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The commander of an infantry One Station Unit Training brigade at Fort Benning, Georgia, directed drill sergeants to stop using \u201cbay tossing\u201d with trainees, but the move was quickly rescinded.<\/em> It may sound counterintuitive, but sometimes you have to make a mess to teach Army trainees how to keep things clean.<\/p>\n The practice is known as \u201cbay tossing,\u201d in which drill sergeants can overturn trainees\u2019 mattresses or bunks, empty the contents of their wall lockers on the floor, knock over garbage cans, or take some other actions to force trainees to clean up.<\/p>\n But one Army training unit at Fort Benning, Georgia, briefly prevented drill sergeants from tossing bays after things got out of hand and wall lockers were turned over and a desk was broken, a source with knowledge of the matter told Task & Purpose.<\/p>\n Two memos recently shared on social media indicate what happened. A July 31 memo from Col. Christopher J.C. Hallows, commander of the 197th Infantry Brigade, announced that bay tossing was \u201cstrictly prohibited.\u201d The unit is currently tasked with training infantry soldiers as part of One Station Unit Training, which combines Basic Combat Training with Advanced Individual Training for several military occupational specialties.<\/p>\n \u201cDrill sergeants will not \u2018toss\u2019 the bay to include flipping mattresses, knocking over wall lockers, touching and\/or damaging Trainee personal items or equipment,\u201d the memo says. \u201cDrill sergeants will not use bay \u2018tossing\u2019 for any reason to include methods of corrective action.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nJeff Schogol<\/strong><\/p>\n