It ‘s remarkable that at one point of my military career I had never done one push up of my own. Don’t get me wrong, I had done thousands of push-ups, but they were all due to the infractions of others, none had ever been my own punishment. The army is a big promoter of mass punishment, especially during initial training. If one person has done something wrong, we all have done something wrong. Ironically in many ways the army, an institution built and used to protect democracy, functions on the micro level by socialist ideals and on the macro level by communist philosophies. In any case I remember a time when I would pride myself on never having said or done anything worth punishment. Nowadays, every time I open my mouth I do it prepared and willing to reach muscle failure.
Here is the non-violent way to communicate with people in charge of me:
“Noble platoon sergeant, first sergeant, and company commander, I understand the strain that must come with the responsibility of your job and the difficulties of running an entire platoon or company, and let me say that your efforts thus far have been stellar. However, when you use medical personnel to pull tower guard, drive vehicles on convoys, and perform other duties that would otherwise get in the way of doing their job to save the lives of others, it is a misuse of Army assets as well as dangerous for your men in the event of a mass casualty situation on the COP or out of the wire. It belittles us as medics by neglecting our positions and abilities. Furthermore, having medics operate crew serve weapons is in violation of Army Regulation 350-41 and Section IV of the Geneva Convention.”
Here is the way I am forced to explain things to men who have spent their whole lives in the Army:
“Look, I’m not going to pull tower guard. It doesn’t make any fucking sense! There are enough infantry men sitting around here to do that while I go DO MY JOB somewhere. And no, I will never drive on any convoy ever. In what world is that a sane decision? You don’t see me handing over my aid bag to a driver saying ‘you be the medic on this one’. So stop trying to use me and let me DO MY JOB.”
It’s as if you have to disrespect someone just to get their attention anymore.
Sadly, in three years there have been a total of 3 NCO’s and 4 Officers I have truly respected. In an institution that is corner stoned on ethos like selfless service, duty, honor, and leadership it’s appalling to me that only 7 people have inspired those things in me. The reason for this is reciprocated respect is virtually non-existent. Most commonly when speaking to anyone with more that one chevron on their chest a lower enlisted soldier would have to stand with hands folded behind their back, legs spread 30 inches apart, start and finish each statement with sergeant. Standing like this will innately cause you to speak with a tone of shame and phrase everything apologetically. This vulnerable position is called Parade Rest; I call it the position of submission. Meanwhile the leader being addressed will look at said private (human being) with complete disdain, continue to obnoxiously spit chewing tobacco into a Gatorade bottle and proceed to call you a “stupid fucking retard” who ought not use his feeble mind and up-to-date training to try and impede on his obviously much better way of doing things regardless of whatever legitimate concern he may have for the safety of his comrades. This is the treatment that the lower enlisted have endured forever, it crosses the line of giving respect to seniors and makes the detrimental dive into dehumanizing those beneath you.
“All soldiers are entitled to an outstanding leadership; I will provide that leadership. I know my soldiers and will always place their needs above my own…. I will be fair and impartial when recommending both award and punishment.”- The NCO Creed
I have seen grown men be made to roll in the mud like dogs for no reason other than to feed the ego and Machiavellian needs of someone who may have lived through combat but never pulled off a conversation without it being socially awkward. I have personally been forced into intense physical punishment by someone with the conceptual capacity of 12 year old because I corrected a mistake he had made. And I’m sure my grandfather experienced the exact same things. What has been created is not just a culture, but a reliance on power dominance and fear to lead soldiers as opposed to those in charge actually possesing leadership qualities.
The Symbolic Interactionist perspective in modern sociology states that a person takes on the behavior that is exhibited around them. George Mead says that the face-to-face interactions and conversations of everyday life shape a person’s reality. So if every private is treated like a child, guess what? Every private is going to act like a child. Even if they know full well how to be the adult they are. Ironically and perhaps predictably, what makes NCO’s the angriest is when those beneath them are unable to think for themselves. And even though it IS ultimately up to the individual to choose whether or not to participate in this oppressive experience by putting up with it, take it from me or anyone else who doesn’t desire to “smoke the shit” out of another person, a 200-year-old institution of degradation is difficult to break on your own, and unless you “embrace the suck” and accept being inferior for no valid reason, you WILL be ostracized.
Also, since the topic is on the table (internet), conversational hand gestures are not disrespectful. The words yes and understood are in the English dictionary, the words “Hooah” and “Roger” don’t actually exist. So why the hell does saying the former imply that I am disrespecting a rank, or a career, or whatever delusion of professionalism you have just given up by screaming at me?
Uncle Sam (you cold old miser) you can keep my stripes, give them to the next patsy just trying to get a little credibility. My intelligence and professionalism will not increase with my paycheck and frankly it doesn’t need to. More importantly I will not play into the system of bitter hatred just to escape its oppressive holds. I want people to look at my eyes when they speak to me not my chest. I don’t want anyone to think they owe me their dignity because I stood in front of a panel of old men and impressed them with my ability to memorize army regulation codes.
I remember a conversation I once had with a senior NCO while walking the halls of our HQ in Ft. Knox. I was reading over the certificates for the Medal of Honor recipients in our unit. Behind the glass of each framed document there was a story of incredible courage, selflessness, skill and strength. Truly moving descriptions of honorable men, the kind of stuff they make movies out of. Studying the certificates deeper I noticed that they were all awarded posthumously and all to the ranks of E-4 and below. When I pointed this out to the sergeant next to me, his response was simple-
“Well….someone had to put in the paperwork.”
If there was ever a question as to why I turned down the promotion board, there’s the answer.
