A few years ago there was a large uproar over a videotape of a group of U.S. Marines who had graduated the U.S. Army Airborne School and were receiving their "Blood Wings" in a particularly enthusiastic manner. For those not familiar with the practice it involves placing the metal airborne insignia on the persons chest, or should I say "IN" their chest. The Jump wings are mounted though your uniform shirt on sharp pointed metal prongs approximately 3/4 of an inch long. then they pierce your skin and Voila! You have blood wings.
Now the Marines in this video were getting roughed up pretty good by the previously indoctrinated members of the USMC Airborne community so the SH*T started rolling downhill. I use these Marines as an example of high Espirit de Corps, as they were suffering but afterwards they were damn proud of their accomplishment. Especially from the indoctrination into the club.
These days there is no room for "hazing" or any "physical abuse" when someone recieves a promotion, or is awarded a skill badge that was particularly difficult to achieve. It is my belief that a bit of hazing makes the persons accomplishment all the more real in their own minds, and in the minds of the people who have already earned the honor or rank awarded.
When I recieved my Air Assault Wings at Ft. Campbell, Ky the awardees were completely smoked from our final task that morning but would our instructors slam those wings into our chest and then shake our hand? Sadly no.
We were to hold our Air Assault Wings in our left hand, hold them up as they approached and then they put them through our pocket flap. How boring, just because my feet were bleeding didn't mean I would not have gladly allowed them to pin them into my chest. I felt a bit cheated. I wanted to let them slam them in so i could scream back " yeah motherfucker! Air fuckin assault!!" as the blood ruined my t-shirt. See how this PC crapola keeps sucking our spirits out of us?
