NOT A DRILL: ARMY SOFTENS BASIC TRAINING
Retired Navy SEAL // spent 10 years as an enlisted Navy SEAL and ten years as a SEAL officer leading SEAL teams in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. // During a special operative mission in 2007, Redman was struck by machine gun fire. It first hit him in the left elbow, then in the right side of his face, entering his jaw and exiting through his nose. He had to undergo dozens of surgeries and now he's an internationally-known motivational speaker and author of the new book Overcome: Crush Adversity with the Leadership Techniques of America's Toughest Warriors LT. JASON "JAY" REDMAN joins JT.

For new Army recruits, boot camp will be a lot more like summer camp. The U.S. Army is changing its approach to Basic Combat Training, moving away from many of the harsher traditions associated with the grueling days that serve as the introduction to military service for all recruits. Specifically, the Army is eliminating the day-one Basic Training tradition known as "shark attack"--in which recruits are swarmed by yelling drill sergeants ordering them to do exercises and carry out physical tasks. In its place, the Army is implementing "The First 100 Yards," a calmer and more organized series of what the service calls "mentally and physically challenging events" that focus on building teamwork between recruits and trust with their superiors. The new approach is already rolling out at basic training sites across the country, but veteran soldiers are not on board. "I find this to be absolutely asinine, that we would be watering down what has worked for literally hundreds of years," says Arthur Rizer, Iraq War veteran now with the D.C. think tank R Street. "Ultimately, the entire point of basic training is to make sure the individual has the mental fortitude for war." The new approach came about after the military was forced to make major changes to basic training amidst the coronavirus pandemic. But it also comes as the armed forces have faced a drop in recruiting numbers, as well as difficulty in finding qualified recruits, in recent years. "The whole point (of basic training) is to get you tough, to get you mentally ready," says Rizer. "We don't break you permanently, be we ensure you can come together, and you can't do that with that soft, gushy coating that civilian life gives you."
Should we worry that our military is getting soft? Should we lower our standards to find enough recruits?