[thomashton]

In the military it's called a "blanket party".

It is used to "straighten out" screw ups who are causing the rest of the company or platoon to lose passes, do more push ups, get extra duty, or whatever. In this case it seemed to work on Pvt. "Pile". The idea of him shooting his drill instructor is pretty far fetched and mostly a product of an anti-military/anti-war movie.

All trainee weapons and everybody else's weapons for that matter are locked up in the armory every day after use. The one exception of course is on a deployment in a hostile environment/war.

Blanket parties are now frowned upon by the Army. When I was in basic training back in 1998 we were told not to do it, although there were a lot of jokes suggesting one by the drill sergeants to help a screw up. None ever happened in my class, but they are something in the Army culture.

They really aren't that prevelant anymore, but definately talked about. The soap in the sock was so you could swing it pretty fast, but not punch and supposedly it won't leave a bruise like a fist will. Don't know--never given nor received a blanket party. Supposedly, another great insert for the sock is an orange and will hurt like crazy, but will give and not leave a bruise.