07-06-2003, 04:44 AM
There is a navy base near us and I am friends with quite a few guys who work there. A friend of mine actually "loved" basic training heh. The way he described it was this: They don't want you to think, but just do. That is really the mental aspect. The rest of it is just physical conditioning, weapons training etc which continues to infuse the "don't think, just do" aspect of the training. The finished product is a person, knowledgable in various military technicalities, in good physical shape, who knows who their leader is and how to follow orders. This is what makes a team possible.
The whole idea is very similar to the idea of a crew upon for example a ship. No one man can sail a 100 ft boat by himself, however with an obedient crew he can. The idea is that only one person may think and that the others just work as sort of "second arms" for him. The people need to UNDERSTAND what they are doing but not think about it. If they were the good thinkers they would likely be captains. One man thinks and controls the boat, everyone else just works. They need to be obedient and capable, nothing more, nothing less.
The reason boot camp comes off as so tough is because the issue at hand when creating soldiers is much more serious. A boat may not get the sail raised in time, it will be ok. An army NEEDS to work efficiently in order to survive. "When I ask you to jump soldier, you will respond with How High?!!!"
-Wapptor
The whole idea is very similar to the idea of a crew upon for example a ship. No one man can sail a 100 ft boat by himself, however with an obedient crew he can. The idea is that only one person may think and that the others just work as sort of "second arms" for him. The people need to UNDERSTAND what they are doing but not think about it. If they were the good thinkers they would likely be captains. One man thinks and controls the boat, everyone else just works. They need to be obedient and capable, nothing more, nothing less.
The reason boot camp comes off as so tough is because the issue at hand when creating soldiers is much more serious. A boat may not get the sail raised in time, it will be ok. An army NEEDS to work efficiently in order to survive. "When I ask you to jump soldier, you will respond with How High?!!!"
-Wapptor
"The optimist proclaims that we live in the best of all possible worlds; and the pessimist fears this is true."
-- James Branch Cabell
-- James Branch Cabell