Tradition
Hazing
First, the NCO induction ceremony is a tradition, hitting your Soldier in the chest with a mallet is not. (I have seen this before but it still blows my mind)
There will always be a fine line between continuing traditions and hazing. I will always be a little torn as to if certain "traditions" should still be allowed or not. I can't say that I personally am against these "traditions" (i.e. bloodrank/wings, wetting down, etc) with caveats like does the Soldier have the option to opt out of these ceremonies. The other issue is that it does not matter what I really think or feel the Army has set a standard, as such traditions will need to change to the needs of the Army.
There is definitely something to be said for shared hardships creating a more cohesive unit and putting Soldiers on a common ground. For the last decade plus our shared hardship has been one or more deployments. I believe may see a resurgence of these traditions as we wind down, we have to develop the right traditions to groom our Soldiers.
I definitely agree SFC Williams. While I do miss the days of blood rank and what not, we have to adapt to an ever changing environment, nothing stays the same, and neither can our methods. That being said, traditions such as NCO Inductions are an integral part of our Corps. A Soldier should feel pride when they put those chevrons on for the first time, and should be introduce to the Corps appropriately. My Brigade just did the first one we have had in about two years, it was a very well executed ceremony that made me proud to be an NCO. Events like NCO inductions, NCO Call are just two pieces of the puzzle that we need to help bring our NCO Corps back to what it needs to be.
I remember that instance with 1SG Carpernter and SGT Roach. No questions asked...that was assualt. I believe that there is a huge difference between military traditions and hazing/assault. I never saw anything wrong with the awarding of "blood rank" when folks got promoted back in the day. I never saw anything wrong with "blood wings" for the ABN guys. I never saw anything wrong with the "thrashing" one would receive while going through a Spur Ride.
What I do see that is wrong are things like you mentioned, specifically the wooden mallet incident. A mallet? I mean really? There is absolutely a reason to keep military traditions like these. I believe that they increase camraderie. There is no place however, for assault.
Agreed, MSG - I've had no problem getting my multiple sets of blood wings, and I certainly hope my unit cohesion is strong enough that I'll get blood wings when I get my star. Some things really are a morale builder and rite of passage - the mallet was not one of them.
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