Vernon in Virginia~Formerly Alaska
New member
WRONG ANSWER
A story from Ft Knox broke into the headlines back in February about U.S. Army Drill Sergeants physically abusing Recruit Trainees. The story has now resurfaced with the conviction of U.S. Army Captain William Fulton.
It's a fine line that Drill Sergeants in the Army and their counterparts in other service branches walk. In one regard, we receive a different sort of recruit than we did 25 years ago, but keep in mind that they're still volunteers.
As an Interrogator, I rely upon a number of the same skills and understandings to ensure that I remain within the boundaries of the law and humane decency that my country rightfully expects. Like an Interrogator, a Drill Sergeant must develop a keen understanding of the background of his trainees. He or she must also consider the perception that a recruit has of what Drill sergeants will be like; this is the crucial power that that Drill Sergeant has when the recruit initially steps off the bus. It is at this point that the credibility and professionalism of the NCO is either reinforced or discarded.
Fulton draws six months, but remains in Army
By SPC. IAN BOUDREAU/Turret Staff Writer:
A Fort Knox captain accused of dereliction of duty, false swearing, and trainee maltreatment was sentenced Tuesday to six months confinement by a general court-martial.
Representing the United States in the case, prosecutors Capt. Steve Berlin and Capt. Joseph Krill alleged that Fulton had personally abused a Company E recruit. He was also accused of standing by and watching as another Soldier was thrown by the collar of his field jacket through a door on the second floor of the Company E barracks by a company drill sergeant.
One of the most contentious pieces of evidence was a videotape introduced by defense counsel Capt. Paul Streetman, Fulton's Army-appointed attorney. The video, shot with a hand-held personal camera, shows trainees arriving at Company E in a bus and what was referred to in testimony as a "shark attack" by the company's drill sergeants. In the shaky video, trainees are rushed into formation outside the company barracks as drill sergeants scream at them, sometimes with two or more NCOs only inches from a trainee's face. Witnesses said that the "shark attack" went on for about an hour before the trainees were moved inside the barracks. Fulton said the intense atmosphere was part of the program for basic training. "You create an environment of stress," he said. "It's to develop and build cohesion in the unit... There's actually structure and reasoning to what we do. "Sgt. 1st Class Paul Holley, a senior drill sergeant with Co. E, said that he left the "shark attack" before it was over. "In my eyes, it was not the way I would have conducted an initial pickup," he said. "The whole nature of the situation wasn't even right. There was too much chaos and no plan... I didn't want to be a part of it."
Harvey Perritt, a spokesman for the Army Training and Doctrine Command in Fort Monroe, Va., said there 120 allegations of abuse against Army drill sergeants in fiscal year 2004, and as a result 16 drill sergeants were relieved of duty.
So far in fiscal year 2005, there have been 42 complaints of abuse, and six sergeants have been relieved of duty, Perritt said.
Any Drill Sergeant or Drill Instructor will tell you that walking that fine line of terror with a kid who was just recently a civilian with a car and an X-box is every bit, a fine art. The ability to convey a sense of impending peril, without actually ever touching the recruit relies upon the craft and learned skills of this brethren of trainers.
The potential to properly motivate a trainee by helping them to find an inner strength and build self-esteem based upon respect of the NCO is diametrically opposed to the low mentality that seeks to gain compliance through torture and physical abuse.
According to Training and Doctrine Command Regulation 350-6, drill sergeants are only authorized to touch Soldiers in training to prevent a safety violation, in a medical emergency, or to correct a uniform deficiency. Trainees testified that "they were slammed into wall lockers, kicked, and struck during the indoor portion of the "shark attack," and that the abuse continued the next day."
CPT Joseph Krill and CPT Steve Berlin called several Company E trainees to the stand to testify. Berlin asked one Soldier how Fulton's behavior had affected his view of the Army. "Officers are, in my opinion, supposed to take responsibility for what happens under them," the Soldier said. "With what happened in Echo Company... I didn't see that happen.
"Fulton made an unsworn statement after the defense and prosecution had rested. "I love Soldiers," he said. "I love being a Soldier. There's no doubt about that. I've put my heart into everything I've done. "Perhaps my experiences in the Army have jaded my perspective on what abuse is. To me, the greatest abuse is to see untrained Soldiers coming home from far away countries in body bags. "But the ends did not justify the means," he went on. "I'd like to apologize to all my Soldiers for not being the leader they deserve."
There is some contention that everything did not go down exactly as the recruits testified. Upon viewing the videotape, some recanted and altered their testimony. There is the suggestion that after the incident(s) the recruits banded together as a sort of dysfunctional family of victims and their stewing over perceived abuse caused the incident to grow in the minds, corroborated by their peers. The bottom line is hard to find in a time when Drill Sergeants are spending too long on "The Trail" as they call the duty assignment.
Captain Fulton wanted to protect his Drill Sergeants, an act of misplaced loyalty perhaps, and he got caught.
At a time when enlistments are down, and the perception of the military is so crucial to our continued ability to recruit, this is still the wrong answer.
A story from Ft Knox broke into the headlines back in February about U.S. Army Drill Sergeants physically abusing Recruit Trainees. The story has now resurfaced with the conviction of U.S. Army Captain William Fulton.
It's a fine line that Drill Sergeants in the Army and their counterparts in other service branches walk. In one regard, we receive a different sort of recruit than we did 25 years ago, but keep in mind that they're still volunteers.
As an Interrogator, I rely upon a number of the same skills and understandings to ensure that I remain within the boundaries of the law and humane decency that my country rightfully expects. Like an Interrogator, a Drill Sergeant must develop a keen understanding of the background of his trainees. He or she must also consider the perception that a recruit has of what Drill sergeants will be like; this is the crucial power that that Drill Sergeant has when the recruit initially steps off the bus. It is at this point that the credibility and professionalism of the NCO is either reinforced or discarded.
Fulton draws six months, but remains in Army
By SPC. IAN BOUDREAU/Turret Staff Writer:
A Fort Knox captain accused of dereliction of duty, false swearing, and trainee maltreatment was sentenced Tuesday to six months confinement by a general court-martial.
Representing the United States in the case, prosecutors Capt. Steve Berlin and Capt. Joseph Krill alleged that Fulton had personally abused a Company E recruit. He was also accused of standing by and watching as another Soldier was thrown by the collar of his field jacket through a door on the second floor of the Company E barracks by a company drill sergeant.
One of the most contentious pieces of evidence was a videotape introduced by defense counsel Capt. Paul Streetman, Fulton's Army-appointed attorney. The video, shot with a hand-held personal camera, shows trainees arriving at Company E in a bus and what was referred to in testimony as a "shark attack" by the company's drill sergeants. In the shaky video, trainees are rushed into formation outside the company barracks as drill sergeants scream at them, sometimes with two or more NCOs only inches from a trainee's face. Witnesses said that the "shark attack" went on for about an hour before the trainees were moved inside the barracks. Fulton said the intense atmosphere was part of the program for basic training. "You create an environment of stress," he said. "It's to develop and build cohesion in the unit... There's actually structure and reasoning to what we do. "Sgt. 1st Class Paul Holley, a senior drill sergeant with Co. E, said that he left the "shark attack" before it was over. "In my eyes, it was not the way I would have conducted an initial pickup," he said. "The whole nature of the situation wasn't even right. There was too much chaos and no plan... I didn't want to be a part of it."
Harvey Perritt, a spokesman for the Army Training and Doctrine Command in Fort Monroe, Va., said there 120 allegations of abuse against Army drill sergeants in fiscal year 2004, and as a result 16 drill sergeants were relieved of duty.
So far in fiscal year 2005, there have been 42 complaints of abuse, and six sergeants have been relieved of duty, Perritt said.
Any Drill Sergeant or Drill Instructor will tell you that walking that fine line of terror with a kid who was just recently a civilian with a car and an X-box is every bit, a fine art. The ability to convey a sense of impending peril, without actually ever touching the recruit relies upon the craft and learned skills of this brethren of trainers.
The potential to properly motivate a trainee by helping them to find an inner strength and build self-esteem based upon respect of the NCO is diametrically opposed to the low mentality that seeks to gain compliance through torture and physical abuse.
According to Training and Doctrine Command Regulation 350-6, drill sergeants are only authorized to touch Soldiers in training to prevent a safety violation, in a medical emergency, or to correct a uniform deficiency. Trainees testified that "they were slammed into wall lockers, kicked, and struck during the indoor portion of the "shark attack," and that the abuse continued the next day."
CPT Joseph Krill and CPT Steve Berlin called several Company E trainees to the stand to testify. Berlin asked one Soldier how Fulton's behavior had affected his view of the Army. "Officers are, in my opinion, supposed to take responsibility for what happens under them," the Soldier said. "With what happened in Echo Company... I didn't see that happen.
"Fulton made an unsworn statement after the defense and prosecution had rested. "I love Soldiers," he said. "I love being a Soldier. There's no doubt about that. I've put my heart into everything I've done. "Perhaps my experiences in the Army have jaded my perspective on what abuse is. To me, the greatest abuse is to see untrained Soldiers coming home from far away countries in body bags. "But the ends did not justify the means," he went on. "I'd like to apologize to all my Soldiers for not being the leader they deserve."
There is some contention that everything did not go down exactly as the recruits testified. Upon viewing the videotape, some recanted and altered their testimony. There is the suggestion that after the incident(s) the recruits banded together as a sort of dysfunctional family of victims and their stewing over perceived abuse caused the incident to grow in the minds, corroborated by their peers. The bottom line is hard to find in a time when Drill Sergeants are spending too long on "The Trail" as they call the duty assignment.
Captain Fulton wanted to protect his Drill Sergeants, an act of misplaced loyalty perhaps, and he got caught.
At a time when enlistments are down, and the perception of the military is so crucial to our continued ability to recruit, this is still the wrong answer.
