Posted on 03/16/2010 4:12:45 AM PDT by decimon
FORT JACKSON, S.C. – At 5 a.m. on the Army's largest training base, soldiers grunt through the kinds of stretches, body twists and bent-leg raises that might be seen in an "ab blaster" class at a suburban gym.
Adapting to battlefield experience in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Army is revamping its basic training regimen for the first time in three decades by nixing five-mile runs and bayonet drills in favor of zigzag sprints and honing core muscles.
Trainers hope the switch will better prepare soldiers physically for the pace of combat, with its sudden dashes and rolling gun battles. They also want to toughen recruits who are often more familiar with Facebook than fistfights.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
“Most of these soldiers have never been in a fistfight or any kind of a physical confrontation. They are stunned when they get smacked in the face,” said Capt. Scott Sewell, overseeing almost 190 trainees in their third week of training. “We are trying to get them to act, to think like warriors.”
When I was in GRADE school we were fighting. Things sure have changed.
When you were in grade school they probably didn’t expel you for using your hand as a gun.
As long as they train for what they will do.
OK, where’s that M4 Chainsaw pic...
I don't understand the benefit of a combat soldier carrying all that heavy gear on their backs. It seems that would interfere with agility and readiness. Please explain!
I could be mistaken, but I don’t think any unit in the Army road marches with 200 lbs. of gear.
In 1900 a soldier still wasn’t able to carry 200 rounds of ammo around with him. The idea of a bayonet on an M16 is pretty ridiculous.
ping
I’ll ask my nephew. He trained at Ft Benning.
So that's why my knees are shot to hell, 20 years after retirement.
(Although I think it was closer to about 85 pounds of gear.)
//The idea of a bayonet on an M16 is pretty ridiculous//
The bayonet is one of those tools you hardly ever need, but when you do, you’ll really need it. You always need to be able to fix a bayonet on the weapon in case the fighting gets real close in.
When I was in GRADE school we were fighting. Things sure have changed.
Yep!
I did my basic training at Ft. Jackson in 1988. My AIT was at Ft. Gordon. I am with the poster who was surprised that most soldiers have never been in a fist fight. Where I grew up in Texas even the majority of the girls had been their fair share of scraps.
I believe the typical combat load is about 85 pounds.
When you’re in a firefight, it’s too late to go back for anything you need, ammo, water, food, night vision gear, batteries, rain gear, cold weather gear, if you don’t have it with you when you need it you’re screwed. Watch “Blackhawk Down.”
You don’t know ahead of time how long you’ll be gone, how many enemy you’ll face, or how long support will be delayed. That’s why they carry so much stuff.
yeah, thanks to the wonderful public schools system...
“When you were in grade school they probably didn’t expel you for using your hand as a gun.”
Nor when you did use your fingers as a gun taking the class hostage, did the teachers run screaming in terror from the classroom... call the police and take the you away in handcuffs...
Cheers,
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