WASHINGTON
Changes to the Army’s Basic Combat Training (BTC) are in the pipeline to scrap current hand grenade proficiency standards as a requirement for graduation starting next summer.
Military.com reported that the new BCT has not only eliminated the hand grenade requirement but also the land navigation course as a graduation requirement.
Maj. Gen. Frost said that training recruits were taking too much time: “What we have found is it is taking far, far too much time. It’s taking three to four times as much time … just to qualify folks on the hand grenade course than we had designated so what is happening is it is taking away from other aspects of training.”
Women are not strong enough to throw the grenade far enough “if they haven’t thrown growing up” Frost explained. More than 200 000 women are serving in active duty today, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
“We are finding that there are a large number of trainees that come in that quite frankly just physically don’t have the capacity to throw a hand grenade 20 to 25 to 30 meters. In 10 weeks, we are on a 48-hour period; you are just not going to be able to teach someone how to throw if they haven’t thrown growing up.”
According to Army Times, hand grenade training will be blended into other exercises in future. “Rather than spend time getting soldiers through the hand grenade and land navigation qualification courses in order to graduate basic, those skills will be incorporated into three new field training exercises, dubbed Hammer, Anvil and Forge.”
On Facebook, John Clayton wrote: “Army to lower hand grenade requirements because women do not have the strength to throw it far enough to...Read More HERE
1969, USMC,Infantry Training Regiment, Camp Pendleton, grenade range.
ReplyDeleteOur instructor was a recent returnee, purple heart, combat veteran of Vietnam.
A young marine pulled the pin, froze with the grenade close to his chest, the sergeant instructor grabbed his wrists and the grenade detonated. Both were killed. I still see the instructors boots standing in the pit with portions of his calves in his boots and next wrapping the bodies in ponchos.
It didn't make sense, surviving intense combat in Vietnam for 12 months and then killed in a training exercise.
Six months later I was in Vietnam.
"some recruits are not strong enough"
ReplyDelete"Some recruits" meaning women, who are only there because Zippy said they had to be.
And throw like a girl.
What kind of boob learns that a girl can't throw until after they give her a live grenade? Start with observing them throw a rock or softball before giving them explosives. Idiots.
ReplyDelete