Army Basic Training to Drop Hand Grenade Competency

**Pete** · 02-13-2018, 15:22

Army Basic Training to Drop Hand Grenade Competency as Graduation Requirement

https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/craig-b...on-requirement

At first I thought this was the duffleblog.

"The U.S. Army will drop its hand grenade competency requirement for graduation from basic training because getting recruits to pass it is taking “too much time” and they’re just not strong enough, Major General Malcolm Frost told reporters on Friday.

Changes to the Army’s Basic Combat Training (BTC) will eliminate the current hand grenade proficiency standards as a requirement for graduation...."

JJ_BPK · 02-13-2018, 15:53

Quote:

"The U.S. Army will drop its hand grenade competency requirement for graduation from basic training because getting recruits to pass it is taking “too much time” and they’re just not strong enough, Major General Malcolm Frost told reporters on Friday.

I guess the next change is a new 22LR rifle,, so they don't get bruised from recoil??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3IORZ79ISg

Basenshukai · 02-13-2018, 15:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete

Army Basic Training to Drop Hand Grenade Competency as Graduation Requirement

https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/craig-b...on-requirement

At first I thought this was the duffleblog.

"The U.S. Army will drop its hand grenade competency requirement for graduation from basic training because getting recruits to pass it is taking “too much time” and they’re just not strong enough, Major General Malcolm Frost told reporters on Friday.

Changes to the Army’s Basic Combat Training (BTC) will eliminate the current hand grenade proficiency standards as a requirement for graduation...."

I imagine that the particular skill set will be preserved as a requirement in the infantry MOS training.

Badger52 · 02-13-2018, 17:11

"not strong enough" - ok, that's in the YGBSM realm. Drop all pretense, address it in 11B AIT, and stop calling it Basic Combat Training.

miclo18d · 02-13-2018, 18:52

I think grenade training should INCREASE!!!!!

In my experience, most of the time when grenades are used they end up injuring friendly forces. We are too scared of grenades, like they are some kind of wizardry or sorcery like in the movie 300.

I carried 2 with me in combat and vowed I would only use them over an Afghan style wall or as a last ditch effort when being overrun. Thank God neither happened.

But increased usage and training prevents accidents and fratricide. Knowledge of what they do and don’t do makes employing them in the right manner easier!

But then, we’ll just not train with them because women can’t throw them...that’s a good plan!

**Box** · 02-13-2018, 20:53

If the army has decided that we need to stop doing hand grenade training in boot camp because soldiers aren't strong enough to throw hand grenades and that training troops how to throw something the size of a baseball os taking up too much training time......
.....well, I no longer want to hear the word warrior used to describe Soldiers coming into the US army

I refuse to accept that this is anything but a hoax so I am just going to return to the comfort of my easy chair.
Someplace peaceful...
"Someplace warm, a place where the beer flows like wine, where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano."

sfshooter · 02-13-2018, 20:55

Guess they're going to have to change the EIB test as I remember 2 of the stations dealing with grenades. Had to throw one within the 5 meter kill zone of a target and the other you had to get into a bunker from a prescribed distance away.
With all this comingling of sexes in the combat arms I guess they can play grab ass instead of worrying about destroying the enemy any way necessary.

PSM · 02-13-2018, 21:27

It may be the trainers' technique. I had a problem throwing them accurately in basic, too, because they told us to throw them like a baseball. Problem was, I threw sidearm. Our CO told me to throw it like a football. Solved the problem; the spoon was the laces.

The article also says that they are dropping land nav. There was no land nav in Basic in my day.

If a REMF found themselves in combat they were to follow the Infantry guy in front of them...then shoot and throw grenades where they were told.

Badger52 · 02-13-2018, 21:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSM

There was no land nav in Basic in my day.

Really? Man, you missed the fun stuff, how could they do that to you?

PSM · 02-13-2018, 21:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badger52

Really? Man, you missed the fun stuff, how could they do that to you?

I got plenty of it in AIT. And loved every minute of it! I was at Ft. Ord.

I was just on Skype with my son and he confirmed that he had it in basic and it was the hardest skill to learn. Yeah, so why waste time training a bunch of troops that will never need it? They may well need to defend a premier and stand guard duty, but they aren't going to lead a patrol. Leave that to combat arms AIT.

Golf1echo · 02-13-2018, 22:36

Between Reception and Basic/AIT Combat Engineers Ft. Leonard Wood a trainee was killed and the drill Sargent was seriously wounded by a grenade, needless to say when we got to the grenade range there was no messing around. The second you threw you were pancaked to the ground behind the wall. One small soldier was marked pass but not allowed to throw because of his performance with the dummies.

They had also just brought back bayonet training, I have seen a lot of criticism over that but I think many of us enjoyed the pugil sticks and bayonet training.

Basic hand to hand, Land Nav. And some nice lanes built up to some nice nocturnal lanes with cracking pyrotechnics... Airborne School...Never did see an actual PDM like in the books at the Gruber Rd barracks. The 122 daisy chained claymores ... Pure awesome !

Very glad to have gotten that kind of initial training!

BryanK · 02-14-2018, 06:10

So they no longer have bayonet training, and now they're dropping grenades too? Those were the reasons I wanted to go to basic to begin with(in addition to crew-served training). All this at the same time the Army is re-designing basic training to address low-discipline and lack of strength issues?

What's the point in basic then? BRM and D&C?

rsdengler · 02-14-2018, 07:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pete

" and they’re just not strong enough"

...."

LOL....So, are they saying that the meaning "You Throw Like a Girl" is accurate?

SouthernDZ · 02-14-2018, 09:13

FNC announced this morning that BCT was undergoing significant changes because the recruits act "entitled" - they did not elaborate on what those changes were going to be though.

Badger52 · 02-14-2018, 09:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by rsdengler

LOL....So, are they saying that the meaning "You Throw Like a Girl" is accurate?

Heh, and sadly they're probably not talking about just girls. Alright you FOGs out there... if you have little grand-kids, pink or blue, and are not out playing catch & teaching them how to bean someone with a fallen crabapple you are failing in one of your core missions.