View Full Version : Got to pick on the non-Infantry types... sorry
Not knocking military service of any kind, but I'm an Infantryman through-and-through so I have to pick on the other MOS's. Governor Palin's Son - E3 in and Infantry Battalion... Senator Biden's Son - Officer in a Signal Battallion.
Here's an excerpt from an article I just read.
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/iraq/20080905-1719-iraq-veepsons.html
Now 19, Private First Class Palin enlisted last year and is assigned to the 1st Stryker Brigade's Delta company. That's in Palin's home state. The Army says his being posted there was luck of the draw.
In military parlance, Palin is a “dismount.” He and other soldiers operate armored vehicles called Strykers. Their job is to ensure brigade commanders and their communications remain protected as they move around the country. The Stryker is an eight-wheeled truck that weighs 19 tons.
“They're the secret service for the brigade commander,” said brigade spokesman Maj. Chris Hyde.
Gov. Palin said in her acceptance speech this week that her son's unit will deploy to Iraq on Thursday. A deployment ceremony for the brigade takes place at Fort Wainwright then, but the route to Iraq is not a direct one. It will move in stages with stops in Kuwait for equipment. The brigade will eventually be stationed in northern Iraq, Hyde said.
Beau Biden joined the Delaware Guard in 2003. He's assigned to the 261st Signal Brigade as a military lawyer. He prosecutes offenses that can range from soldiers who are late for formation to courts-martial, said Gratteri, a spokesman for the Delaware Guard.
One hundred members of the 261st Signal Brigade are scheduled to leave Delaware in early October for Fort Bliss, Texas, where they will spend several weeks training before going to Iraq, Gratteri said.
Like any other soldier, Biden will carry a weapon. But his duties will be largely administrative, Gratteri said.
“The plan is not for him to be kicking down a door,” he said.
Biden will carry a weapon, but it'll never see a magazine after he leaves Ft. Bliss.
Not a Biden supporter, but I am .mil, but not an infantryman myself. Biden's sons service is no less honorable than Palin's son's service. Both are honorable, and both are necessary to keep the green machine rolling smooth.
Jay Cunningham
10-03-08, 12:35
Not a Biden supporter, but I am .mil, but not an infantryman myself. Biden's sons service is no less honorable than Palin's son's service. Both are honorable, and both are necessary to keep the green machine rolling smooth.
I would tend to agree; not everyone can/should be a doorkicker. In fact, the overwhelming majority aren't, yet they perform tasks crucial to our national defense.
That's why I prefaced my statement with "Not knocking military service of any kind". ... Just picking on him.
Army Chief
10-03-08, 14:47
I'm a former Infantryman, but I have no criticism for any American who finds the selflessness and courage to take the oath, no matter where he (or she) ultimately serves.
Understand what you're saying, but to me this is a non-issue.
Chief
May God keep them both safe whilst in harms way...
B
I'm a former 11B, and I support all the Branches and all the jobs.
But we 11B's do like to give the non-combat MOS's a little good natured ribbing:D
RogerinTPA
10-03-08, 19:21
Former IN, AV, MI type here. When I heard that Palin was an Infantryman, I could help but give an enthusiastic "Hoowaa" at the TV, however....Palin's upbringing in AK is much more naturally suited to an Infantryman's. I must admit, of the guys in my platoon and company, almost to the man, were all, hunters, fisherman, campers, climbers, skier's, some martial arts and avid gun nuts or from the Hood. The hood guys learned there survival skills (Raids, ambushes, violent aggression, firearms, hand to hand, escape and evade, surveillance, etc..) from the streets of the worst part of any major city that they came from. The point being, we are products of our environment.
Same goes for Biden. His upbringing was based on what his father felt was important....the law. While you either love em or hate em, they are a necessary evil. There is no dishonor there. I wouldn't want to see Palin as a Lawyer just as most of us would not want to see Biden as an Infantryman.
The fact remains, only 25% of service members are "trigger pullers", the rest are Combat Support or Combat Service Support. We all gravitated to an MOS that challenged us, mostly built upon our previous lives and we've all excelled in most cases. BUT....there will always be a special place in my heart for the men who "close with and destroy the enemy".;)
Infantry and combat MOS's are the only that matter. We all know that. :D
I'm a former 11B, and I support all the Branches and all the jobs.
But we 11B's do like to give the non-combat MOS's a little good natured ribbing:D
I have watched 88M Drivers jump out of their vehicles and chase down and kill haji in the same place that I watched 11B Infantrymen run away after being engaged.
Not bagging on anyone...just saying...
All MOS's are required, but they all have their hero's and zero's. The MOS or branch does not make the person, it's the spirit inside of them. Hopefully young mister Palin has the spirit.
DANGER CLOSE
10-03-08, 21:50
last i remember there was a 1 to 7 infantry ratio in the usmc. everyone else is just support:D.
Not a Biden supporter, but I am .mil, but not an infantryman myself. Biden's sons service is no less honorable than Palin's son's service. Both are honorable, and both are necessary to keep the green machine rolling smooth.
As a former 11B I have to agree 100%. Sure he may be some REMF pouge, but he still wears the uniform and is still serving his country. Besides someones gotta feed us and provide all sorts of support.
Casual Rational Basis
10-03-08, 23:59
I agree with the spirit of your post. Inter-service and inter-branch rivalry is a great morale tool.
What I want to know is if Biden's kid is a JAG. IIRC he is a lawyer, and if he is deploying as a JAG, he might actually be a pretty important dude (yes BN or BDE cdr you can in fact level that mosque we are taking fire from, or no you can't arty that little village we took fire from).
But all this points to the fact that all US servicemen should have basic competence on the issued weapon of their service and some basic concept of small unit tactics (USAF and USN I'm looking at you, adapted of course to your operating environment - ABGD and Ship Seach Teams or whatever they are called).
HolyRoller
10-05-08, 19:26
In early 05, I checked FoxNews and saw a headline that enlistment age in the Army Reserve and Army National Guard had been raised to my age. It took me about three seconds to start looking up my local recruiter. Better yet, I found out my home ARNG unit was a cavalry troop with tanks, since redesignated, but they still have tanks. Way cool--60+ tons of steel and uranium to protect me, and capable of 50mph in reverse to get me out of trouble! I went to take the ASVAB with four young people and when we got out, I couldn't believe my ears when they started saying stuff like "wow, I can't wait to be an Army welder!" "yeah, who'd want to be in the infantry!" "you really have to be a screwup to get stuck in infantry." Kids these days.
But as I thought more about it, I'd be getting E-4 pay, and still have O-5 bills, and even though there's legal relief for servicemembers with pre-service debt, it still wouldn't be fair to my creditors and might make me nondeployable. Plus, I have a history of asthma, and even if it got waived, it wouldn't be fair to my comrades if it kicked up again in a denied area and made me a liability. So I decided to go back to police training, having dropped out before with sprained knees, and see if that would scratch the itch. It did. There are many ways to serve.
For a very long time now, support troops have had to outnumber the trigger pullers in order to get them the tools and supplies they need. So long as the support guys and gals remember who they're really working for, they're worth their pay many times over.
Army truck drivers say--you want chow and more rounds? Call the Special Forces.
Transport plane drivers say--you want chow and more rounds? Call a fighter squadron.
Transport ship sailors say--you want chow and more rounds? Call the Navy SEALs.
Personnel troops say--you want to get paid? Call the Ranger Regiment.
And the ancient military proverb goes--amateurs study tactics; professionals study logistics.
Shoot straight and come home safe, PFC Palin and CPT Biden.
oh--and who WOULDN'T be an officer instead of an EM, given the chance? Except maybe in military aviation, "where the enlisted men send the officers out to die."
Near my bank is the US Army Recruiting office.
A few months ago a young man walked up to me and blurted out,
"I'm joining the Army"
I asked him, "What are you going to do in the Army?"
He replied, "I'm going to be an 11B."
I asked, "Why 11B?"
He answered, "Cause my recruiter says I'm qualified."
Who gives a damn? All I know is he raised he right hand and took an oath, which is a hell of a lot more than his dad or Obama did. Iraq and AStan are no picnic no matter what your MOS. Again, at least he is serving. He has chosen a path that takes him away from his family, friends, and potentially into harms way. He'd have my respect even if he was a military cook. Most of my friends that I lost in Iraq were not in combat MOS's, too bad the sniper, or RPG, or IED did not know that. My best bud from ROTC was a personalist in the Air Force - pretty much the furthest away from being a combat MOS, yet he is still dead.
Forget him not being a door kicker, he is a lawyer.....
ThirdWatcher
10-05-08, 21:05
Back in the day, I was a 95B... one daughter is a 68W and the other is a 27D. We are all part of the machine and have a moral obligation to do our part as efficiently as possible, otherwise others will pay the price.
I understand and practice camaraderie and esprit de' corps....one should. These things strengthen the individual, the individuals immediate group and thus, the machine.
I hold four different MOS, none of them 11B. I've sent my fair share of rounds downrange and have "seen and done" my fair share in multiple environments.
I have never found any room whatsoever for picking at someone else simply because they were not the same thing in the military as you. In my military mind, doing so is totally unacceptable, regardless of the context.
Wearing the uniform, serving honorably with skill and pride and having your buddies six no matter what is all I care about and all I ask from any soldier...from the cook, the truck driver, the admin guy, the chemical guy, the recruiter or anyone else.
It is a force of "All".
Well said DarkX!
Of course, I am not a "door kicker"...unless putting a Hellfire missile through a door is the same as "kicking"...
I have watched 88M Drivers jump out of their vehicles and chase down and kill haji in the same place that I watched 11B Infantrymen run away after being engaged.
Not bagging on anyone...just saying...
All MOS's are required, but they all have their hero's and zero's. The MOS or branch does not make the person, it's the spirit inside of them. Hopefully young mister Palin has the spirit.
Well said. MOS aside, it is the character of the individual wearing the uniform.
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