Article in the Atlantic on the quality of the new military recruits

Brian Mockenhaupt, himself an Iraqi veteran, has a spanking good review on the pussification of our modern youth and military. The kinder/gentler military is not doing its job of preparing the recruits for the shitty situations they may face in Iraq and Afghanistan. In order not to scare away the boys and girls during training, they let them coast, thus forcing the units to which they are deployed into giving them remedial training in the field. A situation which is highly undesirable.

According to the article the new recruits are fatter and weaker than ever before. That is hardly surprising. Add to that the fact that many kids are not used to being told what to do and you have a recipe for disaster. We probably would have an even lower death rate if the recruits were subjected to a more rigorous basic training.


"Joining the armed forces means shedding individuality and obeying leaders who might ask a soldier to take lives. In the past, basic training was primarily about building brute strength and learning to follow orders. But new times call for new methods: drill sergeants are increasingly softening their barks, incorporating multimedia, and lowering the bar on physical fitness tests. In order to attract—and keep—new soldiers, the Army has resorted to fueling late-night field exercises with Guns N’ Roses music and allowing their charges to eat fatty desserts.
The changing nature of warfare is also responsible for shifts in basic training. Fighting counterinsurgencies requires walking door to door and making split-second decisions about the danger a situation poses. Enemies are no longer recognizable by the color of their uniforms."