Shark Attack

Have you ever seen Full Metal Jacket? What do you remember most about that movie? Everyone remembers the same thing; Gunnery Sergeant Hartman played perfectly by R. Lee Ermey losing his mind on all those new Marines. That’s what EVERYONE remembers. And that was in a movie, not in real life, and not happening to YOU.

Day One of basic training or boot camp is one of the most memorable events of your life for anyone who went through it. It is commonly referred to as the “Shark Attack”.

When you get off that bus, or cattle car in my case, and the drill sergeants SWARM over all the new Soldiers, it is something you never forget. It was May 1993 at Ft. Benning, Georgia. It was hot and about 100% humidity that day. Bag and baggage, we were all running, having no idea where we were going or what we were supposed to be doing. We just knew we were getting yelled at and no matter what we did, it was wrong. The shock of it all was incredible.

The guy in front of me passed out. No shit. Flat on his face. He was standing at something that looked like the position of attention and locked his knees. No one was even yelling at him when it happened, he just went down. When the drill sergeants saw it, two of them went to him at a run. They weren’t there to help or even really see if he was OK, they were there to encourage him to get his ass back up. Yeah, they yelled at him until he was on his feet again.

The guy to my left was smiling at the whole thing and caught the attention of those same two drill sergeants. They attacked. One got so close, screaming in the face of the smiling Soldier that his “round brown” drill sergeant hat scraped that young man’s forehead. The sharp, felt covered brim actually cut the kid’s skin and he began to bleed. When he recoiled, the drill sergeants doubled their effort.

All around me, there were incidents just like this being replicated over and over. Privates doing pushups. Yelling responses like “Yes, Drill Sergeant!” and “I’m fucked up, Drill Sergeant!” Behind me I heard them ask a young Hispanic Soldier by the last name of Jesus if his dad was God. It was maniacal all the way around. My only goal was to NOT move, NOT draw any attention. It didn’t matter. Soon, I was sweating my ass off, doing pushups while a drill sergeant held my feet up near his face. Yeah, it sucked. It sucked for everyone.

It had a purpose, though. I knew that because my dad and all his buddies told me what was coming. My dad told me the “why” behind it, which was more important than knowing what I could expect.

The purpose of that first day is twofold; shock and tear down. Everyone needed to understand that you were no longer “you”. I wasn’t Clay. I wasn’t Mr. Novak. I was now Private Novak, United States Army. This was the first day of many that would teach us to think under stress, handle it, and act. We all needed to understand that when you are in the Army and shit is going bad, you follow orders. Do what you are told. It was also the day we learned when you do anything as an individual, you were fucked. Going alone wasn’t the answer.

Basic Training and Boot Camp, depending on your service, is where the civilian “you” is replaced by the military “you”. You are torn down and rebuilt into a Soldier, Sailor, Airman, Marine, whatever. And you become part of the team. You work together. You eat together. You live together. Blood, sweat, and tears are SHARED. So are rewards and punishments. You learn to help your teammates and not look down on them when they are failing. You carry part of their load when they can’t. You take an extra guard shift if your buddy is too tired to stay awake. You do that because you are no longer just “you”. You are now part of “us”.

Except that memorable day is now a thing of the past. Yes, the military is getting rid of the “Shark Attack”. I know the Army has already started to phase it out and the other services are in various stages of doing the same. There are supposed to be controlled tones from the Drill Sergeants. No more swarming. No more Shark Attack. It’s gone. The shock and tear down is now a kindler, gentler experience. There are polite tones. The Drill Sergeants explain things and use words like “please” and “thank you”.

To me, that decision is total bullshit. An irresponsible decision, bordering on negligence, influenced by the new “wokeness” that is infecting the military. Yes, I said infecting. Like cancer. This is the next step toward softening our military and it is going to get people killed. That isn’t an exaggeration and I am not softening my tone. I honestly believe people will die as a result of this new soft-souled military. Our leaders should be ashamed.

People will question this. “Really, Clay? Changing one day is going to get people killed?” Yeah. I really think it will. It sets the tone for the rest of your time in uniform and it is set on DAY ONE.

I know, mean men who yell really loud are scary. I get it. You know what else is scary? Some sonofabitch from another country actively trying to kill you. If you can’t handle being yelled at, getting shot at is going to be a whole lot worse.

Bring it back. Bring back the “Shark Attack” before it is too late.

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