Should the military create a warrior class?

Lord of the flys people. We all have a job to do and we all do that job as professionals. With respect SFC I'd recommend you reconsider your position on non combat arms warriors. After all a grunt with out Intel is blind, a grunt without be supplied with his rifle is useless, a grunt without finance is broke, a grunt without chaplains is with out a soul and a grunt without JAG is with out consul.

The Infantryman tang wants to be treated special trains up and goes to places where people are special. SFAS, Ranger BN, CAG, etc. True everyone's job is important, everyone busts their tail ends to make the Army work. While the Infantry are the sluggers of the battlefield, getting shot at and blown up having enlisted for the purpose of killing and simply that we can not do any of those things without the support guys. I've been Infantry for going on 11 years now. I do make fun of POGs when given the opportunity but never in my life would I get on the bad side of my medics, my mechanics or my cooks. Always bring them guys and gals cookies or bring them gatorades. If you want to be treated special then go be special.

Yeah, see how far that 'Warrior' body gets you without intel or air support. See how far those "true warriors' get without any equipment procurement, vehicle operations, or air support. Without those lowly non-combat types your ass is nowhere. Get over yourself.

This is the same as in the Air Force a lot of pilots thought they were the best and everyone else was of a lower class. It is a put down for all those specialities that support the Infantry and the Operators.

Wow....where to begin.

The Army already has somewhat of a feudal system in place (ever looked at a parking lot near a Brigade HQ for five minutes?)

Second, why the ego-stroking? The Army is a value-based organization, and those values are taught to all who join, and they apply to all who join.

Third, this is garbage, and I won't waste any more time on it. Good luck in your quest for "respect".

It doesn't matter what I say, I'll just get called a butthurt POG. Throwin a downvote, exit stage left.

We don't do what we do for a "higher regard" than others. We do what we do because it needs to get done.

And we can't do that without the support of everyone else. This isn't some movie where a single dude takes down an army with his bare hands just because he's "spec ops"; the mission is completed when everyone does their job.

If you're not getting the "higher regard" you feel you deserve, it's probably because you don't.

MOS - 11B1V

Just like every organization ever created in the history of mankind, there is a formal structure and an informal one. Special treatment is given to those who are informally recognized as having earned it. Special operators have always enjoyed these little perks to varying degrees because others in the military recognize the additional training, qualification, and sacrifice they make as well as their unit's track history. And everyone knows that the higher up the chain you go, the more you can get away with, but you also have farther to fall. If you abuse those informal perks the formal system will correct you. Institutionalizing special RECOGNITION has been part of military tradition since its birth. It's why we have awards, special qualification badges, and all sorts of recognition for special accomplishments. But institutionalizing special TREATMENT is a slippery slope. Whose to say the individual grunt on the ground is more operationally valuable than the MI who found the target in the first place? Or the crew chief and pilots who stopped superior enemy numbers from overrunning a position? Or the mechanics who ensured the vehicles wouldn't break down in the middle of a patrol? Let the formal system do what it's good at, maintaining discipline and operational effectiveness, while letting the informal system do what it's good at, filling in the gaps that the formal system can't systematically address.

In a way, it already exists. You look around and you know who they are. You work with them for a while and you know who they are. I am not one of them, but I know who they are.

I'm very much disappointed with the "entitlement mentality" displayed in the original post. The days of the Spartans fighting their enemies for glorious accolades is long past. The phrase "No one wants to go to war and fight, but someone needs to know how" comes to mind. If you choose to serve, your reasons why are your own business. If you think that because you chose to join as an Infantryman or an "operator" because those classifications will set you apart from those of us who are not, then you are a fool on a fool's errand. Obviously, during the time I entered the service, jobs for women were not as abundant as they are now. Nevertheless, we are all taught basics like marksmanship and land nav for a reason. As military professionals, it is our privilege to serve and that does not include special privileges. Good luck with that attitude. I hope you don't get anyone killed with it.

Wow...So like because I didn't spend 6 months practicing CQB before I went to Afghanistan it negates all the combat that came to visit me? That's got to be the most myopic, asinine, draconian and just bass-ackward reasoning I have EVER heard.

I suppose in your world only infantry and SF go into harms way and pull triggers. I must have missed when we time-warped back to 1945. I don't even know where to start with this one...

Well... wtf do you want?

National Infantry Day? With full parades, gold sticker awarding and a pot luck thrown by the POGs?

How about Fellatio Fridays on post? where everyone lines up to have the "honor" of slobbing an 11B? (Including NCOs and officers, of course).

Wait, I got it. A mandatory brief, where we are forced to learn how the infantry is better, and how we should work extra hard for them. Mandatory briefs are the answer for everything.

As an one time 11C I think that every solider - just like every Marine should have an 11 secondary that they qualify in FIRST, then become the intel analyst or whatever you're going to do and you should have to maintain some sort of certification in that 11 series MOS.

Respect - well now there's a different kettle of fish completely. An E-7 automatically brings a lot of credence into the room just with those stripes. It has been my experience that the level of respect from his/her peers from that point on is directly related to what comes out of their mouths and the manner in which they conduct themselves. Back in the day, as they say, I could tell within 5 minutes if an NCO and I where going to work well together - the way they carried themselves, how they treated others (not me) in the group - and if they followed my Mom's advice - you've got one mouth and two ears, use them in that exact proportion.....

All the pathetic butthurt and "feelings" coming from the pogs and butt kissers is funny. I agree that Infantry and spec ops are the baddest hardest dudes in the military. And no pogs don't push themselves like grunts go not even close, stop lying to yourself

The bottom line is this, the days of safe operations in the rear echelons are long gone. There are no front lines anymore. Accordingly, every MOS regardless of that being combat arms or not, are in serious peril at any given moment. Although direct action is limited, any Infantryman who has the audacity to put down the skillsets of support personnel needs to get knocked on his or (and as of yesterday) HER's ass

I'm not sure how it is in other branches, and it is a bit fuzzy for me how the fleet run things, but we Seabees can do everything under the sun. We mainly build, but my 'bees have seen combat in both Afghan and Iraq. So it is a lot harder to say well so and so is a support personnel and not combatant. At least in my small community we are both. We Build. We Fight! Hoorah!

Would it be a resident or distance learning class? Maybe after 12 weeks you get your sword and toga.

They're called Marines.

*gets popcorn ready*

This is absolutely ridiculous. I was motor transport in an infantry regiment. Not only did I have to know my job, we were also expected to train right along side the bullet catchers. Whenever we went out to support an infantry unit we always had to pull double duty. Sure, the grunts had to hump out there while we drove the trucks. But while they were eating chow and sleeping, we were running all night long making sure they had everything they needed. Then during the day we had to dismount, gear up, and play grunt. I got to learn everything a grunt does from the basic rifleman to heavy weapons, and I even got to work with recon and snipers. I left the Marines with blown out knees, a herniated disc, and a few broken bones. Yeah, us POGs can put in an honest days work too.

Shut. The. Hell. Up. Your hurting my brain.