Should trainees be allowed to quit basic training?

No with a but. No it should not be as saying I quit. These young people who enter the service are going see and do things that they have never done before. Their initial reaction may be I can do this it is to hard, but the truth is many of them can. Let them be challenged then rewarded by proving to them selves that they are cable of meeting the changeless of tough training. They will gain confidence and pride in what they have accomplished.

But, if the DI finds that a troop who wants to quit is going to be a problem rather than an asset to the military by all means let them go. The DI's should be given and enlistment God Gun as well, if they have a troop that is meeting the standard but is going to be a problem for the receiving unit they should be able to recommend to the chain of command that that person be separated from service. How many of you have seen PVT FUBAR come Basic/AIT and wonder how did he/she ever pass basic and I want to strangle their recruiter. PVT FUBAR is now a problem the NCO corp and the unit commander who may have to show the troop to the door.

That may sound cold of me but I have seen troops come out of Basic who never passed a PT test and were pencil whipped through so the BT Unit would not have to deal with them. They seem particularly found of doing this with Guard and Reserve troops. Not our problem any more.

Another idiot that comes to mind could do his job sort of, but was walking safety hazard. He opened the air lines slightly on a truck though it would be funny, luckily no one was hurt. He also got a ticket right outside the main gate for 80 in a 55; the same week he went outside the designated travel area with two other trouble makers.

Who gets the Job of smoking the aforementioned idiots, me. They spent the better part of the night draining a huge mud puddle with buckets. To what end? I did what I was told to do, teach them a lesson. On the other hand you just can't fix stupid.

If they want to quit and go through the process like 1SG Gregory Bowman stated, they should have to pay back the money tax payers wasted on them for being weak little civilians. I am sorry if I sound harsh but other than, having a hard time finding certain jobs, holding being indebt would be a good idea I think.

Do we need them? Do we want them if they are going to quit? If you answered 'No' to those two questions, the answer would be yes. With the reduction in force, let those who don't to be there go.

Sure. Saves tax dollars. And as an NCO, it saves me a lot of time, effort, and headaches down the road by not having to deal with these kinds of problem soldiers if they are forced to stay in until their time is up.

I ended up in my air force life last three years. I was a combat controller ..wanted to quit so many times lifting logs to eat knee high in the surf. But I didn't. Difference in a man and boy

Sure if their cowards ....crybabies sure u want those guys with you ?

Had bronchial pneumonia in 64 65 due to the crap from the old coal fired furnaces at ft leonard wood.dec jan feb. I would have recycled rather than quit!@@.toughed it out. Served 6 years e5 in 3.

If they can't handle basic kick them out their going to be a drag on whatever unit they go to

They quite early, let them pay the gov't back for their training costs! Damn snowflakes

Yes, is this not a free country? I agree with LTJG, they should be allowed to exit rather than place other Soldiers at risk in theater because this is not that life for them. Unfortunately SIT's do no realize until basic training that they cannot carry out the missions. True strength comes in being able to stand up and say, hey I made mistake, now let's fix it....