It's All About Service
You're all starry-eyed and revved-up ... ready to go. You're all
grown-up and tired of lectures. You're super-juiced on hormones
and positively goal-oriented, so there's probably not much point
in talking to you, but I owe it to your father. Listen to your
Dutch uncle this one last time and you might learn
something.
You've made plans, which is good ... everybody should have a plan
... but plans are the first thing to die in combat. Knowing how
to make a new plan in the heat of battle, how to improvise
workable solutions during action takes experience ...
and that's exactly what every new recruit lacks. You think you
have alot to live up to ... and you do ... and you think you're
man enough to handle whatever happens ... and you might
be ... but life is not a race ... unless you're in a hurry to die
... so I recommend that you try to conquer this peak one step at
a time.
There will always be a war, someplace, sometime. The challenges
are never going to just go away ... they will change,
but they will always exist ... and there are never enough
good people to confront them. Once you get into it,
you'll be surprised that there's room for you at the top ...
that, in fact, there's even enough room for you, if you're
worthy, all along the way.
You don't have to decide what your ultimate goal is at the
beginning ... rank, medals, travel, milcraft ... but keep it in
mind, because every step in the wrong direction makes your
journey harder. You'll meet alot of people who are just marking
time, some who are wandering around checking out their options,
some genuinely dedicated troopers, and a few who are so ambitious
that everything around them is just background and everyone near
them is just a useful idiot. Most of those fast-movers will be leaders, so try not to let yourself get
killed by their ambition. Some goldbricks and
feather-merchants will try to scam you ... charm is
their stock and trade, not elbow-grease ... so learn to
identify and avoid them, because you are judged by the company
you keep.
You've heard this before, but pay attention because you're going
to hear alot of things you've heard before. Maybe we shouldn't
have let you listen to our stories, but I always figured that you
would either satisfy your curiosity and accept our tales as
normal, or get bored and find something more interesting
to do with your time. There isn't much difference between the
lies we've told and the lies you've read in all your books! ...
except that you know us, and have heard us ridicule those jerks
who make money telling whoppers. Like I said, this is old
hat ... everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time.
Everyone comes into the military at the same level. The know-it-all are a problem for the DIs because these people have
to unlearn what they think they already know in order to
learn what they're supposed to know! ... give me someone who's
never fired a rifle and I'll teach him to be an expert, but the
barracks lawyer and the martial artist, or even
the ones with military school training, have to be
deconstructed before they can be made into prime
specimens. It's not just a matter of the right way, the wrong
way, and the military way, but of smoothly meshing into the
machinery of the system as it currently exists ... not the way it
used to exist, nor the way it ought to exist. I don't want you to
play dumb, because you're very bright and have alot of
potential, but don't volunteer.
The military is changing all the time ... whether for the better
or worse is debatable ... but it is what it is. You'll be taught
what you need to know, so pay attention and do it the way you are
taught ... and when you are told to change the way things are
done, from new weapons and new uniforms to new protocols and new
standards, then you do that too. A long time ago, the Army issued
rough-out leather boots so that we could tromp around
and beat them up without worrying about messing them up, but the
military, being its own worst enemy, made everybody spit-shine
those boots! ... later it would be no-iron BDUs that got
heavily starched. In the early days, paratroopers could not be
married due to the rate of canopy malfunctions, and early SFers
had to prove their bilingualism before acceptance, and now the
old rules about where women are permitted to serve are changing.
Old timers get cynical about unnecessary changes, but
you're too young to have that perspective, and you shouldn't
borrow it from us ... you'll earn your own perspective, just like
you'll earn your own stripes and gongs.
In fact, borrowing anything from anybody diminishes you. What
anybody else has earned or received has nothing to do with you.
You are making your own way up that mountain, so someone else's
success or failure, while interesting or informative, has no
bearing on whether you continue to march. You carry your load,
complete your missions, and make your own reputation. If somebody
helps you along the way then that's alright, because maybe you
can help somebody else, and because a tour of duty is not about
you ... it's about the unit accomplishing its
assignment.
The reasons why people are serving in the military are as varied
as the people themselves. Some servicemembers are patriots, some
are traditionalists, some are opportunists, and some are seeking
perquisites ... where else can you play with such
expensive toys?! Even when people are drafted, they
know why they're serving, so don't lie to yourself about
your motives. If you're looking for a friend, adopt a dog! If you
want companionship, join a club! If you want to wear a fancy
uniform, get a job as a hotel doorman! If you're looking for job
security, join a union. If you're seeking rewards, go into
business. If you want to tantalize yourself with risk, go on any
of the several extreme sports excursions! ... nobody who's ever
been to war ever wants to go back, and completing a tour with
all present and accounted for is abnormal.
Western culture has been promoting family values while Eastern
culture has been promoting family development, but since
philosophy has declared that God is dead, America has
been promulgating feel good to the me
generation ... so if you accept that he who has the gold
makes the rules as our national watchword, then you will be
very discontented in the military, because the brass
obeys the same rules as the yardbirds. Not that there
aren't opportunities to cheat and steal, but that every theft and
lie is supposed to benefit the unit, and not the individual. Your
father and I used to manufacture war souvenirs for trade
to the REMFs, but the stuff we acquired was for our
people ... stuff that should've come through channels but got
diverted somewhere else, so our midnight requisitions
and other transactions were just a way of reprogramming the
resupply route.
And, if you think that the military only exists to create
generals and Medal of Honor winners, then you will be
dissatisfied, because that old sexual metaphor is right on
target: it ain't what you've got but how you use it!. As
long as you think that the best goes to someone better, then you
won't ever be happy in the military until you learn to make the
best of what you've got.
Wannabes are only the most obvious example of greedy
people stealing what doesn't belong to them, but it applies to
every aspect of military affairs. It's easy to feel envy or
jealousy or resentment when awards or promotions are dispensed,
but life is not fair. In fact, despite the aspect of
superficial uniformity, there's nothing about the military that's
fair, and shouldn't be ... because a soldier is always
looking for an edge to unbalance the equation so that he
can triumph over his adversary as quickly as possible. The
military is a hierarchy ... although some people like to pretend
that it's a meritocracy ... and as such, only so many people can
move up the chain-of-command.
At one time, such as in the old Brown Boot Army, or in
some specialties, such as with Warrant Officer
technicians, it was possible to be perpetually retained at one's
proficiency level, but the up or out policy has been
enacted since World War Two, reinforcing the fact that warm
bodies are expendable in the big picture. If it
were a meritocracy, then those who were obviously unqualified
would be eliminated early, but it is a human institution ...
flawed and defective and subject to influence or manipulation,
just like every other human endeavor ... which means that some
bad people with good connections can displace some good people
without backing. Some people just happen to be at the right place
at the right time when something occurs ... and if they act
appropriately, they are customarily rewarded, and if they act
inappropriately, they are usually punished. Sometimes their acts,
whether right or wrong, are overtaken by circumstance ... and
sometimes they are overlooked or overshadowed. The informal
back channel network usually takes note of these things,
and sometimes tries to avenge a particularly egregious
miscarriage, but it's enough for most of us that our mettle is
recognized by the folks we esteem. Mutual respect is always more
important than tokens.
Even in an unpopular war like Vietnam, where a million servicemen
and servicewomen served in the region on land and sea for over
ten years, there has developed an army of more than nine million
phonies who now claim service in that theater ... and where the
hell were they when we needed them?! Most of the
wannabes lie about their supposed achievements,
bestowing badges and medals upon themselves for imaginary or
unrecognized actions, while others allege exciting encounters and
dangerous assignments so beloved of fictioneers. If everyone who
claimed to have been a recon scout or sniper really served in-country then there wouldn't have been anywhere for Mister
Charles to hide! And if every covert op took place ... well,
you'll acquire your own bullshit detector when you're not so
wet behind the ears. The military is unique among modern
institutions, being reminiscent of the old ways, in that a
person's word is his bond. This trust and reliance on the
word, which can be documented after the fact by denoting
Verbal Order of the Commanding Officer, is equally applicable for
the OP lookout, or the RTO signalman, or the HQ runner. While
you're developing that intuitive sixth sense, remember
to compare words to actions ... watch what people do and recall
what they said. You'll find that doers and
talkers are from two different tribes, and you'll want
to affiliate with the quiet professionals.
Most of the people in the military never experience combat, and
most of the people sent into a war zone are as safe as they were
back home. Even on the counterinsurgency or counterterrorism
battlefield, there are relatively safe and distinctly hazardous
areas ... most of the fighting in Vietnam, where Victor
Charles supposedly ruled everywhere, took place in the
border provinces. And just like the fact that it takes five cops
to keep one policeman patrolling the streets, it takes nine
soldiers to keep one grunt on the frontline. We can
wrangle over the legitimacy of that ratio, but that's the way
it's been in modern times, and only slightly different in ancient
times. Being cannon fodder is inspiring twenty
or fifty years after the war is over, but at the time, it's a
little too thrilling for most people!
Besides, getting paid on time and eating regularly and being
resupplied is important, so the drones who perform these
thankless tasks must be pretty important too.
Most of the people who perform the regular support functions in
the military are not unlike their civilian counterparts, except
that the suit they wear to work is regulated, as is their
personal conduct. It's commonplace to factionalize, and
competition encourages group cohesion and exclusivity, but it's
stupid to bite the hand that feeds you. The soldier you
scorn may be the one who helps you get out of trouble, or moves
your requisition to the top of the stack, or secures the training
that you need. The soldier sitting behind a desk or staffing a
kiosk might be a sport parachutist, a skin diver, a hobbyist
armorer, or a knifemaking machinist, and disrespect will never
build a bridge between you. You can't shun him for being just a
functionary because you too are just a cog in the Big Green
Machine yourself! Everybody needs a little help or consideration
at one time or another ... whether it's trigonometric artillery
solutions or substitute guard duty ... so figure out how to let
one hand wash the other. Everybody in uniform is on the
same team, so learn to play together. If you don't, then you
better not ever need a favor or a friend. It's pretty easy to
force something till it breaks. Hard-ass is one
management method, and cut some slack is another. You'll
experience both, so you'll get a chance to decide which works
better.
Of the many myths about the military, the most basic is that of
free will or control ... you imagine that you have made a
decision when the military lets you volunteer, but all you've
really done is petition the powers that be. In legal
parlance, you've made an offer, but there is no contract until
the military decides whether to accept your offer or to offer
something else ... your only option at that point is to accept or
reject the assignment, with all associated consequences. Military
service is not slavery, so you can refuse any
assignment, even on the battlefield, but the ramifications are
substantial. If you volunteer for an assignment and the military
sends you elsewhere, then you go where you've been sent, do what
you're told, and volunteer again later for a different assignment
... perhaps with better results on the second or third attempt.
In short, you must do your duty.
Soldiers don't make policy ... they implement it, execute it, or
enforce it. The United States military is directed by civil
authority, which has been inconsistent and inconstant,
vacillating from election to election, contradicting alliances
and compromising allies. The troops don't have to like it or
agree with it ... they only have to do it, whatever it
is at the time. There are no heroes ... there are only troops
doing what they're supposed to do. Sometimes that job is vital
and refreshing, and sometimes it's just a dirty thankless chore
that nobody else is capable of doing. These assignments run the
gamut from constabulary and peacekeeping to hot wars and cold
wars ... saber-rattling with the communist bloc was on
an eleven minute trigger with the Warsaw Pact and an eleven
second trigger with the Korean armistice. So an anatomical
inventory should suggest to you that soldiers should look and
listen, should work and walk twice as much as they speak.
Everybody's got an opinion, but the only ones that matter are the
ones that dispatch us in harm's way.
The only obligation in America is taxes, while the military
imposes standards upon its cohort as an additional
responsibility. America is both that shining city on a
hill and a nation of sheep, and it no longer
requires its citizens to pledge their allegiance, but the
military not only requires the pledge, but a sworn oath of
fealty. A servicemember's enlistment is a voluntary commitment
that waives some civil rights ... such as free speech, assembly,
self incrimination, and others ... while guaranteeing all of
these rights to other citizens. The reason for this is that
military service depends more upon character than laws to exact
restraint and conformity. Soldiers are not beaten into shape but
exercise their own self discipline to attain proper comportment.
The name has changed over the years, from War Department to
Department of Defense, and from Armed Forces to Uniformed
Services, but the meaning has remained constant ... military
service is not a politically-correct euphemism for a
horde of cruel destroyers! Military action is that force
deemed necessary to enable or enact public policy ... there is
nothing private or personal about it, and neither is it illegal
or unwarranted. If there is ever any question of unlawful
orders then each soldier has the obligation to disobey. Our
military skillcrafts are becoming more and more precise, such
that deadly force can be as limited as single targets or
as vast as an entire region, depending upon directives. As the
Taoists say, when one has enough power, one does not have to
demonstrate it. That gives the military options that it has never
had before, which has persuaded some politicians to use
servicemembers like social workers in uniform. In any
event, and whatever the assignment, military service is all about
service. The military does not exist for you ... you
exist for the military ... anytime, anywhere, anyway.
I know that it's a little hard for you to believe as you gaze
upon this aging specimen of military merit and plangent
pulchritude ... as if this stunning radiance, by its sheer
brilliance, incinerated your childhood recollections of past
revelries with pure amnesia of those impurities! ... but I too
was once a foolish young puppy with more raw energy than good
sense. 'Tis sad but true ... so let me give you one final bit of
advice. I'm not going to tell you not to sing the old ballads
that your father and I sang in our cups ... the old dogs won't
accept you and the young dogs won't trust you. You'll learn to
howl with your own pack, and that will become your own
music ... and you too will resent anyone chiming-in who has not
earned his place! And I won't tell you not to get tattoos until
you've earned them, or been invited to share in the design,
because if you're stupid enough to go where you don't belong,
then you deserve whatever retribution is meted out! No, that's
all common sense, and if you don't have it by now, then
you'll never have it.
The only last word that I can pass along to you is:
forgiveness. The religionists have made a big deal about
forgiving transgressions but I'm really talking about
humility. You are not bullet-proof ... and you are not
as smart as you think you are. You are going to make mistakes ...
everyone does. Don't worry about the mistakes that somebody else
is making, because you, sooner than you could believe possible,
will have more regrets than you can tote in your ruck! ... if
you're lucky, they'll be minor ... of the simple Aw
shit! variety ... but they can be pretty painful
and haunting. Nobody is perfect ... not you, not your sergeant,
not your commander ... and we all must live with that
imperfection.
So, my young comrade, learn how to forgive yourself. If
you can find a way to put the pain someplace that doesn't turn
you into an insensate or insensitive machine, then you'll be a
better soldier than your father ever was, than I ever was, than
most people ever can be. Warriors are called upon to do terrible
things, but they don't have to be terrible people. Soldiering is
tough. Carry on.
by Frank N. Ernest
... who is a combat veteran and retired policeman; his work has
appeared previously in this magazine.
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