View Full Version : Army life - perception vs. reality
Gentlemen,
When planning on going into a certain career field, a prudent person will do research and speak to people who already work in that field in order to gain an understanding of 'what it's like'. For people who have plans on joining the army and eventually making their way into Special Forces, this website is a great resource in that regard.
Nevertheless, I have heard it here and elsewhere that the Army is unusual in that you never really know what you're really getting into until you actually sign a contract and get to your first unit.
I believe that most civilians have misconceptions about what life in the army, or SF in particular, is like. I feel this is especially true for younger generations, who grew up watching hollywood movies with lone warriors dodging bullets and slitting throats against a backdrop of fiery explosions. I feel that video games have further contributed to a general misunderstanding of what it may mean to serve in the Army and see combat. Surely there is more to special operations than what can be seen in 4:00 youtube clips.
So, for the sake of educating myself and others, I would like to ask you men who have served: What were some of the things that were different from what you initially thought they would be like? What were the pleasant/unpleasant surprises? What were some of the things you never thought you were going to have to deal with?
mojaveman
10-09-2011, 11:34
What were some of the things you never thought you were going to have to deal with?
Doing post maintenence support which included mowing lawns, weeding, painting, etc. when we could have been shooting at the range or conducting some other type of valuable training.
You cannot forget the picking up and removal of the ubiquitous Fort Bragg pine cone. Luckily I never got caught up in that, but I saw many a Senior NCO and Officer having to do just that.
Tress
Can't let the place get all messy and run down though, right? Or are there people that are supposed to do just that stuff alone?
There should have been.
mojaveman
10-09-2011, 12:11
Can't let the place get all messy and run down though, right? Or are there people that are supposed to do just that stuff alone?
Yeah, 1st COSCOM :p
Utah Bob
10-09-2011, 16:41
Doing post maintenence support which included mowing lawns, weeding, painting, etc. when we could have been shooting at the range or conducting some other type of valuable training.
Ahhh but training costs money.:rolleyes:
greenberetTFS
10-09-2011, 17:09
Doing post maintenence support which included mowing lawns, weeding, painting, etc. when we could have been shooting at the range or conducting some other type of valuable training.
Yep,especially those damn "pine cones"........:rolleyes::(:eek:
Big Teddy :munchin
Health and welfare inspections. It is amazing what will fit in hallway ceiling tiles!:eek::D
There were annoying things I didn't care for but that is life in or out of the Army. The BS stuff paled compared to the things the Army allowed me to do...I picked up some pine cones, did maint on stuff I never used, pulled CQ overnighters etc....hurried up and waited etc.....
I also got to jump a nuke device from 21,000 ft so the other stuff didn't seem that bad ;)
Utah Bob
10-09-2011, 20:52
I didn't expect the food to be as good as it was. Especially LRRP rats.:D
mojaveman
10-09-2011, 21:03
As an 18 year old kid from California in '81 I never thought I'd be guarding the second most important American military commander in Europe at his estate next to the Capitol building of Baden-Wurtemburg in Germany. Being a member of the USEUCOM praetorian guard was something I thought I'd never do.
24/7
It's a 24/7 job. You're never really off - even when you're on leave.
You have to love it to live it - and live it to love it.
There were annoying things I didn't care for but that is life in or out of the Army. The BS stuff paled compared to the things the Army allowed me to do...I picked up some pine cones, did maint on stuff I never used, pulled CQ overnighters etc....hurried up and waited etc.....
I also got to jump a nuke device from 21,000 ft so the other stuff didn't seem that bad ;)
Good perspective.
Utah Bob
10-10-2011, 08:02
I never thought about the immense responsibility that would be placed on my shoulders.
I had only a vague idea of how it would change my attitude about life, family, friends and freedom.
Compared to civilian life, things are magnified ten fold.
1stindoor
10-11-2011, 08:28
Being held responsible for everything they do...and everything they don't do...takes on a whole new meaning.
ZonieDiver
10-11-2011, 09:43
The bonds you formed with fellow soldiers, in SF and out, stand out to me.
Civilians cannot understand how someone you knew for a relatively short period of time can call you 30+ years later, need help, and you are off to provide it - even if you haven't seen or heard from him in all that time.
They don't, and can't, understand.
greenberetTFS
10-11-2011, 11:04
The bonds you formed with fellow soldiers, in SF and out, stand out to me.
Civilians cannot understand how someone you knew for a relatively short period of time can call you 30+ years later, need help, and you are off to provide it - even if you haven't seen or heard from him in all that time.
They don't, and can't, understand.
Your a truthful example of that statement..................:D:D:D
Big Teddy :munchin
DJ Urbanovsky
10-11-2011, 12:26
Unpleasant surprise #67: When collapsing a LAW rocket, if you don't remove your index finger from the detent boot after releasing the lock, there is a piece of metal in there that will incise a nice sized chunk from said finger... Actually, they DID tell us that, but you can't tell a buck private anything...
Unpleasant surprise #123: The Disco Hut... Actually, I didn't find it to be as horrible as they made it out to be. Except for that one guy... Why is there always that one guy who refuses to remove his mask, while everybody else stands there with snot running out of their face?
Pleasant surprise #81: Watching a 6'6", 250lb man with a voice like a bullhorn in a Smokey The Bear hat make a song out of the 9 symptoms of severe never agent poisoning. AND he dances while he sings it. Pretty soon, you're singing and dancing right along with him.
Pleasant surprise #95: The feeling of getting new rank pinned on. And the feeling as every man in your platoon then files past you and punches it into your clavicle.
Seriously though OP, as with the rest of your life, everything balances out. You're going to love components of the life, and you're going to hate components of the life. It's about understanding the rules to the game of the life and making the most of it. I got to give something back to my country, and do a lot of really cool stuff that I never would have been able to do had I not served. And the experience forged me into a much better person than the 18 year old know-it-all that sat across from the recruiter and signed his name on the line. People can tell you all day long what what the life is like, but you'll never really know until you're living it.
Team Sergeant
10-11-2011, 12:35
Unpleasant surprise #67: When collapsing a LAW rocket, if you don't remove your index finger from the detent boot after releasing the lock, there is a piece of metal in there that will incise a nice sized chunk from said finger... Actually, they DID tell us that, but you can't tell a buck private anything...
Ahh the memories......LOL
I always thought that to be a small price to be paid for NOT being on the receiving end of the 66mm HEAT Round...........
Gentlemen,
thanks for the numerous replies. I have a follow up question that is somewhat related, and I figured I might as well post it here instead of starting another thread.
I've heard a lot of (mostly younger) guys talking about how, when you're constantly training for real world missions, you want to get in on the action; you want to go to war and do the things you learned in training, prove yourself, etc. -- At the same time many of those who have seen combat will attest to the fact that war is an ugly thing. They are about having more of their friends killed or seeing the destruction that armed conflict brings to all involved.
Is this simply the difference between the young, uninitiated and the older soldiers, who have already had their trial by fire? How do you reconcile constantly training for something that will more than likely turn out to have adverse effects on you or your friends?
mark46th
10-19-2011, 16:22
Unpleasant surprise? How cold it can get at Camp Mackall.
Best surprise? Orders for Thailand...
Dragbag036
10-19-2011, 20:23
Gentlemen,
I've heard a lot of (mostly younger) guys talking about how, when you're constantly training for real world missions, you want to get in on the action; you want to go to war and do the things you learned in training, prove yourself, etc. -- At the same time many of those who have seen combat will attest to the fact that war is an ugly thing. They are about having more of their friends killed or seeing the destruction that armed conflict brings to all involved.
Is this simply the difference between the young, uninitiated and the older soldiers, who have already had their trial by fire? How do you reconcile constantly training for something that will more than likely turn out to have adverse effects on you or your friends?
I will use an analogy that I learned from my father, who is also a Vietnam Vet. In boxing, or any sport, people train and spar to get better, because they want to be in the ring. Once they have the opportunity to get in the ring, you get bruised, you may even get punched in the throat, but you survive. Now you have been in the ring, you either decide it's not what you wanted...you're done, or you start the training all over again, take the lessons learned, and keep that in your kit for the next time you have that situation. Now, getting in that ring, you're still gonna get nervous, but this is your calling, and after the first punch your training and conditioning takes over.
As a young lad before Desert Storm, all I wanted to do was be tested, and prove my metal to my father and myself. Now after many years and many austere places later, I still want to do my part for my country, but I don't run around like a young man who still has something to prove to others or himself. Many QP's soldiers, marines, etc. now know what it's like to have the loss of a brother or the sting of leaving a loved one, but we would all do it again because it is a calling "I believe that SF is a 'calling' - not too different from the calling missionaries I know received. I knew instantly that it was for me, and that I would do all I could to achieve it. Most others I know in SF experienced something similar. If, as you say, you HAVE searched and read, and you do not KNOW if this is the path for you --- it is not....
Zonie Diver"
My .0002 cents
Badger52
10-20-2011, 05:42
Unpleasant? VOLAR-style 'childcare' during that timeframe; rock-painting at the kaserne entrance.
Incredibly satisfying? Something you were neck deep in that you couldn't talk about, only to find that later in life it's been declassified and "someone/somewhere" now has a freakin' website about it and you can show a grandkid that you were a small part of history and something important. That's betting on the come, long-term payback that may/may not happen that you can't count on and might not recognize except in retrospect. But you'd do it all again.