Army Extends Basic Training

[Boondocksaint375]

They said it is because of attrition....but seriously...you have to be pretty ate up to not make it (at least when I went through).


Army Extends Basic Training

Monday November 5, 2007
The Army is extending the length of its basic training from nine weeks to ten weeks.

A pilot 10-week program began on Nov. 2 and will run through mid-March. The Army will then revert to it's nine week program, before instituting the 10-week program permanently in October 2008, after next summer's basic training surge. The extra week will consist of discretionary time to allow drill sergeants to provide additional training in areas where recruits have shown weaknesses, according to Army officials. The Army hopes the additional time will reduce basic training attrition rates.

http://usmilitary.about.com/b/2007/11/05/army-extends-basic-training.htm

 

[The91Bravo]

I just cannot see it. The Drills are already singing to the trainees, and helping them write letters back to mommy, it is not as tough as it used to be.

In the sidebar of that article, there was this one.. laughed my ass off..:
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/joiningthemilitary/a/basictraining.htm

 

[104TN]

9 weeks is dragged out to begin with.

 

[MADMIKE175]

If they really want to reduce attrition by adding time...then they should make it 13 weeks, everyone gets an extra mandatory 5 weeks Infantry training!

 

[rv808]

They don't need to make it longer, it needs to be tougher.

Ways it can be done:

No cell phones, no buddy-buddy with the recruits, no joking, no fun no nothing. Just 10 weeks of suck.

 

[pardus]

When I did my basic it was 10 weeks, they increased it to 12 weeks, everyone is trained as an Infanteer in basic.
I think its a great base for any soldier. :2c:

 

[104TN]

BCT is meant to provide a basic level of soldierization. As it fails to do that and all the real learning is done at the Company anyway, I say we ship 'em straight through.

 

[pardus]

If it fails then the system needs to be fixed, basic is there for a reason, if its not living up to expectations it needs to be changed it so it does. :2c:

 

[104TN]

The only thing basic did for me was acclimate me to the Army system of hurry up and wait. Everything I learned in Advanced training (tactically speaking) was thrown out the window as soon as I got to unit.

 

[pardus]

Yeah, understood.
Just a different culture I guess.

 

[104TN]

I guess what I was getting at is that while I know the Army has come a long way in how it conducts initial entry training in the last few years (convoy ops, react to fires, etc.), I just can't imagine them making that shit longer. There's just so much time when you're not doing shit to begin with.

 

[pardus]

My feet never touched the ground for 10 weeks.

I went back years later as an NCO to check up on some guys on basic who were joining my unit, I was shocked at the ill discipline there, I wanted to punch the duty NCO for his slack pussy-assed running of the barracks, they made him an officer.......

 

[104TN]

No worries. The line has always policed itself and always will. ;)

 

[MADMIKE175]

The only thing basic did for me was acclimate me to the Army system of hurry up and wait. Everything I learned in Advanced training (tactically speaking) was thrown out the window as soon as I got to unit.

That will always be the case, even changing from unit to unit. Regardless of that, units need a baseline to work from.

Maybe you're just too much of a stud and didn't need the tactical training.

Personally I think they should follow the Marine Corp example - longer and fucking tougher. Everyone is a infantrymen - period.

 

[104TN]

Maybe you're just too much of a stud and didn't need the tactical training.

lol. Not at all.

But I think it makes more sense to have new recruits spend more time learning the basics initially and then concentrating on SOP specific stuff where they'll actually do it.

Why teach someone two different ways to do something when they'll only use one?

If every soldier could go through EIB at the end of OSUT and have been provided the instruction needed to pass, that'd be awesome.

 

[104TN]

Regardless of that, units need a baseline to work from.
...

Personally I think they should follow the Marine Corp example - longer and fucking tougher. Everyone is a infantrymen - period.

I just realized we agree. :doh:

Moving on. lol

 

[Paddlefoot]

A pilot 10-week program began on Nov. 2 and will run through mid-March. The Army will then revert to it's nine week program, before instituting the 10-week program permanently in October 2008...

Give me a break...

 

[digrar]

We did 12 weeks basic and 12 weeks of Infantry, same as Pardus, we didn't have 5 minutes to scratch ourselves during basic training. I don't think I was especially well prepared to be an Infantrymen after my first 12 weeks, but we had the basics of soldiering down pat.

 

[18C4V]

BCT is a joke or was when I was on the trail at lovely Relaxing Jackson. No matter how hard you try to be, you can only do so much by your self.

 

[AWP]

BCT is a joke or was when I was on the trail at lovely Relaxing Jackson. No matter how hard you try to be, you can only do so much by your self.

I'm a Jackson alum from '93. I didn't see what all the pre-Basic hub bub was about. It was cake yet some people couldn't deal with it.