Why Do Some Army Recruits Fail?

[Warrior-Mentor]

Atlanta Journal-Constitution
November 15, 2006
Pg. 1

Why Do Some Army Recruits Fail?

The science of the 'right stuff'; Researchers seek to understand -- and overcome -- the biology of stress that makes some men and women fail to complete basic training.

By Bill Hendrick

Fort Benning -- It's a sunny day on Malone Range 11 and more than 200 fresh-faced recruits are sweating in the dust of aptly named Sand Hill, preparing to fire their M16-A2 assault rifles for the first time under the gaze of bellowing drill sergeants.

Someone else is watching too: a soft-spoken scientist, 63-year-old Dr. William "Hawk" Reeves of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

He's part of a team of researchers enlisted by the Army to find out why so many young men and women who want to become soldiers wash out of basic training and get sent home.

The Army, fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and with commitments elsewhere, is stretched so thin that this year it raised the maximum enlistment age to 42, the highest since at least World War I, according to military historian Donald Goldstein of the University of Pittsburgh. During the Vietnam War, men could sign up until age 34.

Now the Army has signed up Reeves and a half-dozen other scientists to find ways to reduce the 15 percent basic-training attrition rate and keep the ranks from thinning more -- and to keep from wasting the $20,000 every washout costs taxpayers.

Sergeants may be tough on the recruits, but they work hard to turn every one into a soldier. Some of those who run into trouble get "recycled" -- forced to repeat training. Some who get sent home are found to have lied about mental problems such as depression, or about previous injuries or medical conditions like asthma.

Some just decide they want to quit, and are sent home if counselors can't convince them to give it another try, said Maj. Roger Bannon, 48, of Fortson, one of the researchers. A few can't cope with the battery of probing questionnaires that can dredge up bad memories of childhood. Some go into counseling.

Search for 'biomarkers'

Reeves and Dr. James F. Jones, both experts on chronic fatigue at the CDC, are studying the blood of trainees for stress "biomarkers" they hope will predict which ones are most likely to have trouble. Jones was recruited to work for the CDC four years ago after 20 years at the University of Colorado.

Psychologists from a handful of universities, including Emory, are also participating in the study, focusing on signals as to who's likely to get pushed over the edge by stress.

From the time the recruits pour off the buses that bring them to Fort Benning, the stress is unrelenting.

They're greeted with screams. Their heads are sheared. They're told not to talk or lean against walls, that they can't go to the bathroom without permission. They're yelled at during close-order drill, while running, in mess-hall lines, and when they're tear-gassed (to prepare them for gas attacks).

The first do-or-die test of their susceptibility to life's stressors comes on the rifle range, where the trainees are told they must learn to shoot straight or they'll either fail or start all over again, which could be psychologically disastrous, said Army Col. Richard Gonzalez, 52, the study's principal investigator.

Gonzalez dreamed up the project after returning to Fort Benning from a 14-month stint as a front-line surgeon in Afghanistan.

"In Afghanistan, soldiers were constantly fatigued," said Gonzalez, a physician and chief of the Departments of Surgery and Warrior Care at Fort Benning's Martin Army Community Hospital. "When I got back here last year, I saw the same kind of fatigue [among trainees]. I wanted to look at soldiers from the beginning, wondering about stress-related problems."

As a scientist and 30-year Army veteran, he began a search for answers in medical journals, and found peer-reviewed studies indicating CDC researchers had isolated stress markers in the blood that correlated with extreme fatigue.

The markers are proteins and hormones in the blood, and they can reveal how much stress a person has endured during a lifetime, Gonzalez said.

A rush of stress hormones or proteins, said the CDC's Jones, not only can trigger mental problems, but also can weaken a soldier's immune system and bones, leading to stress fractures that are common in basic training.

Constantly frazzled

On Malone Range 11, the men can see their sergeants, but also observers like Reeves, an energetic man who on one recent day walked up and down behind the firing line, dressed in black uniform, black boots and a black boonie field hat that made his snow-white beard stand out.

Pvt. Michael Jaramillo, 23, of Madison said the firing range is nerve-wracking "because nobody wants to fail."

It's a no-brainer that the recruits are constantly frazzled, but Gonzalez wants to look for under-the-skin signs of life's accumulated stress that he hopes will provide clues about which soldiers may have problems in combat -- or sooner.

After finding studies that seemed to describe illnesses in troops he'd seen firsthand, both in Afghanistan and at Fort Benning, he applied for and won a $250,000 grant from the Army's scientific arm and contacted the CDC, which embraced the idea.

Gonzalez said his hope is that blood markers found in recruits will give the Army the information it needs to make training less stressful. A change in diet, or vitamins and medicines could bolster their health.

When the recruits of Echo Company got off their buses in early September, they not only were greeted by sergeants bellowing orders, but also by Bannon, a wisecracker who calmly explained to the privates that a study was about to start and that they could volunteer to answer a few extra questionnaires and give a little more blood than other rookies. Most volunteered and agreed to give more blood and answer more questions on sick call visits and at the end of training in December.

"We have the blood and urine before training starts that should tell us something about their stress," Bannon said. "We'll have that to compare with the same markers if they wash out or get recycled or sent to medical rehab. And then we'll test it all again after the ones who make it graduate. It's a perfect laboratory."

Bannon said, "Our hypothesis is that those who get through will show fewer biological stress factors than those who don't or those who get hurt or go on sick call a lot."

In the spring, Bannon said, a similar study will be done at Fort Jackson, S.C., on female recruits, who wash out at three times the rate of men. Then the scientists will try out various interventions on new recruits, hoping to see if small changes in routine or diet can help.

"It's a good bet that people with a lot of stress markers will have more trouble than those who don't," Bannon said.

Body stores stress

Stress, Bannon said, "is permanent but it's also dynamic. From the time you were born, your central nervous system started experiencing stressors. If you had an abusive stepparent who drank Budweiser and whenever he drank, he got very violent and hit you with his red shovel over the head, the stress is stored in your body."

Psychological tests, he said, can reveal whether a soldier came from a bad environment at home and is just looking for a new home in the Army.

Jones, 64, isn't as flamboyant as Reeves, who is given to shooting any kind of weapon he can get his hands on and even crawling around under live rifle fire in the dark with recruits.

Reeves also fired an M16-A2 right alongside the recruits, and did as well as an expert marksman.

Inside the CDC, he's just known as an expert on physiological markers of cumulative wear and tear on the body caused by inadequate adaptation to accumulated stress.

"No study has specifically evaluated these variables as risk factors for injury, illness or heat exhaustion following acute stress," Gonzalez said. "Once we find that elevated [stress levels] indicate a soldier at risk, you can train him differently, smarter, employ relaxation techniques. This is what we hope."

U.S. Army demographics

2005 -- White: 66.9%, Black: 14.5%, Hispanic: 13.2%

2001 -- White: 60.2%, Black: 22.3%, Hispanic: 10.5%

Average age of recruits -- 2005: 20.8 years, 2001: 19.8 years

Source: Chicago Tribune

[soldierdoc_2005]

Originally Posted by Warrior-Mentor

Atlanta Journal-Constitution
November 15, 2006
Pg. 1

Why Do Some Army Recruits Fail?

Source: Chicago Tribune

Probably could have saved them a lot of money and time with a simple summary statement:

"Like most everything in life, it ain't for everyone..."

[Gene Econ]

Originally Posted by Warrior-Mentor

preparing to fire their M16-A2 assault rifles for the first time under the gaze of bellowing drill sergeants.

"Bellowing" drill sergeants is the reason. 99 percent of them are morons who would urinate or soil their trousers if they were ever forced to prove their marksmanship ability in front of those recurits.

Threatening recruits on a rifle range is moronic beyond description. Treating recruits as morons who can't be soldiers until they prove themselves by doing stupid things that require no thought or common sense is worse.

You want a professional force? Breed a professional force through leadership and action based on intelligence as opposed to ego building intimidation.

This goes for SFAS as well as Basic IMHO.

Gene

[Kyobanim]

You want a professional force? Breed a professional force through leadership and action based on intelligence as opposed to ego building intimidation.

.

[BMT (RIP)]

This is stuff I have given alot of thought to in the last 40+ years. I have no problem smoking their ass.

BRM or WTF it's called now is best taught by a committee of QUALIFIED instructors. Ain't no way in hell each BCT Co. has the same standards of training for BRM.

I think back to my time as a DS. Our range time was taken very serious. If we had a trainee on the zero range having problems, we pulled him off the line and explained to him how to correct that problem. Some just don't understand what you are trying to teach them.Maybe they think breathing, trigger squeeze is BS. Sarge I never had a problem shootin' my Granddaddies shotgun!! ;-)

I wonder how many trainee's have NEVER fired a weapon??

I could go on an on but I'll stop for now and let someone else comment.

BMT

[incommin]

"Bellowing" drill sergeants is the reason. 99 percent of them are morons who would urinate or soil their trousers if they were ever forced to prove their marksmanship ability in front of those recruits."

You don't like Drill Sergeants?????

I do not know how it is today, but since the Army has become a "kinder and more gentile place" when dealing with trainees.......I doubt range week is different from when I was a Drill Sergeant. In my day there was no screaming on the range. Drill Sergeants spent days with poor shooters reteaching and practicing sight picture and trigger control exercises.

I would classify very few Drill Sergeants as morons. And all of us could take a trainee's weapon and qualify with it. Each of had to qualify annually and if you didn't qualify in the expert range..... you had remedial training and re-qualified.

Jim

[BMT (RIP)]

This is the first time in their life they have EVER been on a schedule.

Think back most of us here are from a diffirent era.
1. Did you have a bedtime?
2. Did you eat 3 meals a day?
3. Did you have certain chore's to do after school?

Majority of today's trainee's never had or did any of the above!!

Another failure of Mom and Pop to properly raise their children. New babies do not have a owner's manual stenciled on their ass when they are born.

BMT

[incommin]

Is stress the reason for trainee failures? I don't think so. How we view things is what raises or lowers stress levels. A weak willed and weak minded individual is a weak ass and does not belong in the military.

If a trainee can not handle the stress of basic training and weapons qualification how is he or she going to handle a firefight, getting ambushed, or seeing friends die? If the wheat can no longer be separated from the chaff in basic, where is the point at which it should be done?

Jim

[Team Sergeant]

Originally Posted by incommin

Is stress the reason for trainee failures? I don't think so. How we view things is what raises or lowers stress levels. A weak willed and weak minded individual is a weak ass and does not belong in the military.

If a trainee can not handle the stress of basic training and weapons qualification how is he or she going to handle a firefight, getting ambushed, or seeing friends die? If the wheat can no longer be separated from the chaff in basic, where is the point at which it should be done?

Jim

I could not agree more. Mental toughness is hard to imbue in those that have hid behind mommy's apron strings all their lives.

Gene, I don't agree with you on this. I think basic should be as stressful as we can make it in order to weed out the sissies before we place them on the battlefield. I would rather a kid go home and flip burgers than be sent home to his mom in a flag drapped box.

Why don't we have a SFAS for basic training? A stress test to seperate those that would be warriors from those that should never face an armed enemy?

[x SF med]

Originally Posted by BMT

This is the first time in their life they have EVER been on a schedule.

Think back most of us here are from a diffirent era.
1. Did you have a bedtime?
2. Did you eat 3 meals a day?
3. Did you have certain chore's to do after school?

Majority of today's trainee's never had or did any of the above!!

Another failure of Mom and Pop to properly raise their children. New babies do not have a owner's manual stenciled on their ass when they are born.

BMT

I agree with all of the above, but would like to add a few things -
Discipline - from the 'rents and self discipline is lacking.
A sense of entitlement - kids aren't asked to work for anything, (see discipline) and therfore have no value to place on what they get.
At home, I want becomes I get - and upon joining the service - the culture shock of I want, therefore I must work in order to excel and prove that I am worthy to get, is so foreign that the mollycoddled wusses scream unfair. Soldiering is not for the faint of heart, the weak of spirit, nor those unwilling to work for it - soldiering is stressful, requires commitment, requires work, requires discipline, and requires integrity. Those kids joining the military that think it's just a job, that scream when sent into harm's way, that desert for the same reason - aren't soldiers - soldiers realize that even if you are a clerk you are an American Fighting Man, and may be called upon to go to battle, that is your job, first and foremost.

***rant over*** now back to our regularly scheduled discussions.....

[Five-O]

In my mind stress is critical in the formation of a dependable warrior. USMC has been turing out a good product with high stress fast paced training environment. While the idea that every Marine is a rifleman is a little far flung you have to appreciate the intent and mentality of that philosophy. Keep stress levels high and if the recruit can't take it kindly show him the door and give him a t-shirt for his efforts.

[sg1987]

BMT,
I'm fully convinced that you've hit the nail right on the head!!! (for what its worth)

It seems to me the Army is getting really desperate. We have a new soldier in our platoon, and his explanation for being late to our first formation was that he had a wild night last night. Apparently he had to go to the commisary--then he dropped a friend off at Blockbuster, and then he babysat a neigbhor's dog, and he wasnt used to a dog sleeping in his bed, it was wild-- so he didnt get any sleep. A wild night sleeping with a dog. Personal Responsibility. Loyalty. Personal Honor. I dont think the military really champion those virtues anymore, things seem to have transitioned over to the corporate schema. Risk assesments popping up for every possible activity is also de-emphasizing personal responsibility. But, honestly I cant even understand what kind of household raised these children, maybe that's because I had an overbearing military father. If I wanted something I always had to work for it by doing household chores, or getting a summer job, etc. Even at eleven, as insane as it sounds; I wanted to quit the Boy scouts, and my father made me honor my commitment for that final year. I resented that at the time, but I relish the opportunity he gave me now as I have not degenerated into the type of person I regularly see around me. Sighs.


Jorje

[incommin]

I think we are back to statistics again. Commanders looking to achieve 100 percent in all things. That is how they get graded. Therefore it is more important to graduate as close to 100 percent of a company of trainees than graduate those who show the potential to be good soldiers and eliminate the weak.

Jim

[Jack Moroney (RIP)]

Originally Posted by incommin

Commanders looking to achieve 100 percent in all things. That is how they get graded. Therefore it is more important to graduate as close to 100 percent of a company of trainees than graduate those who show the potential to be good soldiers and eliminate the weak.Jim

I have never been associated with basic training or basic traninees so I can only assume you must be talking about your own experience and knowledge here because it certainly does not measure up to my meager experiences in other environments. We all sort of went throught this zero defeck mentality back in the 70's where everything had to be perfeck. But speaking as a person who has been a "commander" I have never allowed myself to be measured by nor have I measured my subordinate "commanders" by their ability to achieve 100 percent in all things. While some things were invioable in my book they had more to do with qualities and not quantities. That is not to be confused with holding folks accountable for meeting standards of performance for particular tasks and under specified conditions.