What constitutes being "old school" in the military?

PT in uniform and boots. Raking the dirt under the barracks. Breaking starch. Just a few of a long list of memories.

Spit shine boots with Kiwi and a white t-shirt, break starch twice a day! Wear a white band on your baseball cap to indicate instructor at Sill! And wore a white name tape / black and gold. U.S.Army. You are real old

I've never heard that term used before! It doesn't make sense to me, is that like saying, back in the day when I used to be somebody?

How about living in WWII prisoner containment camps in W Germany. Basic training in barracks that were used for troops to go to the Korean war, Vietnam then the cold war. Starting in the late 40's til the the beginning of the early 80's at Ft. Benning GA. What about Jump school that was 6wks long & the only soldiers to go were selected by the cadre of the airborne school. Then there was no separate PT uniform only your OD greens or BDU's and combat boots! The MRI's were the same that were used in previous 30yr's. How about ration cards depicting the amount of class 6 item you could purchase in 1mo. The list can go on and on.

Here's my little list:
1) Used a horse hair shoe brush with a buffing rag wrapped in the cutoff leg of a pair of pantyhose for shine buffing.
2) Used Kiwi Edge Dressing to hide the scuff marks on your dress shoes for inspection.
3) Used a Bic lighter to heat up the paste in the tin of Kiwi Shoe Polish.
4) Used half a case of Brasso to clean ALL the bright work in the barracks (including those under the trough sinks in the head) for a Change of Command inspection.
5) Sat on the floor of the barracks to iron to get that "Perfect" crease line in your dress uniform.
6) Knew 50 different uses for dental floss.

If you ever had a drill sergeant with his foot on top of your head while dragging yourself through sand and or sawdust pits you were old school. If you ever wore black boots on a 22 mile road march in 104* temps you are old school. If you ever wore those 70's and 80's style PT cloths you were certainly old school. If you drove or rode in a deuce and a half, an old style JEEP, or wore more than 3 different BDU uniforms...you were most likely old school. If you ever flew or flew in a UH-1 you were old school. There are many more examples I won't mention here due to political reasons but you get the idea I think.

It depends on when you were in. When I first went in, "Old School" were folks who remembered brown combat boots, colored unit patches and name tags on fatigues, and white t-shirts. In addition they remembered when Top stood for "Top kicker" meaning Tops often took off their jackets (and rank) and took difficult troops behind the barracks or motor pool for some wall-to-wall counseling.

Then I became "Old School " because I remembered green fatigues (with subdued rank and patches) or OG107s, rip-stop cammies, the old "steel pot," Top's Honor Roll and Charlie's Chicken Farm - running in combat boots and fatigue trousers... and the Women's Army Corps (WACs). That was while I was still in.

Now, I guess I'm "Ancient School." Because not only do I remember the old fatigues, but I remember the black boot Army, Kevlar ("Fritz") helmet AND steel pot, BDUs, PT uniforms with individual distinctive company/battery t-shirts, transitioning from maroon beret to fatigue hat/garrison cap and back to maroon beret. I also remember the M16A1 which gave us the luxury of full "rock-n-roll" when and if we needed it among other things.

But it's more than that it's an attitude 'Old School" implies somehow we are tougher with a tougher attitude because the Army changes and adapts. Some things are done away with - maybe they're not needed anymore; new things are added that are needed. Sometimes things are done away with and brought back. Bayonet training comes to mind - it was done away with in the mid to late 70s as being unnecessary and brought back by the 80s.

I remember one afternoon during my planning period two Army recruiters stopped by to shoot the breeze, head hunting. We got to talking and they got me talking about the "old days" at Bragg and in Germany. They started cracking up, one an E-7 looked at his buddy, "Man, is HE old school..."

That was the first time I'd had the term applied to me. I didn't know how to react at first. I decided I'd take it as a compliment.

I know from my students and my son and nephew that Army Basic isn't the same as when I went through. I've heard more than one say they were disappointed. That's sad to me. But I look at the output and can't complain when I see the fine young people serving today. I joke to my son that maybe this generation doesn't need the size 11 combat boot up their fourth point of contact my generation seemed to need. Again, I can't argue with the product.

One thing I know, if you serve and live long enough, one day YOU'LL be "Old School," too.

If you did the Army's daily dozen in combat boots and fitigues, you are old school!! You are "Old School" if you had to report to the Paymaster and received your monthly pay in cash!! If you couldn't wait to trade your Kaki's in for the nicer looking Tropical Woster uniform, If you got caught using Plaso Lux instead of spit shinning y6our boots.

Many of the points below do equate to old school, spit shining boots, brass, steel pots, and all of that is some of "old school", but I feel "old school" has more to do with attitude. It is, when your NCO told you to do something, it was, "Yes Sgt.", no questions, no smart mouth back talk, no himming and hawing. It was mission accomplishment instead of bitching about how uncomfortable you are, or how there isn't the right equipment to accomplish it. Old school is, when a Sgt. dropped you for 20, you dropped and knocked them out without whining that you're being picked on. As an example, one of the final actions that pushed me to retire was while giving the pre-firing range class, I had my back to the class, writing on an erasable board. I turned around and a PFC had me beaded in, he was close enough to where I reached out and grabbed his M16A2 by the nozzle, pulled the weapon out of his hand and told him if he ever beaded on me again I was going to drag him down the stairs and beat his ass. He told me I can't talk to him like that, and I went back at him. I told him to report me, because if I get called in to the old man, I had enough to back me up to where he'll face worse than an ass-whoopin'. He never did, but after the incident was over, and I calmed down, I realized that as soft as everything is becoming, even with the defense I had, I could've gotten in trouble. Old School is, you have the balls to bead on your NCO, you have the balls to go downstairs and either get your ass whipped, or try and whip the NCO's ass. Having respect, understanding Esprit de' Corps, Work hard, play hard, take your licks, and give them back. No calling Mommy to file a Congressional, etc.

Old school is when officers truly and whole-heartedly cared about their men/women, and ALWAYS put them first rather than covering their own asses, looking only to protect their jobs. Before the Graham/Rudman Act of the late 80's, most officers cared about the well-being of their soldiers, now, they scramble, pinning blame for botched operations on any one they can get away with pinning it on, regardless of rank. I can't say I really blame them, because after the RIFS, they quickly became much more expendable. This meant that some officers had to come up with cockamamy idea or scheme to prove their worth and value to the military. They also learned to play politics and separate from their Jr. service members under their command and make certain that they are more about seeking approval from their superiors.

I am a member of the 'Old Corps" - USMC 1960 to1980 - that's old school to me. Major USMC Retired.