What are the biggest changes you saw in the video? Some things for the better and some things for the worse. Remember Corporal Woke video - ua-cam.com/video/qhJIEiBCH44/v-deo.html. How do you think it compares to gender-integrated USMC training? ua-cam.com/video/8p-ffvm-bpQ/v-deo.html
I was saying: It was crazy to go from Vietnam style training to the new and less intimidating training. They made it way easier and it doesn't even feel right. I like the tough motivation and smoke sessions, rather than smoke breaks😂😂😂
My son just graduated basic 2021. He was expecting something similar to my experience and was very disappointed. Smoked is called corrective pt. Only 20 push ups allowed unless your instructor did them with you. He got fat while in basic. His pt score actually went down. “Recruits don’t rise to the standard they lower the standards to fit the recruits.” A direct quote from my son.
The cattle car was my first, "Oh no, what did I sign up for?" moment. They piled so many people and duffle bags in each car that we were all laying on each other like corpses. It was definitely a shocking contrast from the civilian world. I'll never forget that ride.
Interesting fact, I wish they still used the cattle cars, in some tight areas where people have to be packed it gets people desensitized to claustrophobia, it was in itself a type of training.
Yes..the cattle trucks..we took them everywhere. I had a similar feeling "wth am I doing here" started getting off the truck, people tripping, getting SA'd by all the DS's. Once off the trucks it was laps around the barracks with your bags. Combat engineers baby..good ole Ft Leonard Wood. Gosh that place sucked.
@@humid-rb7rt Yes this was a shock factor for me in 1994, The DS said "put your head in your duffel bag and recite the lords prayre" I not being religious had not much of an idea but I mumbled along as good as I could while asking myself what did I get myself into. Yes that was the beginning of my shark attack.
I went through basic training at Ft. Benning way back in 1983. Some of my Drill Sergeants still wore the Vietnam OD greens. We were the second cycle to have the woodland BDU's. They smoked the hell out of us all the way through Basic & AIT.
Went to Ft. Benning for basic in 85-86, then to Ft. Campbell for my first duty station. We were issued OD's at Ft. Campbell. The 101st was probably the last place to issue jungle fatigues since we still had a jungle training rotation in Panama at the time.
It was hard core back then man. No Pansy stuff like now. They even hit us a few times at Benning tho they weren’t supposed to. They found ways around all the politics.
I went in, in 1984, we arrived by bus. However, I do remember using the cattle cars, in transporting us around as grunts or picking us near the DZ's. We would always moo, while rolling down the road.
@@bryanelam7431 Ya, they were just a quick or cheap, who knows, way of moving us around the post. The only time I have ever rode in a trailer. To speak of.
I grew up in the Army, dad was a Drill Sgt. This was mid 1960's until he retired in 1975. He was training troops until he went to Vietnam in 1970. He'd been in the Korean War prior. But the time he retired in 1975, same year I graduated HS we'd been stationed at Ft. Hood Texas damn near 5 years, I knew more about Army nomenclature and spit shinning boots than most kids. At 10 we made money shinning GI's boots until we'd be run off by a Drill Sgt. I saw so many young men being trained to go to Vietnam, I always hoped they all made it back home, but knew better. A former Marine DI I worked with in the late 70's said he got out because they couldn't hit trainees any more. My Dad was strict and hard but I loved and respected the man and he raised us right. He taught us a lot of great life lessons and we grew up knowing how to fight. Later when I'd read the Army was dropping hand grenade training because the average trainee could not throw one the minimum sage distance I thought My God, I would of loved to have heard what Dad would have had to say about that. Thanks for posting your videos and thank you for your service!
@@deebo3483 That's good to know, it was a fair number of years ago, in the news that one of the generals were talking about dropping it from training, which I thought was nuts. Glad to know it wasnt.
@@donc9751 it’s pretty barebones, you get a few dummies and learn to operate them, and then throw one at the live range, but otherwise at least in 2017 we still handled them.
The CS chamber I trained in at Fort Jackson (2002) the gas was thick enough you could not see the other side of the chamber. We had this Staff Sergeant Drill with my platoon that was completely immune to the effects of CS. It was CRAZY!
To be fair, the trainees showing up in the 90’s portion is clearly after reception. The trainees in 2021 getting the “snack pack” are just showing up to processing, it’s more then likely their very first day in processing. Also, bayonet training isn’t a thing anymore. The gas chamber is dulled way down due to COVID issues. When I went thru basic 4-5 months ago, my drills told me they had to dull the gas down because they didn’t want people snotting and what not around groups of people
Agree.. the snack pack thing definetly looks like inprocessing. We didn't get snackpacks in 1990. We got there around 5:00 pm, they just took us to the chow hall after the amnesty box deal
Seriously? I went back in 2018. We had bayonet drills, our gas chamber was INTENSE, and we got treated almost identically to that of the recruits in 97. Obviously not as bad, but close to it. That much has changed in nearly 4 years?
Pshhh a mre is just another depressing part of the $hitty accommodations afforded by Uncle Sam for signing the dotted line and enlisting. Idk what happy go logic you have but I and many other people I served with would highly disagree that being served a meal that is made from the cheapest most cost efficient way possible because the Army and marines just love issuing members of the military the cheapest $hit they possibly can get by with, how that disgusting cardboard tasting bland joke of a meal could be the highlight of someone’s day after a “long day in the field”. The very last thing while in garrison or not in a combat situation while down range that I want to see after being in the field all day is a fu
I went through Army Basic in 98. I was in awe of how my drill sergeants were artists in the art of punishment and sadism lol. There was no kinder gentler crap. There was no casual explanation of verbiage. It was largely kinetic education with physically incentivized learning curves lol. Basic was a pressure cooker but by the end of it it became life as normal. It really troubles me to see the military bending to pressure to become softer and more politically correct. The MOUT training looks great however!
I approve this message. I went thru back then too. Yes they definitely wasn’t no wimp show back then. They would constantly smoke us for any and everything. We even got hit a few times. Definitely cussed out and screamed at all day! I have so many memories and stories that’s forever burned into my mind body and soul from there!!
@@zealousideal Looking back on it now, it actually boggles my mind. Cadre don't hit you because they're angry. Every single thing they do is calculated. And, even back in those days, it was a huge no-no to put hands on a recruit. These guys were willing to risk their entire 20 year careers to try and keep you from getting killed.
@@natedog805402 I went through boot in 2014 too, MCRD parris Island lol I was honestly actually disappointed in how hard it was. I was mostly disappointed that there was some things I couldn't figure out no matter what. Like I couldnt do the obstacle course rope climbing, I COULD NOT figure it out. I got I.T.ed for days lmao
Never forget a dusk/nightfire M60 range session at Benning. A large buck wandered out into field of fire about 250-300 yards. Drill Sergeants made it abundantly clear we were not to hit that magnificent buck. Well, I have never seen a finer display of concentrated accurate firepower to this day. Needless to say we pushed enough to effect the Earth's orbit.
@NidgeDFX. I wore heavy dark facepaint during an FTX, and colored my teeth black both for practical purposes and for giving my buddies a laugh as they saw me smile. After the training event, a female Equal Opportunity Rep (EO) called our platoon to an impromptu meeting. She then proceeded to list out several "offensive things" that happened during our training. One of those so called "offensive things" was that someone wore blackface 🤡😂. She then went on to list other various offenses that she had been saving to shame us with at the end such as war jokes, gas chamber jokes, etc. She then asked the platoon to raise their hands if they had seen or heard something that was offensive. She then attempted to shame whoever didn't raise their hands by saying that they were part of the problem and most of them were the offenders. Then another female stood up and said, "It's not ok to ask someone whether their boyfriend and them have 3-sums just because both of them are bisexual." I started laughing internally, I had no idea you and your bf are bi and I don't care. She then went on to say how unfair she felt she had been treated because of her sexuality. I looked around to my peers and all of them had the same confused look on their face, my thoughts along with many in the group's: "your sexuality is news to me. I didn't need to know that and I don't give a damn what you like in bed, we're all Soldiers first." The Army is starting to fill with more Woke Warriors than actual warriors.
I think the cattle cars helped make you realize you are a nobody in the big scheme of things and that you are just meat for the battle. At least that's how I felt as Army Infantry in those things. During our bayonet training the drill Sgt would yell "What makes the grass grow" and we would all yell "BLOOD". I personally believe its really important to yell, scream and break these soldiers down because when you get into the real deal (speaking from experience in Iraq) you need to be has mentally tough as possible.
That's how it was for us too. The new joes seem to get more of the hard skills, but they seem to be completely overlooking the mental aspect. I literally had joes come to me that had the basic urban skills, but if they get yelled at or put through hand-to-hand training they'd (no joke) cry or go into the fetal position. I don't care how much they drilled our lessons learned on kicking doors, they're not going to be able to do it when they curl up into a ball and cry when they're in an uncomfortable situation.
And yet most of them came back with PTSD, never saw proper combat, or even saw any combat and 9/10 times you were in need of air support. How did it exactly help you develop?
@@dominus6224 How did being mentally tough help? I was never scared, that's how it helped. Having PTSD doesn't mean you are mentally weak, it's the brains reaction to traumatizing situations. What's proper combat to you? My wife had to hide in bunkers while she was shelled, is that proper combat or are you just talking the combat I saw as infantry? Have you been to combat? The air support comment is just stupid and false.
8:35 I personally loved cleaning my rifle. I had it down to disassembling and put back together in less than a minute. :) I remember wearing the pickle suit back in the day. There was girls crying and screaming saying they wanted to go home in my basic training. My DS was so hardcore he got demoted. He hit several of us (me included). He smoked us for 4 hours on July 4th! (Yes J4 and those that know you don't do anything on J4). They had all the free pizza/pop you could drink. He said "EAT ALL THE PIZZA/COOKIES/POP you want pry~it!!! " I didn't trust him and only had 1 slice. Half my platoon puked during that smoke session and 1 hyper ventilated and had to be taken to the hospital. His last straw was he hit one of our lockers and knocked it over and did a dominoes effect and crushed a private on the other side. Thanks for the reaction I enjoy watching your videos!
Im not a soldier at all but I always wonder if those types of DI have a deep love for the men and are that rough because they want the men to be the strongest or if they hate themselves and so they're a dickhead and extra harsh on the men. I really wonder.
I’ll never forget my first enlistment. BDU’s.. cattle trucks everywhere we went.. Drill Sergeants making life a living HELL!! Those days.. you graduated as a soldier with balls of solid brass. It all just sucked! Pain was weakness leaving the body 💪🇺🇸
@@bryancassidy5680 my husband says it was. What makes the grass grow…. BLOOD!!! Now it’s what makes the grass grow…….organic biodiversity soil with love and kindness WTF!!!!
I went through Army basic in 1991. We were issued the M16A1 which still had semi and full auto. They were just transitioning to the A2 with 3-shot burst. No ACOG, just iron sights. We had tons of shark attacks... that was normal to us.
Your reference to the M16 as a "rifle" would get the whole platoon smoked during my experience. Their reasoning, "Its not a rifle. Its a weapon." So if you needed to utilize the latrine, you'd ask someone, "Hey can you hold my weapon." Though in reality, rifle is a totally acceptable term
@@JamesonsTravels I 100% believe that about the censors. My experience was at Ft. Leonard Wood so I can only speak for the companies that I interacted with during my time there. That was as of January-April of this year
Well done on the video! As someone who attended One Station Unit Training (OSUT) in the summer of 1997 at Ft. Benning (F Co, 1-50 IN) and was later an OSUT Drill Sergeant (DS) at Ft. Benning (F Co, 2-54 IN) this video made me smile. I am sure that the current DSs are finding ways to bend or circumvent the rules set forth by Training and Doctoring Command (TRADOC) just as we did when I was a DS and I'm sure my DS did when I was trainee. Shaking my head about the juice boxes... Thanks Business Insider.
I'm smiling. 73 yo USMC VN vet. Went through PI in Summer of '66 in two story WW2 wooden barracks. For us, all the Hell was crammed into 8 weeks. The next series did 12 because they thought the high casualty rate was due to a lack of training. Don't think so. The VC and NVA were just getting better.
Man just thinking about it young teenage boys went to bootcamp for a few weeks the next day they find themselves in the thick jungles of Nam fighting veteran soldiers, thank you for your service!
Wow, this vid nearly brought a tear to my eye and a flood of memories back to me. I remember being one of those skinny kids in BDUs in Ft. Leonard Wood during the Winter of 97. I will never forget it and I'm glad I lived through that era. It was nonstop stress and it was unapologetic and relentless. But I loved it. I remember screaming during our bayonet training, "Kill, kill, kill!! Blood makes the grass grow!"
I just finished boot camp for the usmc on Friday I just wanted to say thank you for the great content that genuinely helped my boot experience and yes we have a few bayonet assault courses
@@bardsolo I think the context is "I watched your videos before I shipped to boot and it helped prepare me for boot, and yes since you asked we still have a bayonet course even during covid"
I was at Benning in 2002. Same as depicted in the video. Lots of hardened/seasoned drill sgt's with CIB's that made life hell for us, but prepared us a few months later for Iraq.
I was at Benning in 2005. Also the same as the 97 video. Just about all our drills were vets. We deployed in Sept 06 exactly a year after I started basic.
I joined the Marines in 2002. I do remember spending a day with moving targets and also a night range. The door to door Urban Training, I think was added later on but I think it is the most useful change that they have done.
I went through in 05 we did more "combat" style shooting. Mostly speed reloads and double/triple taps type stuff. Don't remember doing any CQB stuff. We did more of that in MCT and in the fleet. Our moving targets were the guys in the pits holding a target on a pole and walking from left to right or vice versa.
I was in the Army 1977-81, and Boot camp was a whole lot different back then, Vietnam was still in many of the cadre's memories, and they were determined that we'd be "standing tall" if we ever got called into war. The drill sargents could shark attack, as well as physically "motivate" you.
🤦♂️ here’s the thing. The more “kinder and gentler” you make the army, the more sadistic basic is going to become. So the less physical pain you let the Drill sergeant’s inflict, the more mental pain they will dish out, and that is so much worse. I went in in 2006 at the very beginning of the “kinder gentler army”, but my drill sergeants weren’t having any of it. I noticed there was a direct correlation between caped and mind fkt. The physical stuff is easy after the first few weeks because you get used to it. The “shark attack” effect becomes almost humorous and familiar. When you take that away, the drill sergeants have nothing to do but to make you hate life by trying to break you down mentally. They have to weed people out.
@@bluehotdog2610 it’s actually both at the same time. And yes, basic is designed and done in a way where most people that are not mentally fit will be weeded out. Truth is that you don’t really learn anything close to what you need to in basic as far as combat goes, and as far as whatever your job is. Most of that is done in AIT. That’s a good thing because you don’t want someone who is not resilient enough to handle pressure being the one who is watching your back when you’re stalled out on the side of the road for 12 hours looking like a sitting duck. In basic, they get you use to physical strain, and teach you about the chain of command, and proper way to address superiors and subordinates. OSUT is the one exception where they really have to try to do both at the same time because most of the people in that class may or may not end up in the same unit. Once you get to your unit, that’s where your combat training really gets in depth. You have to train together as a unit. So no, basic is not really meant to just train people. Anyone who went to train with a unit after leaving basic will tell you that almost all of the training you receive in basic is either thrown out the window at your unit, or very subpar and surface level just to give the most basic idea so that you aren’t seeing things for the very first time at your unit. Hence the name basic training.
@@bluehotdog2610 both. And environmental influences don’t start at basic, they are ongoing from when you are little, and genetic influences have been there and will be there your whole life. When I went to basic, I started with 264 people in the company. 241 graduated. There was a couple that were pulled for reasons of lying on their background, 1 guy tested positive for TB, another lied about having asthma. 1 more when we lined up for flu vaccines, had an allergic reaction, messed him up pretty bad. This is when they first started testing the nasal vaccines. There were at least 8 that got booted because they refused many many times to comply with drill sergeants after receiving so many article 15s. And they had plenty of chances. One guy got up in the middle of the night, and blew past the fire guards and ran away. To which we were all punished for even though most of us were sleeping. There was one who no matter how hard he tried, and how hard we tried to help him, he just couldn’t pass the PT test. He ended up getting recycled 3 times, and eventually given a general discharge. One attacked a drill sergeant. So many man. It would be unsustainable if all of these people were allowed to be in combat. It’s not their fault necessarily, it just is what it is. Like it or not.
@@IndependenceGuitar exactly. Basic and AIT are there to give a private enough information that he can learn from the E4 at his unit that’s teaching him how to do his job. If they wanted Basic to be completely effective at building soldiers, your NCO in basic would be your NCO in combat. Basically the unit building style of training rather than the individual style.
As disappointed as I am that the army had eliminated the shark attack, I am so glad to see the new Urban warfare training our son's and daughter's are receiving.
Glad to see that now everyone gets Urban Warfare Training. When I was at basic at Ft.Benning, I received MOUT (Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain) training because I was in the National Guard. We would train in things such as: Riot Control, Room Clearing, and House to House fighting.
@@tgildersleeve8295 You do realize no major military these days are male only? If standards are different or lower, blame the people setting the standards instead of blaming all of the women.
Just graduated BCT from Ft Leonard Wood on October 21 2021 at the age of 36. Our company never did pugil sticks due to COVID-19. PT was scratched and hardly done because of the trainee at Ft Jackson that hijacked the bus. So we had to draw weapons and turn them in daily and that was a process. The army is much different than the past and it seemed that my drill sergeants hated the new policies. The hardest I got the smoke was having to do 82 squats because I ate my “night night” bar before the drill sergeant gave the instruction to. The MRE’s aren’t bad at all and I enjoyed most of em. I did get plenty of experience with iron sights and actually shot better without the CCO. All in all I learned how to hurry up and wait and that this younger generation is softer than babyish-. There are great young men and women here so there is hope! P.S. Not all the drill sergeants have read about the shark attack memo and they say that they don’t get paid to read, they get paid to square away sh-bags!
I’d like to think that the juice box is more of a logistical thing than treating them like children. it could also play into some “politcal” crap where so and so is now a officer and their family owns the factory.
The idea is mostly this. Privates are stupid, they forget to eat or drink anything before getting on the bus, and don’t bring food because they are told they will get fucked up. For a while at Benning guys we’re dropping during in processing because they were dehydrated on day one, and had absolutely no nutrition in them. The snack is to prevent the dumb dumbs from dying on us before the actual training. Could in be presented better? Yes. Will it be? No.
why? it's a cheap, light, easily packed source of sugar and liquid. did you ever drink kool-aid in the service? were you ever IN the service? because there's plenty of that in the service. i guess they're ALL pussies for drinking kool-aid all these years, is that what you're claiming? you DO know that the soft drink Tang (basically kool-aid) was specially made for the original astronauts...right? and that back in WW1 and WW2, candy (along with cigarettes) was the MOST highly prized item? and that M&Ms were SPECIFICALLY created for rationing to troops in WW2, particularly in the Pacific, because their candy shell makes them resistant to melting in the heat? "melts in your mouth, not in your hand"? so basically you're calling the Marines who served in the Pacific pussies because they ate M&Ms candy, like children? pick up a book sometime. you sound like an ignorant moron whose entire base of "knowledge", especially military knowledge, comes from John Wayne movies. it's embarrassing.
I appreciate this video Mr. Travels! …an inside look on what I have to expect in October. I’m shipping off to this very camp. Recently got sworn in and I’ll do my damnedest and then some in the Army.
I never did anything with clearing rooms like in that last clip. I noticed that those soldiers were wearing their “US Army” patch which means they’ve probably already been through basic. I think that was infantry OSUT
Pugile sticks took my knee out in 2004. Even after that, I was still running 7 minute miles. But that was after being raised to push myself. I don't see many troopers like that anymore...
I severely broke my lower leg last fall after crashing my ATV. I'm working on being able to jog again but it's extremely difficult. Got any tips? I'm hoping to be able to join some day and I don't want to be an issue.
Went through OSUT in 82 at Ft. Knox. We had Vietnam Veteran Drill Instructors great teachers. Wall to wall counseling was the norm same with peer pressure. We all graduated and nobody got recycled.
“Technology” he said for moving targets. I went to boot camp in 2009, San Diego. For our moving targets recruits just manned them in the pits and slowly walked from one end of their Target stand to the next lol
I was stationed in Quantico in 97-98 and we had an Army range there with the moving targets just for training and fun not for qual so I think the Army's had those for quite some time. Taking a SAW to the moving range was a good time as you might imagine.
I did AIT at Ft. Belvoir. I remember the Drill Sargeant busing us down there for a land nav course. Which was cool to me it was a Very hilly and intersting because I grew up from a very flat straight area in the South.
@@max420thc they do. in BCT you qual on irons but later on in infantry training they introduce optics. the problem with these comparison videos is that it doesn't show the full experience, just clips, with no context to the order in which they are shot. alot of this is out of order
My dad went in 1980. He never really liked talking about any training or serious stuff about the military. but he would always tell stories about any pranks, jokes, or dumbasses he saw/heard in bootcamp.
Went through in 88..... ended up in 2AD (Hell on Wheels)...... thanks for your channel, and your service buddy.....,,,,,, and there are WAY too many smiles on their faces in these clips...,,, that's the difference that immediately hit me in the face.....HaHa..,, again,, thanks for your channel and service.....
I graduated from Fort LeonardWood back in Feb. went through OSUT for combat engineer. Cattle cars are still being used and they pack us in there like sardines lol that snack you saw was definitely at processing where most of the recruits have been awake for roughly 2 days and more than likely haven’t eaten anything since the airport they left from.
Definitely more range time which is a good thing and new selection of MRE’s. But maybe it’s me the older Army recruits seemed to be more cohesive than the current recruits.
I noticed that too. In the older footage there is less looking around wondering what your buddies are doing, and more 'hive mind' action. Interesting analysis.
Finished basic at Fort Jackson a few weeks ago and we didn’t do hand to hand combat due to covid. Although it is still part of normal, pre-Covid, training
@@mcbltgaming3694 you sound like a conspiracy anti Vaxer. Read the news, hospitals are filled with younger people. Mother in her 30s just died from covid after giving birth.
I was an MP in the Marines, we do our school in Ft. Leonard Wood Missouri, an Army base. We were transported everywhere in those cattle cars. That was around 2005-2006.
We got put in the cattle cars in 2005. They moved us in them all the time. They would haul us out into the middle of the back forty to start a road March back to Sand Hill. They also used them to move us to remote ranges. They were about the most uncomfortable thing you could ride in. They’ve got no suspension. We were riding with our rucks front loaded on our laps and the old ALICE pack frames would dig in our thighs every time we’d hit a bump. How many joe’s can you get in a cattle car? One more. Good fun memories!!!
A friend of mine went to Paris island in 96 and he brought back the tapes from boot camp and we watched it, when those guys came out of the gas house snot and drool were rolling out like I've never seen before! I didn't even know that much snot and drool could come out of a person, it was nuts!!
I agree with you on the "Shark Attack", it might be hidden but will still be there. When I earned my Crossed Rifles in 2008 they were not suppose to give us "Blood Rifles", we all got our "Blood Rifles". That same year months later I earned my CIB in Iraq my first tour and it damn sure got punched into my chest. Proud moment. Love the channel brother, keep crushing it. Big time respect from a former US Army grunt(11B type).
I took basic and A.I.T. at Jackson in '69_'70. We double timed nearly everywhere including the rifle ranges. Only in A.I.T. did we once in a while ride in deuce in a halves....
Same. But I went in 2011. After a week there me & another guy looked at each other and said “this isnt that bad”😅 there was alot of fat undisciplined & lazy people in my cycle too who passed.
Basic at Ft Jackson in 1992. No moving targets, gas chamber was thick and nasty, and the “rod” routine was “no brass, no ammo drill Sgt” as they rod the M-16 to verify. Still remember runny up tank hill.
I joined the army in 2008 didn't go far after I got hurt multiple times but I miss basic and I miss deploying I needed someone to kick my rear end and show me how to be strong and stand tall!
I just graduated from Army basic training in July 2021. One thing that I cannot overstate enough which had a positive effect on our training was the combat experience of our drill sergeants. Many of them had deployed to Iraq and especially Afghanistan multiple times in Infantry MOSs. That Hands-On combat experience had turn them into hardened warriors, which allowed them to pass that knowledge and experience on to us. The drill sergeants who had not deployed or we're not in combat MOSs, could not fully train us to that extent.
I have been in one but not at boot camp. The experience in 97 was very reminiscent of early 90. Everything pre 2003 was woodland based except some time in 29 palms and you remember MOPP gear?
I took Army basic training at Ft. Gordon, GA in the summer of 1969 for about 7 or 8 weeks(1st week zero week) and then went to Ft. Jackson, SC(about 90 miles away) for another 7 or 8 weeks of AIT. When I went through the 3rd Army Reception Station at Ft. Jackson, a three day period before starting basic, I remember that we were herded into something like a cattle car to be transported to the Quartermaster's Station where we got fitted and issued our uniforms, after the military "white sidewalls" haircut.
From what I see from 1997, we were still doing practically same thing in 2008 down to shooting with only Iron sights and pugil fights As a combat engineer at Fort leonard wood we did "one site unit training" or osut
Yeah, the cattle car really set the tone for basic training. You felt completely alone even though you were surrounded and packed in like sardines. And then... shark attack. It was sensory overload, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I went in right after 9/11, so Drill Sgt’s were not messing around.
I went through Infantry osut at Ft Benning in 1987, it looks like its changed a lot. I have been back to Ft Bragg for All American Week and there is no part of the 82nd ABN that is the same as my time (87-94). The barracks, uniforms, vehicles, weapons and parachutes are all different and I guess they should be. They deserve the best.
It was a shame they did away with the cattle cars. In all honesty, the memory of the cattle car stuck with me. Those few minutes there, in the odd silence, the creaking and cracking, rocking back and forth as me and a group of complete strangers crossed the tracks into the training area. Had a long lasting and deep effect on me. I remember it fondly. There was no turning back, my childhood was at an end. It truly was a transitional phase in my life, transformative. I don't think a bus ride with a juice box would have had the same impact.
When I went through Basic in 2012 they still had the shark attack and made us do an obstacle course in the rain as soon as we got off the bus. It was extremely confusing but it was awesome.
I remember having to wear those ear plugs on my uniform all the time in basic. I forgot them one day and we just happened to be going to the range to shoot and I was too scared to say anything so I just suffered through it. That was a bad day, lol.
I went through army basic training in 1979. Watching this video has showed me how much it's changed. And I don't think so much for the good. I was a 12b so I went through fort Leonard Wood Missouri. There you went through basic training and straight into school with the same drill sergeants nothing change except they got a little bit easier after you graduated basic training. There were more teachers in that respect. But I remember back then the drill sergeants were a lot more physical with the recruits if you know what I'm saying?
I joined in ‘97…Cav scout. They don’t have to shine boots now either - I remember spending so much time trying to get my Garrison boots shined and getting that uniform pressed.
I can remember the cattle trucks very well, felt like a bunch of sardines lol, I love watching these video's as they bring back a lot of memories. I was at Ft. Benning in the fall of 89 at Chapel Hill and although it seemed like there was nothing we could do right as we were getting smoked constintly, it was some of the best memories I had in the Army. Learned a lot while i was there and they still carry on in my daily life today.
About the gas chamber. When I when in, they had a challenge for the whole company to see who go through the entire "donning the gas mask" procedure flawlessly. The last remaining private standing would winning the right to enter the chamber first. Some would think that's probably one of the worst prize ever, but in reality, the farther down the line you were the worse it was. Not only did you see the horrors that came out of the chamber, you saw what the last 50 privates left for you, plus that fact that gas was only getting more dense and powerful.
Man that brings back memories I attended basic training fort Benning Georgia back in the late '80s . In those days basic training was hosted at Harmony Church and the other site was called Sand Hill. I'm not sure how long basic training and infantry school lasts today, but back then it was about 13 weeks long.
Went through OSUT at Benning, Airborne School in 84, came back later for Pathfinder School. We arrived at Sand Hill for OSUT in a Bus, but Cattle Trucks to other parts of Benning, if not road marching to it. I've heard they have 22 weeks OSUT now.
I went to Basic and AIT in 1997 at Fort Leonard Wood Mo. The Cattle Truck is Iconic. If you are moving too slow the Drill Sergeant will literally yank you out. The Red Phase was pure hell. You hardly get any rest and sleep. When the Chow comes you have only less than 5mins to eat and you throw away what you can't finished. My favorite part was doing KP because you have time to eat and relax a little.
In 2006 I was on a school bus and had to put a bag over my head while they drove around in circles to disorient you. We had cadre that had seen at least one tour that went above and beyond the minimum standard because it was enforced from day 1 that everyone in the cycle would be going down range at some point in their career. 2 days after reporting to my unit I was notified I was deploying. After 2011 new soldiers were noticeably very undertrained.
Yeah us too back in the 90’s They told us to keep our head down and there was actually a drill sergeant on the cattle truck to make sure that you kept your head down!! Yes it was to disorient us and so we didn’t know how to “escape” or go AWOL …which there were still a few that tried it anyway. Nowadays that won’t work so well everyone has smart phones, and whatnot. 🤦♂️
i joined in 99' i also got the vhs tape, the unit t-shirt and that "yearbook" of your cycle after completing basic. years later i watched that vhs and got a bit emotional especially at one specific part. as much as i hated almost everything about basic at Benning, i somehow missed it deep down and felt some pride that i went through it. unfortunately i lost pretty much all my army stuff through the years. i miss the army sometimes but would never go back, especially at its current state.
I went to ft. Knox basic in 2007 with 19Ds (cav scouts). Despite the shark attacks, I'm so glad I went when I did. This generation is so soft. Also, I was a combat medic and was sent to the wrong basic lol
Reminds me of a great DuffelBlog headline I saw a while back along the lines of "Comprehensive Study Reveals Basic Training Totally Pussied Out Immediatley After Respondents Graduated"
Went thur in 09, cattle cars, shark attack, no sleep, no snacks, the DS's weren't there to be my friend, they were there to make me an Infantryman. I miss the old Mean Green Machine.
Could you answer the following question?: I am not eligible to join the military for multiple reasons. So, why was I required to register for selective service?
All males have to when they are 18. If there is a draft, you go through MEPs (medical processing) and if you were unable to join they would send you home at that point.
I went in the Army in 1990 alot of this looks hauntingly familiar. Especially the bayonet training & pop up targets. Always hated the ear plugs on the left breast pocket, damn things always got in my way😂
Did my Basic and AIT at Fort Sill Ok. From Jan.87 to Apr. A Total of 13 weeks altogether. So many changes from back during that time. We were the last to use the Old World War Two Barrack's.
What are the biggest changes you saw in the video? Some things for the better and some things for the worse. Remember Corporal Woke video - ua-cam.com/video/qhJIEiBCH44/v-deo.html. How do you think it compares to gender-integrated USMC training? ua-cam.com/video/8p-ffvm-bpQ/v-deo.html
I was saying: It was crazy to go from Vietnam style training to the new and less intimidating training. They made it way easier and it doesn't even feel right. I like the tough motivation and smoke sessions, rather than smoke breaks😂😂😂
You forgot to mention the amount of time that we spent shining boots!😂
I have friends in the marines still and they send me mres all the time they taste so much better then 07
This was my company Alpha Co 1/50th. I remember all of these guys! This wasn’t winter, it was June-Aug 1997, dead of summer. Was very hot
as bout as tough as the current youtube patriots that are scared to talk about anything that means anything. talk about village idiots
My son just graduated basic 2021. He was expecting something similar to my experience and was very disappointed. Smoked is called corrective pt. Only 20 push ups allowed unless your instructor did them with you. He got fat while in basic. His pt score actually went down. “Recruits don’t rise to the standard they lower the standards to fit the recruits.” A direct quote from my son.
Your son def didn't go to FT Leonard Wood lol
Ft Benning had good DS we did 200 counts and no they did not drop with us.
Ever considered that your son is the problem and not the course itself?
@@chainsawmack *Ft Lost In The Woods
Military doesn’t need fit soldiers anymore. They need video game geeks to pilot the drones.
The cattle car was my first, "Oh no, what did I sign up for?" moment. They piled so many people and duffle bags in each car that we were all laying on each other like corpses. It was definitely a shocking contrast from the civilian world. I'll never forget that ride.
Interesting fact, I wish they still used the cattle cars, in some tight areas where people have to be packed it gets people desensitized to claustrophobia, it was in itself a type of training.
Yes..the cattle trucks..we took them everywhere. I had a similar feeling "wth am I doing here" started getting off the truck, people tripping, getting SA'd by all the DS's. Once off the trucks it was laps around the barracks with your bags. Combat engineers baby..good ole Ft Leonard Wood. Gosh that place sucked.
Bingo!
Same here brother.
Hooaaahhh!!!
@@humid-rb7rt Yes this was a shock factor for me in 1994, The DS said "put your head in your duffel bag and recite the lords prayre" I not being religious had not much of an idea but I mumbled along as good as I could while asking myself what did I get myself into. Yes that was the beginning of my shark attack.
@@mycologybytycology Leonard wood nov 94 how about you?
Guys in the 90's looked a lot happier and upbeat. It has been a rough couple decades since for my country. It's not even the same country anymore.
Yeah...ol glory is in destress 😢
@Epon Whatcha think?
I know I was!
so sad your richer.
@M W swimming in a sea of easy pussy without that metoo bullshit lol.
I went through basic training at Ft. Benning way back in 1983. Some of my Drill Sergeants still wore the Vietnam OD greens. We were the second cycle to have the woodland BDU's. They smoked the hell out of us all the way through Basic & AIT.
I was winter rotation at Ft. Sill at that time with my own drill sergeants.
Attended the Fort Benning School For Wayward Boys in 88, we were the last to be issued A1s and steel pots.
@@sumorayabizness3929
The old steel pots with helmet liners... Good times!
Went to Ft. Benning for basic in 85-86, then to Ft. Campbell for my first duty station. We were issued OD's at Ft. Campbell. The 101st was probably the last place to issue jungle fatigues since we still had a jungle training rotation in Panama at the time.
@@jpd66
Great memories I'm sure!
Nothing makes you feel old quite like seeing "back in the day" footage that was recorded years after you were discharged.😆
Yep, feeling those years too.
Tell me about it!😂
Yep
Absolutely right...I hate that I'm sitting here "doing the math" and shaking my head.
yep
I’m gonna be honest pre-2000 army looks like something I want to join
It was hard core back then man. No Pansy stuff like now. They even hit us a few times at Benning tho they weren’t supposed to. They found ways around all the politics.
@@zealousideal sounds great. It would have really gotten my ass in shape
Of course it’s not easy either way I’d say. And there’s always elite units or Rangers or Special Forces who want more of a challenge.
2003 Benning looked pretty much like 1997 Benning.
I did and I got smoked a few times, but it was for the better.
I went in, in 1984, we arrived by bus. However, I do remember using the cattle cars, in transporting us around as grunts or picking us near the DZ's. We would always moo, while rolling down the road.
I also remember the phrase," make your buddy smile".🤣🤣😆😆
I've heard my friends that were in the army talk about the cattle cars.
@@bryanelam7431 Ya, they were just a quick or cheap, who knows, way of moving us around the post. The only time I have ever rode in a trailer. To speak of.
@Greg Johnson I have seen them around for years,
@Greg Johnson I am not sure if they were aloud to be driven on civil roads. I seriously doubt it. LOL
I grew up in the Army, dad was a Drill Sgt. This was mid 1960's until he retired in 1975. He was training troops until he went to Vietnam in 1970. He'd been in the Korean War prior. But the time he retired in 1975, same year I graduated HS we'd been stationed at Ft. Hood Texas damn near 5 years, I knew more about Army nomenclature and spit shinning boots than most kids. At 10 we made money shinning GI's boots until we'd be run off by a Drill Sgt. I saw so many young men being trained to go to Vietnam, I always hoped they all made it back home, but knew better. A former Marine DI I worked with in the late 70's said he got out because they couldn't hit trainees any more. My Dad was strict and hard but I loved and respected the man and he raised us right. He taught us a lot of great life lessons and we grew up knowing how to fight. Later when I'd read the Army was dropping hand grenade training because the average trainee could not throw one the minimum sage distance I thought My God, I would of loved to have heard what Dad would have had to say about that.
Thanks for posting your videos and thank you for your service!
When did you read they were getting rid of it? As of right now its still a requirement to graduate.
Hand grenade training definitely wasn't dropped.
@@deebo3483 That's good to know, it was a fair number of years ago, in the news that one of the generals were talking about dropping it from training, which I thought was nuts. Glad to know it wasnt.
@@donc9751 it’s pretty barebones, you get a few dummies and learn to operate them, and then throw one at the live range, but otherwise at least in 2017 we still handled them.
@@donc9751 going through osut now. Its still part of the training.
This is great. Brought back memories. I went in in 99 and retired in 2019. Can’t believe the difference.
I’ve been thinking for a while now of joining the army, still in my teenage years
DAMN! You were in for awhile!
@@MasterVideoStudios 20 years is the minimum to retire in most cases.
The CS chamber I trained in at Fort Jackson (2002) the gas was thick enough you could not see the other side of the chamber. We had this Staff Sergeant Drill with my platoon that was completely immune to the effects of CS. It was CRAZY!
Same. D.S. Descant. 6 and half ft tall black dude with the whitest and perfect teeth. Couldnt see the opposite wall and this dude just seemed immune.
and that was relaxin Jackson !!
It's not that crazy. You can get used to CS if you've been through enough gas chambers and exposed to it in training and real world situations.
Ft Jackson C-3-1 1984 old Hollywood
Jackson 😂
To be fair, the trainees showing up in the 90’s portion is clearly after reception. The trainees in 2021 getting the “snack pack” are just showing up to processing, it’s more then likely their very first day in processing. Also, bayonet training isn’t a thing anymore. The gas chamber is dulled way down due to COVID issues. When I went thru basic 4-5 months ago, my drills told me they had to dull the gas down because they didn’t want people snotting and what not around groups of people
Agree.. the snack pack thing definetly looks like inprocessing. We didn't get snackpacks in 1990. We got there around 5:00 pm, they just took us to the chow hall after the amnesty box deal
Seriously? I went back in 2018. We had bayonet drills, our gas chamber was INTENSE, and we got treated almost identically to that of the recruits in 97. Obviously not as bad, but close to it. That much has changed in nearly 4 years?
But then again, I'm also a combat MOS. So it might be different for combat support/non combat MOS'.
I’m surprised to hear they brought the bayonets back. I did infantry OSUT in 2013 (14 weeks long, at that time) and there were no bayonets at all.
So y’all are in a bunker and coughing around and somehow they think downing the gas is going to change anything ? 🤣🤣🤣 combat readiness in full effect
MREs are great. I mean I wouldn't eat them at home and all but when you're exhausted in the field they become the highlight of the day
Yea, except the brisket. I hated that one.
God I still love em. Beef stew all day every day
My mom brought back a few MREs from Afghanistan a few times and I was surprised at the quality.
I eat em at home, PU$$Y
Pshhh a mre is just another depressing part of the $hitty accommodations afforded by Uncle Sam for signing the dotted line and enlisting. Idk what happy go logic you have but I and many other people I served with would highly disagree that being served a meal that is made from the cheapest most cost efficient way possible because the Army and marines just love issuing members of the military the cheapest $hit they possibly can get by with, how that disgusting cardboard tasting bland joke of a meal could be the highlight of someone’s day after a “long day in the field”. The very last thing while in garrison or not in a combat situation while down range that I want to see after being in the field all day is a fu
I went through Army Basic in 98. I was in awe of how my drill sergeants were artists in the art of punishment and sadism lol. There was no kinder gentler crap. There was no casual explanation of verbiage. It was largely kinetic education with physically incentivized learning curves lol. Basic was a pressure cooker but by the end of it it became life as normal. It really troubles me to see the military bending to pressure to become softer and more politically correct. The MOUT training looks great however!
It boggles my mind how soft it looks, they even took away the shark attack 🙄 I went thru marine bootcamp in 2014 but it was exactly how u described
It is a hard reality for so many people to deal with that they aren't cut out for something
I approve this message. I went thru back then too. Yes they definitely wasn’t no wimp show back then. They would constantly smoke us for any and everything. We even got hit a few times. Definitely cussed out and screamed at all day! I have so many memories and stories that’s forever burned into my mind body and soul from there!!
@@zealousideal Looking back on it now, it actually boggles my mind. Cadre don't hit you because they're angry. Every single thing they do is calculated. And, even back in those days, it was a huge no-no to put hands on a recruit. These guys were willing to risk their entire 20 year careers to try and keep you from getting killed.
@@natedog805402 I went through boot in 2014 too, MCRD parris Island lol
I was honestly actually disappointed in how hard it was. I was mostly disappointed that there was some things I couldn't figure out no matter what. Like I couldnt do the obstacle course rope climbing, I COULD NOT figure it out. I got I.T.ed for days lmao
Never forget a dusk/nightfire M60 range session at Benning. A large buck wandered out into field of fire about 250-300 yards. Drill Sergeants made it abundantly clear we were not to hit that magnificent buck.
Well, I have never seen a finer display of concentrated accurate firepower to this day.
Needless to say we pushed enough to effect the Earth's orbit.
Someone must've been a hunter. Lol
Would be interesting to see the changes over the decades. My dad was a D.S. in the early 80s. I went through basic in the late 80s.
'83 here, we still had C rations until like late '84 when the MREs came online.
Imagine that the US Milatary gets so woke that white people arent allowed to wear camo paint because of black face xD
Why can I see that being proposed by some duf
@@JamesonsTravels lol right?!?!
@NidgeDFX. I wore heavy dark facepaint during an FTX, and colored my teeth black both for practical purposes and for giving my buddies a laugh as they saw me smile. After the training event, a female Equal Opportunity Rep (EO) called our platoon to an impromptu meeting. She then proceeded to list out several "offensive things" that happened during our training. One of those so called "offensive things" was that someone wore blackface 🤡😂. She then went on to list other various offenses that she had been saving to shame us with at the end such as war jokes, gas chamber jokes, etc. She then asked the platoon to raise their hands if they had seen or heard something that was offensive. She then attempted to shame whoever didn't raise their hands by saying that they were part of the problem and most of them were the offenders. Then another female stood up and said, "It's not ok to ask someone whether their boyfriend and them have 3-sums just because both of them are bisexual." I started laughing internally, I had no idea you and your bf are bi and I don't care. She then went on to say how unfair she felt she had been treated because of her sexuality. I looked around to my peers and all of them had the same confused look on their face, my thoughts along with many in the group's: "your sexuality is news to me. I didn't need to know that and I don't give a damn what you like in bed, we're all Soldiers first." The Army is starting to fill with more Woke Warriors than actual warriors.
@@bigbrother9651 Sounds like the Army replaced impromptu Shark Attacks with impromptu Shame Attacks. 😂
@@bigbrother9651 ran into a lot of that too, both bct and ait. Must've gotten 10 SHARP EO briefs in ait alone
I think the cattle cars helped make you realize you are a nobody in the big scheme of things and that you are just meat for the battle. At least that's how I felt as Army Infantry in those things.
During our bayonet training the drill Sgt would yell "What makes the grass grow" and we would all yell "BLOOD". I personally believe its really important to yell, scream and break these soldiers down because when you get into the real deal (speaking from experience in Iraq) you need to be has mentally tough as possible.
So true
That's how it was for us too. The new joes seem to get more of the hard skills, but they seem to be completely overlooking the mental aspect. I literally had joes come to me that had the basic urban skills, but if they get yelled at or put through hand-to-hand training they'd (no joke) cry or go into the fetal position. I don't care how much they drilled our lessons learned on kicking doors, they're not going to be able to do it when they curl up into a ball and cry when they're in an uncomfortable situation.
Bingo! That is exactly how it was in Benning in 87. You better be sounding off.
Hoooaaahhhh!!!
And yet most of them came back with PTSD, never saw proper combat, or even saw any combat and 9/10 times you were in need of air support. How did it exactly help you develop?
@@dominus6224 How did being mentally tough help? I was never scared, that's how it helped. Having PTSD doesn't mean you are mentally weak, it's the brains reaction to traumatizing situations. What's proper combat to you? My wife had to hide in bunkers while she was shelled, is that proper combat or are you just talking the combat I saw as infantry? Have you been to combat? The air support comment is just stupid and false.
8:35 I personally loved cleaning my rifle. I had it down to disassembling and put back together in less than a minute. :)
I remember wearing the pickle suit back in the day. There was girls crying and screaming saying they wanted to go home in my basic training. My DS was so hardcore he got demoted. He hit several of us (me included). He smoked us for 4 hours on July 4th! (Yes J4 and those that know you don't do anything on J4). They had all the free pizza/pop you could drink. He said "EAT ALL THE PIZZA/COOKIES/POP you want pry~it!!! " I didn't trust him and only had 1 slice. Half my platoon puked during that smoke session and 1 hyper ventilated and had to be taken to the hospital. His last straw was he hit one of our lockers and knocked it over and did a dominoes effect and crushed a private on the other side.
Thanks for the reaction I enjoy watching your videos!
Gotta say I enjoyed reading your story 👍
GUMP! Why did you put that weapon together so quickly? You told me to, Drill Sergeant.
Seriously there must be a video out there of some poor bloke get dominoed by a whole barracks worth of lockers!
You had it easy son
Im not a soldier at all but I always wonder if those types of DI have a deep love for the men and are that rough because they want the men to be the strongest or if they hate themselves and so they're a dickhead and extra harsh on the men. I really wonder.
I’ll never forget my first enlistment. BDU’s.. cattle trucks everywhere we went.. Drill Sergeants making life a living HELL!! Those days.. you graduated as a soldier with balls of solid brass. It all just sucked! Pain was weakness leaving the body 💪🇺🇸
85- 95 Army
@@bryancassidy5680 my husband says it was. What makes the grass grow…. BLOOD!!! Now it’s what makes the grass grow…….organic biodiversity soil with love and kindness WTF!!!!
Bootcamp in 99 Fort Sill I felt like a bull as much as we rode cattle trailers.
It's literally the exact same cattle trucks drill sergeants shitting on you all day
I went through Army basic in 1991. We were issued the M16A1 which still had semi and full auto. They were just transitioning to the A2 with 3-shot burst. No ACOG, just iron sights. We had tons of shark attacks... that was normal to us.
Your reference to the M16 as a "rifle" would get the whole platoon smoked during my experience. Their reasoning, "Its not a rifle. Its a weapon." So if you needed to utilize the latrine, you'd ask someone, "Hey can you hold my weapon."
Though in reality, rifle is a totally acceptable term
you are right. we always said weapon. i said it a few times of youtube and got whacked by the censors believe that one.
Same for me. I still call them weapons.
I went Army in 98 and there wasn't really an issue calling it a rifle. Now call it a gun....😂
@@JamesonsTravels I 100% believe that about the censors. My experience was at Ft. Leonard Wood so I can only speak for the companies that I interacted with during my time there. That was as of January-April of this year
Really? Rifle was fine, just never call it a gun.
Well done on the video! As someone who attended One Station Unit Training (OSUT) in the summer of 1997 at Ft. Benning (F Co, 1-50 IN) and was later an OSUT Drill Sergeant (DS) at Ft. Benning (F Co, 2-54 IN) this video made me smile. I am sure that the current DSs are finding ways to bend or circumvent the rules set forth by Training and Doctoring Command (TRADOC) just as we did when I was a DS and I'm sure my DS did when I was trainee. Shaking my head about the juice boxes... Thanks Business Insider.
I'm smiling. 73 yo USMC VN vet. Went through PI in Summer of '66 in two story WW2 wooden barracks. For us, all the Hell was crammed into 8 weeks. The next series did 12 because they thought the high casualty rate was due to a lack of training. Don't think so. The VC and NVA were just getting better.
Semper FI
Aug 1995, 2nd BN , 0311
Respect Devil Dog! Thank you for kicking ass in the Nam.
Thank you sir. Love.
Man just thinking about it young teenage boys went to bootcamp for a few weeks the next day they find themselves in the thick jungles of Nam fighting veteran soldiers, thank you for your service!
ARMY basic training FT. Jackson S.C. 1971. Wow what a let down.
I went through Army Basic Training in 91. Watching the 97 training brought back many memories. Thank you for making this.
Wow, this vid nearly brought a tear to my eye and a flood of memories back to me. I remember being one of those skinny kids in BDUs in Ft. Leonard Wood during the Winter of 97. I will never forget it and I'm glad I lived through that era. It was nonstop stress and it was unapologetic and relentless. But I loved it. I remember screaming during our bayonet training, "Kill, kill, kill!! Blood makes the grass grow!"
I just finished boot camp for the usmc on Friday I just wanted to say thank you for the great content that genuinely helped my boot experience and yes we have a few bayonet assault courses
Congrats man
Bro congratulations
@Wee gee Only bitches and idiots ask that kind of question.
You got to watch UA-cam during boot?
@@bardsolo I think the context is "I watched your videos before I shipped to boot and it helped prepare me for boot, and yes since you asked we still have a bayonet course even during covid"
I was at Benning in 2002. Same as depicted in the video. Lots of hardened/seasoned drill sgt's with CIB's that made life hell for us, but prepared us a few months later for Iraq.
I was at Benning in 2005. Also the same as the 97 video. Just about all our drills were vets. We deployed in Sept 06 exactly a year after I started basic.
No stress cards in 97
I joined the Marines in 2002. I do remember spending a day with moving targets and also a night range. The door to door Urban Training, I think was added later on but I think it is the most useful change that they have done.
I went through in 05 we did more "combat" style shooting. Mostly speed reloads and double/triple taps type stuff. Don't remember doing any CQB stuff. We did more of that in MCT and in the fleet. Our moving targets were the guys in the pits holding a target on a pole and walking from left to right or vice versa.
I was in the Army 1977-81, and Boot camp was a whole lot different back then, Vietnam was still in many of the cadre's memories, and they were determined that we'd be "standing tall" if we ever got called into war. The drill sargents could shark attack, as well as physically "motivate" you.
I wish the army was still like that I wish I could of join but I can’t because of my disability’s it sucks that I can’t serve my country
they still do that
I appreciate your open mindedness on all of your videos.
🤦♂️ here’s the thing. The more “kinder and gentler” you make the army, the more sadistic basic is going to become. So the less physical pain you let the Drill sergeant’s inflict, the more mental pain they will dish out, and that is so much worse. I went in in 2006 at the very beginning of the “kinder gentler army”, but my drill sergeants weren’t having any of it. I noticed there was a direct correlation between caped and mind fkt. The physical stuff is easy after the first few weeks because you get used to it. The “shark attack” effect becomes almost humorous and familiar. When you take that away, the drill sergeants have nothing to do but to make you hate life by trying to break you down mentally. They have to weed people out.
Isn't the point of training is to train people? Not weeding people out?
@@bluehotdog2610 it’s actually both at the same time. And yes, basic is designed and done in a way where most people that are not mentally fit will be weeded out. Truth is that you don’t really learn anything close to what you need to in basic as far as combat goes, and as far as whatever your job is. Most of that is done in AIT. That’s a good thing because you don’t want someone who is not resilient enough to handle pressure being the one who is watching your back when you’re stalled out on the side of the road for 12 hours looking like a sitting duck. In basic, they get you use to physical strain, and teach you about the chain of command, and proper way to address superiors and subordinates. OSUT is the one exception where they really have to try to do both at the same time because most of the people in that class may or may not end up in the same unit. Once you get to your unit, that’s where your combat training really gets in depth. You have to train together as a unit. So no, basic is not really meant to just train people. Anyone who went to train with a unit after leaving basic will tell you that almost all of the training you receive in basic is either thrown out the window at your unit, or very subpar and surface level just to give the most basic idea so that you aren’t seeing things for the very first time at your unit. Hence the name basic training.
@@IndependenceGuitar Do you believe being mentally fit is something that can be trained or is genetic?
@@bluehotdog2610 both. And environmental influences don’t start at basic, they are ongoing from when you are little, and genetic influences have been there and will be there your whole life. When I went to basic, I started with 264 people in the company. 241 graduated. There was a couple that were pulled for reasons of lying on their background, 1 guy tested positive for TB, another lied about having asthma. 1 more when we lined up for flu vaccines, had an allergic reaction, messed him up pretty bad. This is when they first started testing the nasal vaccines. There were at least 8 that got booted because they refused many many times to comply with drill sergeants after receiving so many article 15s. And they had plenty of chances. One guy got up in the middle of the night, and blew past the fire guards and ran away. To which we were all punished for even though most of us were sleeping. There was one who no matter how hard he tried, and how hard we tried to help him, he just couldn’t pass the PT test. He ended up getting recycled 3 times, and eventually given a general discharge. One attacked a drill sergeant. So many man. It would be unsustainable if all of these people were allowed to be in combat. It’s not their fault necessarily, it just is what it is. Like it or not.
@@IndependenceGuitar exactly. Basic and AIT are there to give a private enough information that he can learn from the E4 at his unit that’s teaching him how to do his job.
If they wanted Basic to be completely effective at building soldiers, your NCO in basic would be your NCO in combat. Basically the unit building style of training rather than the individual style.
As disappointed as I am that the army had eliminated the shark attack, I am so glad to see the new Urban warfare training our son's and daughter's are receiving.
Glad to see that now everyone gets Urban Warfare Training. When I was at basic at Ft.Benning, I received MOUT (Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain) training because I was in the National Guard. We would train in things such as: Riot Control, Room Clearing, and House to House fighting.
Your daughter and other daughters are part of the problem.
@@tgildersleeve8295 How are they the problem?
@@bluehotdog2610 Standards are different or they are lowered. Asking that question speaks volumes about you.
@@tgildersleeve8295 You do realize no major military these days are male only? If standards are different or lower, blame the people setting the standards instead of blaming all of the women.
We asked our most elder drill to smoke us just like back in his day.Not no "scuff" neither...greatest 2 hours ever in Fort Benning I ever experienced
I was the last class to still get BDUs :....( 2005
Same here C Co 2-58 December 2004- April 2005. Still had BDUs my cycle
I had them in 2006
They should have either kept them, or skipped right over to ugh.. OCP.
Just graduated BCT from Ft Leonard Wood on October 21 2021 at the age of 36. Our company never did pugil sticks due to COVID-19. PT was scratched and hardly done because of the trainee at Ft Jackson that hijacked the bus. So we had to draw weapons and turn them in daily and that was a process. The army is much different than the past and it seemed that my drill sergeants hated the new policies. The hardest I got the smoke was having to do 82 squats because I ate my “night night” bar before the drill sergeant gave the instruction to. The MRE’s aren’t bad at all and I enjoyed most of em. I did get plenty of experience with iron sights and actually shot better without the CCO. All in all I learned how to hurry up and wait and that this younger generation is softer than babyish-. There are great young men and women here so there is hope! P.S. Not all the drill sergeants have read about the shark attack memo and they say that they don’t get paid to read, they get paid to square away sh-bags!
When I saw them sipping on juice boxes I almost cried.....
I’d like to think that the juice
box is more of a logistical thing than treating them like children.
it could also play into some “politcal” crap where so and so is now a officer and their family owns the factory.
The idea is mostly this. Privates are stupid, they forget to eat or drink anything before getting on the bus, and don’t bring food because they are told they will get fucked up. For a while at Benning guys we’re dropping during in processing because they were dehydrated on day one, and had absolutely no nutrition in them. The snack is to prevent the dumb dumbs from dying on us before the actual training. Could in be presented better? Yes. Will it be? No.
I got choked up myself
why? it's a cheap, light, easily packed source of sugar and liquid.
did you ever drink kool-aid in the service? were you ever IN the service?
because there's plenty of that in the service. i guess they're ALL pussies for drinking kool-aid all these years, is that what you're claiming?
you DO know that the soft drink Tang (basically kool-aid) was specially made for the original astronauts...right?
and that back in WW1 and WW2, candy (along with cigarettes) was the MOST highly prized item?
and that M&Ms were SPECIFICALLY created for rationing to troops in WW2, particularly in the Pacific, because their candy shell makes them resistant to melting in the heat? "melts in your mouth, not in your hand"?
so basically you're calling the Marines who served in the Pacific pussies because they ate M&Ms candy, like children?
pick up a book sometime. you sound like an ignorant moron whose entire base of "knowledge", especially military knowledge, comes from John Wayne movies.
it's embarrassing.
@@roflmows ...? I never called them p*ssies. Stop assuming.
I appreciate this video Mr. Travels!
…an inside look on what I have to expect in October. I’m shipping off to this very camp. Recently got sworn in and I’ll do my damnedest and then some in the Army.
congrats. enjoy the ride and make the most of your service.
Not ACOG, that’s a CCO red dot sight for close urban combat. Works well.
Aimpoint Comp M4S
Also useful to for cowitnessing.
I never did anything with clearing rooms like in that last clip. I noticed that those soldiers were wearing their “US Army” patch which means they’ve probably already been through basic. I think that was infantry OSUT
@Phillip Delgado oh cool I didn’t know that. I’m a 91bravo and I went to Fort Lee. What MOS’s do OSUT besides 11b?
Pugile sticks took my knee out in 2004. Even after that, I was still running 7 minute miles. But that was after being raised to push myself. I don't see many troopers like that anymore...
Meanwhile others can't run a mile fullstop and likely have the mindset that they deserve more than you.
I severely broke my lower leg last fall after crashing my ATV. I'm working on being able to jog again but it's extremely difficult. Got any tips? I'm hoping to be able to join some day and I don't want to be an issue.
Thanks for the advance screening, JT!
Interesting differences. The newer training looked very comprehensive. I hope its kept up as the combat vets get out.
'97 was my year,good times.Most of the training in the 90's was for fighting in the European area of operations such as kosovo,etc.
96. Still shooting "Ivan" targets and training for the Russian invasion of Western Europe.
Yep! Good times. Some of my peers went to Bosnia and Kosovo upon graduation!
Now they train to cull Americans and train for special opps on our soil😡
Finally music that doesn't make me clickout. I like hearing these guys sing. It makes them happy, too.
Went through OSUT in 82 at Ft. Knox. We had Vietnam Veteran Drill Instructors great teachers. Wall to wall counseling was the norm same with peer pressure. We all graduated and nobody got recycled.
“Technology” he said for moving targets.
I went to boot camp in 2009, San Diego. For our moving targets recruits just manned them in the pits and slowly walked from one end of their Target stand to the next lol
Same at PI in 06. Sucked when you had fellow Squirrel hunters learn where the stick was! Damn funny though.
@@lewiswhite95 oh hitting the stick was a “fun” experience 😂
MCRD SD 2000, same deal.
i bet the army has automated targets.
I was stationed in Quantico in 97-98 and we had an Army range there with the moving targets just for training and fun not for qual so I think the Army's had those for quite some time. Taking a SAW to the moving range was a good time as you might imagine.
I did AIT at Ft. Belvoir. I remember the Drill Sargeant busing us down there for a land nav course. Which was cool to me it was a Very hilly and intersting because I grew up from a very flat straight area in the South.
the optic at 5:20 is a Aimpoint M68. It's just a red dot, no magnification like an Acog
They should be made to train with iron sights
@@max420thc they do. in BCT you qual on irons but later on in infantry training they introduce optics. the problem with these comparison videos is that it doesn't show the full experience, just clips, with no context to the order in which they are shot. alot of this is out of order
@@max420thc they do both
My dad went in 1980. He never really liked talking about any training or serious stuff about the military. but he would always tell stories about any pranks, jokes, or dumbasses he saw/heard in bootcamp.
Went through in 88..... ended up in 2AD (Hell on Wheels)...... thanks for your channel, and your service buddy.....,,,,,, and there are WAY too many smiles on their faces in these clips...,,, that's the difference that immediately hit me in the face.....HaHa..,, again,, thanks for your channel and service.....
I graduated from Fort LeonardWood back in Feb. went through OSUT for combat engineer. Cattle cars are still being used and they pack us in there like sardines lol that snack you saw was definitely at processing where most of the recruits have been awake for roughly 2 days and more than likely haven’t eaten anything since the airport they left from.
Definitely more range time which is a good thing and new selection of MRE’s. But maybe it’s me the older Army recruits seemed to be more cohesive than the current recruits.
They had social skills outside of Instagram and online gaming.
I noticed that too. In the older footage there is less looking around wondering what your buddies are doing, and more 'hive mind' action. Interesting analysis.
@@curtism-w6b you’re right we did
@@Brachwah yep after you get the piss smoked out of you we would grab whoever was near
@@masters8536 when is the last time you walked up to a woman you didn't know, start a conversation, and leave with her or set up a date?
Finished basic at Fort Jackson a few weeks ago and we didn’t do hand to hand combat due to covid. Although it is still part of normal, pre-Covid, training
So they didn’t train you as well because of COVID?
@@Chris-vs4wt covid is most dangerous to people under 30
@@Mike-gz4xn no its not. what an idiotic lie. you literally pull that out of your ass
@@mcbltgaming3694 you sound like a conspiracy anti Vaxer. Read the news, hospitals are filled with younger people. Mother in her 30s just died from covid after giving birth.
How you going to train during a bad flu pandemic?
I was an MP in the Marines, we do our school in Ft. Leonard Wood Missouri, an Army base. We were transported everywhere in those cattle cars. That was around 2005-2006.
We got put in the cattle cars in 2005. They moved us in them all the time. They would haul us out into the middle of the back forty to start a road March back to Sand Hill. They also used them to move us to remote ranges. They were about the most uncomfortable thing you could ride in. They’ve got no suspension. We were riding with our rucks front loaded on our laps and the old ALICE pack frames would dig in our thighs every time we’d hit a bump. How many joe’s can you get in a cattle car? One more. Good fun memories!!!
A friend of mine went to Paris island in 96 and he brought back the tapes from boot camp and we watched it, when those guys came out of the gas house snot and drool were rolling out like I've never seen before! I didn't even know that much snot and drool could come out of a person, it was nuts!!
@Josh Kirk that's funny, cause all my friends that went told me the exact same thing!!
I agree with you on the "Shark Attack", it might be hidden but will still be there. When I earned my Crossed Rifles in 2008 they were not suppose to give us "Blood Rifles", we all got our "Blood Rifles". That same year months later I earned my CIB in Iraq my first tour and it damn sure got punched into my chest. Proud moment. Love the channel brother, keep crushing it. Big time respect from a former US Army grunt(11B type).
Got my Blood Rifles in 2008 as well Charlie 2-19
@@cainite2030 Nice brother, I was Foxtrot 1-50 was there January to April.
Fox 2-58 2006. Definitely blood rifles. Same with blood wings in airborne school
They still do it. I'm 31 and just graduated a month ago as 11B and pretty much the whole company got them. Proudest moment of my life.
I was doing my training at Fort Jackson, SC summer of 1997. Those were the days! God bless Drill SGT. Brewton, I will never forget him.
I took basic and A.I.T. at Jackson in '69_'70.
We double timed nearly everywhere including the rifle ranges. Only in A.I.T. did we once in a while ride in deuce in a halves....
I went to basic training in 2020 during Covid and it was so underwhelming
Same lol
Same. But at benning they didn’t change much at all for us
@Phillip Delgado no. It just sucks a lot.
Same. But I went in 2011. After a week there me & another guy looked at each other and said “this isnt that bad”😅 there was alot of fat undisciplined & lazy people in my cycle too who passed.
Basic at Ft Jackson in 1992. No moving targets, gas chamber was thick and nasty, and the “rod” routine was “no brass, no ammo drill Sgt” as they rod the M-16 to verify. Still remember runny up tank hill.
I joined the army in 2008 didn't go far after I got hurt multiple times but I miss basic and I miss deploying I needed someone to kick my rear end and show me how to be strong and stand tall!
I just graduated from Army basic training in July 2021. One thing that I cannot overstate enough which had a positive effect on our training was the combat experience of our drill sergeants. Many of them had deployed to Iraq and especially Afghanistan multiple times in Infantry MOSs. That Hands-On combat experience had turn them into hardened warriors, which allowed them to pass that knowledge and experience on to us. The drill sergeants who had not deployed or we're not in combat MOSs, could not fully train us to that extent.
I remember the cattle truck was in one my self went in 1989
I have been in one but not at boot camp. The experience in 97 was very reminiscent of early 90. Everything pre 2003 was woodland based except some time in 29 palms and you remember MOPP gear?
Same here.
For someone who's shipping out to Fort Jackson in December (after Christmas obviously), watching this is definitely nerve-wracking. Wish me luck!
I took Army basic training at Ft. Gordon, GA in the summer of 1969 for about 7 or 8 weeks(1st week zero week) and then went to Ft. Jackson, SC(about 90 miles away) for another 7 or 8 weeks of AIT. When I went through the 3rd Army Reception Station at Ft. Jackson, a three day period before starting basic, I remember that we were herded into something like a cattle car to be transported to the Quartermaster's Station where we got fitted and issued our uniforms, after the military "white sidewalls" haircut.
From what I see from 1997, we were still doing practically same thing in 2008 down to shooting with only Iron sights and pugil fights
As a combat engineer at Fort leonard wood we did "one site unit training" or osut
Yeah, the cattle car really set the tone for basic training. You felt completely alone even though you were surrounded and packed in like sardines. And then... shark attack. It was sensory overload, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I went in right after 9/11, so Drill Sgt’s were not messing around.
I remember those cattle trailers when I went through it in 96’ at Ft. Benning myself.
We had them at Ft. Sill as well.
I was at 1/50 July-November ‘96
@Josh Kirk I was there in 96.
Only a selected few from each PLT were chosen to do the pugils, it was like watching a boxing fight... Thanks Rona! 🤦🏿♀️
Man, for some reason I don’t fully understand, I, a civilian and too much of a chicken, am eating up your content like it’s pb&j. I love it!
I love the look on his face watching those OTHER guys get yelled at, then the opposite when the PERSON, ha, is drinking a juice box.
I went through Infantry osut at Ft Benning in 1987, it looks like its changed a lot. I have been back to Ft Bragg for All American Week and there is no part of the 82nd ABN that is the same as my time (87-94). The barracks, uniforms, vehicles, weapons and parachutes are all different and I guess they should be. They deserve the best.
The moving targets were amazing. Even if we werent that great at it. You learned a lot about flight time, lead, and follow up shots.
It was a shame they did away with the cattle cars. In all honesty, the memory of the cattle car stuck with me. Those few minutes there, in the odd silence, the creaking and cracking, rocking back and forth as me and a group of complete strangers crossed the tracks into the training area. Had a long lasting and deep effect on me. I remember it fondly. There was no turning back, my childhood was at an end. It truly was a transitional phase in my life, transformative. I don't think a bus ride with a juice box would have had the same impact.
When I went through Basic in 2012 they still had the shark attack and made us do an obstacle course in the rain as soon as we got off the bus. It was extremely confusing but it was awesome.
I remember having to wear those ear plugs on my uniform all the time in basic. I forgot them one day and we just happened to be going to the range to shoot and I was too scared to say anything so I just suffered through it. That was a bad day, lol.
We had moving targets in Benning in 1994, it was 22 weeks one station unit training combining basic & AIT.
I went through army basic training in 1979. Watching this video has showed me how much it's changed. And I don't think so much for the good. I was a 12b so I went through fort Leonard Wood Missouri. There you went through basic training and straight into school with the same drill sergeants nothing change except they got a little bit easier after you graduated basic training. There were more teachers in that respect.
But I remember back then the drill sergeants were a lot more physical with the recruits if you know what I'm saying?
I joined in ‘97…Cav scout. They don’t have to shine boots now either - I remember spending so much time trying to get my Garrison boots shined and getting that uniform pressed.
I can remember the cattle trucks very well, felt like a bunch of sardines lol, I love watching these video's as they bring back a lot of memories. I was at Ft. Benning in the fall of 89 at Chapel Hill and although it seemed like there was nothing we could do right as we were getting smoked constintly, it was some of the best memories I had in the Army. Learned a lot while i was there and they still carry on in my daily life today.
About the gas chamber. When I when in, they had a challenge for the whole company to see who go through the entire "donning the gas mask" procedure flawlessly. The last remaining private standing would winning the right to enter the chamber first. Some would think that's probably one of the worst prize ever, but in reality, the farther down the line you were the worse it was. Not only did you see the horrors that came out of the chamber, you saw what the last 50 privates left for you, plus that fact that gas was only getting more dense and powerful.
Man that brings back memories I attended basic training fort Benning Georgia back in the late '80s . In those days basic training was hosted at Harmony Church and the other site was called Sand Hill. I'm not sure how long basic training and infantry school lasts today, but back then it was about 13 weeks long.
Harmony Church 1984 HOOAH! We called Sand Hill, Sand Hilton because they had the new barracks.
Went through OSUT at Benning, Airborne School in 84, came back later for Pathfinder School. We arrived at Sand Hill for OSUT in a Bus, but Cattle Trucks to other parts of Benning, if not road marching to it. I've heard they have 22 weeks OSUT now.
Wow. U were probably one of the first classes thru Sand Hill. I think they had just built it back then. Some went to Harmony Church during that time.
@@zealousideal not sure when those Barracks were built, but they were definitely modern and newish at that time.
This is my graduating class. I'm in this video. It's good to see this video still lives. Lost mine years ago.
I went to Basic and AIT in 1997 at Fort Leonard Wood Mo. The Cattle Truck is Iconic. If you are moving too slow the Drill Sergeant will literally yank you out. The Red Phase was pure hell. You hardly get any rest and sleep. When the Chow comes you have only less than 5mins to eat and you throw away what you can't finished. My favorite part was doing KP because you have time to eat and relax a little.
In 2006 I was on a school bus and had to put a bag over my head while they drove around in circles to disorient you. We had cadre that had seen at least one tour that went above and beyond the minimum standard because it was enforced from day 1 that everyone in the cycle would be going down range at some point in their career. 2 days after reporting to my unit I was notified I was deploying. After 2011 new soldiers were noticeably very undertrained.
Yeah us too back in the 90’s
They told us to keep our head down and there was actually a drill sergeant on the cattle truck to make sure that you kept your head down!!
Yes it was to disorient us and so we didn’t know how to “escape” or go AWOL …which there were still a few that tried it anyway. Nowadays that won’t work so well everyone has smart phones, and whatnot. 🤦♂️
We had the cattle trucks get us all the time.
Edit: during 97 the used the VHS tape to record and that's what you got at the end, I still have mine.
i joined in 99' i also got the vhs tape, the unit t-shirt and that "yearbook" of your cycle after completing basic. years later i watched that vhs and got a bit emotional especially at one specific part. as much as i hated almost everything about basic at Benning, i somehow missed it deep down and felt some pride that i went through it. unfortunately i lost pretty much all my army stuff through the years. i miss the army sometimes but would never go back, especially at its current state.
I went to ft. Knox basic in 2007 with 19Ds (cav scouts). Despite the shark attacks, I'm so glad I went when I did. This generation is so soft. Also, I was a combat medic and was sent to the wrong basic lol
So you were in during the heavy lifting in Iraq and I bet the DS were tough as hell knowing your were heading off after training.
@@JamesonsTravels yeah they were brutal. I did 2 tours in Iraq (2007 and 2010)
@@veteranredbeard6222
Thank you 🙏 for your service 🇺🇸
@@veteranredbeard6222 absolute legend
Ft Leonard Wood Jan-Apr BCT for me. Definitely glad i went when i did. It literally challenged me.
Reminds me of a great DuffelBlog headline I saw a while back along the lines of "Comprehensive Study Reveals Basic Training Totally Pussied Out Immediatley After Respondents Graduated"
1:42 "Where is your gear private! did you leave it in the chamber... cuz you're going back to get it if it is" 😭🤣 i hollered
Went thur in 09, cattle cars, shark attack, no sleep, no snacks, the DS's weren't there to be my friend, they were there to make me an Infantryman. I miss the old Mean Green Machine.
Combined basic and AIT, was called, OSUT, one station unit training.
Could you answer the following question?: I am not eligible to join the military for multiple reasons. So, why was I required to register for selective service?
All males have to when they are 18. If there is a draft, you go through MEPs (medical processing) and if you were unable to join they would send you home at that point.
They will make that determination at MEPs if there is a draft.
I thank K W and VeternRedBeard for answering my questions.
I was at Benning in November of 87. Mine was 22 weeks not including airborne school. Ah memories!
In the Army, it is called OSUT or One Station Unit Training, where you do your Basic and AIT in one go.
Can you do a review on the basic training scene in Starship Troopers please?
I went in the Army in 1990 alot of this looks hauntingly familiar. Especially the bayonet training & pop up targets. Always hated the ear plugs on the left breast pocket, damn things always got in my way😂
USMC Early 80's. How many Marines can you fit in a Cattle Car? More than a Japanese subway car.
6:55 I went to Coast guard Boot camp in 2019. Love the pupil stick training. He's right. it's a really good way to get some pent up rage out
Did my Basic and AIT at Fort Sill Ok. From Jan.87 to Apr. A Total of 13 weeks altogether. So many changes from back during that time. We were the last to use the Old World War Two Barrack's.