Made a mistake - got drunk

[TheReal_ND]

[Smitty-48]

When I joined there wasn't so much hazing, but there was the 'blanket party' for the real fuckups who didn't get with the program, except in the reality, there was no blanket, they just got a beat down like gang initiation style.

I was just a kid, so the guys more took me under their wing, sorting me out, fixing my uniform for me or whatever, everybody took care of me actually, even when they were being rough about it.

There was peer pressure, but the pressure was to represent the regiment, not to embarrass us, to be hardcore, to know your shit, to be reliable

We called it"keen". This was 'keen', that was 'keen', you had to be 'keen', or your own peers would confront you before the NCO's would.

[Speaker to Animals]

On the flight line, hazing would involve things like literally crucifying an airman on a ladder or some scaffolding and completely covering him in rotted food and other nasty shit people had been cooking up in secret for about a month. Sometimes they'd get left in the vault tied up for a while. Nothing severe. If a pilot retired, they'd be waiting for him with a firetruck on his last flight and they'd hose him across the tarmac for a while.

Nothing like the branding the marines used to do. But even the relatively light hazing in the USAF seems to be outlawed now.

[Smitty-48]

In my army era, it was less hazing, more policing, like if you crossed the line, crossed a red line, you just got knocked the fuck out

Sometimes it could get pretty violent, like one guy had all his teeth smashed out on the bathroom sink, I walked in and there was blood and teeth everywhere, it as like a curb stomp.

[Smitty-48]

It was kind of like Full Metal Jacket, in that everybody would do their best to help the slow guy, but after awhile the slow guy was bringing everybody down, you can't leave anybody behind, only as fast as your slowest man, so the dam would just break, the platoon was frustrated, and then they would lash out at the guy.

Like I say, I was a kid, so I just did my job and stayed out of it, all these guys were way above my weight class, I just turned seventeen.

[Smitty-48]

The thing with me was that I joined young and I got promoted young, within two years of joining I was already in a junior leadership position, I basically went from Private Soldier to Master Corporal in record time, they fast tracked me, so I didn't get hazed, all the terrorizing was from the instructors on my leadership course

There was one instructor who was the most feared of them all, he was like the Terminator, he tortured you, and if you didn't get it right, he would fail you off the course, he went on to be Joint Task Force 2, the original unit which was only about a hundred Assaulters.

When they called "Endex" at the end of the final ex, he suddenly just turns to me and says "congratulations, you passed, my name's Paul" He just flipped it like a switch, all smiles, shaking my hand, I just stood there stunned.

Right to the very last moment he was still the Terminator, but the moment they called "Endex" he transformed into 'Paul'

We'd crossed over, we were made guys, certified, leadership group.

It's funny, one of my buddies who failed the course only knew him as the Terminator, he never met "Paul", so a week or so later me and "Paul" show up at the mess, Paul gave me a ride in his car, so we jump out and we're in the meal line laughing and joking, and I see my buddy looking at me hanging out with the Terminator, he just stares at me like "WTF?"

Even when you're just in a junior leadership position, you're not one of the boys on the bus anymore, you are the chain of command.

[SuburbanFarmer]

In my army era, it was less hazing, more policing, like if you crossed the line, crossed a red line, you just got knocked the fuck out

Sometimes it could get pretty violent, like one guy had all his teeth smashed out on the bathroom sink, I walked in and there was blood and teeth everywhere, it as like a curb stomp.

[Montegriffo]

In my army era, it was less hazing, more policing, like if you crossed the line, crossed a red line, you just got knocked the fuck out

Sometimes it could get pretty violent, like one guy had all his teeth smashed out on the bathroom sink, I walked in and there was blood and teeth everywhere, it as like a curb stomp.

How are recruitment numbers these days?

[Smitty-48]

In my army era, it was less hazing, more policing, like if you crossed the line, crossed a red line, you just got knocked the fuck out

Sometimes it could get pretty violent, like one guy had all his teeth smashed out on the bathroom sink, I walked in and there was blood and teeth everywhere, it as like a curb stomp.

How are recruitment numbers these days?

Back then, we liked it tough, we craved a harsh realm

Those who shot their mouths off would pay a price, say as you please, but stand and deliver or else, it was good.

[Smitty-48]

It was even rougher in the British Army, gawd I loved the British Army back then

Still fresh from the Falklands, so fucking hardcore.