British Army orders sergeant majors to shout less at recruits

London, Jan 16 (ANI): The typical image of a sergeant major shouting orders at recruits may soon be history as the British Army appeals to the instructors to adopt a gentler approach.

Commanders have ordered that young soldiers should be coaxed, reasoned with and encouraged to think for themselves instead of being yelled at.

The Army has commissioned research into psychological techniques to identify personality traits that could repress soldiers, such as lack of confidence, fear of failure or stress.

It has trained around 4,500 officers about the need to be able to motivate, encourage and enthuse trainees.

The new methods are being implemented at the Army Recruiting and Training Division's Staff Leadership School (ASLS) in Pirbright, Surrey.

In the training, military instructors are encouraged to "be progressive" and discuss tasks with recruits rather than brawling orders at them.

Lieutenant Colonel Matt Fensom, Commanding Officer at the ASLS told the Daily Mail that there were "limitations" to traditional training techniques.

"If you are telling soldiers what to do at every stage, a typical command style, what happens when that individual giving the orders isn't there? You can get paralysis. We don't want soldiers to be robots," the Telegraph quoted Fensom as saying.

"We need them to think for themselves. This is about getting the best out of recruits," he added.

However, veterans raised concerns that the new tactics could lead to a lack of discipline.

Ex-recruiting sergeant Fred Burden, vice-chairman of the National Malaya and Borneo Veterans' Association UK, said: "The Army is getting too soft on recruits. (ANI)