Anybody’s Son will do INTRODUCTION: This reading is about how the U. S. Marine’s socialize their recruits. How the socialization techniques of the Marine’s are compared to the socialization techniques that have brought me to my current place in life. Also tells why the socialization techniques of the Marine Corps. is so effective. Society as a whole could learn from using trust… Without trust the Marine’s would not be as efficient. The U. S. Marine Corps. Socialize their recruits through boot camp. In boot camp Marine’s are taught to command others with higher rank and proper authority.
Physical training, weapon training, and drills are the main elements of training. During boot camp the marine is taught the main purpose is to accomplish a military mission through a well coordinated team as opposed to individual effort. The marine is also taught the objectives of the Marine Corps. Leadership through training. Through basic training civilians are turned into Marine’s in three months. Insults and abuse are used to break their pride to destroy their ability to resist transformation of values, loyalty and attitudes that the Marine Corps. ntend. What enables a man to fight is their own self-respect. Their job is basically about killing and dying, so it is essential that the recruits learn the attitudes of group loyalty and interdependency, which will be their soul hope for survival and success. The socialization techniques of the marine’s are fairly similar to the socialization techniques that have been used to bring me to my current place in life. Only difference is I haven’t experienced the insults and abuse quite as bad like they have.
Like the marine’s who are taught to obey higher rank with proper authority, I too have been disciplined to obey my parents and elders and the law. The Marine’s socialization techniques include physical training, weapon training, and drills. Whereas my socialization techniques include school, work, and parenting. Team effort is better than individual effort in the Marine’s society as well as for me in modern society. Marine’s are in a disciplined society which only military values are allowed. I am in a modern society which allows me to have my own values.
Both Marine and I reside in a manipulative society. Society as a whole could learn from using trust. Without trust the Marine Corps. Would not be as efficient. The socialization techniques of the Marine’s are so effective, because during basic training the men are stripped of everything from their civilian lives. The Marine’s are kept enclosed from modern society during training. They are basically brainwashed. Drill instructors apply physical and mental pressure to the men to start the process of destruction.
The process of destruction is to erase the Marine’s former beliefs and confidence. Training to be a Marine is intense, constant abuse and insults. One of the main socialization techniques is motivation. “I can motivate a recruit and in third phase, if I tell him to jump off the third deck, he’ll jump off the third deck. Like I said before, it’s a captive audience and I can train that guy; I can get him to do anything I want him to do… They’re good kids and they’re out to do the right thing. We got some bad kids, but you know, we weed those out.
But as far as motivation-here, we can motivate them to do anything we want, in recruit training” – USMC drill instructor Paris Island. The Marine Corps. Demand alertness at all times. Building the Marine’s confidence and teaching them the attitudes of group loyalty and interdependency is a very effective socialization technique, for it will be their only hope of survival and success in combat. The socialization techniques for a majority of the men in the Marine Corp. are so effective because they are there willingly as volunteers.
There are others who are there against their will, but there are only a few men who cannot be made into a Marine. Physical violence is not necessary for the transformation, but has been used by most armies. Physical violence on top of all the mental abuse and insults… I think plays the biggest role in making the socialization techniques of becoming a Marine so effective. Reader: Henslin, James M. 2009. Exploring Social Life: Readings to Accompany Essentials of Sociology, 4th edition. Boston: Allyn and Bacon – From war: Past, Present, and future, Gwynne Dyer(1985) pp 26-36
