At Fort Jackson in South Carolina, the Army chief of staff, General Mark Milley, recently handed out for the first time certificates of graduation to recruits who completed basic training. Thankfully, they stopped short of giving recruits medals for learning to march and orienteering badges for finding the mess, but we’re not alone in wondering what kind of message the Army is sending here. Without diminishing the strenuous effort involved, we note that it’s called “basic” training for a reason.

Sergeant Major of the Army Dan Dailey did his best to defend the new policy, telling the Army Times the “Soldier’s Certificate” is a way to welcome “the new recruits into a community of soldiers for which they are lifetime members.”