00:00What was the funniest misunderstanding during basic training?
00:02Our drill sergeant spent two weeks trying to break this one recruit who he thought was being disrespectful,
00:07but the kid was actually deaf and had been reading lips the whole time.
00:10It started during our second week at Fort Benning,
00:11when Drill Sergeant Martinez noticed that Private Collins never responded to verbal commands immediately.
00:16While the rest of us would snap to attention the second Martinez opened his mouth,
00:19Collins would look around confused for a few seconds before copying what everyone else was doing.
00:23Martinez thought Collins was being a smartass and trying to show defiance.
00:27Collins! When I say jump, you say how high!
00:30Are we crystal clear on that?
00:31Collins just stared at him with this blank expression and slightly tilted head,
00:34which made Martinez even angrier.
00:36Oh, so now you're giving me the silent treatment?
00:38You think you're better than everyone else?
00:39Drop and give me 50 push-ups right now.
00:41Collins saw everyone else dropping to the ground,
00:43so he immediately hit the deck and started doing push-ups.
00:45But Martinez was convinced the kid was mocking him by not verbally acknowledging orders like everyone else.
00:50This bizarre standoff went on for two solid weeks.
00:53Martinez would scream commands directly at Collins,
00:55who would just nod politely and follow along with whatever the group was doing.
00:58The angrier Martinez got, the more convinced he became that Collins was playing some kind of sophisticated psychological game.
01:04This recruit thinks he's smarter than me,
01:06Martinez complained to the other drill sergeants during their evening briefing.
01:09He's trying to break me down with his attitude and mind games.
01:12Meanwhile, Collins was actually performing better than most of us in every single category.
01:16His PT scores were consistently excellent,
01:18his bunk was always spotless during inspections,
01:20and he never missed a formation or showed up late.
01:22But Martinez was so laser-focused on the perceived disrespect that he couldn't see any of the positive performance.
01:28The breaking point came during weapons training on the rifle range.
01:30Martinez was explaining detailed M16 safety procedures when he noticed Collins watching another recruit's rifle
01:36instead of looking directly at him while he was talking.
01:38Collins, eyes on me when I'm speaking to you!
01:40Collins didn't react at all because he was focused on lip-reading the other instructor,
01:44who was demonstrating proper grip techniques across the range.
01:47Martinez completely lost his mind.
01:48That's it! You think this is some kind of joke?
01:50You think you can just ignore me and do whatever you want?
01:52He stormed over and got right in Collins' face,
01:54screaming at the absolute top of his lungs about respect and military discipline.
01:58Collins just kept that same confused expression with his head slightly tilted,
02:02which made Martinez even more furious.
02:03That's when our company commander walked up and tapped Martinez on the shoulder.
02:06Sergeant, can I speak with you privately for a moment?
02:08They walked about 20 feet away and had an intense whispered conversation.
02:12Martinez's face went through about five different emotions in 30 seconds.
02:15Turns out Collins' medical paperwork had gotten completely mixed up
02:18during initial processing.
02:19He was 70% deaf from a childhood accident
02:21and had been accepted into a special program for hearing-impaired recruits.
02:25He'd been reading lips and following visual cues the entire time,
02:27trying his absolute best to keep up.
02:29Martinez came back looking like he'd seen a goat.
02:31He walked up to Collins and started using exaggerated hand gestures,
02:35speaking slowly and clearly while facing him directly.
02:37Collins broke into the biggest smile
02:39and gave Martinez the most perfect salute I'd ever seen.
02:41The next day, Martinez quietly arranged for Collins
02:44to get a certified sign language interpreter
02:45and all the proper accommodations he needed.
02:47Collins graduated at the top of our class
02:49and later became a highly successful military intelligence specialist.
02:52The best part?
02:53Martinez started learning basic sign language in his spare time
02:56and eventually became a passionate advocate
02:57for disabled recruits throughout his entire career.
Comments