I agree Drastik,
I was watching a special on Discovery about Navy boot camp...
Instead of seeing fond memories of the past, I see the "politically correct" brigade all over my screen...
Where we were getting killed 3 hours a day on the "confidence" course and another 5 hours doing rifle\marching drills, they now learn how to put on life jackets...
While we were going through hell getting "broken down" by the Company Commanders to form us into a military unit, they now have "sensitivity training"....
I distinctly remember many nights of getting woken up about 2 in the morning. Getting yelled at for the angle of the hospital corners on my sheets as all of us stood at attention in our skivvies....
If it was a good night the trash can didn't get thrown down the middle of the berthing while 4 of us would each take a corner of a 2 bunk bed and run in place 'till the walls started to sweat...
If one of us halted a little late after the order was given, it was a guarantee that it would be a late night....
Tough? Yes....
But it should be.... It's the 8 weeks were you learn how to deal with REAL obstacles in life, how to stop being an individual and truly become part of a team, how to perform under REAL pressure.
It is supposed to be a test to find out just what kind of person you are when all of the meaningless pretenses are stripped away.... When the going gets hot, are you going to stick in there and help defend each other and win the day? Or are you going to run and find the nearest shelter?
It's where you learn self-discipline, respect, and a sense of honor for those who fought and died before you. That's what it means to be a defender of freedom, and what it's supposed to take to be a United States fighting man or woman.
I just don't see that in the first level basic training weeks anymore. Heck, the Air Force gets the weekends off during basic training.... We got a choice: Go to church or clean the berthing. I became religous REAL quick...
Don't get me wrong, I thank God every day for the efforts of our men and women in uniform. I just think our fighting men and women have been short-changed, and in the process, we've become weaker...