I’m going to start a series on what recruiters say that is half true. I had a POG recruiter, a POG (Personnel Other than Grunts, or something), is someone in the military that has a job not directly related to killing the enemy. For example, the finance guys who always screw up your young soldiers pay, generator mechanics, electricians, etc. There’s nothing wrong with these folks, and they are still serving their country, but when they go to work they have an air conditioned office, or they spend their days running electrical wiring, with plenty of breaks. The combat arms folks go to work at the rifle range, the MOUT range, and some god awful trench clearing range in the middle of North Carolina.

These two experiences are far more reaching than just the working environment, and today’s Army is trying to merge the two– which isn’t possible. That could be a whole series of posts in itself. I digress. If your child is looking to join the military and go to a combat arms MOS (military occupational specialty, I think), try to get them a recruiter that was as well. I didn’t, and my brother had been in aviation his entire career. I fully expected all the field and range time of the infantry, but what I had no grasp of at 17, was the idea that your body is your equity.

When you are in the infantry it’s as if you are a professional athlete. If you can’t come out and play on Sunday you are worthless. That’s how the leadership sees you, and this is if you get hurt in training. It’s all about sucking it up, even though you were carrying the RTO’s ruck on your front, with yours on the back, because he was falling out, now you have stress fractures in your feet and shins, but your platoon sergeant doesn’t care.

If you had said something, you would have never heard the end of it, instead you sucked it up and walked the rest of the 5 miles to the company area, now you have to have your foot re-broken and put in a cast. On Monday when you go to  “sick call,” no matter that you were thought of as one of the toughest guys, you are called a “pussy” by everyone who sees you. When you come back you are given more work than normal because you can’t train, you might run the gym, or be in charge of  a detail where all the privates that are hurt mow the lawn.

Now remember, this is when you get hurt in training. When the recruiter starts showing you brochures of all the folks having fun playing volleyball, and other sports, those are not combat arms soldiers, at least not at Bragg, Campbell, Lewis, or Hunter. If you get hurt playing a sport on the weekend, doing martial arts, riding horses, etc., you will get crushed. Even worse, slip and fall when you’ve been drinking and you will get crucified. If you want to be in a combat unit, expect to live within even harsher standards than pro athletes. No DUI’s, no getting in fights, nothing. Just know, you live the life 24/7, just because it’s the weekend does not mean you aren’t a soldier.

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