Cell Phone + Basic Training

Discussion in 'Warfare / Military' started by ArmySoldier, Aug 14, 2018.

  1. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    https://www.businessinsider.com/how...their-cellphones-during-basic-training-2018-4

    A lot of people talk about the Army wussifying itself with stress cards and a handful of other things.

    When I went through OSUT (basic+AIT) I had no phone at any time, but was allowed to use the pay phone on Mother's day. Everyone got 2 minutes.

    I had this Pvt come to the platoon straight out of basic/ait. FRESH BOOT! lol.

    I asked him about his experience in basic as I was curious about changes. As most of you (Army) Vets know, it's up to the Company Commander what privileges you get in basic, and what you don't. It's not an Army-wide cell phone policy for basic.

    Oddly enough, this Pvt too did not once get his cell phone until graduation, and the stories he told were very similar to my experiences (which were hard as hell to go through). I expected to hear about stress cards and EO lectures.

    Then you hear about Pvts graduating from Relaxin' Jackson who got cell phones for half of basic.

    Is the Army wussifying? Depends where you go :) lol
     
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  2. vman12

    vman12 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I need to visit Parris Island and see what it's like now. Haven't been back there in over 20 years.
     
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  3. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Funny you say that. I did a manpower study there two years ago. Those recruits looked like death. I will say their reception, and first few weeks, seemed much tougher than many Army BCT units.

    However, Army units are designed differently than Parris Island. Some have much more intensity than others.
     
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  4. vman12

    vman12 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yeah I have pictures of myself from boot camp.

    I don't recognize myself. I can't express how weird that really is.

    Glad to hear they're actually still training the way they should though.
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2018
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  5. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Marine reception to me, is worse than their actual training. I don't think the recruits I saw slept for days. I also met with OCS dropouts.

    I give the Marines respect for their training.
     
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  6. vman12

    vman12 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yes but it serves a good purpose. If you don't make it through reception, you generally won't make it through to the end anyway....so it's a good initial metric to weed them out.

    Did you pick up your Butter Bar or did you go Warrant?
     
  7. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    My reception was really long. The first day/night no sleep. But since there was a delay in us shipping to our company, we basically did nothing for 10 days. I don't remember much of it, probably because it was boring as ****.

    Butter bar, baby
     
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  8. vman12

    vman12 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yeah sometimes you get lucky and you only do reception for a few days before your training platoon picks up. Otherwise you're a juice recruit or a lawn commando for weeks.

    You think recruits get treated badly on PI, try being a pre-recruit ;)

    Ohhhh that explains why you went and lost your mind. Sorry, couldn't resist the dig. Old habits.
     
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  9. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I hope one day to be a company commander for an OSUT unit. I'd love to give the DS's the power they want.

    I've been speaking to a lot of officers and NCO's from Fort Benning. When I was there (for the 3rd ****ing time), I met a bunch of them. Training SOPs can be created and modified by the leadership. If I were in command, my recruits wouldn't know what a cell phone is.
     
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  10. vman12

    vman12 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yeah this dumbing down of the military for the last 8 years is atrocious. Lowering standards both at the training level and the (for me) MEU's is just going to get people killed.

    We're sending people into ****ing combat. Do they have cell phones in combat? If they can't get through training without a cell phone how the hell are they going to engage the enemy in combat?

    It's sickening.
     
  11. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yea the kids going through training expect to many things. They need to be humbled. I would love the opportunity to give them a reality check. Combat doesn't have time for selfies.
     
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  12. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    I would expect all drill sergeants to collect all cell phones during the shakedown on Day #1 and lock them up with the rest of your personal gear that you brought with you which all goes back into your suitcase or seabag that you brought and then gets locked up in a big locker closet.

    We got 4th Of July weekend off, which fell on a Friday that year, so the D/I's kicked us out on Thursday night and we did not need to be back until Sunday evening. That was a nice break in the middle of it all. It was the only time we got our civvy stuff back out of the locker closet. Thank you John Hancock et al.

    Shaving gear and eye glasses were about all we were allowed to keep from all our civvy gear while at boot camp. But that was back in the day when men were men and civilians were puzzies.
     
    Last edited: Aug 14, 2018
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  13. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    Good luck.

    It is fairly common to make mustang officers into recruit camp leadership.

    My captain was a mustang. But the major was not.
     
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  14. yiostheoy

    yiostheoy Well-Known Member

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    We slept from 12 midnight to 4 a.m. on the first night.

    After that it was 10 pm lights out and 4 a.m. reveille.
     
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  15. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Not really, the PFT has been dumbed down only consisting of three events unlike when I went through MCRDSD it consisted of five events.

    Sit-ups, pull-ups, Push-ups, squat-thrust and the 3 mile run.

    Chin-ups (palms in) can now be counted as a chin-up (palms out)

    During WW ll the Marine Corps PFT consisted of seven events. One of the events being the duck waddle.

    Below is the U.S. Army PFT during WW ll

    OUTDOOR TESTS
    1. Pullups
    2. Squat Jumps
    3. Pushups
    4. Situps
    5. 300-yard Run


    INDOOR TESTS
    1. Pullups
    2. Squat Jumps
    3. Pushups
    4. Situps
    5A. Indoor Shuttle Run
    5A(1). 60-Second Squat Thrusts

    score sheet -> https://www.artofmanliness.com/wwii-fitness-test-scoresheet/

    When Dr. Edward Thomas, an instructor at the Army Physical Fitness School, re-discovered the WWII fitness test and administered it to soldiers in the 1990s, he was surprised at the result: soberingly low scores. While the numbers of required repetitions for things like push-ups are higher in the modern test than the WWII version, the standard for the precision with which the repetitions must be completed has been relaxed. Consequently, when Thomas tested the modern soldiers, they could only do a fraction of the repetitions required of WWII GIs.

    source:
    Are You As Fit As a World War II GI?
    https://www.artofmanliness.com/articles/are-you-as-fit-as-a-world-war-ii-gi/
     
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  16. vman12

    vman12 Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Yeah but they did add the combat readiness challenge thing. I'm not sure what it's called but I used to see them doing it at CPEN in full gear. Running around with ammo cans and stuff.
     
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  17. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    They already has basically the same combat readiness test, back in the 60's it was called the CMC.

    With the CMC there was no scoring, either you passed an event or failed.
    Failed one event and you weren't graduating from boot camp and were dropped back two weeks to another platoon.

    The CMC was always changing. It was done in full combat gear including the M-14 but when we went through it no helmet, we wore the utility cover. I heard some months later they went back having to wear the helmet.

    I don't remember all the events that were involved, it's been a long time. But it made more sense than the PFT because it was what you would actually physically be going through in combat.

    How often do you run 3 miles in combat ? But you do a whole lot of sprinting running as fast as you can be it just 25 yards or 100 yards.

    Maybe yiostheoy remembers what all events the CMC or combat readiness test consisted of ? We both served during the same era.

    We both were billeted at Las Pulgas but at different times but we both remember Sheep Sh!t.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2018
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  18. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    That's how it was for me. Everything locked up on day one
     
  19. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Ours was 9PM-4AM. Everyone had to pull a 1 hour shift of firewatch at some point. Usually every 2-3 days you'd pull a one hour shift at some point over night. Never really got a full sleep cycle for 9 weeks. Once basic was over and we started the infantry portion, Only two people had to pull fire watch per night which meant you got some better sleep
     
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  20. perdidochas

    perdidochas Well-Known Member

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    Well, based on talking to local kids that have joined the Navy, the Navy doesn't allow cell phones in the recruit's possession at any time during Basic. The sailors ask their parents to bring their cell phones on graduation from Basic.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2018
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  21. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Most Army units collect them and give all personal things back at the end. However, I hear reports at Ft. Jackson that they have units that get phones handed to them during training after a certain time.
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2018
  22. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Were you alive when the Wright Brothers flew the plane? :)
     
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  23. APACHERAT

    APACHERAT Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    I missed out of the the tail end of America's era of the "Gay 90's."

    Between 1890 until WW l Americans were very happy.

    Before political correctness being gay had nothing to do being a homo but being happy.

    But I was alive during the most prosperous time in America's history, back when America was great and even a burger flipper or a ditch digger could afford to buy a home.

    I remember when I was five years old hearing 24 supercharged Merlin engines and looking up seeing 24 P-51 Mustangs flying in a V formation.

    For decades I thought they were USAF P-51's then learned they were California ANG P-51's.

    During the 1950's the ANG squadrons in the western half of the CONUS flew P-51's while in the eastern half the United States the ANG flew P-47's.

    Nothing that flies sounds like a P-51 powered by a supercharged Merlin engine.

    Even today I can identify a P-51 in the sky before it even comes into view.

     
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  24. Lil Mike

    Lil Mike Well-Known Member

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    When I went through Basic there were no cell phones, but we did get to use the payphone maybe twice while there, but when my son went through, they turned their cell phones in at Basic but got them back a few times to call, but the calls were short, with the Drill monitoring them the whole time. He sounded scared when he called, I laughed!
     
  25. ArmySoldier

    ArmySoldier Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Lucky to get their phones back. We never got ours back because most died after week 3 or 4 of being locked away, so everyone would have to charge their phones up for a while before being able to make a call. We got two phone calls. One on the first day, and the other on Mother's day to call our mothers if we had one. Pay phones
     
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2018

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