I'm class of 85 and was in B-2. I went to two games this year and noticed a couple of things regarding the Corps that honestly bothered me.
1. The general appearance of the Corps is terrible. What happened to the tuck? It was honestly embarassing.
2. Who the hell teaches the cadets how to march? It looked like they were on an afternoon stroll, just bebopping along.
3. I noticed seniors just chatting away as they were marching around the football field.
4. Who teaches these cadets how to wear head gear? Wearing biders cocked to the side, no gloves, inproper holding of the scabard, and what the hell is the twirling of the sabers all about?

Just curious about this. Hope the new commandant fixes this and does it quickly.

New army

I agree. Whatever happened to straight gig lines and starched and crisp uniforms?

Lesson 1. How to wear the uniform.

Lesson 2. How to maintain the uniform.

Lesson 3. Drill and ceremonies. Straight lines and square corners.

Left foot first. Keep in step.

and why the overweight whitebelts?

You guys are leaders and should be PT machines.

I entered A&M in 1983 standing 6'3" & weighing 160 pounds, and I graduated in 1987 standing 10' tall & weighing 170 pounds.

There is no excuse for fat cadets.

I hope nobody thinks this is a new trend re: weight.

Besides, the suck strap is the dumbest idea that ever came out of the 80s or when ever that crap started.

I heard the last commandant started to clean house with the Corps APFT standard...guess it didn't permeate?

[This message has been edited by Fly Army 97 (edited 12/2/2010 10:14p).]

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What happened to the tuck?

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The real military doesn't pull tucks.

I have no real frame of reference except my own military service and watching the Corps starting in '02 when ADjr started. I noticed that the Corps didn't look as sharp as it could have when compared to how the band looked and marched. It was really apparent at Final Review '03

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Besides, the suck strap is the dumbest idea that ever came out of the 80s or when ever that crap started.

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You think this because your tuck always sucked! LOL! Not to mention that hershey bar shine on your low-quarters!

The last commandant was the biggest ******bag, and did more damage to the Corps than any hazing incident.

I understand the band still uses the suck strap. It's a shame that the b.q.'s apparently are the only ones who care to look sharp.

Lets hope the new guy brings back the pride in the Corps.

The band takes pride on abusing suckstraps, I went through 3 different straps. It slowly leaked in the turds to do the phantom tuck which turned into why bothering about the strap at all.

And GVA did a lot of damage to the Corps very slowly every year. His PT program was a joke because it took somewhere around 7 strikes before they ousted lazy people. Had an ex buddy that was a sweet girl, but she was 4'0" and weighed over 250lbs. Watching her do a sit up was like trying to fold a football in half. And with the "strict" PT rules, it took her two years before they finally dismissed her from the Corps.

Meanwhile, an entire class from a different outfit was dropped out of their senior year in less than a week because they yelled at a fish that left his room, locker, and computer unlocked which is a violation according to the Corps Standard. Just because some fish got his feelings hurt.

New commadant needs to tell the parents that call that their babies are 18 years old and are adults now. Cut the cord.

Another reason WOMEN DO NOT BELONG IN THE CORPS, BAND, OR IF IN THE CORPS, THEY NEED TO BE IN AN ALL WOMAN'S OUTFIT.

All Corps Fish and Sophs still use the suck strap. Juniors and Seniors use shirt stays.

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Juniors and Seniors use shirt stays.

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Done properly, shirt stays look ten times better than a suck strap. The suck strap bulge looks ridiculous.

Shirt stays don't cut off circulation to the legs either (why do you think so many cadets fell asleep in class?)

"why do you think so many cadets fell asleep in class?"

I seem to recall that it had alot more to do with getting up way before the non-regs, hustling through inspections, multiple class-sets, formation, morning chow and cleaning up your "hole", all the while dodging overzealous pissheads. Boring 0800 classes were the perfect nap time after all that.

I think that ultimately the seniors and juniors are responsible for the appearance of their outfit. Most whitebelts get really relaxed as to their appearance. Old Army 07 and others on here can attest that even as whitebelts they still got crisp haircuts before March-ins, for example. This mentality carries on throughout the other classes even after the zips die. My zip year my buddies and I always made sure we had haircuts and our uniforms looked good for march-ins. I even ironed my pants. We also placed a high emphasis on marching practice because performance in the march-ins was factored into winning General Moore.

We used to call that bider tilt, the old army tilt. It was highly discouraged in my outfit. Not sure about now.

[This message has been edited by HBCanine08 (edited 12/5/2010 1:56p).]

That Bugle Rank member 3rd from the left needs to push away from the table and let his tall buddy eat a little more.

And just so you all know, I hate Class B summers as a formal uniform. Current Bq's should be embarrassed that the fish drill team and PMC wore more formal uniforms during this parade.

FYI, in the 80's we wore Class A Winters to this parade

Theres a lot of issues. I ran into a lot of the root causes while I was there (many in the commandant's office and not just the man himself).

Lack of expectations and serious standards beyond grades (and major legal issues) are and have been almost completely lacking in my opinion. Much of the root has to do with the de-emphasis of leadership for GPR to the point of obsession never mind the ridiculous obsession with how will this tradition or practice make us look in the papers as opposed to what purpose does it serve.

The weight issues stem from the easiest PT test known to man compounded with a total lack of enforcement of proper form in those tests. (Yell boy pushups as opposed to actual honest to god push ups or what amounts to crunches instead of situps.) The uniform issue has a lot to do with a total lack of accountability at the white belt level in most places on the quad.

Regarding the female comments: I saw a lot of things that surround this issue. I'll tell you theres some blatant favoritism that goes on within the commandants office in that direction for starters. More importantly, despite the fact that there are some solid females in uniform on the quad there are A LOT that have no business being there but what really comes into play is the male - female dynamic. That dynamic alone is a disaster and not always in the ways you'd think.

Theres a book that could be written here...

I'm certain that the lack of enforcement of the fraternization policies (and RELAXING of them as they relate to the Aggie Band) doesn't help.

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FYI, in the 80's we wore Class A Winters to this parade

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When did they get rid of those? I am pretty sure we wore them for the game in '04 in CS.

And I agree that summer B's have no place on a corps trip march in. During my four years it was summer A's in Waco and winter A's in Austin.

We wore class A winters for every Corps Trip except Waco my senior year. Wore Midnights on that one.

the picture I posted is from the Bryan College Station Christmas Parade.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/album.php?aid=253272&id=7348375765

Speaking of fat, what about the two wag pissheads in the second row? I remember dropping a bunch of weight as a fish and not gaining any of it back until I was a zip. Bring back family style dining and fish bites.

jh0400, The Winter "A" coat went away in 2005. We are bringing it back this coming semester though. It will be issued to all cadets when they return after Christmas. Hooah!

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The Winter "A" coat went away in 2005. We are bringing it back this coming semester though.

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A few random comments....

- Membership in the Corps used to be open to any student enrolled at Texas A&M, and I would think that it still is. Which means that not every member is going to have the physique of a Greek god, run a sub four minute mile, or leap tall buildings with a single bound. In my time, the only ht/wt standards in effect were for those on contract. We had our share of lard asses then, but I suspect the percentage may be higher now because kids are generally more overweight these days. The establishment of ht/wt/pt standards tells me that Corps leadership recognizes the issue and is trying to deal with it.

- I was taught to use the suck strap as a fish in the fall of 1974. Since my upperclassmen used them, it's safe to say they were around several years before then. We used two boot bands hooked together. It was painful. Look at photos of the Corps in the 40s & 50s. Pretty obvious they didn't use them then, and pretty safe to say the Corps produced some good leaders back then.

- There was no Corps PT program or PT test during my time. No Corps lab time set aside, no mandatory drill time, etc. Everything was determined at the outfit level.

- Keeping whitebelts gainfully employed has always been a challenge. One solution I can think of would be to restructure the Corps so that company size units are around 120 or so personnel. Platoons would be 40 or so. Would provide greater responsibility at the platoon & squad level.

- Agree that standards are enforced at the outfit level. If upperclassmen set low expectations, then underclassmen will achieve just that. It varied in my time, I bet it still does now. Some outfits have goals, high standards, etc., some don't. I haven't been to a march in in a while, but I would bet that some outfits have better appearance and march better than others - because they set higher standards, and perhaps their goal as an outfit is to compete for Hochmuth or GM.

Well said BoozerRed.

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Watching her do a sit up was like trying to fold a football in half.

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This made me LOL

That's all I got

Things are bad in the Corps in regards to both discipline and squared awayness. The cadets just don't care, nor do they think it is important to look squared. The Corps has become a frat. If someone tries enforcing policy or the standard, they have their name drug through the mud behind their backs.

Part of the problem also has to do with an attitude that "I'm just here for the contract, I don't care about the Corps games." Corps games include whipping out (yeah, they barely do that anymore), looking sharp at all times, even the class privileges. I remember my zip year not too long ago getting a dirty look when I told a butt to get off the grass, and then having a head talk back to me when I told him to peak his biter, and I didn't say it in a ******b**** way either.

Saw something not too long ago on facebook where some old Ags called out a cadet about his hands in his pocket: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/photo.php?fbid=407641145765

It's 95% the fault of the upperclassmen, not the commandant. Upperclassmen don't enforce anything on their underclassmen. I think the upperclassmen want to be seen as the "cool one." Either that or the hippie "mellow out dude" attitude has finally permeated through most of the Corps.

You should see the ****ty job they do of putting up the flags in the morning in front of the Systems building.

I loved the Corps Games. I wasn't a contract cadet but even as a pisshead and junior I still whipped out. I always shined my brass and my shoes. Guys in other outfits would say I was being a tool but I just didn't want to look like a p.o.s. when a fish whipped out to me and have him see the green grode on my corps brass. Plus I was representing my hard chargin outfit

[This message has been edited by HBCanine08 (edited 12/10/2010 12:40a).]

Wait, you are saying cadets don't shine their brass on a daily basis???? This is lack of leadership from the top. In my day B-2 was a GM and Hochmuth winning outfit. If you stepped out of your hole or room, you were expected to wear a uniform that was GM perfect. If not you had the sh#t crapped out of you. I hope the new commandant fixes this.
From what I saw at the Neb and La Tech game, no cadet wears suck straps.
Also wtf is the deal with these junior peaks on fish and pisshead bidders???
Regarding having an underclassman lipping off, had that happened in my day, it would of gone really bad for that pisshead, I mean really bad. This behavior happens because upperclassmen apparently like to be buddies with underclassmen. On fb I saw pics of underclassmen and upperclassmen after the t.u. marchin with there arms around each other. Big reason women don't belong in the Corps, because the cadets were senior wags and male underclassmen

Oh and one more thing, when you are in the right file, you DON't SALUTE.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=461278815765&set=a.461278505765.251035.7348375765

Reading this thread is starting to make me sad....I was in F-2, and that's sayin' something!

Although, I condsidered myself pretty reda$$.

F-2 Shooooooot!!

In my day when F-2 would hump it at Duncan, everyone would wave their napkins at them. My buddy got taken to the swirlies on countless occasions for farting them off.