Pushing you TOO FAR in the Military.....?

Question

I been in the Army for about 18 months...and one thing I notice about the Military(or could be just the Army) is your Leadership or Sgts pushing us too hard when we doing PT.

For Example...... Like if I'm running in formation during PT...and I fall out because my toe is killing me...my Squad Leader or Platoon Sgt will jump outta the formation as well & tell me to keep going. The Sgt don't even know how my toe feels & don't know how much pain I'm in....but yet tells me to keep moving.

The Platoon Sgt/ Squad Leader is NOT a doctor & is NOT in my body to know how much it hurts or how it feels.

So why do they tell us to keep going so that we can make what's wrong with us(strained or broken part of the body) WORST?

I know if I was a Sgt & I see my soldier falling out..I would tell them to stop & see what's wrong with them. Not say.."Keep Going! It's normal!"

I said "toe" as an EXAMPLE as some people can't read. Not saying anything is wrong with me..because NOTHING IS wrong with me..I'm just asking...

I'll put a real life case....

My battle buddy run his PT test a few weeks ago...while running the test he pulled an Hamstring in him leg...but yet his platoon leader tells him to keep going with 3 blocks to go. My battle buddy used to run track in college before he went into the Army & he KNEW it was his hamstring that was acting up(and YES he stretched-out before the test). But I'm saying...if you run on something long enough...you'll create some lifetime damage....
This is in Korea...NOT in a desert in Iraq. And please don't tell me the enermy is just as bad in Korea as they are in Iraq. Because I don't hear anything about IEDs going off or soldiers getting shot at in Korea.

Running PT is different from running from the enemy....
If I'm running PT & about to blackout...then I'll make sure not to hit my head(and drink water the day before). Same goes if I land on my ankle the wrong way & twist it....I'm not gonna keep running & make it wrong then it already is....

But if I'm in the field & the enemy is shooting at me...I'm gonna run like Carl Lewis!! And let nothing in the world stop me(bullets, rocks,twisted ankle, hit in the head) because I wanna go home in one piece....

It's called Adrenaline...and you get it when you're in DANGER.
Not ===> "I'm gonna pretend this is PT & run across this field at an normal speed while the enemy is shooting off shots in my direction."

Yeah I signed...I'll suck it up...and never join again :-)
And tell anyone that thinks about joining all about how the Military REALLY treats people....

I'm not a bad guy..I just like to tell the truth...:-)

Answer 1

It's his job to teach you how to deal with, and keep going when you are in pain. In the military, you never know when your life might depend on it.

Answer 2

Yes leave the military! You should have never passed basic training! There is no room for the weak, by now if the Spirit of the Bayonet isn't flowing through your veins and you don't get wood when you put on that uniform then I don't want you anywhere near me when we hit the s**t! You're a puppy among dogs of war, so you and your toe need to limp away with your tail between your legs and pity yourself for the rest of your soon to be pathetic life! I will NEVER let my brothers down, and I would run until my legs fell off before I would let my body tell my mind when to quit! I would do this and so much more because there are too many people and too much at stake to expect any less from myself..so bug out and let the men drive on!

Answer 3

I'm sure you have heard this one
"Quit your bitc*in' ".

Suck it up and deal. News flash they have been their and done that! They Have been in your shoes, They know how it feels, They know they have to push you farther than YOU think you can go, They know what it takes to your crying as* alive, and They probably know you are full of sh*t too!

I get the same things from my guys, but I push them mentally on knowledge. "I can't do it, I don't know, This is too much, I can't do it" My response is "Shut the f*ck up, and answer it". Guess what, they get it done.

Your views on things will change if and when you are in their shoes. Mine did.

Answer 4

I could voice a million opinions to this.

Bottom line is: any Army worth its salt trains as hard as it fights. And yes sometimes in fights we pull a hammy, but that does not constitute a timeout....

There is only one way to call a timeout in combat. That is to reduce the enemies numbers (swiftly preferrably) and if your friend stumps his toe, you or someone else must stop reducing those enemy numbers and (usually expose) yourself to retrieve toe jam boy and ask his opinion if he needs medical help???

Read "Lone Survivor" it should be manditory for every service man and woman to read. Read abot how SEAL Danny Dietz first lost his thumb, before having to make a god-awful jump down a cliff (didn't miss a beat, kept reducing enemy). Then got shot through the stomach exiting his back (he just changed mags and kept firing), took another torso round (still going). A little while later the b@stards got him in the throat, he could no longer speak and had only half an hour left to live, and as his team mate was dragging him to cover he resumed fring at the enemy...

You see he wasn't doing it for himself or because he didn't want to further his injuries, his buddies lives depended on him and he WAS NOT going to let them down. This is just one of many courageous moments in the book. All 4 men faught like banshees, but I am drifting from my point...

Your buddy was right about one thing. Next time "buddy" pulls a hammy, and he only has three blocks to go, he should not compound his injuries by running all the way in. He should hop on one leg as fast as he can to the finish line......

Answer 5

One of my NCOs would ask, "are you hurt or are you injured".

If you are injured we want you to get well, if you are just hurt, suck it up.

Answer 6

Look it is an NCO's responsibility to care for his soldiers. but if your in the combat arms as you should have figured out by now P.T. is designed just for maintenance but even more so to reinforce your mental strengh. Its there to help you keep you edge and even though alot of it is B.S. and breaks you down. its is needed to be that way so when the **** hits the fan you have the mental strengh to push forward. If you truly have an problem see the doc. As you'll soon learn Army docs will not have you best interest in mind and you'll have to suck it up. I knew many soldiers with legit problems that were made worse because the lack of care. best of luck to you. Iknow its tuff. i myself was legitimately injured when i served and was given no quarter. I suffer a fractured Collier Bone plus other injuries that the PA ignore and I still went to Iraq. Went on patrols, got my CIB, cared for the injured, got into fire fights, help medavac the wounded, kill the enemy,and all that with a P-3 profile and still did my job.

Answer 7

u poor thing......You signed up so suck it up and do what is expected. Stop being a baby......

Answer 8

So, you're in combat and you have to run and run and run. Do you stop because "I'M TIRED SARGE!" or do you keep on because you were TRAINED to do that? Do you tell the enemy, "MY TOE HURTS. CAN WE TAKE A BREAK?"

The U.S. Marines have a saying: IF YOU CAN'T CARRY YOUR BUDDY AND HIS GEAR, YOU'RE NOT WORTH SQUAT!

Answer 9

It's called " conditioning."
You're in an open field, and someone opens up with a machine gun.
There are woods 100 yards away where there us safety, but you'd better run like a bat out of hell.
Run, even though your toe hurts you, or stop and get your *** blown off. Your call.

Answer 10

I appreciate your service and I'm not gonna make fun of you. Thanks for what you're doing....I'm sure it's exhausting and tough and it's probably starting to get to you. I'm sure deep down you know exactly why they push you so hard. Good luck and I hope your toe feels better!