Military Misconceptions

It seems that some people have certain misconceptions about the military that i would like to take a moment to address. We are not dumb,uneducated grunts. We have intelligent people and unintelligent people just like any other group. Higher education is encouraged and a lot of the time it is required for promotion. i would also like to address the blindly following orders issue. yes, you have to follow the orders or your superiors, yes, you must respect them. You cant challenge your boss in front of his other soldiers but you CAN pull him/her aside and explain ways things could be done better. Soldiers get more input in the decisions than you would think. Yes, in the heat of battle, NCO's and officers have to make spur of the moment decisions and weither or not they may not always be right but its the best that can be done. There is a time and place for everything and with anything else, there are rules and exceptions to the rules. The biggest thing about being in the military is that you are held to more standards than the rest of the population. Other than physical training, you go to work in the morning, and come home in the evening, and have weekends off, just like any other job.

That is all. Feel free to run with this guys. and flame away if you want to...i just wanted to clear up some things.

oh yeah, and there are more "oath keepers" in the military than a lot of people think. you know what im talking about.

P.S. My appologies to the mods if i placed this thread in the wrong forum.

reply to post by BrainPower

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You should also mention that US Soliders do not have to follow unlawful orders, under UCMJ.

Once in a while here, I'll see some idiot make a statement concerning the education levels of our troops or make a statement to the effect that it's only the poor who go in to pay for their education.

We have the brightest military we've ever had, and by God, we've had some good ones, as many of our former enemies can attest.

The technology that these young men and women operate now likewise attest to their intelligence and technology-savvy minds.

Time after time, they cowboy up and head back to combat zones repeatedly.

They'll drop their shields in a moment to grab or save a brother in arms, and never think about it.

Many in our military have a fair idea about their true capabilities.

Many in our military have a fair idea about their limitations.

And how many critics can say that?

Not one.

[edit on 14-5-2009 by dooper]

The demographics of the military follow closely those of the general public. So if someone is dissing the military it follows that they're dissing the entire country. Of course, for that type of person it would be hardly surprising.

Anyone think they could make it through boot camp?

Not exactly true, but still accurate enough to be viable.

The ASVAB has been modified to open up a wider and less stringent acceptance base. Higher results are not as required as they were and MOS requirements have been lowered over all.

How ever, there is still an education requirement and the majority of service members are in the 1-5% percent range of the population who meet higher education standards.

Of course there will always be stereotypes, rednecks are dumb and talk funny, cops always take donut breaks etc..

Deny ignorance, open your mind.

They actually tightened it not too long ago and would only allow people to enlist if their score was over 50 I think. It may have been a bit higher but was no lower than 50. That's a fair sight higher than the 35 needed before. Something about having more people enlisted than they had open slots and needing to slow down the enlistments for a bit or something like that. I don't know if that policy is still in effect but it was at the beginning of the year.

reply to post by Jenna

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Good to know, wasn't tracking that. Just remembered some thing about it being redone and that scores were changed to open up people who other wise never would be able to join.

Always support your troops, and always question those who give them
orders. Because it is only we civilians who have the ability to do so--so
in truth, it is our duty.

reply to post by ADVISOR

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Advisor, I see what you're saying, but consider the words of Herodotus, a couple millennium ago:

"It became clear to all, and especially the king, that though he had plenty of men, he had but very few warriors."
Herodotus

He was talking about his Persians getting chewed up primarily by the thousands by a handful of Spartans and Thespians.

And this other fellow:

"Not all soldiers make good warriors, and not all warriors make good soldiers." Michael C. Riggs

What's been happening is that we have young men, who due entirely to their aggressive nature, have maybe gotten in a bit of trouble. Couldn't get in before, but now some waivers are being permitted.

We don't need here in the US to limit our options to polished stainless steel.

We also need heat-tempered, high-carbon, razor steel.

And, these guys are just as bright as anyone.

Would you agree?


[edit on 14-5-2009 by dooper]

reply to post by ADVISOR

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The only reason I know is because my hubby was a recruiter up until recently when they cut funding. Kinda nice having an in-house fact checker.

reply to post by dooper

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Completely, couldn't agree more.

I couldn't agree more with the original poster. I retired from the US Army as a Sergeant Major a few years ago. Before retirement I often sat as board president on promotion boards, soldier of the year boards, etc. I often told myself that I was glad I wasn't competing aginst these kids. I don't remember my peers or myself being that smart when we were young enlisted men back in the early 70s.

I am now lucky enough to be in a position of taking care of the most severely injured soldiers coming back from OIF/OEF.

My favorite saying is "I'm not a hero...........but I know a lot of them."

reply to post by worldtraveler35

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thanks Sergeant Major! i actually just went to the E-5 board a month ago. The whole college thing is cause my points are 798 right now and i definitely gotta get those civilian ed points

reply to post by BrainPower

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Thank you, Sergeant. E5 is the pay grade; your rank will be Sergeant. Many soldiers intermingle the two, a peeve of mine.

Sergeant, Staff Sergeant- that's where the real work is at.

AKO also has some points that will help. Those extra 5 make a difference, so make sure to have your NCOER if your a Sgt and ERB updated for sure even if your not a nco yet the ERB is important to get into your S2 or how ever your Troop does it.

One thing for going to the board, know the NCO creed will be impressive and if you can find out what material is going to be covered for the quiz part your golden.

[edit on 14-5-2009 by ADVISOR]

reply to post by worldtraveler35

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Amen.

A good Sergeant is worth two Generals.

The Generals are only needed to sign the paperwork.

The Sergeants make things happen.

Thanks for posting that Brain Power !

I think that " we " may have more misconceptions about the army then we care to admit to ourselves .

I look forward to reading more of your posted on this topic , from your perspective .



[edit on 14-5-2009 by Max_TO]

I used to have to study myself, before being board president, so I could actually give the soldiers questions that would challange them. (That, and I didn't want to look stupid). I was the 1SG of a Tactical PSYOP Company for 3 1/2 years; many of the soldiers had college degrees, some advanced degrees. Now, as for the four Intel Officers we had that all had doctorate degrees, they were brilliant in their areas of expertise, but when we were out in the boonies doing tactical stuff, I'd assign a sharp young enlisted soldier to follow them around and keep them out of trouble

reply to post by worldtraveler35

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Well, I'm not a Sergeant yet, Sergeant Major, still a SPC (P) but my bad on the E-5 thing...we always say that anyone can be an E-5, but to be a Sergeant, it takes responsibility, leadership, confidence, copetitence, as well as a truck load of resiliency.

reply to post by worldtraveler35

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So that's why you pulled scouts out of troop into headquarters as gunners eh...

Didn't work in my case, I stayed in my trp and was requested by the xo to be his gunner. Worked out great and being a jr nco in that position was rewarding.

WT did your guys call you top?