Old boot Camp vs New Boot camp? question for Military people or retired

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Korean_redneck

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Ok.... All I know is that Boot camp now are easier than ever.

Heres the list of Hardest to easiest boot camps:

1. Marines
2. Army
3. Navy
4. Air force.

My question is. What bootcamp did you go to? How do you compare Boot camp now to the old days?
I graduated navy boot camp on October 2001 and I've heard that Older navy boot camps were alot harder.. Now on the Air Force,, I heard for a PT Test, they rode Bicycles!!!! what kind of PT is that? I heard that Boot camps 1960's and earlier that the recruit Division Command, Drill sergeant or what ever got to hit you!! I wish I was hit in Boot camp.. alot of these old Navy Sailors tell me that I'm lucky to live in a Navy where Quality of life improved alot.

Can you guys give me some stories? especially those who retired or been in the military long ago??
 
That is because you are not in the REAL NAVY!!
lol.gif
They don't really want you to drop out just yet!

In 1976,as an Air Force Officer, I went through a Navy School where Green Berets, Seals, Special Ops guys, etc, go when they need a challenge.
confused.gif
It was a bit dangerous from a career stand point for the drop out, flunk out,kick out or self elimination rate was a min of 70%. our class started with app 15-20 people. As you might guess those kind of folks are not used to failing. It lasted just short of a year's time and the light days were 12-14 hrs. 6-7 days a week. I was one of three of the original class to graduate.

[ February 11, 2005, 11:45 PM: Message edited by: ruking77 ]
 
I went thru AF basic training in 1961, the old troops said we had it easy, but they were told that by the older troops. Basic is not the same as it was, as it is changed as society changes. The old brown shoe guys always said the AF became wimps when the AF created their own Boot Camp in the late 40's or early 50's. We may not of went thru the boot camp that the Gyrines and grunts went thru but we had a different mission. There are AF people that go thru that extreme training, Rescue PJ's and Combat Contollers and some Special Ops guys.
 
I was in the Army for a brief period at the very start of the eighties. My MOS was 11B....that means I was in the infantry. I was in basic for eight weeks and AIT for 5 weeks. As an infantry trainee, that boiled down to 13 weeks of one station unit training at Ft. Benning, Georgia. In my day they could still call you many "abusive" names, grab you and shake you, laugh at you when you failed, make you do PT even when you feel ill.... and sometimes puked, and generally be fairly hard on you. Now, being that I was at Ft. Benning, and in the infantry, this experience may have been tougher than someone with a differing MOS and maybe at Ft. Jackson or something. Many of the guys I trained with went on to become rangers.....now those folks do some serious hardcore training that could put the Marines to shame! In what I've seen on TV about todays training, I think it looks kind of whimpy. That stupid "hooah" sound they make in Army basic, for instance, reminds me of someone trying hard to look tough....but comming up short. Just my thoughts.
 
The Army revamped their physical training program a few years ago. They now report much fewer injurys like tendonitis, ankle sprains and general over use injurys. They are now puting more emphasis on anerobic training then they did in the past. In the late 70's and early 80's their was a huge shift towards aerobic training. The program now is much closer to what you would have seen in the 50's and 60's but still maintains high aerobic standards. You see a greater variety and time recover before repeating an activity.

When my father was a DI they ran every day multiple times per-day. They had a Master Fitnes program that was excellent but ignored by most. They finaly decided to listen to what they had been teching their "Master Fitness Trainers"! So now you see more wide spread use of log drills, medicine balls, circuit weightlifting etc....... You still have to run and road march both 12 mile and 25 mile road marchs but less often. You might make use of sand filled ammo cans and a hill as a training tool now etc... The Marine Corp has even been useing Kettlebells in some of it's units. The department of energy,Secret Servie and many other are also incorperateing KB Kettlebells into their training.

My Father was a boxer for a while and understood the need for recovery and variety in training. You can not expect to max a PT test by soley training for the test in the tested eliments. More importantly he understood that as infrantry men they needed more then to be able to just max out their PT test.


By mixing in anerobic training and aerobic training you can get a better athlete then if done alone. This is especialy try if you do not seperate the two. Anerobic circuit training practiced in a random fashion as opposed to blocked training can create huge performance inprovments. The problem with this type of training is that most people fail to lift with enough resistance and fail to more on to the next exercise quickly enough.

Most people seperate their training between anerobic and aerobic. You can get good results this way as well and it takes far less drive to complete the workout. It take a longer amount of time and you do not get maximum results!

If you really like results I sugest you read a bit on the following: Tabata Protocol, HIIT High Intensity Interval Training, Heavy Hands, Beyond Body Building. Also check out Escalateing Density Training!!

[ February 12, 2005, 12:16 AM: Message edited by: JohnBrowning ]
 
When I was 42 and in the USAF, I had a young army troop who worked for me and told me that Air Force were wimps. He was 22 and going to jump school. I told him if he could do half the number of extended arm push ups as me I would admit we were out of shape. I went first and did ten fast ones. He just stood their looking and asked me how I could do even one push up with both of my hands streched out over my head and with both hands together. I told him go ahead and try, he could not even get off the ground. I went to Basic in 1975 and thought it was easy. Yes we had to ride a bike for fitness tests. I did 96 push ups when I was 46 to prove a point. A marine told me that I was not in shape because all I had to do was ride a bike once a year. You are as tough as your mind lets you.
 
No matter what military service branch you are thinking about joining,are serving in, or have served in it is a noble endeavor for one to serve their country. Alot of people can't even phathom the thought of even joining the military in the first place. Just remember the different military branches are different (Clubs) but, in the end we are all one same team. Be proud no matter what your choice will be or has been.
 
I went through Air Force basic training in 1959.
We did a lot more than ride a bicycle. We ran the obsticle course. Physical training everyday.
We marched or ran everywhere we had to go.
We did night marches from about 7 pm until 5 am.
I know this was less than what the Marines had to do. But , it wasn't a piece of cake either.
Boot camp at the present is probably easier for all branches of service than it used to be due to civil rights issues and other concerns.
I am proud of my service to my country for 22 years. I'm also proud of all those who have served with distinction. God bless all of our troops past and present.

westex
 
Basic in 1984. Never rode the bike. Don't really give a schitt if I can run 50 miles in 12 minutes 8 days a week either. I have a job that I do, I do it, alot of other people cannot imagine doing it, and I cannot imagine doing thiers. But that is why we signed up for teh branched of service that we did.
 
I went to Basic in 1984 and did not really like it to much. Tech school was sucky at best, but my 20 years in the Air Force was **** good even it I had the ride the silly bike a few times.
smile.gif
 
My Grandson is currently a Marine MP. He has been stationed at Army bases for specialized training (K9). He was amazed at the ease of the Army Boot Camp compared to the Marine Boot Camp he attended (San Diego). He said the Army Clowns get some weekends off during boot camp, order pizza, talk to each other, and many more unheard of things in the Marines.

A fight coming? Call the Marines!
lol.gif
 
Marines...Parris Island class of '76.

All branches change due to pressure from society, the Marines just seem to change a little more slowly than the rest. I'm glad for that...even though it means we always had the old stuff to fight with. Didn't seem to affect our performance over the years!


Tim
 
The reason why Air Force BMT (Basic Military Training) is so easy compaired to Marines & Army.......is becasue we do not fight a ground war, we are not infantry. I went to BMT in 1992 and all we had to do was: 45 push ups in 2 minutes, 45 sit ups in 2 minutes and run 2 miles in 16 minutes.
The best part of BMT was the food we ate. I never thought that I would eat pizza, fried chicken, meat loaf, cheese burgers, sloppy joes, grilled cheese sandwiches in Basic Training.
 
I went into the Marines in 1975 at San Diego, 'to see what the military was like' I got out afetr one tour, but only after considering what they had to offer on my reenlistment inquiry. The most realistic 'boot camp' movie that I've seen was 'Full Metal Jacket'. When I went thru I had the impression that they had implemented new rules about hitting recruits as they took pains to explain the rules about such behavior. We only received 'love taps' once in a while. I was in boot camp a bit over 13 weeks, and had the impression that their attrition rate had a ceiling, as later in training they were careful about letting people go. A perfect PFT score consisted of 20 pullups, 80 situps in 2 minutes, and 3 miles in 18 minutes. Compared to the other services the Marines spend more time on physical training, experiencing stress, and especially training with a rifle as 'every Marine is a rfileman'. I think that to this day the fitness scores for Marines consist of their PFT and issued weapon scores. We spent one week dry firing, one week on the range, had additional live fire in infantry training, did a fam fire with the .45, and constantly cleaned, disassembled/assembled and drilled with the rifle. I understand they've minimized some of the verbal and phyical harrassment, and try to spend more time on field training.

If you only read one book about the Marines I'd suggest 'Breakout' by Ross.
 
I went through a Marine Corps commissioning program called Platoon Leader's Class (PLC), which in my case involved two sessions at Officer Candidate School (OCS). I started the PLC-JR program (for college freshmen or sophomores) in July 1980 in a platoon of 50 "candidates" (that's what the instructors called us, vs. "privates" at enlisted boot camp). Six week later, there were only 22 of us left. In the summer of 1982, I returned for PLC-SR and joined another 50 man platoon, consisting of survivors of the junior course. Six weeks later, there were 26 of us left. Does this tell you anything about how the Marine Corps does things?

Even back in the early 80s, physical abuse was prohibited and not all that common. The instructors were permitted physical contact for safety or "posture adjustment" purposes. It was the latter that you had to watch out for. We used to joke about our "chiropractors" and getting one's posture adjusted.

If you had told me in late July, 1980 that I would be promoted to Colonel some time in mid-2005, I would have laughed in your face.
patriot.gif
 
AF basic training has actually gotten harder in the last few years. the new AF leadership wants new troops that are more "warrior ready" this is due to the blurring of the lines between each branches roles and the AF taking on more roles that were tradionally Army.

I weant through "easy basic training" back in 1994.
 
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