ptsd Blanket Parties

[broncovet]

Berta observerved that the term "Blanket Party" was used 315 times in BVA cases.  I will provide her link, below.  

I will explain what a "blanket party" is, and why they are permitted.  

Its a discipline method.  

Example:

    We were required to go into a "smoke filled" chamber, as part of basic training.  IN the event of a fire on ship, we had to remain calm and put the fire out, or perish.  

Thus, the "smoke filled" chamber.  

    The company (81 men) was marched into a concrete room.  Someone would light a controlled fire in the room and the room would become dark and filled with smoke. 

We were given a task, which was usually holding the fire hose.  When the smoke appeared, we were required to remain calm and breathe through our nose only.  One gulp of smoke through your mouth, and you immediately start choking and go into a panic.  Its very, very scary when you are in  a room, it fills with smoke and heat, even when you know its a "controlled" fire.  

Inevitably, one or more men breathes through his mouth, gulps smoke and begins a fit of uncontrolled coughing and runs out of the building.  Then they punish the whole company, by making them repeat it.  Its literally hell to be in a smoke filled room afraid for your life knowing you must remain calm or else.  

   So, one man panics breathes through his mouth, and the smoke filled chamber is repeated for all.  You are mad at the guy who ran out.  You and a dozen more men go to that guy and put intense pressure on him because you had to repeat it because of his fear.  You tell him that he MUST breathe through his nose, or he gets a blanket party and you mean it.  

    So, after a few tries, you complete the smoke filled chamber.  Several are mad, tho, and several individuals that caused them to repeat it several times.  

    Now for the blanket party.  While you are sleeping, six or more men quietly surround your bed.  They tighly hold the blanket down so you can not move. Then, members of the "blanket party" devise cruel or humiliating experiences for you.    They have complete control over you.  Now, that you are essentially "bound" by your blanket and six or more men, the "party" begins.  Essentially, they torture and humiliate you, and use creative ways to do so.  One way is that a member of the group drops his drawers, squats, and sticks his rectum just over your nose, or even with your nose, literally, in his rectum.

    The military "looks the other way" while the victim is tortured and humiliated.  Mostly humiliated, but beating is not uncommon.  Usually, the tortured, humiliated person either "shapes up" and perfoms blanket parties on other "sissies", or he is discharged.  

    Mostly, the members of my company were afraid of me.    I was a farm boy, experienced in bucking hay, and controlling cattle for branding. Trust me, you dont want to mess with a "real" cowboy.  The high school "bully" made the mistake of messing with my younger brother.  I had been in many fights with my younger brother, and knew better than making him mad.  Yea, I was tougher, but I knew he could still hurt me.  He was not experienced at fighting my little brother. The bully never saw it coming.  I knew he was too fast and you had to stay out of range of his fists.  

Berta's post on blanket parties follows:

The term "Blanket party" appears in 315 cases at the BVA web site.

Here is the most recent one:

http://www.index.va.gov/search/va/view.jsp?FV=http://www.va.gov/vetapp14/Files1/1411256.txt

It usually seems to mean the veteran claims an assault occurred inservice that left them with PTSD and/or residuals of the injuries.

The above case is a good read, and reiterates what we have been stating here.

There must be proof of the incident, (whatever the VA or the veteran calls it) .

It is sort of like the ":thump call" scenario of the Marines circa 1960....

I will go back to www.bva.gov and see if I can find a successful blanket party claim.

Edited April 4, 2016 by broncovet

[Vync]

These have been going on for a really long time.

One of the best examples is depicted in the 1987 movie Full Metal Jacket (8.3/10).
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093058/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

The movie is seriously full of triggers and is in no way "kid friendly". When my cousin was thinking of joining the Army, he was kind of immature. I gave him a list of movies to watch before he joined and this was one of them. He asked me, "Does sh*t like that really happen?" I told him, "Oh yeah." I explained if he joined then he better made certain that he fully understood what it means to serve, to pay attention to detail and orders, to be in great shape, and not to screw up.

[john999]

It seems there was always a barrack  thief that got a beating.  I remember one guy who got caught stealing underwear????  He got beat black and blue.   I was in Basic with a bunch of guys from Chicago.

These guys just beat the crap out of each other all the time.   I thought that if I could just survive fights in basic and AIT the rest would be easy.    Then I was replacement FNG in Nam and got silent treatment for weeks until I was accepted as not being a CID snitch.   It is really unpleasant to have people all get quite when you walk up because they believe you are CID.    I was just a private trying to survive that nasty country.  I think when I started getting high with other guys I was accepted.   Drugs saved my life.

 

        John

 

[MCCFR97]

Boy o boy, sounds like the peace corps was a dangerous place. I never experienced anything like that in the Marines. We had a simple 13 week meditation retreat in South Carolina.  We had water activities, lots of beach activities (no ocean) and we even went on a camping trip once next to an abandon airfield. We held hands and sang songs together and the rivers ran with chocolate with gummy bears falling from the sky. 

Never anything like you guys are explaining. And that full metal jacket movie paints a negative picture of the Marines. DI's are nothing like that (Maybe in the Army or Navy) but not in the Suck....Sorry Marines.  3rd Bn India PI was skate, private rooms, no squad bays and all the bathrooms had clean STALLS around every camode.  If your thinking of enlisting I highly recommend. ?

My nephew joined the Corps and asked me what it was like, so I got him the movies, in the Army now, Stripes and Tank Girl.  I figure shit got real after passing the MP shack for the long ride into PI.  I think shock and awe works well with yellow footprints, plus it builds character.....he figured it out....

Sorry, my attempt at humor, I'll crawl back under my rock now...

Semper

Edited April 5, 2016 by MCCFR97

[broncovet]

My son married a Military Doctor (an officer, of course) earlier this year.  She went to boot camp, and had a maid clean up her room, for her while she was away "in training".  

Dont get me wrong.  My sons wife serves a very important purpose in the military.  And, believe me, she earned her "right to a maid" in her room.  I have 4 years of college plus a lot more and I know well that college grads "earned" their extra pay during their lifetime.  (I think a college grad earns about 20,000 more per year, on average, than a high school graduate).

Actually, I think college grads should get more than 20,000 more.  Here is why.  College is more expensive now than its ever been.  My son and his wife pay about 20,000 per year in student loans..and will for some time.  (They are both college grads).  So, even with an "MD" its almost a break even, reminding you that she went about 10 years without income, in college, while a high school grad could have been working those 10 years.  

 

[Navy4life]

I remember "blanket parties" and I remember the initiation I had to go through crossing the equator.  There was one time in bootcamp two girls were having sex in their bunk and someone went to the CO on them and thus causing us an all day of "hurricanes" and "cycling" in the barracks in the summer time in Orlando, FL.