2 answers
Mary
Student
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why is it necessary to go for training in the military?
why is it necessary to go for training in the military?
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2 answers
Ryan Pfeiffer, MA
Firefighter Lieutenant / EMT
104
Answers
Fort Collins, Colorado
Updated
Ryan’s Answer
The primary reason for military training is to create discipline and comradery.
Military training begins with the removal of your former identity. That's why they shave your head/face, take away your civilian clothing, restrict your ability to call home, restrict your access to outside news, take your phones away, stop calling you by your first name, etc. The intent is to strip your old identity away so they can build a new one.
Over the next few weeks of training, they will teach you new habits and build a new identity. New ways of dressing, talking, moving, standing, thinking. Instead of thinking for yourself, you are being trained to think of your team (team John and Mary, Team Charlie Ballation, Team U.S. Marine Corps, team USA, etc), and to do exactly what you're told when you're told to do it.
Why does this training matter? The teamwork is absolutely essential because it is the basis of all military operations. Ever noticed how close veterans are to one another, even if they didn't serve together? Joining the military makes you a member of a special club that nobody can take away from you. A character in the classic military movie "Black Hawk Down" summarizes this concept with the quotes, "Y'know what I think? Don't really matter what I think. Once that first bullet goes past your head, politics and all that **** just goes right out the window....When I go home people'll ask me, "Hey Hoot, why do you do it man? What, you some kinda war junkie?" You know what I'll say? I won't say a ******* word. Why? They won't understand. They won't understand why we do it. They won't understand that it's about the men next to you, and that's it. That's all it is."
The other reason it's so important to learn to follow orders is that, morbid as it may be, that's what it takes to succeed in combat. If your commander orders you and your battalion to charge up a hill and attack a fortified enemy position, he wants you to do it immediately and without question. And if you're not trained to follow orders, everyone is going to sit in their trenches and disobey their orders in favor of self-preservation. No war has ever been won without courage and sacrifice.
I hope that answers your question. Entire books have been written about this and hundreds of studies performed. This is my best shot at a two paragraph summary!
~Ryan, USAF Captain, 2014-2018
Military training begins with the removal of your former identity. That's why they shave your head/face, take away your civilian clothing, restrict your ability to call home, restrict your access to outside news, take your phones away, stop calling you by your first name, etc. The intent is to strip your old identity away so they can build a new one.
Over the next few weeks of training, they will teach you new habits and build a new identity. New ways of dressing, talking, moving, standing, thinking. Instead of thinking for yourself, you are being trained to think of your team (team John and Mary, Team Charlie Ballation, Team U.S. Marine Corps, team USA, etc), and to do exactly what you're told when you're told to do it.
Why does this training matter? The teamwork is absolutely essential because it is the basis of all military operations. Ever noticed how close veterans are to one another, even if they didn't serve together? Joining the military makes you a member of a special club that nobody can take away from you. A character in the classic military movie "Black Hawk Down" summarizes this concept with the quotes, "Y'know what I think? Don't really matter what I think. Once that first bullet goes past your head, politics and all that **** just goes right out the window....When I go home people'll ask me, "Hey Hoot, why do you do it man? What, you some kinda war junkie?" You know what I'll say? I won't say a ******* word. Why? They won't understand. They won't understand why we do it. They won't understand that it's about the men next to you, and that's it. That's all it is."
The other reason it's so important to learn to follow orders is that, morbid as it may be, that's what it takes to succeed in combat. If your commander orders you and your battalion to charge up a hill and attack a fortified enemy position, he wants you to do it immediately and without question. And if you're not trained to follow orders, everyone is going to sit in their trenches and disobey their orders in favor of self-preservation. No war has ever been won without courage and sacrifice.
I hope that answers your question. Entire books have been written about this and hundreds of studies performed. This is my best shot at a two paragraph summary!
~Ryan, USAF Captain, 2014-2018
Chandler V
Teaching
8
Answers
Denton, Texas
Updated
Chandler’s Answer
Habits.
That is the short answer, Military is really good at building habits, both good and bad. You get great habits like how you present and hold yourself, how you take care of yourself and environment, and also how you go about work like showing up on time always prepared for work.
But I do wanna stress in no means is it necessary to build these habits, and quite often we experience people going to the military and having those good habits, however they have different problems when they come back to civilian status. Such as not being able to function normally, anger issues, and even PTSD.
If you are conscious of the habits, I believe you can teach yourself the good habits without having to join the Military.
That is the short answer, Military is really good at building habits, both good and bad. You get great habits like how you present and hold yourself, how you take care of yourself and environment, and also how you go about work like showing up on time always prepared for work.
But I do wanna stress in no means is it necessary to build these habits, and quite often we experience people going to the military and having those good habits, however they have different problems when they come back to civilian status. Such as not being able to function normally, anger issues, and even PTSD.
If you are conscious of the habits, I believe you can teach yourself the good habits without having to join the Military.
Thank you so much for the advice.
Francis