This last page of posts, is what it's all about. Each individual handling BCT and the academy differently. 85-90% of these kids were the big fish in a little pond. One of the hardest things to do is to take 1200 Type-A personalities, and treat them equally. Some can handle it. Some can't.
Similar to fencing momma, my son simply stood there and took it. Didn't smirk. Wasn't smug or arrogant or conceited. Just stood there. In one bout with a cadre in his face, they asked him "doesn't this bother you" he said no. They asked why. He said, you don't know my father. He was a Senior NCO. The cadre smiled and said "Nevermind". I think my son said they didn't get in his face much if at all after that. I admit, there are times looking back, that I feel I may have been to hard or strict on my kids. But when I see how both my son and daughter have turned out, it's easy to rationalize.
The truth is, whether or not a trainee can handle the yelling, the in their face, the making them do something over and over again, etc. is definitely an individual thing. Those who find a way to deal with it, while learning the purpose and accepting it, will do fine at the academy. Those who let it bother them, and affect their performance, won't do well there. It doesn't mean they won't do well and succeed in a different environment.
How many remember Mars Boy? He made it through BCT, with a lot of notoriety. Yet he made it. He later had problems academically, but if anyone had a pseudo reputation going in, that could be exploited, it was him. Yet, he was able to manage his way through BCT. I had a lot of respect for him, not letting BCT get to him. Whether a person makes it through BCT and the academy or not, is more about them and less about the cadre and the academy.