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I find this to be humorous and also a legitimate issue. Recently I was at large training compound with multiple units there, basically a "mock up" of a FOB. So while in the latrine some soldiers, that must have been in one of the support units there were talking. They were complaining about the soldiers from the infantry unit calling them "POGs." And without missing a beat someone yells from a stall in the same building "Shut up POG." I couldn't help but to laugh.
I usually don't care what you do in the Army as long as you are doing your job and are maintaining your professionalism. These units that we were running into were far below the expectations of maintaining professionislism. There were so many uniform violations our CSM had to wear blinders where ever he walked so he could make it there without correcting every soldier on the way. If he did he would never make where ever he was going. I was just wearing ACUs. It was a bit chilly but I saw a soldier with the ECWCS gen III level 7 jacket, aka the marshmallow jacket. With some sort of toboggan cap that was not anything to do with the army. There was no uniformity and it seemed like no one in their unit cared.
I am not calling anyone a POG in this post. I have our support personnel in our unit that we view as peers. They were harder than anyone in that other unit. They act like soldiers just like we do.
What is your take on this? Do you think they are asking for it by they way they are? Should anyone be called a POG? Should they be expected to maintain the same standard as everyone else in the Army? And what is their CSM doing when this is happening?
I usually don't care what you do in the Army as long as you are doing your job and are maintaining your professionalism. These units that we were running into were far below the expectations of maintaining professionislism. There were so many uniform violations our CSM had to wear blinders where ever he walked so he could make it there without correcting every soldier on the way. If he did he would never make where ever he was going. I was just wearing ACUs. It was a bit chilly but I saw a soldier with the ECWCS gen III level 7 jacket, aka the marshmallow jacket. With some sort of toboggan cap that was not anything to do with the army. There was no uniformity and it seemed like no one in their unit cared.
I am not calling anyone a POG in this post. I have our support personnel in our unit that we view as peers. They were harder than anyone in that other unit. They act like soldiers just like we do.
What is your take on this? Do you think they are asking for it by they way they are? Should anyone be called a POG? Should they be expected to maintain the same standard as everyone else in the Army? And what is their CSM doing when this is happening?
Posted in these groups: 
Combat Arms
Support
Combat Arms Support
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 148
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Does anyone even know what G.R.U.N.T stands for? Please look at it up. Ground Replacement Unit Not Tained. So in reality, the infantry are the real POGs.
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CPT (Join to see)
True, however it was heavily used in the infantry as they suffered the greatest loses. It has pretty much since then been associated with the Infantry.
And Pog was not the correct spelling of it. It was Pogue. It was used before WWII by the Navy and Marines an then by the Army in Vietnam.
And Pog was not the correct spelling of it. It was Pogue. It was used before WWII by the Navy and Marines an then by the Army in Vietnam.
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SFC Walter Mack
As the Marines found out in Korea, you get the best training when you get there. Many of them had a couple weeks of training, were handed guns and assured that they would figure it out. That is as related to me by one of the Chosin Few. Sometimes balls is enough to get you through until skill catches up.
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This pretty much sums it up. In short anyone not combat arms.
Pogue - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pogue is pejorative military slang for non-combat, staff, and other rear-echelon or support units.[1] "Pogue" frequently includes those who don't have to undergo the stresses that the infantry does.
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The failure of a leader is not recognizing ALL the people who helped him/her attain success.
A Soldier/Marine/Sailor/Airman in the field didn't get there by themselves. The food service staff who fed them, the air crew that delivered or picked them up, the loggies who brought the supplies, the HR types who saw to it that their SRBs were updated, etc.
Each member of an organization, from the housekeeper or mailroom clerk to the CEO is a vital part of a successful team. Like the old saying, a cog in the wheel, without one the wheel falls apart.
A Soldier/Marine/Sailor/Airman in the field didn't get there by themselves. The food service staff who fed them, the air crew that delivered or picked them up, the loggies who brought the supplies, the HR types who saw to it that their SRBs were updated, etc.
Each member of an organization, from the housekeeper or mailroom clerk to the CEO is a vital part of a successful team. Like the old saying, a cog in the wheel, without one the wheel falls apart.
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I am really not trying to split hairs here, but, being a Finance guy and former combat arms NCO, paratrooper, you get the idea, I am not a ground pounder any more. By virtue of my position, I don't get to go do all the cool guy stuff. However, I can still shoot people in the face if necessary. I'm still a Soldier. I think being called a pogue is pretty humorous and just let slide on by. BUT, this discussion is about being called a "POG"...
So just to clarify:
POG - Pogs is a game that was popularized during the early 1990s. The game is played using discs which are also called "pogs". The name originates from POG, a brand of juice made from passionfruit, orange and guava; the use of the POG bottle caps to play the game pre-dated the game's commercialization. (according to Wikki)
Pogue -Pogue is pejorative military slang for non-combat, staff, and other rear-echelon or support units. "Pogue" frequently includes those who don't have to undergo the stresses that the infantry does. Wikipedia
So, yeah, I can understand why the guy in the latrine hates to be called a POG...Just saying...
So just to clarify:
POG - Pogs is a game that was popularized during the early 1990s. The game is played using discs which are also called "pogs". The name originates from POG, a brand of juice made from passionfruit, orange and guava; the use of the POG bottle caps to play the game pre-dated the game's commercialization. (according to Wikki)
Pogue -Pogue is pejorative military slang for non-combat, staff, and other rear-echelon or support units. "Pogue" frequently includes those who don't have to undergo the stresses that the infantry does. Wikipedia
So, yeah, I can understand why the guy in the latrine hates to be called a POG...Just saying...
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SFC Walter Mack
Personnel Other than Grunt (POG). Sir, it's one of our beloved acronyms. Also, we Infantrymen don't always spell so good, especially in the Marines.
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One major theme here - a culture change of political correctness. any Vietnam vets here that can speak on whatever nonsense that occurred during the post Vietnam drawdown? We're there things that happened based on the political rule of the day?
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I would only say that there has always been a draw down after every war. It is the nature of the beast. I want to say that Desert Storm had one of the biggest draw downs. This is an article that explains a lot of it.
The Most Anticipated Surprise of the War: the Post War Army | RallyPoint
We are now entering an era of relative ease for the military in relation to the past decade of war. As with the end of every war, the military must assess its structure for the anticipated lack of a large-scale conflict. As we all know, the Army grew during the Global War on Terror as we were shifting from peace keeping to War Fighting. As with Newton’s Third Law of Motion; what goes up must come down. What is more astonishing than the...
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MAJ Ronnie Reams
Biggest I remember was end of draft and WAC officers detailed to other branches. Also, due to lack of male volunteers, EWs were enlisted in other branches besides WAC. SSANs became SNs. Political alright.
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Ah, I'm a POG Marine, I this what it is. Usually when it becomes an issue is when you have a Grunt jokingly and good heartedly calling someone that and the recipient cops an attitude about it. In the Corps, that's an all gloves off response. We run each other constantly. Grunts pick at POG's and we run our better, but not by much, deployment life in their face whenever we get a chance, lol. Most of the time it's all done in good humor. I've got many grunt friends that couldn't give a crap less that I'm a POG. In fact, a lot of them tell me they appreciate U.S. commander guys for keeping comm up and a way to communicate back home up a lot of times as well.
I'll admit though, there are some of the newer guys out there that don't take it as a joke and they mean it in an extremely demeaning manner. Those are the guys that are the problem.
I'll admit though, there are some of the newer guys out there that don't take it as a joke and they mean it in an extremely demeaning manner. Those are the guys that are the problem.
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Standards are standards they must be followed. If not corrected then we are just creating new standards. As of the chain of command not caring I have seen this before but what I found out is if you can change the outlook of at least one person in that unit it will spread over time and less others will have to correct due to them being correct.
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I am a POG, I am a LEG, I am COMMO. Who cares what you are called. Your defending your country and getting a paycheck on the 1st and 15th. People forget the basics of life and worry too much with feelings and what the media puts in our minds. Live by what you know go to work, hone in on your technical and tactical skills, take care of soldiers, kill bad guys and go home.
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While coming up through the ranks I was told one thing.
Never piss off the cook or the supply clerk.
I have been a POG my whole career. But it never stopped me from doing my job.
When given sh*t give sh*t back.
Whenever I have the grunts the same amount of crap back to them it usually ended up in the e-club drinking a lot of beer.
Never piss off the cook or the supply clerk.
I have been a POG my whole career. But it never stopped me from doing my job.
When given sh*t give sh*t back.
Whenever I have the grunts the same amount of crap back to them it usually ended up in the e-club drinking a lot of beer.
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POG, Fobbit, 'Rear with the Gear', and more; they are fun stuff that passes the time. I think it's when individuals take their jobs or MOS too seriously that the jokes become stale and a 'hurt feelings' report needs to be issued.
I'm a 46 series, print and broadcast Soldier, so you can imagine what kind of terms have been slung at the Soldier hulking a point and shoot or a Panasonic. It's all in good fun.
I'm a 46 series, print and broadcast Soldier, so you can imagine what kind of terms have been slung at the Soldier hulking a point and shoot or a Panasonic. It's all in good fun.
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