European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 05, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Recruits still run but running Aholt and shorts replace heavy boots and fatigues. Of the army in Basic training remains simple. In eight weeks before they go on to specialized training Lor their individual assignments these Youn soldiers must learn to dress Light and follow orders. They become prepared Lor the balt Eliezid. Ten Chuni booms sgt. Clement Johnson a lean Man wearing a thin Mustache and a Broad brimmed hat. His charges newly arrived at the Barracks land silent and still As Stone. There is a Large Ian in the sweltering cinder lock room but its Blades Are still. And beads of sweat run Down the laces of the nervous new soldiers. Any Lime you address to. It will be As Drill  Johnson barks you understand yes. Drill  comes the reply a bit Loo meekly. I can t hear you the sergeant shouts. Yes Drill sergeant the sergeant paces Back and Lorth giving instructions in a serious even tone. The troops stare straight ahead. Suddenly the sergeant s eyes Darl to one of the recruits. The Young Man senses instantly that trouble surely looms ahead. Indeed to Worgol to remove his Cap when he came indoors. Your hat private said the sergeant. Take in  the recruit s eyes widened in horror. Already he had louled up his military career. Flustered he reached Lor the hat Only to Knock in into Iho air. Across the bunk bed. But there would be no blood no Thunder no humiliating explanation of what mental and moral ,r,7ie mess Hall at fort Knox ky., offers a salad bar. Deficiencies the trainee s behaviour had revealed. Well before Sunrise a platoon of about 50 soldiers most looking lit and energetic and All things considered fairly Happy is marching up and Over the sleep Hills that troops Call agony and misery. They chant in unison hey there Captain Jack take me Down by the track. With a weapon in my hand i want to be a lighting  some of the recruits like the former High school athletes who arrive at fort Knox with hard bodies seem ready to do Battle. Others need a Litlo work. I can Tell in already said capt. Donald Bledson. I m going to have some problems with some of these  Bledson supervises the 7 to 10 percent of recruits who could not meet the minimum requirement of 12 push ups when they arrived. Those soldiers have been held Back from the majority who passed the push up Lesl and advanced immediately to new classes and drills. In a sort of remedial illness class a dozen or so of these Young soldiers struggled with the weight lilting machines working to build muscle and sell esteem. You feel kind of like a Lailure said Bryan Baker an 18-year-old recruit irom Carlisle. Pa., who could manage just three pushups when he arrived. Baker who lost his hair to a traditional army i Ercul on hrs Lull Day in Camp but did not lose his paunch said he had worked up to six push ups still Lar Short of the 20 thai he must be Able to do to join the others. The recruits in remedial training have three weeks to Meel the standards or lace dismissal. It is a trying time Lor recruits. Sometimes they la say i be decided i should t be Here. It was All a big mistake " said Bledson. Some of them just break Down into a sobbing  when thai happens blouson said he tells them to take a Lew minutes to Wash up Calm Down and come Back Lor a talk. That rarely Lails. By the end of training a recruit must be Able to do 32 push ups 42 sit ups and run two Miles in less than 16 minutes and 54 seconds. Only about 2 percent of Iho recruits Lail to make in through Basic training at fort Knox afterwards some of those who were stragglers Tell the Drill sergeants. You really should have made it tougher the music plays loudly in the Ness Hall in the old Days there was no music and no talking each offering in the cafeteria line is marked with a card showing the calories. And Lor those who arrived at Basic training with a Little too much padding there is a suggested Low calorie plate. The recruits talk quietly among themselves and by to remind themselves not to look into the eyes of a Drill sergeant passing through privates Are not supposed to look Drill sergeants in the Eye. It s a matter of respect. The Drill sergeant caught me eyeball log him the other Day said Sheldon Perkins an 18-year-old irom Baton Rouge la he chewed me out right Here in mess  All things considered Basic training has t been so bad the troops agreed Between Biles of Fried Chicken and Green Beans. It makes me feel Good to Wear the uniform said Kenneth Nix an 18-year-old recruit irom Galley . It s really shaping me up bringing me Down to reality said William Chaffin a 19-year-old recruit irom Huntington. . Who had lost 20 pounds in Lour weeks and that does t count my Ponytail they Cut  i m liking it All right said Perkins but my Recruiter never told me about the Gas  the Gas chamber is a Drill that leaches Iho importance of the Gas mask. Recruits must walk into a room listed with tear Gas remove the mask and recite their name and social Security number. It is a reminder that the army s Mission alter All is lighting. But the Pugil stick Drill where soldiers cheer for their Man to kill an opponent by Landing a blow to a vital Organ is about As close to War As Basic training gets. There is is still Rille training of course but nowadays a hit or miss is counted not by a scorer waving irom a Down Range Trench but by computer. In the one on one Competition the troops Wear head gear and padding As they fight armed with a plastic stick meant to resemble a Bayonet and butt end of a Rille. Tempers can Hare so a Drill sergeant often must jump Between two competitors. Malson Funani Matson the Lough Young Man irom los Angeles introduced himself. It s a hindu name. I m not hindu. But i was born in 1970, and my dad was into. Peace Lovo and All  in a moment Matson entered the ring attacking his opponent with a vengeance striking a killing blow. Barely out of the ring the Young Man thirsted to do Battle again. For most recruits weary Bones and bruised Muscles Are not the toughest part of Basic training. Rather it s an ailment common to those who have never been so far away Lor so Long a Lime an ailment suffered by soldiers across the centuries homesickness mail cull Shouls pvt. Christopher Russo. It s 5 10 a a. And the troops hurry Over to his bed letters Are about the most important thing to  said Russo. Ii gets pretty lonely around  Shakeen Harris an 18-year-old irom Laurenberg . Reread the letter irom his aunt Geneva. Harris conceded that he had been Down in the dumps Leeling so Lar rom his loved ones. But aunt Geneva she s the one who raised me up since i was a Little boy she said. Now you just hang in there cause you can do it " he said. Makes me feel so Good  a Lew bunks away Henry Hession the 18-year-old irom Greenville ., fairly danced around his bunk clutching a letter irom his Girlfriend. Her picture is tacked up on his locker Wall along with photographs of his family and his High school Rock band. She says she s waiting for me to gel Home said Hession. It s right there in the  ember5,1989 the stars and stripes Page 15