By Angelina Newsom:
I’ll never forget the scariest day of my life. I had just arrived at Basic Combat Training for the United States Army. As I stood in line, frozen with terror, my eyes gave in to curiosity as to what all the commotion was about two lines over.
Within moments, right next to my cheek, appeared the unmistakable international sign of doom; the Drill Sergeant’s hat. My eyes instinctively shot forward, as I remained paralyzed. He rained down a whole quilt of obscenities whilst mentioning my eyeballs being removed from my face.
Henceforth, I would never have an issue standing in a military formation for prolonged periods. I would go on to have probably four more of these harsh lessons. After each one, I walked away with the understanding that I was being trained to pay attention to detail. The trainer didn’t intend to abuse or “haze” me, he/she was charged with preparing me for possible combat. With turning me into a soldier.
Fast forward exactly ten years. According to a young family member of mine who completed Basic Combat Training, there is no longer any yelling or swearing. She was also able to update her Facebook status from her cell phone every Sunday; I want to say that selfies were even involved! She wrote home that one of her Drill Sergeants had even praised her for the fantastic job she was doing.
What? This went against everything I knew to be true. Had this generation of recruits been sold a summer camp?
The evolving standards in the United States Army have brought about staggering ramifications. In just the last decade, numerous developments have turned the military on its heels. We’ve seen the repeal of the policy on same-sex relationships, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, women in combat jobs, and marriage equality. As many of these changes have been ushered in, the one thing that hasn’t evolved is the military warrior culture.
The backlash that has occurred due to these changes can be heard echoed across almost every platform of social media. There’s no doubt about it that morale has decreased dramatically with the implementation of these changes. So much focus has been put on these issues that many have overlooked the largest one: a discipline problem has developed within our military.
As the more prominent changes have been splashed across the internet, the military is quietly suffering when it comes to discipline. While a good old fashioned cussing effectively got me in the mindset of paying attention to detail, it can get a leader hemmed up today. Gone are the days of enforcing that series of rigorous exercises more commonly known as “corrective training.”
Some of the biggest differences I’ve noticed is how disrespectful soldiers have become. Since shifts have occurred in how leaders are authorized to correct soldiers, I feel like the fear is no longer there. By fear, I’m referring to the feeling of reverence when a superior swiftly corrected actions. I was never put in any danger by being punished the old fashioned way. I strongly believe that the punishments I did receive only enhanced my character as a service member.
I remember sitting through a legal briefing in which a lawyer sparked an almost town hall-style meeting; she explained at length what leaders are no longer authorized to do for corrective training. This has caused many leaders to feel as though they are limited in how they perform their duties. This can be detrimental to combat readiness. At times, it’s almost as though the nation has forgotten that the military is a fighting force. Too many soldiers are used to being coddled because of the “new Army.”
There has to be a huge degree of discipline, especially in theaters of combat operation. At the root of the corrective training and cussing was survival. You may have taken a clearing rod to the side of the helmet on a weapons range, but you never made the same mistake again that could potentially get you killed in combat. You may have taken a tongue lashing, but you learned that following orders to a “T” is the most important thing about the military. The mission should always be the most important thing.
Angelina Newsom is an OpsLens Contributor and U.S. Army Veteran. She has ten years experience in the military, including a deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She studies Criminal Justice and is still active within the military community.
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