The art of hazing - SKETCHES by Ana Marie Pamintuan

The superintendent of the Philippine Military Academy was only telling the truth when he said hazing has become a tradition in the school. He fell short of saying it was impossible to stop the tradition, especially after his commander-in-chief, President Arroyo, ordered him to stop it. But after a long talk with one very prominent PMA alumnus, I’m sorry to say that the President’s order will be ignored. Anyway, she’ll never know, unless some cadets once again muck up "the art of hazing" – as the PMA alumnus puts it – and send some poor sap to the mortuary.

This is a "tradition" that confounds me. I dismiss it as a guy thing, an exuberant burst of youthful testosterone. But the PMAyer says it’s not as simple as that. It’s a "practice," not a tradition, he says. He also implies what the PMA superintendent fell short of saying: hazing at the academy is unlikely to end.

"There’s logic, there’s method in the madness," the PMAyer insists.

The logic? The military has its own culture that requires rigid discipline, he explains. To be effective, a fighting force may sometimes require blind obedience from its soldiers. The PMAyer calls this "followership," as opposed to leadership. You can’t lead effectively, he says, until you’ve learned to follow. And leadership is what the PMA tries to instill in its cadets, who will form the Armed Forces’ officer corps.

* * *

"Followership" is learned by the cadet in his first year. As a plebe he is the lowest of the low in the academy. But blind obedience is not the only thing he learns in his first year, the PMAyer says. The cadet also learns to give loyalty where it is due. And he develops endurance; he learns to survive under tremendous emotional and physical stress – qualities that may come in handy in the life of a soldier. Maybe we should ask Army Maj. Noel Buan about this.

In the cadet’s second year he suddenly finds himself thrust into the role of commander. Given charge of a plebe, he is initiated into leadership. As he gets his first taste of power, he learns that effective leadership requires using this immense power over another human being with restraint. He realizes that to get his subordinate’s respect, he must not abuse this power or use it for personal purposes. Plebes are discerning, the PMAyer says; they can see when they’re being taught discipline or simply being abused and humiliated for the heck of it.

The sense of leadership broadens as the cadet goes higher in the academy and has more people under him. In his third year he commands the cadets in charge of the plebes. And in his final year his batch commands the entire cadet corps. Along the way he would have learned many lessons in leadership, which can prove useful later when he orders soldiers to go to battle or conduct other missions that could cost them their lives.

* * *

Let’s go back to those who conduct the hazing – the second-year cadets. The unwritten rule in hazing is that the plebe must be allowed to regain his strength before the beating continues. This is what the PMAyer describes as "the art of hazing."

For example, you punch the plebe on the stomach, not the solar plexus. If the plebe knows anything about his own body, he’ll steel his stomach muscles for the blow. His superior officer then allows the plebe to catch his breath. He is told to jog a bit to restore proper circulation before he is asked, "Do you want more?" The plebe has no choice but to reply, "Yes, sir!" And he gets another blow.

The problem, the PMAyer concedes, is that mistakes in such a brutal "art" can be fatal.

He disagrees with observations that only a warped culture nurtures hazing. Such experiences in the academy, he says, account for the unique bond among PMAyers, the "mistah" culture.

It was an interesting explanation, but the logic still escapes me. It reminds me of one Army captain who fought in Mindanao. He told me that for courage, soldiers preparing for their first battle were made to eat pickled human earlobes downed with beer. I half-believed him.

Maybe military service requires a certain frame of mind that looks at violence in a different way. True, many PMAyers become responsible citizens, non-violent types whose favorite pastime is a non-violent sport, golf. One of them even became president of the Republic.

But the way I see it, violence begets violence. When you’re bred in a tacitly sanctioned culture of brutality, there’s no telling when it could turn you into a monster, capable of torture and summary execution. This is one art I will never appreciate.