The military is ingenious at meting out punishment. They are endlessly imaginative in the ways of discipline. Here are a few I remember quite clearly:
Love Rocks and Pocket Rocks
It is a rule in the military that you cannot put your hands in your pockets, nor are PDAs (public displays of affection) such as holding hands allowed. Trainees found breaking these rules can be given either the infamous "Love Rock" or the equally embarrassing "Pocket Rocks." The Love Rock is carried with the trainee everywhere they go and never set down, except perhaps in their lap. The trainee is often stuck with this rock of love until another trainee is unfortunate enough to screw up in a similar manner, at which time he will inherit the stupid rock. Pocket rocks come in pairs and are smaller, they fit in the front pockets and are generally carried around for a few days. At least this punishment isn't painful.
The Gum Tree
A soldier caught chewing gum was forced to dig a hole in the red sandy soil of South Carolina. He was then told to chew the gum real good to "water it" then bury it in the hole and mark the spot. The next day, the Sergeant check the spot and said, "Well, that gum tree sure ain't growin' the way its supposed to, guess you didn't water it enough." At which point the soldier was forced to dig up the gum and chew it some more in order to 'water' it some more and make it grow. This could go on for days until the sergeant lost interest or found another trainee to torment.
The Grease Pit
The chow hall stoves have a grease trap. This is a 2x2' hole in the concrete where cooking grease gathers. A very popular punishment was to make soldiers clean the grease pit out with a spoon. Often more ended up on the unfortunate soldier than in the trash can. It would take days to get the smell of rancid grease off your skin and hair. Smiling or laughing at anyone sentenced to the grease pit only got you a matching spoon.
10 Stop Drop
This was a favorite. The Sergeant would have a recruit run to a predetermined spot and back. Every time the counted to ten, the recruit had to stop, drop and count out ten push ups (thus the name, not imaginitive but very ). Sergeants can count to ten mighty fast when they want to.
I was once sentenced to the grease pit for failing to close the lock on my locker, but I cried so pitifully that the Sergeant told me I was worthless and weak and ordered me to get out of his face. Sometimes it pays off to be a girl.
I did once have to do scuba , but that didn't hurt, just got my uniform all wet. In South Carolina in the summertime, that isn't always a bad thing.
Posted by sychotic1
at 3:35 PM PST
