Blanket party

A blanket party is a form of corporal punishment or hazing conducted within a peer group, most frequently within the military or military academies. The victim (usually asleep in bed) is restrained by having a blanket flung over him and held down at the corners, while other members of the group strike him repeatedly with improvised flails, most often a sock or bath towel containing something solid, such as a bar of soap. Other weapons which could be used were entrenching tools or a bunk adapter (a piece of pipe used to connect a bunk bed to another). Blows to the head were avoided, as these would likely be fatal.

Kitchen scrub brushes were sometimes used, although these were more often employed during "G.I. scrubs" for soldiers with poor personal hygiene. The blanket party became widely known within pop culture by its portrayal in the Stanley Kubrick movie Full Metal Jacket. In the film, the members of a basic training platoon give a blanket party to Private Leonard Lawrence (nicknamed "Private Pyle", a reference to the 1960s U.S. television character Gomer Pyle) as retaliation for the group punishment given to the entire platoon as a result of Pyle's repeated inability to perform various tasks properly. After the beating, Private Cowboy tells Pyle to "remember, it's just a bad dream, fat boy."

The use of blanket parties and other forms of corporal punishment are now illegal in the United States military.