Something Worth Dying For
The Military and the Stories we Tell About it
There’s a video going around of something called “Alpha Bootcamp.”
It’s an $18k caricature of military basic training that ostensibly will make the attendees more manly or something.
The scorn is near-universal, but it’s loudest detractors are actual military veterans. You know, people who went to real boot camp?
The reason for this sneering has nothing to do with the physical rigors of the “Alphas” and their pretend boot camp. It has to do with the purpose of their little excursion—which is largely self-aggrandizing.
It’s Not About You
In the all-volunteer service since the end of Vietnam, all of us who served did so with purpose. And our training was conducted accordingly.
Drill instructors don’t yell at you for fun. They don’t nitpick how you hold your canteen just cuz. They scream at you to get you accustomed to functioning in stressful environments.
They demand you hold your arm in a perfect 90-degree angle to foment muscle memory for holding your rifle properly. It has a purpose. An…