Do people in the military know what brainwashing is or were the techniques used on them too sublime?

Question

brain·wash·ing (brān'wŏsh'ĭng, -wô'shĭng)
n.
Intensive, forcible indoctrination, usually political or religious, aimed at destroying a person's basic convictions and attitudes and replacing them with an alternative set of fixed beliefs.
The application of a concentrated means of persuasion, such as an advertising campaign or repeated suggestion, in order to develop a specific belief or motivation.

Answer 1

My Army basic training was in August 1992 and yes, it was a subtle kind of brainwashing. They overwhelm your senses to the point that you start following orders instinctively. This does not mean you will shoot a baby just because your lieutenant tells you to, but I can assure you that when somebody yells DUCK you will duck first, then figure out later why they told you to do it.

That kind of thing.

The biggest thing they try to burn into your head is that when you are told to do something, you either do it or you don't. There is no room for hesitation, no time to ask why.

The funniest thing is how this is done in the Army: by marching nonstop around a small parking lot for about a week or so. After 8 hours a day of drill and ceremonies, 6 days a week, you just start reacting to orders by instinct. It sucked but it sure as hell worked.

Answer 2

I wouldn't say that they brainwashed me. I was an angry loner who was just trying to get out of my parents house when I joined. And I came from a broken home like a lot of the military did, so I had bupkis for self-esteem.

True, they broke me down, but they then built me back up to be better than what I was. I accomplished things when I was in the Army that I NEVER thought I would be able to. And three years later, I still practice a lot of what I was taught.

You know the weird thing? I get respect for the respect I give now. So if this is brainwashing, I just wish i'd done it sooner. I now have confidence, I don't worry about pleasing everyone anymore. I'm still in great physical shape and love to run which is a better stress reliever than being a whiner. I know what my values are and now I have the courage to stand by them.

Oh Yeah, and they never taught me anything other than the same old stuff my grandparents had been trying to tell me my whole life. The only difference... I walked away from my grandparents, I couldn't walk away from boot camp without looking like a quitter:) After the first couple weeks I didn't want to walk away anymore!!

Answer 3

You probably hate the Military because they rejected you, or because they kicked you out for something that was your fault anyway. Or perhaps you're just one of those really paranoid people who think the Government is out to get all of us, and they start by brainwashing our Military.
Either way, you claim that Military personal are brainwashed, but you're clearly the unstable one who has to make stuff up to try and prove a point. You can't even base your reason and hate for your dislike of the Armed Forces on any truth.

Answer 4

Well it seems someone has done well with you. You have evidently been brainwashed into some political, anti-military/government agenda. But no, we don't brainwash people

We do indoctrinate soldiers in a forceable manner.... to get them beyond fear and to have the ability to follow orders under times of high stress. The methods we use are no different that a high school football coach. Ours just work better because its a controlled environment.

But them you probably wouldn't understand thier purpose either.

Answer 5

I went through basic training at age 18 and can assure you, many many years later, that there was no attempt at brainwashing as you defined it, above.

There was a lot of close order drill and other required activities to cause us to work together as a team and to get us to do what we were told, when we were told to do it, and in the way we were trained. This military discipline may have influenced some kids' ways of thinking, but I never felt it did much for me.

Don't fall into the mythical trap of automatically assuming that everyone in the military is some sort of fascist automaton - clearly isn't so. So of the most liberal and thoughtful people I've ever met were career military.

Answer 6

Turning a civilian into a soldier is as much a psychological as a physical process. The whole procedure is in a sense brainwashing, except the soldier undergoes it voluntarily.

Answer 7

Some who have left the military have become aware of it.
But it doesn't apply to just the military.
Listen to the tapes below to find out how mind control is applied to the public

Answer 8

That definition sounds like college campuses around America today!
Boot camp does NOT brainwash ( liberals do!), it forges you to stand up and do all you can to support the team. You do understand team concept? there is no "I" in team and no Rambo's.

Answer 9

You're not talking about the American military are you?
That sounds like the kind of tactics the terrorist use.

Answer 10

I knew my husband before and after basic training. He's still the same great guy.

There goes your theory right down the shitter.


By the way guys.....it's hoo ah.