Did basic training got easier over the years?

The perceived difficulty of your basic training is exponentially and positively proportionate to how long its been since you went to basic training. The further back you went to basic training, the easier today's basic training seems to you in comparison. For example, if you went to basic training in the 1980s, today's basic training seems like a Disneyland Vacation. If you went in the 1990s, today's basic seems more like a Boy Scout Jamboree. If you went in the 2000s, today's (Army) basic seems like Air Force Basic.

Except for Marines - they just like to suffer all the time.

I think so. I joined in 2008 and went to an all male basic at FT Sill. It was challenging. Now I hear IET Soldiers get 8hrs of sleep daily and have their cell phones. I also see them on pass a lot.

Marine Corps Recruit Training lasts 13 weeks, so we can claim to suffer the longest relative to the other services. I went through it in 1997, when they were still introducing the Crucible as the cumulative exercise that all Marines had to pass in order to earn the title of U.S. Marine and the right to wear the Eagle, Globe, and Anchor. The Crucible was controversial when first implemented, as was the shift from boxing to pugil sticks and the implementation of Marine Corps Martial Arts, but I think that all of these shifts have worked out reasonably well.

The main controversy (friendly rivalry among boots) among male Marines is whether one suffered at Paris Island, SC (all men east of the Mississippi R. & all women) or at MCRD San Diego (all men west of the Mississippi R.). Clearly, if that's the only issue, then we're producing a sound product, right? Our performance in OEF/OIF would seem to argue that the answer is "yes!"