Army Sergeant Majors being urged to stop shouting at sensitive troops and instead replicate one famous leader
ARMY Sergeant Majors are being urged to stop shouting at sensitive recruits, we can reveal.
Rather than barking orders like in war film Full Metal Jacket, they are encouraged to be more like mild-mannered David Beckham.
Regimental Sergeant Majors have traditionally been feared as they are responsible for enforcing Army discipline.
But Warrant Officer 1st Class Matt Howarth, head of the Army’s Non-Commissioned Officers Academy, told Soldier Magazine: “There are people who believe the drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket is what we’re like.
“But the era when people shouted and screamed is long gone — for me, the picture of a good leader is more like David Beckham who never seemed to raise his voice.”
In 1987 film Full Metal Jacket Gunnery Sergeant Hartman bullies a bunch of Vietnam recruits.
Similarly, in 1970s It Ain’t Half Hot Mum, Windsor Davies played fiery Battery Sgt Major Williams.
By contrast, former England footie ace Beckham hardly ever lost his temper on the pitch.
But WO1 Ciar Crow reckoned: “You’d need to convince me that Beckham is the ideal model.
“My assumption is that he is a good leader but I’m not sure he has ‘a good telling off’ in him.
“People need to know Hartman is in you even if he doesn’t often appear.
“It’s no good if all you do is shout, though. My style is more of the disappointed dad.”
