Say it Ain?t So!

[thedrifter]

07-15-2004

Say it Ain?t So!







By Matthew Dodd



?Is Marine Corps recruit training really going soft??



I asked myself that question after reading two recent Newhouse News Service articles about training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, SC. Let me briefly present these two articles and then solicit your feedback and reactions to them. I will consolidate what I hear and learn from you and then present my findings in follow-on articles.



The first article was a first-hand account of 34 year-old reporter Bill Cahir?s experiences as a recruit at Parris Island. It was a factual description of some of his more distinctive memories as an older-than-normal recruit in order to [in his own words] ??make whatever contribution I could to the war on terrorism.?



The other one was a follow-up article by David Wood about why the Marine Corps, following Cahir?s article, has opened an investigation into possible violations of recruit training policy and procedures by Cahir?s drill instructors. Wood?s opening comments included an accurate assessment of my beliefs and observations regarding recruit training at Parris Island (and at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego):



?The reputation of the Marines' boot camp at Parris Island, S.C., is legendarily tough. Nonetheless, its drill instructors, or DIs, operate under a code of conduct that prohibits "degrading language" and abusive or humiliating treatment of recruits. Regulations strictly govern conditions under which drill instructors can "drop" recruits for push-ups or physically touch them.?



I actually read Wood?s article first, and after reading it I was compelled to find and read Cahir?s article for myself. After my initial reading of Cahir?s article, I put it down, walked around a bit, and came back to it about 20 minutes later. I use that technique sometimes when I read something and think I may have missed something in it or felt I was distracted while reading it. After reading it a second time, I realized I had not missed anything in my first reading, and I became confused. I read it a third time and I immediately became concerned. At that point, I asked the question I used to begin this article: Is Marine Corps recruit training really going soft?



That question is not solely based on those two articles. As a career Marine officer with over twenty-three years experience, I have heard many ?sea-stories? over the years about ?the Old Corps.? I have spoken with many recruit training personnel (enlisted and officer) who have relayed their personal observations to me. Lastly, I have talked to countless older enlisted Marines about their boot camp experiences, and also to more recent graduates of boot camp about their experiences. From all that I have read, heard, and experienced, I believe it would be wise to seriously consider this old adage: Where there is smoke, there is fire.



Cahir's article included personal accounts of DIs using profanity directed at him, DIs physically touching him to inflict discomfort, and DIs threatening him with implications of violence. In Cahir's own words:



?One of the four DIs erupted: "No f---ing way! No f---ing way!" A second DI joined the chorus: "In some countries, that's a crime against the dead!" He was pointing at my food. I had stuck a fork in my baked chicken and left the utensil sticking straight up in the air...The DI grabbed my M16A2 service rifle, pushed the plastic hand guard against my forehead and bent me backwards until I was pinned against my bunk, also known as a rack. "Ca-heer, I've been waiting for you to show one ounce of intensity in your f---ing body, and you can't do it, can you, you motherf---ing communist p---y!?..."You don't know my specialty, do you?" one raged. "Counterintelligence! You'll never see me coming!"?



Anybody reading those accounts will probably have opinions about whether they are appropriate or acceptable. Well, what does now-Private First Class (PFC) think about how his DIs and how he was treated?



?But I admired their toughness. At three required points during training, I signed paperwork saying the DIs hadn't abused me verbally or physically. I didn't believe they had.



The drill instructors worked more than 100 hours each week. They performed the workouts required of the recruits, and more. They had mastered several military trades -- marksmanship, first aid, land navigation -- and practiced the best methods for teaching those skills.

It was a fighting man's world. The DIs thrived in it. They had earned their stripes, and they were preparing us for ours.



"I did not intend to get any person at Parris Island in hot water, I certainly didn't expect any negative reaction from the Marine Corps. To this day, I harbor nothing but respect and admiration for the non-commissioned officers who trained me. I hope they are cleared of all wrongdoing and thanked for their service."



Now, what does the Marine Corps think about Cahir's accounts? As expected, Parris Island has explicit written policies stating what is and is not acceptable behavior by DIs, and what is to be done if DIs are suspected of violating those guidelines. As reported in Wood?s article:



"Any time there is an allegation, we have a responsibility to look at it," said Maj. Kenneth D. White, a Marine Corps spokesman at Parris Island. "People enlist in the Marine Corps with a certain amount of trust and confidence that we are going to take care of them."

According to the Marine Corps drill instructor's manual, any allegation of abuse triggers an automatic investigation run under military law by an independent officer.

According to the Marine Corps manual, recruits learn to become combat Marines by dealing with boot camp stress "produced initially by fear of the unknown." As the recruits are led through increasingly difficult physical challenges and unrelenting mental pressure, stress "comes from fear of failure," the manual says.

The training is intended to teach Marines that they can "stand up to stress" before finding themselves in combat.

But the prohibition of profanity and other forms of abuse is "a line which will not be crossed," the manual states.



Putting aside emotions about what is happening, there are some very important questions that should be asked based on the facts. Did Cahir's DIs violate written policies? Is Parris Island following written policies by investigating Cahir's DIs?



Perhaps the most important question to ask, and no doubt the most emotional one, is whether those policies are appropriate and acceptable, especially if they result in Cahir's DIs being officially reprimanded for their actions.



I have my own opinions on these questions, but I want to hear what my readers have to say. I have never been a Marine recruit, so my recruit training and appropriate DI behavior perspectives are not based on first-hand experience. I will close by asking the question that started this article: Is Marine Corps recruit training really going soft?



Lt. Col. Matthew Dodd USMC is a Senior Editor of DefenseWatch. He can be reached at mattdodd1775@hotmail.com. Please send Feedback responses to dwfeedback@yahoo.com.

http://www.sftt.org/cgi-bin/csNews/...7.3822709928877


Ellie