety that may come with other branches. It shouldn't be a competition about which branch is the best but take the USMC for example. They seem to thrive and be driven by that insuppressible pride and legacy they feel a part off. Without being able to identify to something like that in the Army may bring some soldiers down.

I would know that it doesn't matter what people think about the branch, and know that it's doing it that counts no matter what people say.

Yes, some of the "older Soldiers" who have gone before us have a hard time swallowing the "kinder" and "gentler" approach that we seem to be moving towards. My father is a soon-to-be-retired Master Sergeant. We sometimes compare notes on what he endured during his BCT years ago vs. what I endured during my BCT. I have to admit that some of what he tells me makes me glad I didn't go through that, but gives me a great respect for those who did.

I've also read some recent posts by certain people who report their spouses having an extremely hard time dealing with the mind games, physical training, "smoking" sessions, etc. that is a normal part of BCT that everyone must endure. I've found that what one person views as "hard" or "difficult" is not neccessarily what others would view in that same manner.

I think it really depends on your individual mindset before and during your training and it seems that you are going in with your head in the right place. You seem to desire what others don't. Something that will challenge your limitations mentally and physically and that's never a bad thing.

Just curious, where are you going to BCT at (or do you even know yet) and what is your MOS going to be?

I don't know yet. I'm applying for the Warrant Officer Corps to be a 153A Rotary Wing Pilot.

But you only find out BCT locations and such after the whole application process. AIT (WOCS and IERW) is at Fort Rucker so I don't see that any of the BCT Forts would be more likely than the other.

Patriotic Whale:

Don't believe everything you read or "a friend of a friend of a guy who I know whose brother's best friend's cousin's roommate" said it was so...

Go to BCT and form your own impressions. Everyone who goes through Basic thinks THEIR cycle was the last "hard" one. If you go thinking it's going to be easy and you're so above it all, you'll most likely be in for a real shock.

While in BCT, you will end each day sore, tired, and dirty. All you're going to want to do is take a shower and go to sleep. If you're really high-speed, you may have the energy to write a letter home before you slip off to sleep. It won't be easy, nor will you feel like you were somehow "cheated" by your experience vs. your expectations. BCT always looks easier on the DVDs and the videos posted on the 'Net, than it REALLY is. Only those who have been through it successfully know how it really is, and how it feels to stand on the parade field during graduation. You won't feel cheated...

If you make it through it all (BCT, WOCS, IERW), who knows, I might see ya' out there one day (in a couple years). I'm a CH-47 mechanic. AVIATION! ABOVE THE BEST!

Good Luck!

Matt
SPC, US Army
15U

In no way do I think it'll be easy or I'm some tough guy who can take it all.

But if the Army is openly saying they are trying to make it softer then it probably is. Doesn't mean it's easy, just easier.

I agree I'll probably be destroyed and just wanna sleep and party like a civvie.

Thanks for the solid answer as always though. You've been very helpful on the Aviation board.

I owe you and everyone else there...Salty, Auto, Traffic, Nunez...the lot...a round each if I make it through. You've all been invaluable.

LOL ok so you wanna be hardkore? Alright ... Make sure you join as a combat MOS (11b-Infantry 19k-Tank crewman etc ..) Dude dont worry, basic training will push you to your limit physically and mentally. No problems there. You will want to kill the people who you are there with ... your "battle buddies" Oh yea and don't think you are gonna be all awesome when you get out of basic and get to your duty station because everyone around military posts are used to soldiers and could care less about them. Really ... it hurts you.