Combat Vets vs Fobbits vs Non-Deployers

This is one thing i'll could never understand.someone thinking less of a fellow Veteran just because of the mission they were given during deployments. During Desert Storm ( as a young PFC/SPC)i served as a cook pulling guard duty, driving in re-supply convoy. doing whatever i got task to do because it was part of the mission. Years Late in 2006, i was deployed to Iraq ( as a newly Promoted SFC). My chain of command assigned to work as a Sargent of the Guard in charge of the pax terminal, ped gate and inspection yard, in charge of a team of 10 personnel. During the train up for the deployment (as a SSG), i was training to run convoys. But my COC decided they needed me somewhere else, and again i did the job assigned to me. during 2010-2011. i was deployed to Afghanistan as the BDE Food Service NCOIC, My COC needed a Senior NCO to set up and run a new PX on one of the FOB's until it could be turned over to the civilians to run, and I got this task. Did i like it no, but it was a mission i was given that had to be done so i did it. i never asked to be a Fobbit it was just the missions i was assigned that kept me on the FOB most of the time.

Well Thom, I look at it this way, those so called fobbits did the jobs necessary to keep the base/fob running. Allowed those of us to do our jobs outside the wire. JB Balad was mortar city when I was there and a lot of folks were injured by mortar fire. Fobbits as you say are combat vets, it's those who dodged deployments are the ones I have issues with.

I was an 88M who left the wire almost daily. I saw very little combat, and the little I've seen was really nothing more than pop shots at a check point, a few mortar attacks which landed nowhere near us, or found IED's. Nobody in my unit got hurt due to combat related incidents. I deployed twice. First time in 07 and 08 and the second was 09 and 10. Even if you do leave the wire incidents were few and far between for us. Finding IED's were common and I remember waiting endlessly for EOD to come detonate the IED.

I think the rivalries are fun and I never take them too seriously. In the end we all volunteered. In this war, people who weren't of combat MOS's were still killed or wounded in action. I don't look down on anyone who served honorably. However, when somebody who dodged deployments or missions starts playing themselves up like they're better than everyone else, they're pretty sorry individuals to say the least. I think everybody can agree on that. And don't worry what civilians think. You served, they didn't. Doesn't matter if their brother was in Delta Force.

We all have different jobs. Each of those jobs serves a function. We are each like a cog in a clock, if you take one out, the clock won't work. We also go where the military tells us (even if you volunteer for deployment, depending on your job they may deny it). No one should be derided for how they served. They stood up and took the oath, and deserve respect for that alone.

What's a Combat AFSC? I'm a Public Affairs Officer, total staff weannie right?

I was the IO and deputy S3 on a PRT. We lived on a French FOB and I was an MC and TC on numerous mounted and dismounted combat patrols. I was also the S3 when the lead S3 was home for R and R so I planned, got approved, battle tracked, and did post mission analysis of dozens of missions. I'm only one of many PAs who has done the exact same thing.

Lot's of guys and gals in "non-combat" jobs have seen plenty of combat. It doesn't make them infantry with all the right and privileges they have (and crap they have to deal with), but I'd say that line is as blurry after the last 12 years as it's ever been.

Meh. Veteran is veteran is veteran. It's not like people get to dictate when they will or will not see combat.

You have earned the right to be a called a Combat Vet. I have been deployed twice in combat while in the Air force as a mechanic And twice as an Infantry Soldier with the Louisiana National Guard. I understand the arguments that you are having from both sides of the fence. The Infantry is rewarded with the Combat Infantry Badge. Yes they do patrol the streets and do most of the door kicking. In today's non linear combat the support is also sometimes under indirect and even direct fire. You have risked your life for this country and let NO ONE ever tell you any different.

Infantry soldiers have a different mind set because of the job required of them. They are mostly made up of that "type A personality" if they don't have that they usually cross train or ETS and go to college. They have to be mentally tough and think they are better than everyone else, due to the fact you cant be the first one to enter a bldg. when clearing it and not think you are the baddest man on the planet. if you have doubts you will hesitate and that will get you killed. This mind set once established is very hard to turn off unless you are bi-polar.

Back to the original discussion you have earned your combat vet status and be proud of that.

I'm sorry I haven't been able to reply to everyone's responses. In my immediate post-service mode, I am busy looking for work and helping my wife take care of our 4 kids. You have all posted thought-provoking replies which tell me without a doubt that we are all indeed brothers and sisters, no matter what our individual service experience may have been. RP is an awesome place. I'm glad it's here to bring us all together.

When I was a Specialist (E4) my unit was assigned to a peacekeeping operation in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula; a mission completely anathema to the coordinated high-operational tempo, violence of action based culture of an Infantry unit, let alone a well-respected one that had already been activated 4 times in a 10 year period following 9/11/2001 including two year long tours to Iraq.

I and several of my closest buddies had missed out on the Iraq tours by a matter of weeks , we had arrived at our company just past the deadline to be sent over to meet our unit already in country, and we had to be ready for the next one. Therefore, when we got orders to the Sinai, despite the fact that we would spend our entire tour in the midst of the Egyptian Revolution, we were bummed to say the least.

It took my PSG, a man very well-respected throughout our platoon, with multiple combat tours to take us aside and tell us that combat patches, CIBs and campaign medals were worthless without the soldier bearing them making them important. In other words, the fact that we were not on a combat mission was irrelevant if we performed as trained and as required.

That didn't affect me much then, but looking back on it now as an E6 I can honestly say he was right. We despised our lot in life, being assigned to garrison duty in a relatively peaceful country when it contradicted everything we had ever trained for, but at the end of the day we sucked it up and performed the mission to the best of our ability and that's all that mattered then, and its all that matters now. We brought everyone home, and ensured that Israel and Egypt continued to abide by the Accords they had signed in 1979. The rest is irrelevant.

As it stands now I feel that everyone has a place and a purpose. Some Soldiers shouldn't be Soldiers and mess it up for others. In country I hated the "Fobbits" due to the fact they would steal our stories and post them on fb as if they went with us AND coming back from 16-24 hour operations and being yelled at for not having a pt belt or being to dirty to eat even though we only had a hour or two to refit to go back out...

However, the 99% of those who stayed on the FOB did the right thing and allowed me to get the support I needed. They also hooked us up with cases and cases of RIP-Its so cheers to them and those like them.

A final point is, those that hid from deployments should be booted. Several of my peers volunteered for non-deployable tours of duty when we were getting activated. Those who tried to volunteer and were denied probably have a guilt I personally can not imagine. I think this is another reason why suicides are up. Those that wanted to go, that needed to go, and didn't - feel ashamed. They shouldn't. You had our backs when we were over there, and many Soldier's needed that support you gave.

It should just be Soldiers vs Ish-Bags because non-combat/fobbits aren't a bad thing at all.

Look at us! We SM always trying to 'one up' each others experiences. The services are filled with type A personalities, and that makes us pretty competitive. After I was injured, I refused to take part in Soldier of the Quarter boards because it was not possible for me to score higher than 250 points which meant I didn't get points for that event or I wasn't able to take part in the road march event. That meant that it was highly improbable that I would win...why would I compete in an event that I can't win?
We are taught to compete from the first day of basic and I am not sure why anyone is surprised when either people look at others who haven't deployed equally or when a SM is really bothered because he/she hasn't deployed. Truth of the matter, we are ALL Veterans, but some organizations or services are only available to those who are 'combat Vets' (i.e., VFW vs. American Legion).
Personally, I don't feel like I am 'special' just because I have deployed. We are all part of a very small population and we should be proud of that and take care of our brothers and sisters, regardless of deployments, duties and etc.

As a career Navy guy, I deployed on six ships. In the Navy deployments are a regular thing, war and peace. I didn't see any combat but it was luck of the draw. I detached USS CALIFORNIA CGN 36 Dec 86. Jan 87 she deployed to Praying Mantis. I was Weps on CAPODANNO FF 1093 during Desert Storm. Where was I? In a dry-dock for regularly scheduled repairs.

So if the luck had been against me, I would have seen combat, but the luck was with me. I am grateful every day that I don't have any kills on my conscience. I am very aware that the Sixth Commandment says "Do not MURDER" (not do not KILL), but still human life is human life. As the Midrash (a rabbinic exposition on the Bible) says, when Egypt was drowning in the sea and the Angels cheered, God said, "Why are you cheering - those are my children too."

When I started in the Navy I didn't plan to become a rabbi, but when I retired, that was my goal, so I'm grateful that my career worked out the way it did.

Now, if only I weren't on total disability from those shipboard neck injuries...

All gave, some gave all.

Anyone living and working in a combat area of operations can become a casualty. In that sense, everyone who's signed up for that deserves the respect accorded. Some folks end up doing things well outside their "job description"...and experience more risk, and spend more time in hazardous duties. They too, deserve their own level of respect.

Then, there are those whose training means that if there is "combat", they'll likely be part of it. They may spend years preparing for action that never comes. To my mind, they are still "combat" personnel, and have their own rightly derived sense of respect.

Finally, there are those who find themselves directly engaged, and engage, either directly, or by coordinating the direct actions of others. They may come from any service branch, rank or specialization...but when it mattered, they did what they were called upon to do. To my mind, whether an "operator", Combat Arms...or a cook who manned an anti-aircraft gun at Pearl Harbor, or an aviator who drew his pistol to defend his FOB...these are "combat veterans".

The only fobbits I genuinely hated were those that worked the chow hall. Being told I'm too dirty or sweaty to eat after coming off a two day rotation fosters quite a bit of resentment. Now I know they were only doing a job, but tell a tired pissed off grunt he cant eat because he's dirty while you sit in the air con in a garrison looking uniform and you've made an enemy. Other than that I was more jealous of folks staying inside the wire than anything, no real hostility at all.

It is not hostility, hell there were times I wished I was in the rear- it's a morale thing- Yeah I'm an ass kicking grunt- you are a Fobbit pogue. It is the same thing between front line and DS support and GS support, Army vs Navy vs USAF vs USMC.

I can see what you say. I was a Scout for three deployments. The thing is that a lot of vets that have never deployed to any place except maybe Kuwait like to put themselves in the same light as COMBAT vets. It's insulting to have a POG act like they are on the same page, when we are miles apart in experiences. Fact: While it is true that just being in service can make you a vet, it should be noted that you are a non combat vet if you have never, in fact been in combat. Too many times I see people shaking hands and thanking Joes for their service, but the only thing they did was give me a TM or some rear D stuff, and I can respect that, but being in the Army and not deploying to war when others do and then claiming to be the same as kind is bullshit. I have seen female mechanics get CABs for being at the same FOB that was a target. Why? Politics. Political horseshit. I have seen a female S1 that had spent WAY too much time either with a Mortar platoon SGT alone in their CP, or just hanging out with the Mortars way too much. When our unit deployed they brought this non combat type along for a walk through the palm grove. Suddenly she was the first female in combat for our Division. Bullshit. She was window dressing for the mortars and the division, PC all over the place, follow? Fun Facts. Pregnancies increase among females (military) just before deployments. My wife has a National Guard friend who had gotten pregnant to avoid a deployment to a combat zone. Now she just came back from her stint in Kuwait. She had the balls to ask for a CARE PACKAGE. in ARIFJAN!!! Arifjan is not a deployment, by the way. It's a vacation, and a training and RnR facility, and that is all. So I respect those who do their service, yes, but this "hey, I am a vet too" shit has got to stop. Sure you are a vet, yes, but of what? Being in the Army two years just to get money for college does NOT make you like me. Choosing a non combat MOS does not a combat vet make. Granted, on some missions we had S! and mechanics come along, but hear is the clincher: they only came because a s Scouts we got into some nasty shit. Seems they wanted to get in on it too. Why? So they could hold the title of "Combat Veteran" and not be held in doubt, if not in their own minds. These kind we loathe. Wanting to go to war to see action. What kind of stupid are you? I have seen action. I have been blown up, shot at, and been pissed off. I have crawled over my friends burning guts to escape the EFP attack on out gun truck. There's some action for ya. I had a commander and his 2LT get blown to a fine mist just two days before we left. Ever see what a bullet does to a head? No, see the body bags are not water proof, they leak all over the front of my truck all the way to the LZ. True story. True combat. I could write a book on this stuff, but then I would go mad. I have been wounded and have permanent hearing lost and scarring on my brain. I will live. I am a combat veteran. and that is all I got to say. Attached is a pic of a combat vet, a Scout platoon leader, and my friend. We will meet at Fiddler's Green.

I can see what you say. I was a Scout for three deployments. The thing is that a lot of vets that have never deployed to any place except maybe Kuwait like to put themselves in the same light as COMBAT vets. It's insulting to have a POG act like they are on the same page, when we are miles apart in experiences. Fact: While it is true that just being in service can make you a vet, it should be noted that you are a non combat vet if you have never, in fact been in combat. Too many times I see people shaking hands and thanking Joes for their service, but the only thing they did was give me a TM or some rear D stuff, and I can respect that, but being in the Army and not deploying to war when others do and then claiming to be the same as kind is bullshit. I have seen female mechanics get CABs for being at the same FOB that was a target. Why? Politics. Political horseshit. I have seen a female S1 that had spent WAY too much time either with a Mortar platoon SGT alone in their CP, or just hanging out with the Mortars way too much. When our unit deployed they brought this non combat type along for a walk through the palm grove. Suddenly she was the first female in combat for our Division. Bullshit. She was window dressing for the mortars and the division, PC all over the place, follow? Fun Facts. Pregnancies increase among females (military) just before deployments. My wife has a National Guard friend who had gotten pregnant to avoid a deployment to a combat zone. Now she just came back from her stint in Kuwait. She had the balls to ask for a CARE PACKAGE. in ARIFJAN!!! Arifjan is not a deployment, by the way. It's a vacation, and a training and RnR facility, and that is all. So I respect those who do their service, yes, but this "hey, I am a vet too" shit has got to stop. Sure you are a vet, yes, but of what? Being in the Army two years just to get money for college does NOT make you like me. Choosing a non combat MOS does not a combat vet make. Granted, on some missions we had S! and mechanics come along, but hear is the clincher: they only came because a s Scouts we got into some nasty shit. Seems they wanted to get in on it too. Why? So they could hold the title of "Combat Veteran" and not be held in doubt, if not in their own minds. These kind we loathe. Wanting to go to war to see action. What kind of stupid are you? I have seen action. I have been blown up, shot at, and been pissed off. I have crawled over my friends burning guts to escape the EFP attack on out gun truck. There's some action for ya. I had a commander and his 2LT get blown to a fine mist just two days before we left. Ever see what a bullet does to a head? No, see the body bags are not water proof, they leak all over the front of my truck all the way to the LZ. True story. True combat. I could write a book on this stuff, but then I would go mad. I have been wounded and have permanent hearing lost and scarring on my brain. I will live. I am a combat veteran. and that is all I got to say. Attached is a pic of a combat vet, a Scout platoon leader, and my friend. We will meet at Fiddler's Green.

I retired with 26 years and no deployments. I was a Infantry Medic, recruiter, supply sergeant in a medical company that had just returned when I arrived and deployed after I retired. Was never on an assignment that went
Never avoided them just wasn't in the cards for me

I was a fobbit, I wasn't exactly happy about it but I believed in what we were doing was important.We trained the A.N.A. on prision duties and how to think before acting, however having to see Taliban everyday for a year knowing that one of our fellow service members had been killed by them pisses you off, but you respect what they have to go through, I believe that whatever your job is overseas that it has an important purpose, everyone's there looking out for our brothers and sisters and I know that I felt that working with other branches while deployed.