A film about a freshman cadet's struggles in his first few weeks at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Story inspired by my personal experiences at West Point in 1987.
This was a play, and it was accurate. Basic training, in any branch, is designed to generate response, preferably the right ones. The plebe year at the academies is almost indescribable. Constant monitoring on EVERYTHING you do. It feels like Bloodsport.
almost accurate - what i missed in this short vid was that he was going through the same thing his classmate were going though. That's what kept me going. The hazing was the same or less than than most of my classmates. Frankly, we felt lessened if we learned that another unit had tougher upper classmen than we did. USMA '89 oh, by the way, no safe zones.
@@petepineapple02 Duty Shall Be Done. And has been... One of your classmates renamed it to 'Fun in The Sun '91', and truth be told, that's more my style. Not implying that duty is not important, just that my personality type is more like going to bed at 5am hammered, rather than getting UP at 5am to go run. These days, if I'm running, follow me, because someone or something is chasing me! It would also be a miracle since I've been confined to a wheelchair since 2018.
This is 90 percent accurate for the 1980s. The beanhead even had a service cap! However, he should have been wearing it inside the building until he reached his room...and double-timing when outside; after Beast, (during academic year) the pinging started.
As a graduate of Officer Candidate School (and I had it easy as an non-commissioned officer and an officer candidate), blessings to you, Cadet. Glad you've had the experience my son and I never will have; and my son is worth it!
My squad leader was super cool, but there was this one upper classman who was always on me, just like the guy in this video. I remember he stopped me one time when I was just about to leave west point. As usual, I did something wrong and he asked for a demerit slip. I thought about it and how he had been such a jerk and I just said, "heerr, have the whole stack" as I handed him all of my demerit cards. He was stunned.
This guy is waaaaay to self pitying to lead a platoon in combat - he needs to find another occupation, what made him think he was cut out for soldiering?
It is spot on except there was a lot less yelling in the video than there was during Beast Barracks the summer of 1974. (USMA Class of 1978. PROUD AND GREAT)
I have so many questions about this video. (Very nice, by the way.) When were you able to film it? And how? Did USMA cooperate? Are they using it for any CLDS training? I know they used to show the scene from A Few Good Men during my plebe year.
Don't forget an 18 year old is a child! You really don't understand what you've got yourself into. I enlisted into the Regular Army due to a horrible home life. When I arrived to my first stop I was terrified! See you have no idea what your going to have to endure you don't know if its going to be normal, you know absolutely NOTHING! I hated being 18. Wouldn't want to relive that year of my life again.
Only the best of ppl go there.its an honor to be there I served gate guard And protect the cadet I made them safe and secure.no problem doing it.i was 29th I'd
It is spot on except there was a lot less yelling in the video than there was during Beast Barracks the summer of 1974. (USMA Class of 1978. PROUD AND GREAT)
I almost got in 1974--had nomination etc. couldn't get the waiver for having glasses, now I can say it wasn't for me--it was brutal in those days--if you were weak, you got eliminated fast
Wow.... the same quote is in Contrails, the Air Force Academy equivalent of the same book we have memorize. We, they, refer to it as "Major General John M. Schofield's quote given to the graduating class at West Point, in 1869" then go on from there verbatim. Taking three days to learn it would have meant you were thick in the head.
I'm from the UK and watching this, I'm starting to see why that poor girl at Deepcut Barracks might have committed suicide. It's hard for me to get a sense for why so many guys got through National Service back in the day. I trust it gets better later.
If you want to learn about West Point and how it was in the 60's(Viet Nam era) The Long Grey Line. not sure of the author. But those cadets were hazed horribly.
*"Hazing of first-year cadets, or plebes, was abolished at the Point in 1990. It was intended to teach discipline. Plebes of old had to do such things as memorize how many ice cubes go in the drinks of upperclassmen. Or double-time around the barracks at 120 steps a minute, squaring corners like robots."*
Just came back from SLE..Gosh I hope I get admitted to WestPoint..wouldn't mind to stick out my "paw" for a few months..if it means that I will become America's finest.. Great Video!! Thank You
+DreamCatcher365 All upper classmen are referred to as "Ma'am" or "Sir" regardless of their rank, until the 4th class is "Recognized" as members of the Corps at graduation after their Plebe year. Then they share their first names with the Plebes and all relate to each other more as peers, within the chain of command, of course, but peers.
Maybe it was different before but now only the first class are ma'am or sir, unless they are sergeant majors or first sergeants. Generally everyone is referred to only as their rank (corporal, sergeant, etc) but especially during beast they would have enforced that in the new cadets.
Not bullied but training. In 4 years they will be a 2nd LT commanding soldiers. Slightest detail can save your men or get your men killed. Slightest detail can determine how the battle will play out. Slightest detail can determine how an ambush will result in. Being able to see a wire 100 meters away while going 45mph can save your life and your men lives.
+Sihyun Yi I think that is accurate for 1987. I was there and not all Firsties were officers. I think my Firstie Year was the first time that Cows were senior Non-Com Cadet ranks.
There are a lot of thing wrong with this video. Why is the cadre wearing a cover inside. If this is beast, why is he walking alone, why is he wearing that sweater while studying knowledge.... I could keep going.
+Vanessa Wesley It's Army, not Marines. It's a hat or cap, not a cover. It may be worn indoors without being under arms. He's walking alone because they don't use a Buddy System not in the field. He's wearing a sweatshirt in his own room because he, apparently, was a little chilly.
+Ebsilon Exactly. If they're calling it a "cover" they've adopted Marine language. In the Old Corps new cadets wore caps every where but in their room - it helped identify them as Plebes from a distance. No doubt some things do change at West Point.
As a current cadet, if you're trying to prepare for beast don't reference this video. Beast isn't the haze everyone wants to make it out to be. Yes you have to memorize stuff, and yes sometimes it's tough, but it's all to prepare you to be mentally tough and resilient, not to mention the actual military training you get out of it. Not every upperclassman is a mindless robot asshole. In fact, very few are. This video is just so wrong it's painful to watch. Also, why was he wearing Firstie brass on a Cow epaulet? Even the rank was wrong in this video.
I realize this question is a year old, but in the interest of educating anyone who might come along later, I'll address it. Prior to '88, only Firsties held any rank of CDT SGT and above. Cows were CTS CPLs, and Yearlings were CDT PVTs. And this is a pretty accurate representation of how it was like in those days, even though it was clearly scripted and acted. The Corps has.
+cuevacuev13 -- Yes, I noticed that, too. The Cow epaulet should have shown gray (not black) Cow brass. This video is fake. I was also amused by the scene where he -- while driving a car along Thayer Road -- mentions being yelled at by many upperclassmen the day before. Of course! Any Plebe who drives a car inside West Point deserves to be yelled at by upperclassmen -- and arrested by the Military Police -- for stealing a car.
@@gramo63 This was set in '87. I was a few years earlier. Used to be that yuks could only be privates, cows only corporals, and only firsties held sgt+. So, no, not fake, in that it accurately portrays the timeframe it says it does.
Problematic... The trees were fall-like, beast is during the summer. The computers were way more recent than the timeframe purportedly portrayed in the video. That said, the upperclass/plebe relationships shown were very accurate for the late 80's, from personal experience. (Which is to say, I was there.) Probably created better Officers back in the day.
Are you a moron? Didn't you wonder how the Plebe could travel back in time to discuss his Baseball prospects at West Point vs elsewhere? Did you not notice the script was written by a Credited Author? That it had a Director? *s/ Retired 24 Year US Navy Submariner - USNA Class of 1965*
"Sir, there are 97 and a butt days until Navy beats the hell out of Army at Veteran's Memorial Stadium in football!" *oh fuck* *Doors opening up and down the hall* And that is how I met every upperclassman in my plebe company.
***** ahh see you're looking into my history big little dummy..it s an honor that s all dummy...west point is a very special place that trained the best generals in the world.guys like patton,mcarthur,lee,grant,jackson,pershing,and the list goes on.
So... you think Basic Training as an enlisted man is all sunshine and bunnies? When I did it in 1982, it absolutely was not. The Army in the 80's was getting it's shit together after the debacle of Vietnam and the Hollow Army of the 70's. That meant everybody, from the Chief of Staff to the newest recruit at Ft. Sill [aka yours truly], had pull their cranial cavity out of their gluteus maximus and get with the program. You don't do that by joining a frat and chasing skirts for your college softball team. Hardass stuff aside, yeah, the transition from civilian to soldier is a huge change and isn't at all easy. At times, it sucks balls. But remember... in just 4 years you'll be reporting to a unit and have 30 guys just like me looking at back at you, just waiting to find out what the new el-tee is made of. That challenge takes more than just a little preparation.
You are talking about basic training, but this is about west point beast barracks. I went through both (also in early 80s) and can tell you west point is much much harder.
@@jtfike When he becomes an LT, he'll still be an apprentice officer until he passes muster from his platoon sergeant, the first sergeant and the company CO. Nobody pays a 2LT much attention at all until they get promoted to 1LT.
This isn't hazing. It is conditioning new cadets to be able to fully function under high stress loads, and under emotional strain. It is designed so that when a cadet finally becomes an officer they are able to pay attention to the smallest detail, and think clearly in high stress situations of combat, so that those under their command don't end up dead.
