When serving the billet of military police (MP) in the United States Marine Corps, I learned the difference between training and hazing. Sometimes, there was a very thin and blurry line dividing these two terms.
Training is defined as the skill, knowledge, or experience acquired by one that trains—the process of teaching so as to make fit, qualified, or proficient. According to one source:
Marine Corps training is standards-based, performance-oriented, and prioritized in accordance with mission requirements. The Marine Corps training program builds self-confidence, promotes teamwork and esprit de corps, and develops professionalism in its leaders.
Hazing is defined as harassment by exacting unnecessary or disagreeable work, or to harass by banter, ridicule, or criticism. The Marine Corps currently expands upon this definition, as one source states:
Hazing, is any conduct whereby a military member or members, regardless of Service or rank, without proper authority causes another military member or members, regardless of Service or rank, to suffer or be exposed to any activity which is cruel, abusive, humiliating, oppressive, demeaning, or harmful.
Soliciting or coercing another to perpetrate any such activity is also considered hazing. Hazing need not involve physical contact among or between military members; it can be verbal or psychological in nature. Actual or implied consent to acts of hazing does not eliminate culpability of the perpetrator.
I enlisted in the Marines in 1996, as reverberating effects from the ’91 Tailhook scandal impacted training to which I was exposed. In fact, the Marine recruit training platoon of which I was a member served as the dividing line between the “old Corps” and “new Corps.”
This division was the separation of training and hazing, as both concepts were apparently blurred into one element prior to establishment of the new Corps. Essentially, harassment, maltreatment, and other poor behavior were presumably acceptable under old Corps standards.
Although my Marine recruit training cohort was among the last of old Corps jarheads, the entirety of my active duty military service after graduating boot camp was impacted by the new Corps rules and regulations. For me, the line between training and hazing was thin and blurry.
As an example, when I was a sergeant (E-5) stationed aboard Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, California, one senior enlisted Marine cautioned me of potential hazing behavior. A few of the lance corporals (E-3) in my platoon committed minor infractions of military rules.
For disciplinary measures, I ordered them to scrub the deck (floor) with scuzz brushes (heavy duty bristle brushes). This was a fairly standard practice in the Corps and was a staple activity during Marine recruit training.
“If you don’t perform the act with them, it’s considered hazing,” the master gunnery sergeant (E-9) informed me. Without scuzzing the deck with junior Marines, what I was doing was considered hazing.
However, if I joined in on the activity it was viewed as training in the interest of behavioral improvement. “The other option is to have them volunteer for the discipline,” the E-9 stated and suggested I give the option for either administrative paperwork or deck-scuzzing.
Paperwork served as a precursor to an unfavorable discharge, as the E-3s enthusiastically expressed that they were volunteering for the activity. Back then, the Corps didn’t stipulate, “Actual or implied consent to acts of hazing does not eliminate culpability of the perpetrator.”
The thin and blurry line between training and hazing was even more noticeable when the Corps transitioned to the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) when I was stationed aboard Miramar in 2001. This was a far different form of training than the LINE combat system.
In any case, when MPs trained for MCMAP there was some ambiguity as to what did and didn’t constitute hazing. For instance, Marines received a dose of oleoresin capsicum spray (pepper spray) and were required to physically engage a gauntlet of jarheads.
Was this training or hazing? After all, instructors of the new program weren’t actively being subjected to the activity and those who were being trained had no choice as to whether or not they would participate. Thus, a thin stream of pepper spray created a blurry dilemma.
When contemplating this topic and thinking about psychotherapy, I consider my approach to Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT). In particular, I regard information contained in The REBT Therapist’s Pocket Companion.
Page 237 states, “Don’t suggest that your clients do things that you are afraid to do yourself.” Additionally, page 238 advises, “Don’t suggest that your clients do things that you are not prepared to do yourself.”
This guidance is especially important when considering activities such as shame attacking exercises. The helpful activity involves a person challenging low frustration tolerance (LFT), the unhelpful inner-narrative that tells an individual that something is intolerable.
By negotiating homework for a client to intentionally and actively face uncomfortable situations, a person can learn that although something isn’t desirable or pleasant the event can be tolerated. In turn, this activity builds high frustration tolerance (HFT).
As an example, suppose I have a client who’s afraid to ask her boss for a raise, though the client believes she’s earned the bump in pay. It isn’t a conversation with her boss that the client fears; mis-perceivably it’s rejection that evokes the unpleasant emotion.
However, from an REBT perspective, it’s the client’s belief about rejection that causes fear. She likely believes something like, “I can’t stand being rejected!”
Therefore, so the client may demonstrate to herself that although rejection isn’t desirable or pleasant, she can perform a shame attacking exercise to target the LFT narrative. After repeated exposure to rejection, the client may then establish HFT so that she can ask for a raise.
Prior to the next time I met with her, the client’s homework would relate to intentionally and actively subjecting herself to rejection. This isn’t easy. Easy is foregoing a raise request altogether. Thus, the client uses psychotherapy to train for success in a difficult manner.
In relation to the distinction between training and hazing, I won’t suggest shame attacking exercises to clients which I’m too afraid or ill-prepared to perform. There’s no hazing in therapy, at least not regarding my approach to psychotherapy.
Ultimately, I’m grateful for some of the difficult training activities in which I participated as a Marine. Although the MP instructors who subjected me to MCMAP training arguably hazed me (unassociated with pepper spray), I’m glad to have had the experience.
Now I know what hazing is like and how not to commit the unfavorable violation of a trainee’s trust. If challenging yourself in a difficult manner and without being harassed in the process appeals to you, I look forward to helping you train to achieve success with your interests and goals.
If you’re looking for a provider who works to help you understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.
As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.
At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply helping you to feel better, I want to help you get better!
Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW
References:
1st Marine Logistics Group. (n.d.). Hazing policy letter. United States Marine Corps. Retrieved from https://www.1stmlg.marines.mil/Units/CLR-17/CLR17_Hazing/
Dryden, W. and Neenan, M. (2003). The REBT Therapist’s Pocket Companion. Albert Ellis Institute. Retrieved from https://www.pdfdrive.com/the-rebt-therapists-pocket-companion-d185164652.html
Hollings, D. (2022, March 15). Disclaimer. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/disclaimer
Hollings, D. (2023, October 12). Get better. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/get-better
Hollings, D. (2024, February 24). High frustration tolerance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/high-frustration-tolerance
Hollings, D. (n.d.). Hollings Therapy, LLC [Official website]. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/
Hollings, D. (2024, April 18). Homework. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/homework
Hollings, D. (2024, January 2). Interests and goals. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/interests-and-goals
Hollings, D. (2023, September 19). Life coaching. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/life-coaching
Hollings, D. (2022, December 2). Low frustration tolerance. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/low-frustration-tolerance
Hollings, D. (2023, September 3). On feelings. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/on-feelings
Hollings, D. (2024, May 5). Psychotherapist. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/psychotherapist
Hollings, D. (2022, March 24). Rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT). Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/rational-emotive-behavior-therapy-rebt
Hollings, D. (2022, September 8). Shame attacking. Hollings Therapy, LLC. Retrieved from https://www.hollingstherapy.com/post/shame-attacking
United States Marine Corps. (2018, April 4). How to conduct training. Department of the Navy. Retrieved from https://www.marines.mil/portals/1/Publications/MCTP%208-10B%20GN.pdf
Wikipedia. (n.d.). LINE (combat system). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LINE_(combat_system)
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Marine Corps martial arts program. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Corps_Martial_Arts_Program
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Tailhook scandal. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tailhook_scandal
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