Are Drill Sergeants in the US military really as mean as they are in movies? If so, what’s the benefit?

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In American media, Drill Sergeants are often portrayed as mean and shouty. Yelling at recruits / treating them like garbage.

The only thing I could think of is that they’re going for a “military service is hard so I’m going to make this as unpleasant for you as possible because life is hard” kind of thing, but couldn’t discipline be instilled in soldiers without the yelling and humiliation? Why is this the only way?

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Highly dependent on the branch. Marine Corps Drill Instructors are pretty close to the movies except they can’t technically hit recruits anymore. But yes they yell a ton and are pretty “mean” but it’s all for the purpose of breaking down recruits and building them back up. Other branches are generally known to be “softer” and don’t yell quite as much, but still won’t be best buddies with recruits.

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