I'd respectfully disagree. The infantry gets the best and worse of the enlisted pool of soldiers. It requires the lowest asvab score, but it has the most appeal to young patriots with intelligence. The level of leadership experience you gain from serving as an infantry leader in combat is second to none, and cannot be replicated in almost any other environment. This is not only an invaluable experience, but it sets one apart from their military peers for choosing a job that actively seeks out combat; the very basis fo a military's role. It is where the rubber meets the road, and while every job is important, all other jobs are essentially support and those individuals incur less risk.
I agree, Special Forces is the way to go if you're making a career out of being a grunt and you haven't broken yourself off. But SF are essentially elite infantrymen trained to literally develop and execute guerilla tactics and leading a localized force against a superior force.
It's respectful, but we're not in disagreement here. You summed up exactly my motivations and experience in the first ten years of my service.
Smart ones don't stay 11Bs for their entire career, even if they started out there. (SF being 19-series plays into this.)
Of course when your "entire career" is the four years you had to serve because Uncle Sam paid for your useless Behavioral Science degree, you don't need to think long-term. There are people who post here that spent more time deployed than he has total time in service.
SF is 18 series, 19 series are those cav/tanker fruitcakes.
When I went in, I dropped out of college with the intention of eventually taking the Long Walk. Best way to do that at the time was to scoop up an 11X Op 40 (probably still is) - so I went that route. By the time I had a shot at that specific selection, I was too broken and knew my limits. My CAG dreams ended there. I left AD and made the mistake of doing some Guard time before hanging up the boots and completing my degree on the GI Bill.
There are some absolute idiots in the Regiment, likewise there are also some geniuses there. For every idiot who decides to try and rob a bank without removing their license plates, another does some really cool shit like the whole ROLO program.
I agree, seldom do the really smart guys stay in some combat arms units for their entire career, many branch out - but we all know the few that didn’t need to be there, rather they enjoyed the hell out of it. My wife’s dad is that way. Brilliant guy, career SOF including time in Tier 1 units. Spent time at the schoolhouse for multiple different types of selections. Amazing at what he does. For him, he fell in love with what he did and I doubt he can happily function when he’s not down range. Most of the guys I know who left Batt to do that spooky stuff did it because they just found it enjoyable and would rather be out there than sitting in a cube somewhere.
I mean sure, I have a cushy job now where I write code and barely have to head to my work campus - but I’m not going to deny that I have my days where I wish I was still in doing that Infantry shit with the boys.
Yeah I typoed that 18/19. D'oh!
Most of my smart buddies ended up reclassing into Intel and Signal (Infosec side) and a few started yanking and banking Blackhawks, rather than rappelling out of them. Something about hitting 30 and the body just breaks down, that ruck gets heavier every year.
But yeah... despite the cushy civ job, I miss the free ammo, competition shooting and making shit go boom on the regular.
I'd respectfully disagree. The infantry gets the best and worse of the enlisted pool of soldiers. It requires the lowest asvab score, but it has the most appeal to young patriots with intelligence. The level of leadership experience you gain from serving as an infantry leader in combat is second to none, and cannot be replicated in almost any other environment. This is not only an invaluable experience, but it sets one apart from their military peers for choosing a job that actively seeks out combat; the very basis fo a military's role. It is where the rubber meets the road, and while every job is important, all other jobs are essentially support and those individuals incur less risk.
I agree, Special Forces is the way to go if you're making a career out of being a grunt and you haven't broken yourself off. But SF are essentially elite infantrymen trained to literally develop and execute guerilla tactics and leading a localized force against a superior force.
It's respectful, but we're not in disagreement here. You summed up exactly my motivations and experience in the first ten years of my service.
Smart ones don't stay 11Bs for their entire career, even if they started out there. (SF being 19-series plays into this.)
Of course when your "entire career" is the four years you had to serve because Uncle Sam paid for your useless Behavioral Science degree, you don't need to think long-term. There are people who post here that spent more time deployed than he has total time in service.
SF is 18 series, 19 series are those cav/tanker fruitcakes.
When I went in, I dropped out of college with the intention of eventually taking the Long Walk. Best way to do that at the time was to scoop up an 11X Op 40 (probably still is) - so I went that route. By the time I had a shot at that specific selection, I was too broken and knew my limits. My CAG dreams ended there. I left AD and made the mistake of doing some Guard time before hanging up the boots and completing my degree on the GI Bill.
There are some absolute idiots in the Regiment, likewise there are also some geniuses there. For every idiot who decides to try and rob a bank without removing their license plates, another does some really cool shit like the whole ROLO program.
I agree, seldom do the really smart guys stay in some combat arms units for their entire career, many branch out - but we all know the few that didn’t need to be there, rather they enjoyed the hell out of it. My wife’s dad is that way. Brilliant guy, career SOF including time in Tier 1 units. Spent time at the schoolhouse for multiple different types of selections. Amazing at what he does. For him, he fell in love with what he did and I doubt he can happily function when he’s not down range. Most of the guys I know who left Batt to do that spooky stuff did it because they just found it enjoyable and would rather be out there than sitting in a cube somewhere.
I mean sure, I have a cushy job now where I write code and barely have to head to my work campus - but I’m not going to deny that I have my days where I wish I was still in doing that Infantry shit with the boys.
Yeah I typoed that 18/19. D'oh! Most of my smart buddies ended up reclassing into Intel and Signal (Infosec side) and a few started yanking and banking Blackhawks, rather than rappelling out of them. Something about hitting 30 and the body just breaks down, that ruck gets heavier every year. But yeah... despite the cushy civ job, I miss the free ammo, competition shooting and making shit go boom on the regular.