# Angry drill instructors
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angry-drill-instructors/822244
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [October 1, 2018, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angry-drill-instructors/822244 "2018-10-01T06:47:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 6
**Page:** 3
### Author:  [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2018, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angry-drill-instructors/822244/41 "2018-10-04T02:12:20Z")
> [@Melbourne](#):
>
> The Israeli military is known to do less yelling and intimidation than the US military. For whatever reason. But I think that the reason might be partly that they mostly do guard duty, and occupy their own country: entry level grunts need to be trained to be polite to people, and to operate at peak efficiency in places where nothing is happening for long periods of time.
There’s probably also a factor from there being true Universal Service. When \*everyone \*has to go through it, and you are defending right in the home town or just a short drive away, getting into the soldier mentality is not as much of a totally alien exercise as it is to the average American.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2018, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angry-drill-instructors/822244/42 "2018-10-04T09:47:52Z")
> [@Melbourne](#):
>
> There are some tasks you have to learn to do while people are shooting at you. Some of this training is done in a stressful environment, because you have to learn to do things in a stressful environment. But (1) some militaries work mostly in environments where people aren’t shooting at them. (I put the Israeli military in this category), and (2) even for the shock troops like the US marines, there’s a lot more to being in the marines than just being shot at.
>
> The Israeli military is known to do less yelling and intimidation than the US military. For whatever reason. But I think that the reason might be partly that they mostly do guard duty, and occupy their own country: entry level grunts need to be trained to be polite to people, and to operate at peak efficiency in places where nothing is happening for long periods of time.
Sorry, but that’s wrong. Ignoring the fact that most of what combat troops in \*any \*military do is stand guard and go on patrol (and that includes troops deployed in combat zones), the Israeli Army trains for war - real, army-against-army, tank-against-tank war. In fact, part of the IDF’s distinctive characteristics, come from a “permanent war” mindset. Who cares about stuff like saluting, ironed uniforms and following regulations to the letter when there’s a war on? It’s no coincidence that the only war movies where the U.S. military looks familiar to me are those set in WW2.
No, just because the IDF doesn’t believe that abuse is the only form of applied stress, that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t put its troops through the wringer when it has to. As the saying goes, “Train hard, fight easy” (we stole that saying from the Russians, I think). It just goes about it differently. Less abuse, fewer individual/more collective punishments, and a greater emphasis on teamwork.
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### Author:  [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2018, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angry-drill-instructors/822244/43 "2018-10-04T09:50:23Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#):
>
> There’s probably also a factor from there being true Universal Service. When \*everyone \*has to go through it, and you are defending right in the home town or just a short drive away, getting into the soldier mentality is not as much of a totally alien exercise as it is to the average American.
Also, almost everyone who serves is effectively part of a military family, which means that soldiers know a lot more about the military going in, and get plenty of advice - and needling - from their friends, parents and siblings.
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### Author:  [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2018, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angry-drill-instructors/822244/44 "2018-10-04T15:16:29Z")
My memories of Basic are almost 30 years old. There is yelling. There are shark attacks. Those memories stay with you. But to be honest it’s not like it’s portrayed in Hollywood. It’s not constant yelling. There are lots of examples of humor that the drill sergeants used. The impression you would get from this thread and from Hollywood is its 24 hours screaming. It’s mostly instruction. I had actual conversations with them.
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### Author:  [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)
#### Post date: [October 4, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angry-drill-instructors/822244/45 "2018-10-04T22:11:20Z")
> [@DesertDog](#):
>
> Here are [five questions](https://www.wearethemighty.com/lists/5-questions-you-can-use-to-challenge-stolen-valor-dirtbags) that are easy to use and would work pretty good.
>
> For the pistol, ask the serial number. There are sites out there that can track it back to it’s point of origin if not illustrious owners. I’d also ask how he got a hold of it even if he is a duper-duper world’s best sniper given a double secret medal by Obama himself only nobody can talk about it.
>
> Not sure why a Marine would deign to own a pistol that was possessed by a mere Army general, anyway. Chesty Puller, OTOH… 🙂
I don’t think #4 is useful.
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### Author:  [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)
#### Post date: [October 5, 2018, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/angry-drill-instructors/822244/46 "2018-10-05T08:47:11Z")
> [@DesertDog](#):
>
> Here are [five questions](https://www.wearethemighty.com/lists/5-questions-you-can-use-to-challenge-stolen-valor-dirtbags) that are easy to use and would work pretty good.
>
> For the pistol, ask the serial number. There are sites out there that can track it back to it’s point of origin if not illustrious owners. I’d also ask how he got a hold of it even if he is a duper-duper world’s best sniper given a double secret medal by Obama himself only nobody can talk about it.
>
> Not sure why a Marine would deign to own a pistol that was possessed by a mere Army general, anyway. Chesty Puller, OTOH… 🙂
Is that a boomer pin on the chub club member at the bottom?!
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