The Wall Street Journal reports that the Army is trying to "get rid of the anxiety and worry" in basic training. Poor darlings, basic training is just too hard!!!

What the heck is wrong with the Army?  First they go lax on the recruiting side, and then they soften up basic training so more of the below-standard folks they recruit will make it through. 

Is this any way to build a fighting force? There are three things that basic training is supposed to do. Making things kinder and gentler only helps with one of them at most.

The name is accurate.  Basic training is basic training in the skills that go into soldiering.  If that's all it was, kinder and gentler might work fine.  But basic training is more.

Basic training is a socialization process.  It's the place and process of turning civilians into soldiers.  Recruits learn to live in the community they've chosen t by learning and absorbing the values and standards of the Army.

Basic training is also an initiation rite.  Recruits become soldiers through a difficult experience that civilians don't share.

That's the issue.  Basic training is not supposed to be easy. This isn't like summer camp where everyone has a great experience and gets a merit badge.  It should be something you're proud to complete, something you share stories about with other initiates years later. 

The key is that the experience should be difficult, but not impossible.  Only the most obviously unfit should be weeded out. 

Rod Powers, in his article on "Surviving Marine Corps Basic Training" on About.com has this to say: "Without doubt, Marine boot camp is more challenging – both physically and mentally -- than the basic training programs of any of the other military services. Not only are the physical requirements much higher, but recruits are required to learn and memorize a startling amount of information."

The Marines wash out about 15 percent of their recruits according to Powers.  The Army, with a shorter and less demanding program was flunking out 18 percent.  Now, with a kindler and gentler approach it's 11 percent.

Since most people make it through, even if recruiting standards are lowered. What kind of soldiers to you imagine they'll be?  One of the drill sergeants quoted in the Journal article asks that question this way: "If the privates can't handle the stress of a drill sergeant yelling at them, how will they handle the stress of bullets flying over their head?"

But that concern doesn't seem to be part of the goal. Check out this quote from the Journal article.

"'We realized that the further you go into the barrel, the lower the quality,' says Col. Kevin Shwedo, a senior officer in the Army's Training and Doctrine Command in Virginia."

Here's what I hear in that sentence.  "We weren't getting good quality recruits, so we decided to make it easier for the poorer quality recruits to become soldiers." 

Does that make sense to you?  It doesn't to me.  It seems like a guaranteed recipe for lowering the quality of the Army.  And if we continue this way it will take decades to correct.

Another question to ask is: How could this happen?  The Army's got a lot of bright people, how did they come up with this?

The Journal article says that the Army formed a team of 20 officers to figure out how to help more soldiers survive the first six months.  Note that whether or not these folks would be the folks you'd want to go to war with was not part of the assignment.

The team consulted sociologists and psychologists and even a senior vice president of MTV.  They were looking for fresh ideas for motivating today's youth.

Well folks, I've got a news flash.  Today's youth, like youth for centuries, are motivated by challenges.  They want to be a contributing part of something bigger than they are. 

In other words, if you want to get better soldiers or better employees, choose them well and challenge them.  Don't make it easier. Make it harder.

RESOURCES

The Wall Street Journal article by Greg Jaffe is here.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113997329288174354.html

Surviving Marine Corps Basic Training by Rod Powers on About.com
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marinejoin/a/marinebasic.htm