Boot Camp Brutality

Set with the task of writing a literary journalism piece and completing an interview to be the basis of it I found myself drawn to the boot camp experience when joining the military.


Previous to Humanities Core, I just thought that boot camp was physically demanding and if the person is tough enough they could handle it. But then after watching Full Metal Jacket I got to witness how it can be mentally detrimental it can be.

A character in the film was falling behind in training and he was harassed to the point where he committed suicide after killing his army recruiter. The main character, Joker, goes through training pretty well and a lot of the people he meets are waiting for him to get the "thousand yard" stare. The end of the movie after he has to commit an act against his own moral beliefs and he is left with that thousand yard stare.

Then when I interviewed a family friend about his experience even during peace time. He recalled how it was and compared it to slavery. After that experience, I now believe that boot camp strips the humanity of a recruit in order to make them more prepared for killing.