(The Hill) – Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth may bring back the practice of several Army drill sergeants swarming and screaming at recruits during basic training in what is known as a “shark attack.”
The practice, used at the beginning of training to establish dominance, was largely ended five years ago. But Hegseth is now looking into having the Army bring it back, Pentagon press secretary Kingsley Wilson confirmed to reporters Thursday.
“I can confirm that he’s going to be looking at basic training and making sure that the standards are where they should be,” Wilson said. “We want our warfighters to be strong and that starts in basic training, and we want to make sure we really, again, go back to basics. And ‘shark attacks’ are going to be something that he is looking at reinstating.”
News that Hegseth was considering reinstating shark attacks was first reported this week by Just the News. Hegseth shared the story on X along with the emoji “100.”
And on Thursday, during an appearance on “The Will Cain Show,” Hegseth said military training was “going back to basics.”
“Drill sergeants will be drill sergeants with knife hands who ensure, who maintain good order and discipline and train up great recruits who will make great formations,” he said. “Just like we need military officers with that same rigorous discipline and background. So, we’re going back to the basics, and it’s bearing fruit.”
The Army began phasing out shark attacks prior to mostly ending the practice in 2020, with the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Ga., deciding that the practice was not as effective for training infantry soldiers given it was developed when most soldiers were draftees. Today’s force is made up of all volunteers.
“The shark attack was seen as a way to launch trainees into a whole new way of life in which they’d have to obey the Army’s rules and listen closely to and follow instructions,” officials said in a September 2020 Army news story. “This was deemed especially necessary during the Vietnam War period, when vast numbers of those in uniform were draftees. After the Vietnam War, authorities ended the draft and the Army has been all-volunteer since.”
The Army has replaced shark attacks with the “First 100 Yards.” In that exercise, drill sergeants lead trainees through a series of physical training events seen as more structured and designed to build camaraderie.
But Hegseth insists that shark attacks and other phased-out practices have been part of basic training for decades, saying bringing them back would be a “restoration” of them.
“It’s the basic stuff that anyone who went through any form of basic training for decades understood as a recruit, you were going into a crucible,” Hegseth said. “You were going to be forged. You were gonna be challenged. You were to be scared, nervous and anxious.
“And by coming through that, you are gonna be forged as an American warrior. A shark attack is when drill sergeants surround one particular enlistee, right? Creating a stressful situation that they have to figure out how to manage. . . . This is not beyond what’s been done. This is a restoration.”
