Dozens of West Point Cadets Injured in Training Incident Using Pillow-Based Weaponry - Polidicks

[quote] For generations, freshmen cadets at the United States Military Academy have marked the end of a grueling summer of training with a huge nighttime pillow fight that is billed as a harmless way to blow off steam and build class spirit. But this year the fight on the West Point, N.Y., campus turned bloody as some cadets swung pillowcases packed with hard objects, thought to be helmets, that split lips, broke at least one bone, dislocated shoulders and knocked cadets unconscious. The brawl at the publicly funded academy, where many of the Army’s top leaders are trained, left 30 cadets injured, including 24 with concussions, according to West Point. In interviews, cadets who asked that their names not be used for fear of repercussions in West Point’s strictly controlled culture, said the fight had left one cadet with a broken leg and dislocated shoulders in others. One cadet was knocked unconscious and taken away in an ambulance and had not returned to school, they said. But a spokesman for the academy, Lt. Col. Christopher Kasker, said all cadets had returned to duty. Though talk about the brawl on Aug. 20 had circulated on social media, West Point did not confirm it to The New York Times until Thursday. Colonel Kasker said the annual fight is organized by first-year students as a way to build camaraderie after the summer program that prepares them for the rigors of plebe year. Upperclassmen overseeing freshmen “allowed the spirit activity to occur out of the desire to enhance the spirit of the class,” Colonel Kasker said, adding that those upperclassmen took “mitigating measures” to prevent injury, including requiring cadets to wear helmets. But video shows that many of the cadets did not wear helmets. Cadets said that in at least a few cases helmets became weapons stuffed into pillowcases. “West Point applauds the cadets’ desire to build esprit and regrets the injuries to our cadets,” Colonel Kasker said. “We are conducting appropriate investigations into the causes of the injuries.” So far no cadets have been punished, and the academy has no plans to end the annual tradition. Colonel Kasker said commanders were not available for comment on Friday. Video of the fight posted online showed crowds of cadets, some wearing body armor as well as helmets, surging together in a central quad, their yells echoing off the stone walls of the surrounding barracks. As the first-year cadets collided into a boil of white pillows, pummeling one another in the fading light, Army-issued glow sticks flew through the air and an impromptu cavalry of riders in laundry carts dashed in, cushions swinging. At one point, a smoke grenade appeared to go off. Photos posted later on Twitter show plebes, as freshmen are called, with bloody faces and bloody pillows, and at least one person being loaded into an ambulance. [/quote] [url=http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/05/us/at-west-point-annual-pillow-fight-becomes-weaponized.html]Continue reading[/url]

What the fuck

Will they get purple hearts?

[QUOTE=Mingebox;48622507]Will they get purple hearts?[/QUOTE] Just purple eyes.

[quote]As the first-year cadets collided into a boil of white pillows, pummeling one another in the fading light, Army-issued glow sticks flew through the air and an impromptu cavalry of riders in laundry carts dashed in, cushions swinging. At one point, a smoke grenade appeared to go off.[/quote] Not gonna lie that sounds fun as hell, idiots probably ruined it for everyone now. Had to go and make it ~HARDCORE~.

Americas future leaders right there folks.

[QUOTE=MR-X;48623143]Americas future leaders right there folks.[/QUOTE] You have to remember that these are Freshman at West Point. Young college kids are going to be stupid no matter what institute you are at. I'd be concerned if someone goes through all of their higher education without making some stupid decisions.

Imagine the PT the survivors will be getting :v: That said, kinda sucks that it'll probably stop being a thing now because of this. I mean, they say they won't, but you never know.

How in the hell are they getting broken bones and traumati- [quote]as some cadets swung pillowcases packed with hard objects, thought to be helmets[/quote] Oh what the fuck? What kind of asshole fucking stuffs their pillow with hard objects? [quote]That said, kinda sucks that it'll probably stop being a thing now because of this. I mean, they say they won't, but you never know. [/quote] [quote]There are no plans to end the annual pillow fight, which has taken place since at least 1897. [/quote] After something like this, I'd sure as hell hope you didn't get busted trying to pull a stunt like that again.

Hope they weren't Kevlar helmets. You could kill a man with one of those

There must have been some sort of rivalry going on between some of those "students". You don't just intentionally beat the shit out of some people for no reason.

[QUOTE=Code3Response;48623218]You have to remember that these are Freshman at West Point. Young college kids are going to be stupid no matter what institute you are at. I'd be concerned if someone goes through all of their higher education without making some stupid decisions.[/QUOTE] Yeah sure, but it doesn't take a college degree to know that hitting people with blunt objects causes damage and is stupid.

The visual for this whole thing is fucking amazing :v:

[QUOTE=MR-X;48624683]Yeah sure, but it doesn't take a college degree to know that hitting people with blunt objects causes damage and is stupid.[/QUOTE] the thought process behind "let's stuff locks in pillowcases and hit each other!" isn't very far from "hey cletus, let me shoot this apple off your head!". i don't think you'd want people that stupid and irresponsible in the military of all things

[QUOTE=Code3Response;48623218]You have to remember that these are Freshman at West Point. Young college kids are going to be stupid no matter what institute you are at. I'd be concerned if someone goes through all of their higher education without making some stupid decisions.[/QUOTE] These are not "Young college kids" These are grown people, who are inspiring to be military leaders, correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't they have been taught that a combat helmet is not only protection, but a weapon to? I mean when I went to basic, my D.Is told us that if all else fails, ramming your helmet into someone's face could save your life....so why the hell would you use it on a fellow cadet/future brother in arms?

[QUOTE=Daddy-of-war;48624823]These are not "Young college kids" These are grown people, who are inspiring to be military leaders, correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't they have been taught that a combat helmet is not only protection, but a weapon to? I mean when I went to basic, my D.Is told us that if all else fails, ramming your helmet into someone's face could save your life....so why the hell would you use it on a fellow cadet/future brother in arms?[/QUOTE] These are 18-year-old kids that are essentially privates on the officer-side of the military spectrum. A helmet is classified as a protective gear, not a weapon. You can improvise a pencil into a bayonet, that doesn't mean that we should start calling them weapons now.

[QUOTE=CabooseRvB;48624984]These are 18-year-old kids that are essentially privates on the officer-side of the military spectrum. A helmet is classified as a protective gear, not a weapon. You can improvise a pencil into a bayonet, that doesn't mean that we should start calling them weapons now.[/QUOTE] This sort of shit is exactly what I would expect from first year cadets. The amount of stupid shit enlisted men pull off in the military is hilarious, and cadets are pretty much enlisted

It's borderline psychopathy if you want to break bones in a pillow fight I mean what the fuck why just not bring your gun and start fucking beating your own soldiers with it

I get the idea of it, and yeah this sounds like a great way to bond and carry on an old tradition that's frankly hilarious and fun but... Putting a k-pot in the pillow? What? That's not fun that's just being an asshole.

I wonder if this was the cadets just being stupid or if they wanted to intentionally cause it so they can "win". At least with the latter something can actually be molded after that.