The Army "Officially" Removed The Shark Attack... 

Okay, I have a feeling that there ars going to be people watching this who have never experienced the shark attack and won't know what Ward is talking about...having been in BCT back in 2001, I will take this opportunity now to elaborate... The shark attack was developed specifically to simulate the "fog of war" that soldiers in real combat have to be prepared to face. In actual combat, things are likely to get very confusing for any soldier as you have explosions going off, live rounds shooting off everywhere, people shouting all over the place...it can get very hectic and this is something new soldiers have to be prepared for so they can keep a level head and hopefully SURVIVE... The technique is simple yet effective...a drill instructor barks out an order that's deliberately muddled so as to be barely understood yet must be followed exactly TO THE LETTER and more rapidly than any raw recruit could ever be expected to complete, assuming they even know WHAT it is they are supposed to complete. This pretty much guarantees failure out of almost every recruit...but success really isn't the goal here, the goal is to have failures so this next, very CRUCIAL part can kick in... A recruit fails in the task and is IMMEDIATELY zeroed in on by one of the DIs who then starts screaming in the recruits face...as this is happening, like sharks smelling blood, the other DIs close in and start doing the same thing...each one screaming over the other with contradictory orders and insults to the recruit. The effect is pure shock-and-awe as the recruit now has about 5-6 DIs all screaming in their face at the exact same time, some demanding push-ups, some demanding he/she stand at attention, some screaming because the recruit just happened to look towards them, one screaming about how slow the recruit is...it just becomes a mess and it can be real tough to not just break down at that moment... And that's the whole point...it's to show the recruits how woefully unprepared they are for what they are about to be facing should they manage to make it all the way through so they each realize how much they need to pay attention to these DIs over the next several weeks so they can keep a level head should they face a similar situation in combat where instead of the threat of hard physical exercise (smoking), the threat could well be the loss of their life or the life of their fellow soldiers (battle buddies). It's meant to break you out of the independent civilian mindset where it's just all about yourself and into the Army mindset of thinking of your fellow soldiers ahead of yourself... I shudder to think what the Army is going to replace this with as getting out of the entitlement mindset for new soldiers is more important now than ever before...😵

I'll bet the Marines are laughing their asses off at this.

I’m going into basic training soon and I’m pretty sad they got rid of it. :( I always thought of it like initiation into the army

I thought this was the most powerful army in the world with over 200 years of combat experience. I thought they will stick with what works.

Recruitment without shark attack is like cornflakes without the MILK!

I just went to the recruiting office yesterday. Thank you for everything you’ve done! You were the main catalyst for me to want to go into the army. Thank you!

Honest question: “I thought this was the Army not the Navy?”

Have been watching your videos awhile and have found them very helpful. I am Joining as an older recruit ( 28 years old) and leave for basic on October 27th. Was really looking forward to the shark attack at the beginning. Now a little disappointed, but still excited overall to start this new journey in my life.

Yeah it's crazy I agree 100% with you cause I'm about to sign here soon and just heard this news.

I just graduated basic training 3 weeks ago (now at AIT). My basic had that yellow phase before red phase deal. Honestly being awarded soldier felt like a participation award. Privates who failed their pt tests still graduated, people who fell out of all the ruck marches still graduated...

Shipping out to Fort Jackson in December and idk how i feel about this i was kinda excited for it

Been watching you for 2 years now while debating if I wanted to go armed forces learned so much information from your videos. Thank you

Just swore in Tuesday and was told countless times “ get ready for the shark attack “

I still feel like a civilian even after I graduated. But I’m national guard. I never felt like a soldier even in AIT.

So I just finished Basic Training a couple of weeks ago and I saw this first-hand. With no “shark attack,” and the whole COVID “yellow phase,” the whole thing was honestly disappointing. Granted I am pretty old going through all of this (39), so I may have a different perspective than others, but because of these factors there was no real shock when we got there, no real intense physical disciplinary actions, and so there was a HUGE lack of discipline, lack of respect, and lack of “taking this seriously.” It’s been super frustrating.

I was lucky to have had a shark attack in 2016, now in 2020, I’m trying to ship out before the year ends(19D), and looking forward to how things will go! Thanks for the videos Matt

I leave for basic training oct.13th. I've watched your videos for over a year and a half and I want to thank you for all the information you have provided that has helped me understand the enlisting process and giving me an understanding of what to expect while I'm there. I'm going in as 11x at fort benning. HOOAH!

I'm going to Jackson in Feb and then OCS right after, really disappointed but as an older recruit, I don't think that I will be affected too much. I know what I'm getting into when I step off that bus. But I do worry for the younger recruits. I'll definitely send you a patch when I get mine!

What do yall think about this?! Let me know! Late upload but here you go :)

I might as well enlist in the Girl Scouts 😒

If they realize they made a mistake do you think they will bring it back?

Aside from Fort Hood, the Army seems to be slipping into a level of stupid that is honestly terrifying.

I totally agree with you on that. I remember back on January 21st 2015 when I had mine at Fort Benning. I think it’s ridiculous they are getting rid of it for now.

My husband just got shipped to basic today, Ft Benning/Infantryman, I understand where you're coming from, but the mental shift and adjustment occurred regardless, the "oh crap" moment definitely happened and it began during the 3.5 week reception. Love your videos, thank you for this!

Our military is being 'wussified'. Standards have consistently been lowered since women were allowed in combat units. And, yes, I'm a 13-year veteran, and my son is currently in the Army. Personal eye-witness. The Chinese are going to eat our lunch.

I just came back from Ft. Benning in august for my basic training before the announcement of the first 100 yards. It caught my whole company off guard when we were only yelled at only a little bit. My company still found ways to implicate the a more toned down shark attack. it was still intense but not at all what i imagine. I was very let down once i’d known we weren’t going to get the shark attack. but you still do not lack discipline and respect for your drill sergeants after first 72 hours.

I have a post on my insta of you talking about this, amazing stuff Matt.

Always great videos Matt. Thank you for your content... Is this officially implemented as of now?

As someone who is 31 and a mother rolling into FLW in January....I’m not looking forward to dealing with all these kids. And to take out the FPT requirement? Ugh.

I’m in quarantine at Fort Benning right now and I still haven’t finished processing yet but I was wondering what’s the best way to look at BCT and AIT for it to go by as fast as Possible

I was totally looking forward to this. Now I’m a little bummed.

I leave for basic in January and I was looking forward to the shark attack because its a tradition in the military

Lmaoooo that sucks I just graduated from fort Leonard Wood and got one of the last shark attacks

Yeah I agree that there should be a fear aspect but like in the sense of "I'm intimidated but also inspired by this person" And I feel like not having the shark attack will just lead to a worse time for people in combat zones/ the "real Army" or even when they reach the later stages of BCT because it wasn't instilled in them to be able to work well under stress and listen to orders without question and work well as part of a team.

Just graduated OSUT training a week ago as a 19K here at Fort Benning and I was actually the first cycle to have a “Thunder Run” and a experience a bunch of new changes throughout basic training and my AIT portion.

Man that sucks.. me and my wife were looking forward for that Shark attack experience at BCT

Just graduated BCT in fort Leonard Wood, I'm pretty sure we were the last cycle to ever experience the shark attack, and I'm grateful for that 😔

Yeah I just Graduated BCT and I'm in my mid cycle pass and it's kinda sad that I didnt get to experience it

i just graduated yesterday and i will say this… they waited till we got up in the bay and then they did it for us

I’ll be going to Fort Leonard Wood in January after I finish college (I’m doing CID direct accessions), and I was devastated to hear this. I feel like I’m missing a right of passage🙁

I am sorry but I am a former Airforce Active Duty A10 crewchief call me chair force whatever after I got out became a cop and now I am looking at joining the Army reserve. I just think that y'all are underestimating the drill sergeants! I am pretty sure these men and women can find a way to "attack".

Leaving for Benning in 6 days, and I’m kinda pissed, it felt like a right of passage, generations of grandparents went through it and I wanted my chance too! :(

Glad im done with basic and ait and it sucks knowing im one of the last cycles to have the shark attack its implanted in my head the first day at basic and the hardships me and my battles went through such a memorable experience taken from the future soldiers coming in

My question is after my active duty contract can I go into the reserves and still keep the time I did in service from active duty. Like if i did 2 in active and 18 in reserve does that still count as the full 20 of does it start over. Also if I did 2 years in army then switched to Air Force for 18 is it the same or different. Lastly going from active army to reserve army or army to air force do you have to go through basic training again. So if the question is confusing. Going in as 27D Nov. 2nd wish me luck

So when will the DI’s have to start spoon feeding recruits and wiping their bottoms? Well, to be honest, when I went through Basic in 1964, I didn’t experience a Shark Attack. It didn’t take numerous DIs to scare the crap out of me. SSg Luzio was perfectly capable of doing that all by himself. After experiencing one of his “reprimands,” the last thing we wanted to do was draw the attention of the SDI.

shipping to ft leonard wood on the 26th and i was looking honestly looking forward to the shark attack

Expect to receive a unit patch from me. I'm stationed in Europe so it'll take about two weeks minimum

I'm going to be joining the Navy soon, shout out to you mat by the way thanks for teaching me so much about the Army and helping my decision, but why does it seem like the Navy is going harder than the Army now? That just doesn't seem right to me the Army NEEDS to be able to have able soliders who can withstand pressure and this just isn't the way to go.

I leave for basic on tuesday!! Kind of sad there is no shark attack, I wanted to test myself.

off to benning january 11th for infantry osut

Happy Friday Matt!

My son just graduated today from BCT at Ft. Benning, it was extremely intense. So, why are they changing what is working?

I just graduated Fort Leonard wood and we still had a shark attack

I was Batallion 1-34 Basic Ft. Jackson during March 2019 and we were one of the last normal training Batallion before covid changed everything.

It will create a large amount of undisciplined soldiers. Lack of motivation, respect and appreciation to brotherhood

Pretty sad to hear about this I myself went through basic about 6 months ago and the shark attack seemed needed that was the switch that flipped in our brains like holy crap this is the army not back home anymore. It’s when like you said your having that mindset switch from civilian to soldier.

Got to the end of the video without knowing what a shark attack was lmao

This is more of how the military wants to be like a corporation.

I am so glad i can say that i was the last cycle to get shark attacked but im so mad they took it out when we had new troops come in and not get shark attacked we were pissed

Hey how is your 3 month old Atlas? Time has flown since the day he was born

How do you get a battle buddy?

Just coming from basic 6 months ago I was the last troop to have shark attack even that wasn’t so hard wish they kept it

My BCT was already soft back in 2017 at Fort Jackson. This is 100% the wrong direction. Horrible.

I just finished basic at flw with D CO 31st En Bn and for us they did both

Went to basic at Ft. Jackson back in June and never got shark attacked. My drills told me they stopped doing shark attacks 3 cycles before me.

I leave tomorrow now it’s going to always be that cloud that “we got it easy”🤦🏾‍♂️

It pisses me off because now I feel like my comrades aren’t going to be as committed as they are supposed to be. I’m now thinking what if we do go to war, how am I going to trust that they got my back on the battlefield?🤦‍♂️

Another thing to add to my dad and brothers saying how much easier the army is now and how im gonna have it easy

I still remember my first day at boot camp ft sill summer 84 hot ,cattle cars to our barracks these drill sergeants came from the gates of hell one curse word after another . They would not let up for what seems like eternity

Went to fort Jackson in October 2019 lucky bastards 😂

I'm leaving end of October for BCT, and I'm very disappointed the shark attack is gone. I feel like I'll be missing out on the full experience that truly makes you a soldier.

Going to MEPS next Friday

Got two weeks left at A.I.T, in FLW

hope you find time to upload again your videos help many people

I heard the barracks aren’t that bad like they used to be either from my recruiter lol

I leave in January. I’m currently a Wildland firefighter and Joined the National Guard. I want a new challenge and experience. But right after I enlisted this news comes out makes me kind of sad. I don’t want it to be easier. That’s not what I joined for. What is wrong with the overhead in the Army

Basically I just got out of BCT. There is no shark attack there because we go straight to the battery. However, I heard the first sergeant said about Gen Funk and the plan to make BCT actually a training.

I went through it... it is not the same or anywhere close to a shark attack and i feel robbed almost.

Happy that I was able to experience the hell week and shark attack at ft. Benning in 2015. I’m heading back now and I was super excited to see the fresh meats face when they get attacked or smoked. Unfortunately I guess that’s gone. It was a right of passage, the initiation and a way to say hey embrace the suck!!! And wtf is yellow phase!? Also is it true they have stress cards now!? Like what is that!? Why join if you have to use a stress card!!!? Also I’m going 11B again because I’m a grunt at heart. I hope they’re still harder than most mos’s

I mean, I went through back in March, and even then what was left of the shark attack was largely underwhelming. I'd been expecting some kind of grueling smokefest to happen based on the stories I'd been told, and then the actuality was we did some squats and a couple pushups, and then it was over. The fucking shower drills were more stressful than our shark attack, the practice had grown so soft. I agree with the CSM that a change was in order, but personally I would've reverted to the original shark attack that was actually a shock to the system, not gotten rid of it altogether

I had several shark attacks when going through Phase I at OCS. SFCs, First Sergeants, CPTs, and Majors would light people up particularly if the officer candidate did not make a decision when serving in a position of leadership for a day or two. In those cases, they would shout inches away from your face, "make a decision, sir, making a f*cking decision!" Their goal here was to convey the simple (yet key) leadership idea that if you are a leader and you hesitate to make a choice, people die. "It's better to make a wrong choice than to not make one at all."

What are they going to replace it with

I was supposed to ship end of March as a 12B but got pushed to November because of COVID 😒 When I found out the shark attack was removed and was actually disappointed. I just hope the rest isn’t “soft” because I didn’t enlist to do something easy that anyone could do. I think you need to really break civilians down to build them up to soldiers. Guess I’ll find out in a few weeks...

Love from the Bahamas Matt 🇧🇸 I'm a marine and we adopted a lot of our training directly from the USMC including shark attacks. I'd be really sad if they removed it, it made me 😂💯

I went through the Shark Attack nearly 40 years ago, although I didn't know they actually had a name for it. I just remember a couple trucks of drill sergeants pulling up and screaming at us. They were having us fall in line, and there was one particular drill sergeant who was especially off his rocker, and I was in his line. I took two quick steps to my right and got into another line. It turned out to be a good decision, but it would have been absolutely horrible if I had been caught doing it. Oh yeah, good times. I really do think it is a shame that they are doing away with it.

So what will they remove next? Using real ammo? Pushups?

This was definitely a bizarre move, in my opinion, but I have faith in the U.S. Army with or without the shark attack. Our military has gone through so many changes and evolution throughout its history, and despite the differences, it always seemed to come out stronger than ever. One thing is for certain though, we should be glad that we have drill sergeants to make something of recruits. Perhaps I will see them in a slightly different light after I enlist and go through training, but until then, I have a deep appreciation for them and what they do, lol.

I think this is already part of the major incidents from 2020.

I was at basic training when they had the shark attack

It's funny too because even in actual basic training, quitters leave in less than a month now. My basic training was the last "real" group, covid started affecting everything in white/blue phase, AIT was on complete lock down

Glad to at least experience it.🥺

I didn't like when the army got rid of the shark attack, when I went through BCT in 2018, during reception, that is what people asked the cadre and drill sergeants about what their BCT experience was like and what it was like going through the Shark Attack some of them told us what their shark attack was like, but they just told us it's part of the process. After going through the shark attack myself and then watching other people go through it, before the army got rid of it, you see why it's important. It breaks you of civilian habits and it creates stress and tests how you handle that stress. Think of it this way, if you can't handle drill sergeants in your face screaming at you, how can you handle yourself overseas with live rounds flying over your head?

My summer football camp was harder than basic training

I think that’s crap, Do you think they will add it back within the next few years? I’m currently a junior in highschool and I look forward to that, it’s part of the experience.

In the army i wouldn't recommend doing it. Too many toxic leaders and pointless things they do.

Idk what they are doing to the military. It went from weeding out the weak to trying to keep as many people as possible

I leave to ft Benn 19D Oct 19th and Oct 18at hotel day before. I'll be the leader with or without it because my goal is to become a soldier

Leaving for basic in 18 days. I personally don’t feel that this an overall loss or some terrible decision that was made. Things are going to change regardless, up to the individual to decide if it’s for better or worse.

Voluntold.... ok new word i like it.

I'm shipping to BCT in 3 months, Jan 2023. I'm disappointed in a way to learn this actually. I've been preparing and imo the shark attack lets me know from the first instant what to expect. I would assume that it helps to make that "mental shift" you talked about. Nothing that I've learned about BCT has made me think anything that happens in BCT, is anything but the Army trying to prepare you to be the best that you can be in any situation.