How many days of "actual combat" do you think an Infantryman deployed in support of OIF/OEF experiences over a year-long deployment?

I guess we will agree to disagree. The kids hanging out at Cinnabon and the Green Bean were not in combat. I don't think I can really say that any other way.

This is a tough question to ask because it's a very relative these days combat if your talking about jobs and MOS that expose them to combat related conditions like IED's like today the answer is through out there deployment the average infantryman is at risk because of suicide bombers indirect fire ambushes IED etc. Heck even non combat arms jobs like 88M non 12B engineers and supply guys are getting exposed to ambushes and road side bombs. There really is not front line any more which is why I think the POG stereotype really doesn't exist anymore because of the type of war we are in does not go by those rules. So I go with the idea that when infantry man deploy they are in combat from the moment they set foot in theater to the moment they leave.

I don't know about that, CSM Carl Cunningham. Some mornings that decaf latte was pretty harsh....

2LT Earl Dean - I realize this thread is a bit older, but respecfully, when was a Bright Shining Lie banned? I read it as a part of my high school curriculum over 20 years ago.

Let me know what you think about the Birkenhead Drill, LTC Stephen Conway.

I'm hoping that it will help make clear why I consider over-using the title of "hero" to be debasing its meaning, so we are left with nothing to call those who exhibit truly exceptional courage.

hard to read but women and children first was the motto of the sinking ship. like a mini titannic with navy personnel.

Not just "women and children first" (although the Birkenhead's sinking *did* set that as the standard), but the men stood in formation while the ship sank.

In order to prevent the 2 boats holding the women and children from being swamped by survivors, the senior officer present ordered the men to stand fast. A surviving soldier (who was just a private at the time of the wreck) said you could have heard a pin drop as the 600-plus men stood in formation on the deck, waiting for the ship to sink. An officer testified at the official inquiry,
"The order and regularity that prevailed on board, from the moment the ship struck till she totally disappeared, far exceeded anything that I had thought could be effected by the best discipline; and it is the more to be wondered at seeing that most of the soldiers were but a short time in the service. Everyone did as he was directed and there was not a murmur or cry amongst them until the ship made her final plunge – all received their orders and carried them out as if they were embarking instead of going to the bottom – I never saw any embarkation conducted with so little noise or confusion."

*That* is the Birkenhead Drill, LTC Stephen Conway.

Thanks fo BLUF. I appreciate your help in the explanation!

Good answer SFC Gardley. Too many variables.

That was a good answer! really Good! And that didnt even bring up the mental state from leaving friendly soil to returning to it and conflicts in our mind after the fact! Good luck with your project !

A fact that may be binding in the comparison is that all WWll service members were classified as WWll veterans regardless of where they served; the Pacific, Europe, or stateside.

I was in OIF and I was not tested like the WW2 vets. Watch band of Brothers or Pacific and see for yourself.

I would agree with Vietnam having the highest.

SGT Justin Anderson, you might want to look at the "Forgotten War".

The Korean War brought the introduction of the single-year tour of duty, but line infantry units still stayed on the line (and keep in mind that a company "pulled back" as a battalion or regimental reserve was still well within artillery (and frequently mortar) range of the PLA.

MAJ James Woods, perhaps because the young sergeant who asked the question is an infantryman, and I think he was trying to get a measure of how much "actual combat" his peers and mentors experienced.

The fact that he started off asking if averaging 185 days in combat during a year-long deployment seemed accurate tells me that somebody threw a number at him that he was trying to validate or at least get some context on. I seriously doubt that SGT Justin Anderson meant to discount how much time non-infantry folks spent getting shot at and blown up.

1LT Clardy, you must be looking at a previous post cause the post I responded to didn't talk anything about 185 days. In fact the post consisted of a one sentence question. Now if he elaborated elsewhere, fine; but as far as I was concerned, the question could be rephrased to consider all MOSs that serve in a combat zone and get off the emphasis of Infantry. If it offended you, that's your opinion as much as this is mine.

He revised the question shortly after posting it, MAJ James Woods. That's why 1LT Scott Doyle's comment references a number that you never saw.
And I'm far from offended, I was just offering a speculative answer to your question about only mentioning infantrymen. If you want to broaden the topic to Cav scouts and other ne'er-do-wells, don't let me stop you. ;-)

As an 88m in ramadi Iraq(camp corigador ) 05-06, I have a hard time remembering when we weren't in contact. On and off the fob, we were either taking fire on RT Mishagin, incoming rounds on the fob or being called out to something in the city. In Afghanistan things were a little less "hot" so we had actual down time but not much.