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I am programmed.
Military conditioning

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I am programmed.

Wax
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Posted 05/25/08 - 12:31 AM: Subject: I am programmed.	#1
As some of you may remember I joined the Army at the beginning of last year. Its been nearly 18 months now, and I still have another 6 months at Royal Military Collage Duntroon before I join the wider Army. I recognized that RMC was a highly effective brainwashing and conditioning center before I joined but I am noticing some very strong changes in my behavior. 1. Alpha male. To be an army officer you need to be an alpha. Cadets join with a tendency towards it and this is built upon until we are headstrong, aggressive and dominant in a group. The effect that has in the collage is that any pers that shows weakness is, I wouldn't call it bullying, but singled out until they show strength and stand up for themselves. Most people don't notice this happening but a group of us have discussed it a few times. 2. Turn and face. When fired upon a soldier will turn and charge towards the direction of shot. We are drilled in doing this and every contact scenario our basic drill, that is the initial action, is to turn and face then charge one bound towards the shot while laying down enough fire to regain the initiative. A few weeks ago I was having a lie in the sun when a mate threw something at me, striking me in the ear. With out thinking I was up and charged him, tackling him to the ground before he realized what was happening. In his words 'I have never seen you move so fast'. I did this without decision to move but as a conditioned reaction. 3. Echo. The echo system is used during battle to communicate to all pers. It is when an order, indication or instruction is given each pers in yells it so it reaches all people and acknowledgment is evident through correct relay. During our basic training all instructions have to be relayed in this manner. Now when anyone yells something I have a very strong urge to echo it on. 4. SMEAC. Format for delivery of orders. Situation, Mission, Execution, Administration and logistics, Command and signals. You can fail for not using this format. I naturally use it when describing something or giving instructions, even to civilian mates and family. 5. Appreciation process. Time and space, mission, enemy, terrain, develop courses of action, decision and execution. This is becoming natural enters my head with almost everything i do, from cleaning my room to going shopping. It also ruins action movies for me. These five things are just the noticeable occurances. I'm sure there are many more as my family have commented that I am almost a different person to who I used to be. There is no question here. Just some observations for consideration. If you have any questions or considerations for me please ask.
Progress (n) advancement, progress (gradual improvement or growth or development)

Absolutely Relative
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Posted 05/26/08 - 09:41 AM:	#2
Welcome to a new culture. You will have more in common with the foreigners you fight than your own countrymen. It is the nature of the beast. Be glad for the changes, they will save your life, and more importantly your buddy's life in an evil world. Just be aware of the changes in your personality when you take them home, they don't mesh well with normal folk. Oh, and sir, if you are afraid of your soldiers when you meet them, do worry, they can smell fear.
It is what it is.

bittersteel
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Posted 06/03/08 - 11:04 AM:	#3
I get it as far Turning and Facing the direction of the shot goes...why would you charge towards an enemy?...wouldnt a better alternative be to move sideways towards cover while facing the enemy...a target moving sideways is harder to hit than one that moves in the direction of the gun (?) My own idea works effectively in counter-strike and other FPS games, but i dont know how it would do in real life...Could you please elaborate the 2nd point?

spencer135
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Posted 06/03/08 - 11:27 AM:	#4
bittersteel wrote: I get it as far Turning and Facing the direction of the shot goes...why would you charge towards an enemy?...wouldnt a better alternative be to move sideways towards cover while facing the enemy...a target moving sideways is harder to hit than one that moves in the direction of the gun (?) My own idea works effectively in counter-strike and other FPS games, but i dont know how it would do in real life...Could you please elaborate the 2nd point? I don't know much about it, but I think it's because most of the time when they fight it's more long distance, so they teach you to move in the direction of the fire, and take cover, to create a defense. Everyone can't just start panning sideways. Also if someone is shooting at you you need to take them out quick, like with the rock example, he probably would have taken a few bullets, but it would have saved his life. It's interesting to read how they teach you. But you must realize that many things throughout everyones life are just 'programming' you. Is school any different? School tries to do the same thing only with your mind.
"A hero is born among a hundred, a wise man is found among a thousand, but an accomplished one might not be found even among a hundred thousand men." Plato

Wax
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Posted 06/03/08 - 12:02 PM:	#5
The method in point 2 is to regain the initiative. During the initial contact drill (run, down, crawl, observe, aim, fire) Each person in the platoon lays down a fairly heavy volume of fire, suppressing the enemy thus restricting their actions and preventing them from firing. The movement towards them orients the Pl and has an amount of shock and awe on the enemy. From there you have the initiative, can suppress them and thus have freedom of action. Running sideways would make it impossible to take well aimed shots as well has having the same effect on us as them (firing against a enemy moving crossways). Also, by run I mean 2 or 3 steps. Anything else will get you shot as it takes 1.5 seconds for the trained soldier to acquire a sight picture and fire. Running sideways will also put you infront of the 30 odd men that are firing as well. spencer135 wrote: I think it's because most of the time when they fight it's more long distance... 90% of engagements during and since Vietnam have been within 50m. To add to the running sideways point, I'm not the best shot in the Corps by far yet I can hit a target sprinting crossways at 100m first shot, every shot. spencer135 wrote: he probably would have taken a few bullets, but it would have saved his life. One bullet is game over. The NATO F1 Ball round will blow a hole in the back of a flesh target the size of a tennis ball. School does do the same thing but not on this scale and school attempts to instill some individualism. Here we are all pushed towards the same model. RMC works mostly on the mind, effective command decisions are the desired end result of our thought process and as mentioned, there is a formal process for analysis. If anyone is interested I can start a thread on Infantry Minor Tactics in community and answer any questions. Send me a PM or note here on what areas people are interested in.
Progress (n) advancement, progress (gradual improvement or growth or development)

bittersteel
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Posted 06/04/08 - 12:54 AM:	#6
Most of my delusions about infantry tactics, guns etc come from film and gaming...and im pretty sure they're not reliable...It would be cool if you could start that thread... A big doubt I've always had has to do with the accuracy of the enemy...how well trained do you have to be in order to get a shot that kills?...and from what distance? (with a handgun) And I've always been interested in what you do when you're unarmed and find yourself face to face with(or being chased by) an enemy with a gun...It looks cool when jason bourne grabs the gun out of the bad guy's hands, but Im pretty sure I'll get myself shot if I try anything like that...what would you do in a situation like this? run away? hide? run to the kitchen for a knife? grab the nearest household object (eg a book) and chuck it at the guy with the gun? try to grab his weapon hand(s) with both your hands and try to direct his weapon away? How good does being behind a locked door help? Can any ordinary gun be used to force open a door? It would be cool if you could start that thread...but more from the point of view of regular civilians...and in an urban setting... covering the sort of situations in which we MIGHT find ourselves

Howl
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Posted 06/05/08 - 01:51 PM:	#7
Wax wrote: One bullet is game over. The NATO F1 Ball round will blow a hole in the back of a flesh target the size of a tennis ball. I wonder if this sentence constitutes another change? Before you joined the corps, would you have actually referred to a person as 'a flesh target'? There is a really wonderful book you should read. It is called "On Killing" and it is written by a bonafide genius named Lt. Col Dave Grossman. Lt. Col. Grossman was in Special Ops during the Vietnam war and, while he never personally killed anyone, he was around enough killing to see how it changes people. Good luck to you mate, you're engaged in something really interesting! How many people get to watch themselves being socialized?
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Absolutely Relative
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Posted 06/06/08 - 02:13 AM:	#8
bittersteel wrote: Most of my delusions about infantry tactics, guns etc come from film and gaming...and im pretty sure they're not reliable...It would be cool if you could start that thread... A big doubt I've always had has to do with the accuracy of the enemy...how well trained do you have to be in order to get a shot that kills?...and from what distance? (with a handgun) Handguns are short range, inaccurate and weak firearms. 50m is considered maximum effective rage for our (U.S.) 9mm handgun. That is vs 550m (point target) with the M16. At those ranges you can reasonably expect to put effective fire on a man-sized target (reasonable expectation of a hit). bittersteel wrote: And I've always been interested in what you do when you're unarmed and find yourself face to face with(or being chased by) an enemy with a gun...It looks cool when jason bourne grabs the gun out of the bad guy's hands, but Im pretty sure I'll get myself shot if I try anything like that...what would you do in a situation like this? run away? hide? run to the kitchen for a knife? grab the nearest household object (eg a book) and chuck it at the guy with the gun? try to grab his weapon hand(s) with both your hands and try to direct his weapon away? If you are fairly sure they mean to kill you, kill them. Close the distance to under 1m, to where the weapon is of less consequence, and try to kill them until one of you is dead. If they simply mean to rob you, just give them the money. bittersteel wrote: How good does being behind a locked door help? Can any ordinary gun be used to force open a door? It would be cool if you could start that thread...but more from the point of view of regular civilians...and in an urban setting... covering the sort of situations in which we MIGHT find ourselves I think it would depend on the door and if you are up against someone with a handgun or up against 9 angry but professional infantrymen with assault rifles, automatic rifles, grenades, body armor and training to match.
It is what it is.

Lord Drivel
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Posted 06/06/08 - 10:15 PM:	#9
Wax wrote: As some of you may remember I joined the Army at the beginning of last year. Its been nearly 18 months now, and I still have another 6 months at Royal Military Collage Duntroon before I join the wider Army. I recognized that RMC was a highly effective brainwashing and conditioning center before I joined but I am noticing some very strong changes in my behavior. There is no question here. Just some observations for consideration. If you have any questions or considerations for me please ask. Wax, you sound as if you enjoy being programmed, and if you are now truly robotic it seems rather quaint discussing the issue of your programming with you. Why exactly do you want to be programmed, and if you are too programmed is that likely to make you an effective officer? I notice you spell 'programmed' correctly as an Englishman, but you spell 'Centre' as an American would.Just curious. Edited by Lord Drivel on 06/06/08 - 10:23 PM

Wax
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Posted 06/07/08 - 04:53 PM:	#10
Lord Drivel wrote: Wax, you sound as if you enjoy being programmed, and if you are now truly robotic it seems rather quaint discussing the issue of your programming with you. Why exactly do you want to be programmed, and if you are too programmed is that likely to make you an effective officer? I notice you spell 'programmed' correctly as an Englishman, but you spell 'Centre' as an American would.Just curious. I do enjoy the change, I know that it will make me a good officer. The training isn't to make someone a robot but to make them think in a certain way about problems that cover all aspects of a scenario. If one action on is left out there can be dire consequences. Blame my spell checker. I'm an atrocious speller so I let firefox fix it for me.
Progress (n) advancement, progress (gradual improvement or growth or development)

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