How would you rate your military training?

[dwtt]

I have not been in the military but I will say this. If you do not have what it takes to perform in an intense situation, all the training in the world will help you very little. On the other hand if you have what it takes to perform, a little training goes a long way. Some things you either have or you don't.

One purpose of training is because in stressful situations, people fall back on their training even when they don't logically try to think things through. Like during Desert Shield/Storm when people can don and clear their gas mask then put on their MOPP suits when the GAS alarm was given because they fell back on the half a dozen times they did the exercise prior to deploying without having to think: first I have to do this, then do that, then do......
Maybe things in real life are different than how they are portrayed in the movies.

[MAC USMC]

Went into the Marine Corps in '50, back when there was "silent contempt" and you could get smacked around in boot camp. I was fresh off my college football field and thougt I was in good shape, tough as nails, etc. I LOST 18 pounds humping the hills at Camp Pendleton, really got in good shape, found out I had a ways to go to be "tough", and got the very best firearms training in the world. Eventually I became a weapons instructor and loved it.

Most importantly I learned that my self-conceived "limitations" were not even close to what I could actually accomplish both physically and mentally. This lesson helped me tremendously in later life.

[Stockton]

Boot camp training fulfills the basic concept of shoot,move,communicate. What has changed is the type of shoot,move,communicate. After the Vietnam war boot camp still maintained a jungle warfare concepts until we hit the middle east. We are/have been training more urban combat scenario training or mout since then. Same shoot,move,communicate but its details within that change the type of training....i.e. fox holes,hasty,bunker positions versus mobile and fob operations.

Specialized courses are available to certain units and certain units train for specific missions. The time in combat takes those skill to another level when you have a real bad guy chucking bullets back at you. A single year or more deployment does things to your muscle memory,reaction time, and thought process. Seasoned soldiers that have sustained combat roles in theatre are force multipliers x10. Any civilian seeking private training has to understand those are all perishable skills in which need to be honed and practiced to be effective. Knowing and doing are two different things. I do think if an individual is continuously attending courses or running drills/scenarios through competitions he will definitely have advantages over the range bum.

To rate my training......hmmmm. At the time of graduation or after 14yrs? At the time of boot grad I knew the concept of shoot,move,communicate. After several deployments and 14yrs later its my alternate personality.

[Once A Marine]

I think first you must look at what the training is designed to do - get the necessary amount of information into the hands of as many people in a class, as efficiently as possible. Much of it is designed to lay the foundation for what you will do in the next class or in real operations. I think it does a very good job when you look at it this way.

I think they methodology of military training is so good, that I adopted it for my groups in my previous civilian job. I trained my senior folks using actual Marine Corps instructional training, then had them build out the training for all our newhire and sustainment training. We reduced the time from hire to operations by about half (13 weeks to 6 weeks), and increased the knowledge and knowledge retention of our new hires. The program was mimicked through the department.

[Napalm Bulldog]

I was a 19 kilo, So there was no outside courses for my Mos. I was in OSUT training long and brutal. 4 months 3 weeks of solid in your face training. After that you didnt make mistakes.

[socaldsal]

Of course military training focuses on the core of basics. So react to contact drills are not as sexy as MOUT, ok and then what? What else in the mil as far as training? Airborne? Air Assault? Ranger? SF? Misc? The elite tactics are the basics from any school done solid to a high level of accuracy and precision. No matter what you are in the service, calling for fire will be the same, calling a medevac to save your buddy who's bleeding will be the same, shooting at some joker on a hillside with a 240B who thought he could get the drop on you will be the same. There is only one way load a 240B, one way to load an M2, one way to work an AT4 into fire, and one way to do tap-rack-bang. I would rather serve with a retard who is schatt hot on the radio when calling a 9 line to get my dying butt out, than an overburdened geardo with a cool looking rifle that doesn't know how to even initiate it FAST enough because he fails at the basics. Learning how to do a FAST MEDEVAC call when your buddy is bleeding from a neck wound that you can't tourniquet is the WRONG time to say, "OH DAYUM NOW I'M LEARNING THE REAL DEAL!" You only get fast at that stuff by DOING the basics, REPETITIVELY, in training. "The best don't train until they get it right, they train until they never get it wrong."

So if there's a firefight and there is a FTF, is this when you learn how to quickly to a tap-rack-bang or do a speed change?

Learning how to set up a radio for it to function right is a basic skill.

Learning how to maintain and shoot with proficiency is a basic skill.

Learning how to do buddy aid and stop any bleeding after the fight is finished is a basic skill.

Being physically prepared to complete Airborne, Air Assault, Ranger, or SFAS stems from basic skills. The mental will to complete any of those schools is up to the individual but the body, through PT which is a BASIC SKILL/REQUIREMENT, should be up to the task. If they choose not to anything past getting MOS qualified, then ok, every job is important. But being proficient in your BASIC SKILLS, is just as IMPORTANT, and shouldn't be shrugged off.

Failing in your basic skills can get you or everyone killed if the planets line up just right to F up your day. Everything you learn past the basic skills is another set of tools in your toolbox.

First off, I don't really understand about the "learned in the field....actual combat" remark. That is where your knowledge of the basics and your proficiency at bringing down the house are supposed to come into play. Like I said repeatedly, learning what to do, and how to do it fast (which only comes from repetition), while all hell is coming up around you is the wrong time to bust out your book.

I rate my training A+, you take away from your training what it's worth.

Now sitting through suicide briefings for the 32nd time in a year, followed by a mandatory EO class for the 50th, followed by a speech from the local bank guy trying to get you to bank with them is a waste of war fighter training time. It's hard to relate to someone who hasn't sat through it how sitting through the same suicide prevention video over and over again makes you look out the window and wish you were somewhere else.....

This was not a rant, but I mean of course the basics are in place. They NEED to be taught. I won't take my niece, slap her on a motorcycle before she's even learned to walk properly, and expect her to drive off like a badash. She's gotta learn how to walk first, way before any of that. If the basic principles of being in the military bore someone, then there are other avenues within the military to liven things up. Look at the Ranger Ad video thread and listen to the first line of that video.

[stupidhead]

I have not been in the military but I will say this. If you do not have what it takes to perform in an intense situation, all the training in the world will help you very little. On the other hand if you have what it takes to perform, a little training goes a long way. Some things you either have or you don't.

The same could be said for many professions.

I'm sure there are plenty of doctors who crack up their first few times working in an ER, and I'm sure there's been more than one emergency dispatcher who couldn't handle a call.

Training goes much further than you're stating. The various different training evolutions that personnel with combat-based jobs get helps familiarize said personnel with a very similar environment that they'll encounter in the future (MOUT comes to mind). Your statement basically boils down to 'some people can fight, some can't'. To a degree, that's true, but nobody who is in a combat-related job is going to be 'unable' to fight, and any person who experiences problems in training will likely be weeded out long before they see any combat.

Having been a Marine (non-combat) as well as Emergency Dispatcher, I can relate that yes, some people can do certain jobs, and others cannot.


Emergency Dispatching is kind of like playing an RTS game, but by directing real people to locations and communicating vital information via your. No simple pointing and clicking (and the game randomly changes from 'fall-asleep easy' to 'almost impossible to win' difficulty). In other words, it can be stressful and mentally taxing, but there are tons of people that can do it.


As for the OP's question, I thought my training was adequate. I never saw combat, but as is the case in most jobs (including Emergency Dispatcher), you do learn more while on the job.

I never saw a need to supplement my training, beyond continuing training we got.

[Stormfeather]

"Hey Dumb@$$, just pull the blasting cap out of the C4!"

and this ladies and gentlmen, is the one thing I have said for years! hahahah!

0351 FHT Handler!

[tango5]

Those of you who are in or have been in the military, I'm wondering how well you feel you were trained?

Imma try not to ramble on but bare with me.

I was drinking with one of my buddies last night, he is a Desert Storm Vet and has also been to the "Stan" and Iraq in our current conflict. He has been in the military for a good long time.

So while we were BSing and catching up on things I was educating him on owning an AR here in Ca...so naturally we were surfing CG's and I was showing him around.

So we were reading a thread that well ended up being "cleaned up" so to say. But from this thread I got some interesting comments from my buddy.

I will try to remember some of exactly what he said:

"Bragging about your military training is like bragging you graduated from public school" "Most of what you learn is learned in the field...actual combat"

"Training in the military is very standardized unless you are a sticking around for a while. You get people from all over, some with firearm experience, some without...you get an idiot from every village! Most training is very basic, its meant for everyone including the idiots and just keeps you and your buddies alive"

So that got me thinking...how many of you Mil guys take training from outside sources? Like in your off time you decide to go into take a Magpul Dynamics class...how does this compare to what you have learned through the Mil?

Would you say these type of classes teach you more or less than the Mil?






I will leave it at that for now...but I'll post more after some comments roll in.

This is true. You get your basic training in Basic Training, that's why its called basic. You get your skills to do your job while in the field with experience and time. I have not taken any advance courses while out of the Army, but reading, watching and practicing drills and how to operate your rifle more efficiently and in a more fluid like motion helps greatly. Will i ever need to use these skills in the civilian world? Probably not, but any knowledge is worth knowing just in case.

[Vectrexer]

There are lots of specialties in the Military. Many of these jobs will have a large bearing on how you view the training received. Of course the job you do will be based to a large degree on your capabilities, motivation, and even to so some extent your paygrade at the time you exited the service. I was lucky enough to know what I wanted to do when I went into the Navy. I think that made a huge difference on getting the job I wanted and also how I viewed the military after I left.

I think everyone with a military background could give multiple grades to the different training given in the military. Here are some grades for the training I took. It's all too obvious I was not in the trenches with the jarheads. Having talked with some jarheads I already know their grades on combat training are much different from mine. I'm even a bit jealous of some of the training they received as silly as that might sound.

I do not consider much , if any, my military training to be on a level with public high school training.

Firearms intro: C or D
Combat training: D- or F
Electronics Training (basic knowledge, troubleshooting, and repair): A
Electronics Training (systems diagnosing and repair): A
Nuclear Power Training (for use with a military viewpoint): A
Management Training: B or C+
Teamwork Training: A or B
Security: A

I had a couple of years formal electronics training before I went into the military. I can honestly tell you that at the time (early to mid '80's) the Navy's electronics training was equal to or better than any of the college, vocational, or tech school training you might have received in the civilian markets up to at least the two or three year mark. But I also have to say you were specifically taught your job. Any course in humanities, sciences, history, etc needed to complete a degree were done on your own time. Those were available too for the motivated people who skipped partying with their buddies.

And Squids are the best!

[M198]

I was a 19 kilo, So there was no outside courses for my Mos. I was in OSUT training long and brutal. 4 months 3 weeks of solid in your face training. After that you didnt make mistakes.

I was at Fort Sill for my MOS school (all arty Marines are schooled on that Army base) and we got to see a lot of post boot camp guys still training. The Army still treated the Army guys like they were still in boot camp. I always thought that was weird because once you are done with Marine Corps boot camp, everyone just treats you like a young Marine, not a stupid recruit.

[Greg-Dawg]

I've had better training from my grandfather who fought with American GIs in WWII Japan.

[Napalm Bulldog]

I was at Fort Sill for my MOS school (all arty Marines are schooled on that Army base) and we got to see a lot of post boot camp guys still training. The Army still treated the Army guys like they were still in boot camp. I always thought that was weird because once you are done with Marine Corps boot camp, everyone just treats you like a young Marine, not a stupid recruit.

True. I know what what your saying. It was weird being in osut training.More than 70 percent of my class fell out do to injury or giving up. When my compnay was done only 26 out of 112 made it to graduation. Hell I went through graduation with a fractured leg. when I graduated I hung out with some Marines that were there for gunnery sight school. They were a great bunch of guys. I was at Fort Knox.

[napahunter]

abulldog4me, looks like we stopmed the same mud. I was also a 19K20. Got stationed back at Knox after dessert storm. I was one of the instructors at the TC3 corse.

[n556]

I'm trying to get a video from another buddy. I'm going to try and upload it on my laptop tomorrow. Its a good one....no real Combat footage but its a good video of the invasion of Iraq. One of the best videos along with a photos I have seen anywhere.

Can you share the video... that'd be cool to watch it.