What constitutes being "old school" in the military?

Well if your Class A’s included a powdered wig, you are Old School!

I’ve finally figured out what old school in general means. Old school is anything that is before your time, or anything you’ve done that is before the person’s time you’re talking to.

Fletcher class destroyers, manual loading 5” ship’s guns, seeking Charlie Noble, mail bouy watch, sea bats, Navy special (a fuel), days of water hours saving for fresh water wash down before pulling in...waiting for showers for Liberty call, stopped up heads with seasick sailors (& Marines) and heavy seas, youngsters learning not to vomit into the wind, no air conditioning in South China seas and berthing’s overhead was the main deck (full exposure to sun). Guys in line outside sickbay 3 days after liberty in Subic Bay and medically restricted to ship at next port. Underway replenishment at night in the rain. VIP visitations to cheer the troops on holidays (Vietnam) —-really?? The only time to relax yet need to prep.

How about forget the yellow shorts, we did our PT in fatigues and combat boots. Starched fatigues.

Army Reservist, basic training at Ft. Benning, Ga Harmony Church barracks. We marched every where! The only day we rode was to our final task to.pass basic training. We all did. Then I had a week off at home before I left to go to AIT at Ft Sill, OK to train in Field Artillery. It was totally different, Ava we had nice time 2 men per room, a little PT but mostly just classes. And then we were passed and were but not Trainess anymore but real Field Artillery soldiers ready to step up and handle those fire missions.❤️

A late response, but unless your 782 gear looks like this, lose the Ole Corps line.

I believe that's a loaded question. It could be living in a fox hole for 90 days, eating out of a can instead of a bag or soldiering with the lack of todays tecnology. We used to run tons of commo wire and that's not needed today. I hope you see where I'm going. Old school is always going to relate to your generation because things are always evolving. Don't sweat it. When you hit 15 or 20 years, guess what you're going to be old school believe it or not. They're good stories and lessons can always be learned. Sometimes there're actually really interesting. In time you'll tell your stories. It's part of our life and hopefully it always will be. The worst case is that your thankful for things of your generation and you didn't have to deal with ours.

C-Rats and green eggs if you were lucky.

Every generation of Military thinks they're the 'OLD School' when comparing themselves to the 'new generation'. My Grandfather was 'old school' 1912-1942, no, it was my father 1949-1972, no it was me 1970-2012. Compared to today's Army, I'm old school (fatigues, run PT in Combat Boots and Fatigues, C and K Rats, quarter ton Jeeps instead of Hummers, et al). Every generation prides itself on doing things 'differently and (in their opinion) better' than the 'new gen'. The one consistency I've found throughout - the willingness of EVERY Gen to 'step up' and do what needs to be done. That, patriotism and espirit de corp are the SHARED traits of every generation - Old School or NEW!

I joined the USN in January 1959. All my boot camp instructors were WWII CPO vets. Then I went to A School and all my instructors were WWII CPO vets. In that A school, I once was given 2 hours extra duty for being 8 seconds late for duty muster after having pitched my class to the finals of the "Field day fastpitch softball tournament" and having to run 3/4 mile to my barracks, shower, don Dress Whites and run the 3/4 miles back to the compound for muster. I got no slack. Okay, lesson learned.

My early career was one of learning to do my duty completely to the best of my ability, take my responsibilities and don't expect anyone to pick up my slack.

To me old schools is summed up best by Gen George Patton when he stated his "one principle":
"There is only one tactical principle
which is not subject to change.
It is to use the means at hand
to inflict the maximum amount
of wounds, death, and destruction
on the enemy in the minimum
amount of time."
General George S. Patton

The nation is best served by men and women who read and understand Gen Patton, and enlist anyway, fully committed to do what he said; and, a leadership that would refuse to lead men and women into combat without knowing that is their standing and over-riding orders. One does not risk men and women in combat by shackling them with "Rules of Engagement".

There is no other reason for a military. The military is not and should not be a freaking place where social experiments are carried out to see what might work with the civilian population.

That is my old school military.
GW