Boot Camp And The Military Training Program

Most people imagine military training consists mostly of bullying and abuse, often depicted in movie scenes of instructors shouting insults, cadets crawling in the mud, trainees carrying backpacks double their weight, or senior cadets harassing freshmen.

The real training that military recruits undergo, however, is far from abusive. The boot camp scenario could be true in some cases, but the atmosphere during military training leans toward rigidity in following the rules and inflexibility with transgressions. It is an atmosphere so similar to the convent or the monastery, where disobedience always meets an appropriate punishment.

Training and Drill Instructors apply significant degrees of mental and physical stress to adjust the trainee’s attitude to a military way of thinking (self-discipline, sacrifice, loyalty, obedience). Boot camp in military training hones not only the physical strength of trainees, but also their mental and emotional strengths. The recruits need to learn how to cope with stress while maintaining a clear head and keeping their emotions in check so they will not cloud their judgment during crucial situations.

Yet, military training does not consist entirely of boot camp. Trainees also become skilled tacticians and military strategists, leaders to their group, and good followers to their superiors.

As, Rod Powers put it in About.com, the training programs are scientifically and psychologically designed to tear apart the “civilian” and build from scratch a proud, physically fit, and dedicated member of the United States Armed Forces.

Tagged as: Military, Military education and training, Recruit training, Training, United States Armed Forces