Half Metal Jacket: The United States Army drops “shark attack” basic training technique as Coronavirus pandemic ends “up-close shouting!”

Ho.

Of all the things abandoned during the Coronavirus Pandemic (2019- ), including handshakes, sitting shoulder to shoulder with strangers, full restaurants and professional surfing, I think I’m most sad to see the United States Army’s “shark attack” go.

And of course you know what the “shark attack” is because you are a surfer but also watch movies.

The “shark attack” is when a drill sergeant stands centimeters away from a recruits face while screaming.

Like this.

According to the military website Stars and Stripes:

While the shark attack was intended “to establish dominance and authority using intimidation and fear, to weed out the weak of heart,” it helped to create “a chaotic environment that centered around applying physical exertion under stress.”

“Drill sergeants were charged with assessing the trainee’s ability to handle stress … by enveloping them in a manner that emulated a shark attack,” Fortenberry said.

Sometimes, half a dozen drill sergeants would “gang up on you and be absolutely relentless,” causing some recruits to cry, said James Dalman, who was infantry in the Army Reserves and National Guard for six years, on his website.

Although the shark attack method was “mean, nasty, and overwhelming,” and a “deeply unpleasant experience, it does serve an important purpose — preparing troops for stressful situation including combat,” he said.

But now it is gone because screaming centimeters from anyone’s face, even recruits’ faces, is not cool during Coronavirus.

I feel very sad because another surf reference has been removed from the military but mostly because movies will suffer deeply. In the future there will be no more Major Panyne…

No more Stripes…

No more Biloxi Blues…

No more Jarhead…

No more Officer and a Gentleman…

No more Full Metal Jacket.

Heartbreaking.