Still holding a grudge gunny, after all these years? My basic and AIT wasn't all that bad. Not really the yelling and general bs that goes on. My DI could speak very softly and chew you up with words with miss a beat. He made you want to better and to this day, those guys straighted this **** up(to some extent)pretty good and gave me some decent values and work ethic.

naw, not really a grudge, I just would really like to buy him a few rounds is all! But he really was a little son of a bitch!

I know the feeling, mine was short, (I'm 6'4") but hard as nails. He could have pounded you to dirt, but he got more results with his brain instead. He a peticular thing about getting the most out of tall yankees.

Sgt Pepe...his real name, was a little guy as well. At MCRD San Diego, our mess hall had huge smoked glass windows that they used to park us in front of while waiting our turn. One day, our GySgt was trying to gross us out before breakfast and honked up a big ol green ball of snot and blew it onto the smoked glass, and as we all watched this slooooowly slide down, Sgt Pepe wandered up and said out loud, 'that ain't gross, this is gross, an he went up and slurped it right up off the glass an swallowed! Let me tell you, those runny eggs didn't sit too well after that!

I loved the way they a certain way to explain things that got your attention,they way joked, but made you learn at the same time. I don't know how great it was when I went through Inf AIT in Ft Polk, but except for a few cracker assistants, most DI's taught well without alot of BS

Well, maybe things are less moronic than I thought. I talked to my brother (E-3) about Navy Basic again, and it seems like they were lighter on movie-style silliness and football coach attitude than even the jackass at the academy.

I still personally think that nothing prepares you for combat but combat and a certain predisposition to coolness under pressure.