Should trainees be allowed to quit basic training?

Give them a dishonorable discharge and six months in the brig. Lesson one in contracts

There are minimums that have to be met. The recruiters have min skills needed to qualify for basic training. That said every branch has in place also a list of disqualifying items that would be compiled during recruit training. I can only speak about the Marine Corps, the Instructor's(DI's) are charged with turning slimy cilvians into raw basic Marines. That said there are only a few ways I re all you could get out of basic, 1) Medical issues that arise during training that make it unsafe for the recruit to continue. Heart, lung, and many other issues. 2) Mental derress , during the 13 week training, evaluations are given and observations by the DI's are reported to the Senior Staff and Company Commander for further eval.
3) Any recruit that is deemed a danger to theirselves or others and after extended consulting can be discharged.
To the best of memory if you as a recruit can write to your district senator and pled your help, but should the DI's should find out, your counseling will begin on the 1/4 deck and continue to insure you truly feel you want to leave... Semper Fi

Yes quitting should absolutely be allowed. Not everyone is cut out to be a soldier and not everyone realizes that when the recruiter gets them to sign the paperwork. That's the whole point of a failure to adapt discharge. I'd rather have people who want to be there.

I WOULD HAVE BEEN OVERJOYED!!
I NEVER WANTED TO BE MILITARY!!
THE ONLY REASON I JOINED THE ARMY RESERVES WAS THE DRAFT NEARLY GOT ME!!
HOW EVER WHEN I WENT TO BASIC I HAD DECIDED TO MAKE THE BEST OF IT!!
THEN I WAS BADLY HARRASSED BECAUSE OF MY BALANCE AND INABILITY TO MARCH AND DRILL PERFECTLY!
I HAD ALWAYS BEEN A KLUTZ ALL MY LIFE!
I ENDED UP BEING A VEHICLE MECHANIC
AND WAS GOOD AT IT!!
BUT THEN I WAS RAGGED FOR HAVING DIRTY AND GREASY CLOTHES WHILE DOING DIRTY AND GREASY WORK!!
ALL IN ALL A TOTAL WASTE OF MY LIFE!!

only if the soldier is mentally fucked up and can't make the transition from civilian to military life,but quit is not an option,I got my ass kicked by a drill Sgt(I was the comedian and I deserved)lol
I turned out alright/lol

Personally I feel you should let them go. If they are willing to quit in basic what will they do when things get really hard. Cut the dead weight. I'd rather have half a squad of soldiers than a full strength squad where half of us are carrying the slack for the rest. That was the one thing I liked serving under the Clinton Admin. Higher recruit standards and even easier to chapter people out.

Yes because I don't want quitters in the military.

I believe that until you graduate BCT you are essentially a civilian transforming to a soldier. That is the reason there are entry level separations. It is TRADOC’s responsibility to deliver quality, motivated, and trained soldiers to the regular Army.

Some people truly want to be a soldier but simply do not have the military mindset to succeed. It is the Drill Sergeant’s job to weed out those that cannot adapt. If through counseling and observing the recruits progress in training it is determined that he will not become a quality soldier then that person should be removed from the service without prejudice. The first step in that process is identifying those individuals who realize early that they made a mistake in joining and removing them from other trainees as their bad attitudes will spread like a cancer.

No, but if society approves, let them work off the cost incurred by government through community service. No free lunch for the able but unwilling.

I went through basic training at Ft. Dix in 83. 2 days after starting I wrote jokes on my paperwork. Got called into Senior Drill's office and asked about it. I cracked a joke and started laughing hysterically, Senior Drill never even cracked a smile and I knew I was in real trouble.
I said since you will dog me to the end I quit and want to go home. His reply was I don't dog, I train. But he did agree that I should go home, just have to run it by the 1Sg , will take about a week. Week of training goes by, 1Sg approved it. Now has to be approved by CO. Alright, going home. End of week CO approved it. Now has to go to BC. Another week approved. Oh yeah end of fourth week, sign here. What? No f...ing way, I am half way through. Sfc Tussilla was an awesome DI and a great leader and he knew exactly what he was doing. To this day I thank him for that. I finished near the top of the class and did 8years. Got out in 91. Missed it for years and in 2006 joined the NG. Still at it but nearing the end of my usable service time. Got a bit banged up overseas and am getting medboarded out. But no you sign a contract you stick to it. Hopefully there is still good leadership in basic like I had