If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

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sc63sallad
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If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by sc63sallad »

I'm going to seem like a giant ASS but I'm sick of people in support MOSs buying all sorts of high speed velcro laden "tactical" clothing and talking nonstop about how "hardcore" their deployments were. Also adorning said clothing with every Infantry division or SOF unit patch they were ever attached to, and insisting that despite being a reserve civil affairs or personnel specialist, said unit invited them along to go capture/kill this or that MVT or HVT, and were awarded a secret ninja tab because they were so badass. And they don't feel emotions anymore because of all the traumatic combat they saw as an air force network technician. If you have such a hard on for combat arms, just go into combat arms! If you were accepted into the military then you are eligible to at least try out for a combat arms or SOF MOS. So just do it.. or kindly SHUT THE F--k UP. Rant done.
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by Jt.kline19 »

sc63sallad wrote:I'm going to seem like a giant ASS but I'm sick of people in support MOSs buying all sorts of high speed velcro laden "tactical" clothing and talking nonstop about how "hardcore" their deployments were. Also adorning said clothing with every Infantry division or SOF unit patch they were ever attached to, and insisting that despite being a reserve civil affairs or personnel specialist, said unit invited them along to go capture/kill this or that MVT or HVT, and were awarded a secret ninja tab because they were so badass. And they don't feel emotions anymore because of all the traumatic combat they saw as an air force network technician. If you have such a hard on for combat arms, just go into combat arms! If you were accepted into the military then you are eligible to at least try out for a combat arms or SOF MOS. So just do it.. or kindly SHUT THE F--k UP. Rant done.
I always loved how POGs said "Well we pretty much do the same thing as the infantry".
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

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Jt.kline19 wrote:
sc63sallad wrote:I'm going to seem like a giant ASS but I'm sick of people in support MOSs buying all sorts of high speed velcro laden "tactical" clothing and talking nonstop about how "hardcore" their deployments were. Also adorning said clothing with every Infantry division or SOF unit patch they were ever attached to, and insisting that despite being a reserve civil affairs or personnel specialist, said unit invited them along to go capture/kill this or that MVT or HVT, and were awarded a secret ninja tab because they were so badass. And they don't feel emotions anymore because of all the traumatic combat they saw as an air force network technician. If you have such a hard on for combat arms, just go into combat arms! If you were accepted into the military then you are eligible to at least try out for a combat arms or SOF MOS. So just do it.. or kindly SHUT THE F--k UP. Rant done.
I always loved how POGs said "Well we pretty much do the same thing as the infantry".

I've heard that s--t too, and I don't like it...at all.
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by T-Rex »

There was IT guy, that serviced our company, a couple yrs ago. He would bait you into asking about the time he trained w/ SF.
He made it seem like he was in theater, carrying SF guys on his back.

His co-worker told us the real story.
He used to work for a gov't contractor who had something to do w/ military coms. PC to Voice integration, or some crap.
The closest this POG got to SF was, maybe, changing out the batteries in their com sets, while still inside the US....
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by tsands974 »

Add this old 11B4 to the group! Was listening to a former marine at the VA talking about how he had the highest PTSD rating for stuff he saw in his time in Iraq, how he collects full disability benefits, and they even gave him a freaking service dog (this part was true cause the dog was there with him in the VA). So I directly asked him what his MOS was, that I was a former 11B4 in Iraq, and he sort of stared at me and said "56 Mike". That's a CHAPLAIN'S ASSISTANT. Are you F***ing kidding me!?
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by blade1668 »

I have to agree 100% former 11B 15 years then got stupid and became a 95B / 31B and then Army Civ.Police.
I had to take a AD remf to hospital for pre trial confinement after dumb ass threatened his "Command"( I use command loosely) he had done a number on 5-6 MPs his B.S. was due to PTSD. I explained that I was Infantry before. Then he noticed the CIB sticker on my clipboard. he was a damn wrench in Army in direct support Bn. :shock: Where I work now, I hear so damn many B.S. story's from former remfs of what they "seen and or done. I know many that are drawing 40-100% disability benefits.. some never seen a deployment even.
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by jlwilliams »

Disclaimer: I was never in the military.

I think the trend of people claiming huge PTSD creds is about more than the money they can get from being classified as "disabled' (which I put in quotes not to discount the reality of disability, but because it is a classification. The word has specific connotations.) People who were in the war, even if they weren't in combat, can claim to be scarred from their experience. Why would they? Because our culture has elevated the victim and made it a badge of distinction to be in some way damaged by the cruel winds of fate. Guys claim to be battle scarred, not battle hardened; because that is what our society has somehow labelled as cool. "Chicks will dig me if I'm a wounded warrior." is somehow the view.

I know lots of guys who served and have real issues with real trauma and they work through it. I'm sure it's hard, but I can't know because it's not me. I also see lots of people who went into the military because they wanted money for college, they took a high tech MOS because that was what they wanted to do (and because it made them less likely to get shot at) but now they spout all the s--t about themselves as "Heroes" (a WAY over used title these days) and about how they know "what it's all about" because they have experienced the "horrors of war." It's hard to keep a straight face when I know full well and remember full well that they didn't sign up for any noble reason and I know I've had more guns pointed at me in anger (by drunks and crack heads, because the war isn't the only place where violence exists) and these assholes tell me they are special and I don't know anything. A few months spent in Iraq and they see themselves as warriors/hero/philosopher when I know full well they were mechanics or other non combat technician types.

OK, looks like I got onto a bit of a rant too. Fact is, our society has elevated victimhood to the point where people leave service seeing themselves as glorious for their victimhood; and not everybody who served is any sort of a hero. Some of them are the same jackasses they were before they went in.
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by sc63sallad »

I stand behind my original rant. If you're support and you like it, good. Just don't act like you're a door kickin', snake eatin killer. Know your job and be proud of YOUR JOB. And if you want to pony up and get dirty....do it. If you want the scars and the suffering, go get you some. Don't sit at your computer on the FOB and daydream, and then tell everyone that the daydreams are actually what happened when you get home. Support saying they do everything combat arms does is like saying a Ford Escort does the same thing as a Ferrari. Drop all the bullshit and ante up...you can re-class if you have the balls.
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by warjunky1428 »

Your motivation is too damn high. And you sound like a boot.
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by Jt.kline19 »

warjunky1428 wrote:Your motivation is too damn high. And you sound like a boot.
^ Marine :lol:
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warjunky1428
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by warjunky1428 »

Jt.kline19 wrote:
warjunky1428 wrote:Your motivation is too damn high. And you sound like a boot.
^ Marine :lol:
Is my unmotivated disgruntled ass that easy to spot?
And yes, I am an 0331 myself.
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by sc63sallad »

warjunky1428 wrote:Your motivation is too damn high. And you sound like a boot.

LOL, I am the de-motivator.
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by Jt.kline19 »

warjunky1428 wrote:
Jt.kline19 wrote:
warjunky1428 wrote:Your motivation is too damn high. And you sound like a boot.
^ Marine :lol:
Is my unmotivated disgruntled ass that easy to spot?
And yes, I am an 0331 myself.
I can always spot a Marine. I was an 0351 with 2/2
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warjunky1428
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by warjunky1428 »

Jt.kline19 wrote: I can always spot a Marine. I was an 0351 with 2/2
I was out in Pendleton with 1/1 and 2/5 for six years, came to Lejeune last year and have nothing good to say about this place. I hate everything about this place hahaha. Not to mention I have had nothing but problems since I got here, apparently they don't appreciate my mentality. They care more about their power and authority than they do their Marines and logical training. F--k it, looks like I'm riding this one out till I'm done.
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by Jt.kline19 »

warjunky1428 wrote:
Jt.kline19 wrote: I can always spot a Marine. I was an 0351 with 2/2
I was out in Pendleton with 1/1 and 2/5 for six years, came to Lejeune last year and have nothing good to say about this place. I hate everything about this place hahaha. Not to mention I have had nothing but problems since I got here, apparently they don't appreciate my mentality. They care more about their power and authority than they do their Marines and logical training. F--k it, looks like I'm riding this one out till I'm done.
Lejeune wasn't too bad when I was there, but I left in 2011. More power to you lifers, the marine corps was always full of dumb s--t. But some of my best memories are from the corps. Is the Jacksonville Ninja still on Marine BLVD lol???
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

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Jt.kline19 wrote:
warjunky1428 wrote:
Jt.kline19 wrote: I can always spot a Marine. I was an 0351 with 2/2
I was out in Pendleton with 1/1 and 2/5 for six years, came to Lejeune last year and have nothing good to say about this place. I hate everything about this place hahaha. Not to mention I have had nothing but problems since I got here, apparently they don't appreciate my mentality. They care more about their power and authority than they do their Marines and logical training. F--k it, looks like I'm riding this one out till I'm done.
Lejeune wasn't too bad when I was there, but I left in 2011. More power to you lifers, the marine corps was always full of dumb s--t. But some of my best memories are from the corps. Is the Jacksonville Ninja still on Marine BLVD lol???
I haven't seen the ninja since I got here, but have heard plenty about the nut job. And no way in hell am I a lifer, I just wanted to deploy a couple more times before I got out, but apparently the temperament of the Corps shifted and now they don't want my kind anymore. And sure, the best you can say is "Lejeune wasn't too bad." The base organization is half assed at best with no order of building numbers or placement, and the ranges are scattered and illogical. The IIMEF as a whole has a completely different mentality than IMEF, and it trickles down the the smallest units making them not nearly as efficient as we had on the west coast with both Horno and Mateo having their own camps to do as they please and backyards to train whenever and however they wanted. Here everything is just a clusterfuck tossed into one big heap. Everything is hit hard with regulations and the constant fear of charges for doing anything from training to getting involved in your subordinates' lives. At least I still don't have to work with women, that's at least a plus not having to deal with that headache. All I ask from the Corps is to deploy and do what I've been trained to do, or let me teach other what I have learned, and now they don't let me do either because I am too "abrasive" and lack tact. Fucking pussies.
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by sc63sallad »

Eh,
I joined the Infantry in 2005, and got out Christmas Eve of last year. 9 years was enough for me. I'm tired of all the support and reserve/guard guys talking like they single handedly won the war, when it seems so simple to just do it instead of lying or carrying yourself like the warrior elite. It's as simple as that, context of rant outlined. Nutcase bitch and whine section...that's what you get hahaha.
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by BISHOP »

During Basic Training in the AF I tried out for Combat Controllers.
Run 1.5 miles as fast as you can THEN swim 20 laps in an Olympic size pool with everybody else and then basic timed pull-up sit ups, and other things like that.

I ran, then was toast. I made one lap in 5ft waves in the pool and couldn't go any further.
I could never do over hand pull-ups or sit ups without something touching my feet.

I have always been fearful of being called a wannaa-be.

I collect a lot of stuff and even have a complete plate carrier but I am not part of any groups, don't play airsoft, paintball and don't make up stories.
I have a friend who IS in Special Forces and he keeps telling me that I'm a wannaa-be. I am a "Like to have been" but I don't do anything to push that idea.


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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by sc63sallad »

BISHOP wrote:During Basic Training in the AF I tried out for Combat Controllers.
Run 1.5 miles as fast as you can THEN swim 20 laps in an Olympic size pool with everybody else and then basic timed pull-up sit ups, and other things like that.

I ran, then was toast. I made one lap in 5ft waves in the pool and couldn't go any further.
I could never do over hand pull-ups or sit ups without something touching my feet.

I have always been fearful of being called a wannaa-be.

I collect a lot of stuff and even have a complete plate carrier but I am not part of any groups, don't play airsoft, paintball and don't make up stories.
I have a friend who IS in Special Forces and he keeps telling me that I'm a wannaa-be. I am a "Like to have been" but I don't do anything to push that idea.


BISHOP
And all that is just fine. My issue is with guys who don't, then turn around and tell you all about how they killed fiddy men on their way to the chow hall in Iraq as a food service specialist, then killed fiddy more on the way back.
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by whiterussian1974 »

Beautiful Thread. Love the posts.

When I was in USAF Basic they took several of us and tried to talk us into becoming Forward Air Observers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forward_air_control

They told us how badass they were. That we'd get lower pay than our original Enlistment Contract, we'd have to live in Army Housing and eat Army Chow, rather than the plush AF housing and mess.
Plus we'd rough it much of the time and live on Field Rats and sleep in sleeping bags or even just on a foam roll. Plus we'd have to get Fiddy Biggillion shots to ward off every microbe, virus, parasite across the planet.

I asked, "If I wanted to be so badass, why wouldn't I have just joined the USMC? And if I wanted to travel, work and live w the USArmy; why wouldn't I have joined THEM and got quicker promotion and FARRRR bigger signing bonuses?

No thanks, I'll remain a Flight Linguist. Have A/C and pile carpeting in my Storage container quarters when TDY "in-country" and in 4-5 star hotels between my flights in Europe. Gourmet dining and first rate Worldwide entertainment on Uncle Sam's dime. Often paying w vouchers instead of actually using my own cash."

Even our tents had Commercial HVAC during "Warrior Week" in Basic. When we play soldier and simulate Civil Unrest Ops against a fictious populace. (Maybe even US citizens? After all, the Situational Briefing could have reflected a rural US county that we were "pacifying" and conducting "anti-terror ops" w/i.)

But yeah. Only Psychos pretend to have seen hard duty if they enlisted as support personnel. Or maybe they are just trying to live up to the unrealistic expectations that civs project onto ALL serv members. Movies and TV shows romanticize the Black Op lifestyle and people feel disappointed and even resentful of military who are the 95% who supported Combat Ops.

When asked, I go the other way. I brag about the cushy conditions and all the European women I laid. I also spent 1 yr in Russia under very sparse conditions. Always hungry. Eating the same 4 ingredients for every meal. Carrots, Onions, cabbage and potatos.

But also having 8 teenage and early 20s beautiful, slender, exotic women to warm my bed. And they didn't even care about the other women. They each competed to outdo the others in hopes of returning to USA w me as my wife. They sometimes even ENCOURAGED me to sleep around and sate my thirst while I was young and single, so that when I married I wouldn't be tempted to stray.

And it worked. I picked a Teacher/Nurse that was 3 yrs older than me, and even though we had a rocky time in Russia we've been happy here in USA. And I never stray. I fondly recall those other women. But my wife satisfies my ever desire and we keep the spark alive by constantly trying new things. Though we usually have a standard routine composed of 3-5 positions.

I veered off topic. But stayed true to MY service experience. 8)
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by Doc68 »

Not a combat MOS here(68W) medic for all that don't know. Just wanted to let you all know I love you combat arms guys. Been always "attached" to line units. But yes, I always love hearing those stories also of how badass these commo/admin guys are. They also have the most s--t on their rifles.

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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by kalikraven »

Ive done a little bit of it all. I started off in USAF Avionics for AFSOC then went US Army as a 14 R in the 3rd ACR. Got out went Army Guard as a 19D in the 153rd Cav. Then Air Guard as Security Forces... And yes its kinda like the infantry of the air force... Deployed with them to Afghanistan. Said I'm getting too old for this s--t and now I sit in my 4 star Hotel in Bulgaria in a private room working as an F15 Crew Chief. Also Guard. I got out of the wearing plates and helmet job because I have a herniated disc and like I said I'm getting too old for that s--t... I got complemented by my supervisor recently for not complaining... I'm like what is there to complain about? This is freeking awesome!!!
Going a little more discrete here due to some of my opinions...
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by JeffWard »

I'm a former USAF Officer... I flew a desk, in Los Angeles, lived in Hermosa Beach, in peace-time.

I have the utmost respect for the guys who actually kicked doors and broke s--t. I call out every BS artist I can.

We put satellites overhead that let SOF talk to one another and stay alive, but that's as close as we ever got! Your rant is 100% justified!

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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by kalikraven »

Theres a guy here in my unit with a jump badge and he said he was in the 101st... Bullshit or not? I thought the 101st was all air assault? And not parachutist...
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Re: If you want to be combat arms...just do it!

Post by tsands974 »

All that means is that he went to airborne school, doesn't mean he is an actual parachute unit. Anyone can go to that school from any branch of the military, it's a 3 week vacation.

Had a guy in my group who wore a SEAL trident on his uniform. He is the only army guy I have ever known personally to have a SEAL trident.
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