Should trainees be allowed to quit basic training?

No way in hell! Stay and complete one thing in your life. It's freaking basic training for crying out loud. Grow a set and stand your ground. If you don't like it tuff, no one said life was fair and no one is going to give you what the military has to offer. Finish the job you signed up to do. My opinion is mine based on a boy who quit school and would have been a quiter today if it weren't for the military.

I'd like to see the option for trainees to quit until they complete basic training.

We aren't drafting people anymore and enlistment standards are rising. In other words, we don't need any particular enlistees. Accession school instructors should be solely in the business of shaping new SMs, not 'remotivating' kids that lack the maturity to succeed.

No harm, no foul DORs would also enable an abrupt increase in training standards that approach Marine OCS standards (a course that allows DORs).

Most importantly, the military services would shed their perception as a place to send kids that need to 'grow up.'

There was a time that only officers were viewed as professionals. That time is over. Making basic more of a selection experience than a transformative one will go a long way towards solidifying that fact.

I think they should be made to pay back the money invested in them and they should have thought before signing a legal contract. Legal contracts have consequences and like the saying says can't handle the heat then get out of the kitchen.

Yes. It is a volunteer military, and if they don't want to serve, they need to be gone. Making them stay would serve no purpose. The volunteer military works because the team members want to serve.

I don't want a quitter in the Army.

I think we need a different approach on how we assess new recruits. Just being to breathe and dome push-ups and sit-ups should not be a indicator someone is reddy for service. What I would do is something similar to the academies where they can quit at any time prior yo their junior year.

I would have them sign a conditional contract that allows the prospect to quit at anytime prior to the last half of training with an understanding that they are barred from any military or federal service for 5 years. This would be a penalty to think on but not a life altering one. After 5 years I would let them be reassessed but bar them from getting any sign up bonuses and they would have to pay back over their term of enlistment costs incurred from their first attempt. After 5 years they would almost be allowed to have clean slate including potential officer accession.

After the second phase has begun they can quit but with a little more stringent penalty. Bared for life any federal service no second look at any reentrance into the military.

I agree that we should not haphazardly let them quit at any time and any phase in the training. But this should two way process where if they just are not cutting it then a Matisse parting of ways would be better. As someone commented about wasting money on letting them goto basic and quit at anytime. I would rather not waste more money and resources to bring in the problem child that most likely will end up either being booted early or court martialled anyway. Being that we are now a military that has to do more with less we don't have the time or resources to be someone's surrogate parent anymore. It's our job to train to proficiency to serve the nation. It is not our job to be the babysitter to someone's immature millennial brat. Giving them 5years to grow up a little bit might make a retread a more capable service member. I would rather resources to training and proficiency of those who want to be there will benefit us more in the long run.

We invest many thousands of dollars in a recruit under the assumption that in return we will get some years of labor in return.

If they can quit, can we employ tort to recover the loss?

Sure, but trainees aren't free and come at a high cost. Anyone who quit must be financial responsible and pay ALL of the costs associated with training and processing.
Training: meals, lodging, transportation costs, clothing costs, medical costs and other training expenses.
Processing costs: Security screenings, medical expenses, testing expenses, hotels, meals, etc.

If they decide to quit they should be allowed to, but they should also have all benefits removed and their pay stops the instant they quit. Pay back any enlistment bonuses, etc. Other than Honorable discharge at the least, would like to see a "quitter discharge" as they are breaking a legal contract.

No but staff should be able to discharge those who are unsuitable on the spot, rather than sending them on for others to continually deal with for the rest of their enlistment!