It may sound counterintuitive, but sometimes you have to make a mess to teach Army trainees how to keep things clean.
The practice is known as “bay tossing,” in which drill sergeants can overturn trainees’ mattresses or bunks, empty the contents of their wall lockers on the floor, knock over garbage cans, or take some other actions to force trainees to clean up.
But one Army training unit at Fort Benning, Georgia, briefly prevented drill sergeants from tossing bays after things got out of hand and wall lockers were turned over and a desk was broken, a source with knowledge of the matter told Task & Purpose.
Two memos recently shared on social media indicate what happened. A July 31 memo from Col. Christopher J.C. Hallows, commander of the 197th Infantry Brigade, announced that bay tossing was “strictly prohibited.” The unit is currently tasked with training infantry soldiers as part of One Station Unit Training, which combines Basic Combat Training with Advanced Individual Training for several military occupational specialties.
Bay tossing
The initial memo:
Second memo:
I enlisted in 1976. The Drills tossed bays, yelled in our faces, and sometimes smacked recruits. Their Task and Purpose was to mold us into Soldiers ready to fight, not coddle our feelings. It was the fastest way to teach us about getting squared away. It worked.