Air Force extends Basic Training
My son graduated basic at Lackland in six weeks back in 2001. According to Stars & Stripes, the Air Force extended Basic Training to seven and a half weeks during the war against terror, and now they’ve extended it another five days to train recruits on “character development to raise awareness about sexual misconduct”;
“Capstone,” as it’s called, will emphasize core values and skills the Air Force believes airmen will need in their personal lives and careers. It is part of a makeover in basic training prompted by a scandal at Lackland that sparked an Air Force investigation and congressional hearings.
“I think it is truly revolutionary, what we’re doing,” said Col. Michele Edmondson, commander of the 737th Training Group at Lackland, the home of Air Force basic training. “It’s a totally different form of learning for these airmen, it is an investment in their future as airmen.”
That’s all well and good, but how are they going to train their field grade and flag officers? Those are the folks that we read about in the news who have a problem with sexual misconduct.
Thanks to Chock Block for the link.
Category: Air Force
YGBFSM!!!
Sparks,
“We wouldn’t shit you, you’re our favorite turd.”
/ I keed, I keed.
//try the veal.
ChipNASA…LMAO an oldie but a goodie!
5 days of EO, Sexual Harassment, and Ethics Power Point slide shows all while listening to some disinterested E7/8 drone on? Hope the Air Farce is ready for it’s basic training suicide rates to jump.
Don’t say that. If it happens then they will add two more days for Suicide Prevention training.
THAT is an understatement.
Death By Powerpoint. Death by 1,000,000 electronic cranial papercuts. “NEXT SLIDE PLEASE…and here, we see the majestik møøse A Møøse once bit my sister… No realli!
She was Karving her initials on the møøse with the sharpened end of an interspace tøøthbrush given her by Svenge – her brother-in-law – an Oslo dentist and star of many Norwegian møvies: “The Høt Hands of an Oslo Dentist”, “Fillings of Passion”, “The Huge Mølars of Horst Nordfink”…
Like they haven’t been making our day to day work flooded with powerpoint slides and redundancy.
ChipNASA I have to say I can’t remember the next part of that whole thing, but I’m pretty sure if you continue you will be sacked.
We apologise for the fault in the PowerPoint slides. Those responsible have been sacked.
After further review and another media circus, those responsible for the sacking have been sacked.
Being that it’s the Air Forced shouldn’t that be SAC-ed?
Get it? SAC-ed? As in Strategic Air Command? You know SAC-ed?
Ah, screw ya if you can’t appreciate sophisticated humor.
Boy, has the USAF changed! When I went to tech school for Loadmaster, the lesson slides were interspersed with Playboy pinups. The instructor said the pinups were to keep us awake!
As I recall, little was taught in BCT that wasn’t accompanied by “Demonstrator, please.” That was the cue for someone, wearing a black and shiny helmet liner to demonstrate what was being taught. I just wonder how that would have worked with sexual assault training.
I am really waiting for the day when Sexual Misconduct training involves a weeks worth of bloody MMA mats. Now that’s what I would call ‘character development’!
For the last year of my service, I filled out all the Sexual Assault lecture critiques with the following question:
“Why is step #1 for the military victim of a sexual assault not “Pull out your sidearm and blow the fuckwit to hell.”?
No answer was ever given, nor any fucks.
I believe this kind of thing is going to put an unnecessary burden on the Marine Corps. With all the young ladies (and a few guys) trying to pay their way through college in the Adult Entertainment Industry, who else is going to foot the bill? The average Lance Corporal has enough to worry about and now this. Who is going to invest in their future? If this nonsense continues it may threaten the quality of freely available porn world wide. I personally had an “Always ask, never tell” policy when it came to women in uniform. We must defend our traditions, our honor, and our obligation to these women who put themselves ‘out there’.
Young men in the military should learn to die with dignity, sober and without getting laid.
Maybe a few suggestions will help with course development.
1. The shy bladder. Dont tease the trickle.
2. Communal Showering. The do’s and don’ts.
3. Menstruation. What not to say.
4. Breasts. Tips for overlooking the obvious.
5. Masturbation. How to take matters into your own hands, policies and procedures.
6. Reporting others. Circumventing command structure and advancing career opportunities.
Number 6 would be referred to as “Moerk’s Law”
In a related story:
US Navy increases length of boot camp from 11 weeks to 13 weeks to accommodate for and teach new US Navy standards for transgengered berthing and heads onboard US Navy vessels. The susbect matter expert instructor cadre will consist of Mr. Slave of South Park, Rosie O’Donnell, the construction worker from the Village People, Bruce Jenner and the entire cast of the wildly popular and fabulous Broadway sensation “Kinky Boots.”
OOO Jesus chriiiist.
Will those extra 5 days train them how to report on-line butt hurt for fun, profit and medals? Or maybe proper format for emailing the Director of Air Force SHARP (or whatever acronym they use)
Let me get this straight. Because less than a hundredth of a percent of service members decide to sexually assault someone, the entirety of the Armed Forces of the United States must go through annual “don’t rape anyone” classes and now the Air Force has to have a special week dedicated to not raping anyone.
Why do we even train recruits for combat anymore? Let’s just do away with all that scary gun stuff, and those giant violent q-tips, and teach the military not to rape anyone and how to not offend anyone with what they say.
Right, because the 99.99 others might forget that raping a colleague or groping her tits might be considered inappropriate.
I was thinking the same thing. When I read the headline I thought ” Oh, the Air Force is finally getting back to being serious about training to kill the enemy” and then I read on. Silly me it was just more bullshit. How does this make them more combat effective. Jesus Christ.
I wonder how big of a block of training will be devoted to filling out an ID-10T Hurt Feelings Report?
five days to train recruits on “character development to raise awareness about sexual misconduct”
Does anyone actually believe if someone lacks the necessary personal character to understand that raping women is inappropriate that a five day capstone course will alter that reality? I didn’t think so.
This course must then be filed under the heading, those that don’t need it will endure it and those that don’t need it won’t understand it and in the end nothing changes really except we have a procedure (even if it’s useless) that we can point to when we get caught once again with our trousers around our ankles.
Why is so hard for people to understand a simple concept? Anything that doesn’t promote unit cohesion or mission effectiveness is fucking wrong, period.
As Jonn so eloquently states, they need a much longer class on this topic for the reprobates sitting above the 0-6 ring otherwise known as the invincibles.
I miss the days when we had a wall locker packed full of Playboy and Hustler. Hell the biggest items sold in Korea during excercises was the “Adult” entertainment magazines, until they banned them.
I think I saw Doctrine Man note that the scandal at Lackland was *instructors* committing sexual harassment and assault.
So of course, the obvious answer is more training for the students, not the instructors.
…And then, make them spend another five days WITH said instructors.
Mike
As a Marine Mustang Vet, I was quite ignorant to Air Force BMT and what it entailed. This post made me curious and had me research Air Force BMT. Oh the horror! It must be such a struggle to live in dorms and eat in dining facilities.
In all seriousness, Semper Fi to my Air Force brothers and sisters.
…and to think it is much harder now than it was when I went in 1983.
I think I’d rather go through 5 days of VD lectures, complete with slides.
Who wants blueberry pie?
You mean blue(berry) waffles.
/DO.NOT.GOOGLE.THAT.
When ChipNASA warns you not to Google that term, he means it. For the Love of God do not do it. I wish someone had giving me this warning. I will never be the same.
You are soooooooooo right, Sparky. I learned my lemon lesson the same as you. I repeat, For the love of Mike, when Chip tells you not to go there, do not go there. (Oh, he really wants you to. He’s that way. BUT DO NOT DO IT.)
That wasn’t Sparky. Hey, who are you?
Hey Cav….I have been lurking here a while but do not comment much. I was an enlisted Marine Air Winger who went Infantry Officer after getting out and going to college in the early 90’s. I am an IT exec now and while I have no heroic tales, I loved every minute of leading my Marines and still talk to many of them. Proud to have served and hate posers.
Welcome to TAH. I am the official greeter for the day and a permanent pisser-off-er. Seriously, welcome. You write in complete sentences. That’s a major asset.
Thanks for the welcome Cav, and Semper Fi. This knuckle dragger truly enjoys the commentary found here.
Yeah I don’t listen too good either, but then again I watched a colonoscopy while eating a meatball sub.
Oh, my God! Sexual harassment training for a WEEK! Torture!
Take it to GITMO, the detainees will be singing like birds.
I retired AF and will go to my death defending my bike riding PT test.
IYAMYAS
“last slide please”….
“The double standard”
“This crap applies to you, not to anyone in authority. Do as we say, not as we do.”
Has anybody heard what the Marine Corps and Army are planning to match the Air Force and Navy? The Marine’s cruible is hard enough. To follow this with a week of powerpoint seems brutal even for the Marines. Joe
I was Air Force and really appreciated the whore houses on base, at certain bases in Asia (I’m trying not to bring up anything to wreck some Generals career here), but the officers use to condone this behavior and participated. Its not the recruits that need training, it’s the officers. Training beyond 6 weeks for most Air Force recruits is a waste, when the main core of recruits is going to be a skilled work force servicing planes and high tech electronics.
The Army with all those hot looking gals should be the ones to get extra training. All those nights in the field, yada yada! Sounds like fun!
I was Air Force and really appreciated the whore houses on base, at certain bases in Asia…
Oh, the “Steam and Cream” at Osan? That got closed down by the time I got there in the late 80s … I heard stories.
My favorite was the Golden Palm near the front gate on base at Udorn. Home of the Hunters, and 7th and 13th Headquarters for Pacfic Operations. Even the guys at Air America enjoyed the entertainment. Condoned, hell this was the culture of the time!
Yep, we Army guys are the ones that need the extra training.
On field exercises with the Medical Battalion in support, they used to hang a cardboard sign on the rear door handle of the ambulances.
The sign said: “If the Crackerbox is rockin, don’t come aknockin”./sarc
Jonn may be able to attest to this. On every street corner on Howard AFB in Rep de Panama stood a beauty for rent. Our son noticed the action when I worked there and when he joined the Air Force took a concurrent to Panama. Problem was he arrived after our invasion and they apparently were all gone. Poor kid. The extra basic time is needed to deal with all of the ribbons they receive and the golf pro says they need more basic instruction.
I can attest to those. Up through the early 90s I recall seeing the lines outside Rodman and Howard and the Yacht Club. Plenty of hummers in the bush as payment for an escort inside the gates. After the bases closed they all just moved back down town to places like La Gruta Azul, Club Miami, etc. ….of course I only know this from reading the off limits list…..
I made the mistake of watching a youtube video on Air Force Boot camp a few months ago.
I started cracking up almost immediately,,, then at the three minute mark I grew titties and started lactating.
Im still taking testosterone pills to get over watching that shit.
I had to watch Full Metal Jacket 100 times to erase that shit from memory.
Was it the video where the Air Force drill looks into the camera and with a completely straight face says “I believe Air Force Basic is harder than Marine Boot Camp.”? I fell out of my chair and almost suffocated to death I was laughing so hard.
Oh…my…God.
Put video tag up for that. That hilarious, gotta see!
Maybe it was this….(I’m ashamed for my USAF) *rolls eyes*
Now that’s some funny shit coming out of that guys mouth! Looks like he really believes that shit too.
WTF was that? What kind of grabasstic bullshit was going on there? Ya, I want to see them try their little pull nots at Parris Island. I will say that have some mighty pretty little workout uniforms. They are cute.
Extra days in Basic just for power point presentations on PC sexual harassment shit, has anyone tried to make the decision-makers on this face charges of “Cruelty to Enlisted personnel”?
I was going to say how much things have changed in Basic since I went through in April/May of 1974, then I remembered that we didn’t go to the obstacle course because it rained that day!
Does this mean I can have a 351 pulled if I glance at a female airman’s ass? Will I be recycled for ogling her outright, or is the punishment worse? Will I be discharged for sighing deeply at the sight of Col. Edmondson?
YOU FUCKED UP AIRMAN! GIMMIE A 341. It’s not a 351. Oh and do you have ANOTHER 341 as a Spare? GIMMIE THAT ONE TOO for NOT having TWO 341s!!!
(I used to carry 3)
Dale Evans was in an Air Force instructor?
I like the warm greeting. That was nice. And no one climbed on the bus when the recruits arrived. That was nice, too. Gee, the Air Force really is nice. (Nith.)
Damn it! A 341! Long time, no basic.
OK, someone please explain what a 341 is. Us small words that a jarhead will understand. 30 training days and liberty pass on weekends? Is that correct? I have always wondered what it was actually like. Is this actually close to the real thing?
The more I think about, I’d have to say that the Army was way nicer. I recall our bus arrival at Fort Jackson. Even though it was late at night, we were met by a reception party. The men who greeted us were dressed sharply and they were thoughtful. One of them got on the bus as soon as it stopped. He wanted to make sure every one of us heard him so he spoke very loudly. Very loudly. And he was friendly. He didn’t know our real names so he made up some for us. They were funny names having to do with goats and maggots. I had never heard such nicknames before but none of us laughed. I’m not sure why. And the men were very kind. They wanted to make certain that no one got lost so they showed us the way to the exit and then spoke to us as we got off. If someone was moving too slowly, they encouraged them and helped them to go faster. They were nice men.