Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is weighing the return of the U.S. Army’s aggressive “shark attack” training practice as the Pentagon vows to “Make Basic Great Again.”
Hegseth, a U.S. Army National Guard veteran, pledged on Wednesday evening to crack down on what he sees as “weak, woke” and “politically correct” basic training.
“Getting back to basics…means getting back to tried, true & tough BASIC TRAINING,” he continued in a post on X. “When we start soft, we get soft.”
Part of Hegseth’s toughening-up process could involve bringing back “shark attacks,” a defense official told military news website Task and Purpose.
The practice involves recruits being swarmed by several bellowing drill sergeants to establish dominance at the start of basic training.
The in-your-face tactic, which became familiar to veterans of the Vietnam War era when many draftees filled ranks, was phased out about five years ago after being deemed no longer appropriate.
It was instead replaced by the “Thunder Run”: a day one training exercise which requires recruits to quickly and efficiently move equipment along a quarter-mile stretch, arranging items in the same way as they were picked up.
“Errors are penalized with push-ups or other exercises,” according to the U.S. Army website.
At the time, Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Yaudas said that “nothing’s really changed” apart from “we’re not screaming in their faces.”
While some Army officials believe shark attacks are outdated and were rightfully replaced, others think it can be an effective technique to acclimate trainees to basic training.
“It presents the ‘shock and awe’ effect of soldiers coming into a new environment, which may include a lot of chaos,” Master Sgt. Joseph Harrison, a retired drill sergeant in Fort Jackson, South Carolina, told Task and Purpose.
The method, he said, also helps weed out trainees who cannot follow instructions and “lack the ability to soldier correctly.”
Right-leaning news organization Just the News first reported that Hegseth was looking to bring back drill sergeant shark attacks, to which the defense secretary shared on X and responded with a “100” emoji.
Hegseth also shared a black and white photo of two Army drill sergeants screaming in the face of a recruit.
Hegseth also directed the military to reverse a ban on “bay tossing,” defense sources told the website.
It would allow drill sergeants to overturn mattresses or bunks of military trainees once again, toss locker contents onto the floor, knock over trash cans, and other ways of causing a mess – before demanding that recruits clean it up.
According to one Pentagon official, Hegseth said that “bay tossing” is necessary because tough training equates to “more cohesive” units. The official told the news site that they want to eradicate training methods that “breed undisciplined people” and “wimps.”
“Tossing bunks is back. Drill sergeants are back. Getting cursed at is back,” a Pentagon source said.
Pentagon Press Secretary Kinglsey Wilson also shared the story on X along with the caption: “Make BASIC Great Again!”
The Independent has contacted the Pentagon for more information.
