My dad 'spanked' bare in army

This goes back to WWll---My dad joined at 17 and during training at Camp Adair Or his drill sergeant spanked his bare butt over his knee like a dad would do. it was for an act which my dad did not realize was wrong-----He said other guys saw it and that it actually got spanked bare also--he said they were very young like he was----Two yrs alter he saw the drill sergeant in another city and told him the story of his bare spanking---He bought the guy a drink and said he was a good guy as they conversed---My dad was easy going and did not hold grudges. he did say the bare spanking really hurt. I realize there was probably a regulation against corporal punishment but this guy did it any way----Did any guy get spanked while in the service? Do any readers who seem to know WWll history have any knowledge of this happening thanks for info

Did I see . . .? Hell, no, but I saw endless other sorts of hazing and physical punishment that resulted in one suicide in my San Diego recruit company — the type of stuff that would grant courts martial if continued in todays' "new" Navy. Still, the old ways are better than the lowered standards of what todays' "entitled" recruits contend with.

Todays military professionals aren't recruits - they are volunteers. Enlistment standards are much higher than 40-50 years ago. They don't accept someone based on a draft number, or that a court said join the army or go to prison. The younger generation may be more entitled - but they give up those entitlements to serve our country. Due to changes in technology, warfare, level of competence, better delegation of responsibility and empowerment, and the willingness of our military personnel to work as a team, you can't compare one generation to another. No army in history could stand up to ours today.

FYI, Rigel, I was a patriotic and dedicated volunteer from just before the Nam war kicked off and, when it did, my first, second, and third choices for duty assignments were to go to Nam. I had listened to each and every live speech of JFK's evening broadcasts via TV and radio and what impressed me most was his words, "Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country." When men and women today volunteer for service in the armed forces and enlist, yes, they most certainly do begin as recruits and go through recruit training (see http://www.bootcamp.navy.mil/). Furthermore, I had dearly wanted to enlist in a six-year program to serve aboard a nuclear sub (notwithstanding news of the USS Thresher in 1963) and later, at NAS Millington, spoke with a SEAL recruiter to enlist in that program. On both counts, my less than 20/20 eyesight disqualified me.

If you, Rigel, were keeping in touch with the "Early Bird Briefs" published daily by the editors of Defense News and Military Times as I do each morning, you would see a different picture of today's military than what you suggest. It is reported that military personnel today tend to be generally overweight and ofttimes even obese to the point of alarming senior defense officials (see https://www.militarytimes.com/off-duty/military-culture/2018/10/03/a-staggering-number-of-troops-are-fat-and-tired-report-says/). They do not always "work as a team" among their sometimes overbearing peers and commanding officers who are similarly out of touch and unfit to command. Such reports are not isolated or infrequent. Many of the team I worked with in my former squadron I remain in close contact with today as brothers.

Technology I worked with in the '60s was state of the art in its day and will soon outdate current technology and we were just as dedicated to our tasks as any servicemen of our time could be and as were so many other volunteers in all wars fought. There were occasions when I worked well beyond my twelve-hour shift aboard ship to repair and sign off maintenance on a plane in time to get it into a pending strike cycle and see it armed, fueled, and sent aloft. In 2010, I made a personal pilgrimage to visit and honor the shrine of those seamen killed aboard the USS Cole at NAS Oceana at Virginia Beach.

It appears you, Rigel, are grossly out of touch with the reality of the times and your actual "knowledge" seems very limited. You really need to re-educate yourself and I suggest you start here: https://www.militarytimes.com/ebb/ and learn to separate fact from fiction.

FYI, Rigel, I was a patriotic and dedicated volunteer ....

You are very proud of yourself and your service - as you should be. Thank you for your service.

It appears you, Rigel, are grossly out of touch with the reality of the times and your actual "knowledge" seems very limited.

I don't think so. I don't dwell on the past - I look to the future. Spent a lot of time at Fort Bragg and Fort Lewis McChord and have seen first hand the soldiers and some of the training. They would stand up to anyone.

Still, the old ways are better than the lowered standards of what todays' "entitled" recruits contend with.

Completely disagree with that statement. I do not believe the old ways (whatever that is) are better and I don't believe todays standards are lower. Today's military literally holds the fate of our future Why belittle them if only to prop yourself up?

You are entitled to your opinion- I'm entitled to mine.

Let's just agree to disagree.

"Let's just agree to disagree."

Am okay with that . . . and must add that my comments were in regard to my Navy experience. I was unaware of your Army perspective and am happy to know the Army has shown improvement in fifty years.

It might interest you to know that a veteran of the Ia Drang Valley battle with the Army's 1st Air Cav Division as depicted in Mel Gibson's "We Were Soldiers" flick resides in my town and is a local Royal Canadian Legionnaire. He remembers Col. Hal Moore.