How is this fair to punish everyone in the platoon?

Question

My boyfriend is attending basic training at Fort Sill and it set to graduate in 3 weeks. Three days ago, 3 guys in his platoon were caught with Skoal which I know is contraband in their barracks. Now the whole platoon is not allowed to use the phones (totally understandable) and will not get leave on Family Day.

He said the 3 guys were given an Article 15, bumped down in rank, lost pay and are having to do extra duty. I think they deserve that and more (it brings to mind the scene from Full Metal Jacket with the soap in a sock) because they knew the rules when they went to basic.

I just don't think that it's fair to punish everyone because of 3 stupid people. I can see them losing their Family Day leave but not everyone else especially since they didn't even know that those guys had it.

Answer 1

the military, mostly in basic training enforces mass punnsihment to show the Soldiers that they are part of something bigger.  Additionally most of the time if one person in the platoon was doing something the entire platoon ussualy knows about it.  Therefore by not informing the DS they too are involved.  It is complicated but think of it this way:  If that was iraq and one of the soldiers in the platoon was doing somethin wrong, lets say sleeping on gaurd, He could get the entire platoon killed.

Answer 2

Nothing ever stays the same for long.  Three weeks from now your boyfriend will probably be able to take his Family Day.  Drill Instructors punish the whole unit because if one person forgets their attention to detail it could mean a life lost!  The DI also wants to know how the others will react to the situation.  A reaction speaks volumes about a person's character!

Lastly, it is the military.  Your boyfriend is now Government Issued (GI) and that means that if he loses his Family Day then so be it.  It's not the end of the world!

Answer 3

welcome to the military

Answer 4

yeah its not fair but everyone acts as a team :one falls they all fall: it gives better moral to the boys.

Answer 5

Those three guys did not do what they did in the dark.  At least one other guy had to have known they were doing it yet no one spoke up.   The guys on the platoon should have enforced the rules themselves by taking it away from the guys.  

In the military a unit sinks or swims together.  It is only as strong as the weakest link.  It is a hard less to learn and it is better they all learned it in basic instead of on the front line.  

If you are planning on marrying your boy friend you need to learn that military wives do not whine for their husbands.   He is suppose to be a man and stand up for himself and what is right.   If you pull something like this as his wife you will hurt his career a great deal.

Answer 6

I think its great.  

Sucks to be your boyfriend right about now, but you know he's going to think twice before he breaks any rules from here on out.  And so is every other person in the platoon.  Plus the chewing those three guys will get from other members of the platoon is going to be a much punishment than anything the DI could give out.  

Answer 7

They are a team, one unit. If one screws up, they all s***w up. You have to be able to depend on the man next to you.. and apparently they can't. They suppose to be watching out for one another, that even means bringing it up with the Chain of command when they know or suspect someone is breaking the rules...(should take it up with the offenders first to get them to dump the contraband)

Answer 8

It's called 'guilt by association' which is a hallmark of a communist or n**i society.  It didn't used to be a legal fixture in America when this was a free, Christian nation but now America's just an appendage of false israel, Palestine, (thanks to you guys in the military) and 'guilt by association' is law over there.

Answer 9

because they  as a TEAM  screwed up because three members of their team screwed up.   Its all about them functioning as a unit, they are not individuals any more.  

Answer 10

The idea is everyone is part of a team and if some one in the team messes up the entire team suffers.  Despite the "Army of One" and "Let the Army Join You" recruiting stuff the military is all about teamwork.  I would guarantee that some one or more then one person knew what was going on and didn't stop it or have them trash the Skoal and if no one did know then it means they weren't operating together as a team.

Answer 11

It's fair and it goes by tradition since most ancient times. Even in British boarding schools discipline was a collective thing. Army is not for everyone. If you want something milder, let your boyfriend work in an office. You are lucky that he isn't part of ancient Mongol army or Roman army. They had decimation for cases of group retreat.  

Answer 12

There is no fair in the military.  They are training them to work as a whole, not as individuals. If they didn't do this think about how much danger soldiers would be in when in combat if everyone thought of themselves and not their comrades.  It sucks but it is necessary to build a cohesive military unit.  The week before my friend, who is a 1SG left for deployment, a couple guys got busted in town for drinking, and he banned alcohol for the whole company.  Just the way it is, you can't go around making bone-headed mistakes like that or you make it dangerous for everyone in your unit.

Answer 13

Yes it is fair because there were probably a lot of people other than those 3 who knew they had skoal but did not say anything and let them bring the contraband in so the whole platoon has to be punished.  

Answer 14

That is the way the military works.  I went to my daughter's graduation from Basic Training and was not allowed to spend any off time with her because of two girls in her squadron that had broken curfew rules.  This is not uncommon, it is the military.  

Answer 15

It is VERY fair! The whole idea is to promote whats referred to as 'Unit Cohesion', that everyone in the unit is a part of the whole not an individual. That not only are you your brother's keeper even if your hand offends thee, you still can't cut it off!

Answer 16

The military is teaching them all something right now.

As my Drill SGT said, "One goes down, you all go down. Welcome to the Army privates".

And believe me, as much as not having family day sucks (and it does suck) it tends to upset the family more than the soldiers because they know they will be home about 48 hours after that. The family can still attend all ceremonies, but it's normally the pass that is lost.

By the way...dont be surprised if they get the pass back. Basic Training is a mindf**k and a half.  

Answer 17

The whole concept of Basic is to teach a person that the actions of one affect the entire unit.  

There are no "individuals" in Basic, therefore the "crimes" of what you believe are individuals are actually the crimes of the entire unit.  

It's absolutely fair that the entire platoon got punished.  Welcome to the military way of life.

I do think that an Article 15 is excessive for the individuals, and were I their Platoon Leader, I'd have fought that beyond the point of it being unwise.  That was wrong.

But yeah, mass punishment even when you know who did it is the right thing to do in Basic.

*** I was in Airborne School when I was a Lieutenant, and one of the enlisted members of my Stick was late to formation. We weren't sure why, but someone knew he was in the barracks.  The Black Hat (whom I outranked by grade, but not position) dropped the formation for pushups UNTIL THE GUILTY PARTY ARRIVED.  The guilty party was the only one NOT punished.  I didn't complain, I did the pushups.  I figured the rest of the guys would take care of the situation later, that was the whole idea.

Answer 18

The whole platoon not getting leave on family day for three people having dip in the barracks? That sucks but I can completely see that happening… Our entire company almost secured family day when some of them didn’t want to sound off for the candidate company staff (I say again, the CANDIDATE company staff; not the actual staff but candidates in those billeted positions). It sucks, but, on the bright side, he graduates soon so he can have his own family day after he’s done.

Welcome to the team.

Answer 19

I know its tough. But thats the military. They're trying to train them all to work as a team. If one person messes up, then everyone suffers the consequences. Its just a team building thing. Because in combat, you need to be able to be disciplined, and trust one another. If a couple of people mess up, then your all dead. Thats how it goes.