What are some of the stereotypes that the Military (All Branches) receive/have?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 15 Nov 2014 14:10:03 -0500

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 16 at 2014 12:26 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 00:26:25 -0500

I will share a few I've come across:
Navy is gay
Marines are proud and dumb
Air Force is not the real military
Army thinks they're the best at everything

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 16 at 2014 6:56 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 06:56:01 -0500

I always encounter people who think that because I'm in uniform that I'm politically a far-right conservative.

Response by SGT Edward Thomas made Nov 16 at 2014 9:13 AM

SGT Edward Thomas — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 09:13:51 -0500

I'm not sure you want to open Pandora's box on this question.

Response by MSG Brad Sand made Nov 16 at 2014 10:46 AM

MSG Brad Sand — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 10:46:55 -0500

That we all enjoy getting up early in the morning? That we are all have ADD when it comes to cleanliness and neatness?

I have had some of my own too, I thought we all were somehow trained to do a combat arms job? Talking with other service members...other than posers...we are not?

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 16 at 2014 1:37 PM

MSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 13:37:57 -0500

We all want war. And in today's environment how are we going to handle ISIS and Russia. And that we are all right wing conservatives.

Wait I am a Tea Bag carrying Conservative, so they got that right. Lol!

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 16 at 2014 2:01 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 14:01:23 -0500

I would say that the infantry is not the smartest in the Army. I would contend that we are much smarter than many perceive us to be.

Response by SFC Dave Joslin made Nov 16 at 2014 2:34 PM

SFC Dave Joslin — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 14:34:09 -0500

I recently had an encounter with one of my collegues where it came out that she was gay. She was up working with me on a project and I invited her out to dinner with my wife and she responded that her "spouse" traveled with her on the trip and she didn't want to impose. My initial instinct and response was, that's silly - my wife and I would love to take you and your husband to dinner.... After a funny and somewhat embarrassing conversation she admitted that she had withheld the information from me because of knowing that I was previously in the military - she thought that I would hold it against her or judge her differently! We had a great evening together - the four of us!

Stereotype - All military people hate gay people......furthest from the truth!

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 16 at 2014 4:43 PM

Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 16:43:31 -0500

I currently live in the Alaska Interior where it is pretty rustic and going out is pretty limited. My 2 girlfriends picked me up last minute yesterday to grab a drink and catch up at a bar 2 blocks from my house. All we wanted to do was to have a catch up sesh and head home. A few moments later these guys walk in and are loud, disruptive, keep coming up to us offering us shots, asking our names, and purposely throwing themselves at our table trying to catch our attention, to the point where one soldier knocks my friend over and off her chair. He physically hurt her and was laughing about it, feeling like a hero that he caught our attention as his group was playing beer pong. So are these dudes complete idiots or do Army dudes like feeding into the stereotype of being rowdy, obnoxious, pushy and inconsiderate in a public space?

Response by PFC Zanie Young made Nov 16 at 2014 4:54 PM

PFC Zanie Young — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 16:54:38 -0500

How about we are murderers before war and heroes after the war...

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 16 at 2014 6:21 PM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 18:21:31 -0500

All I do on drill weekends is practice shooting and marching around and maybe driving trucks and tanks.

at least that is what my coworkers thought

Response by PV2 Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 16 at 2014 8:31 PM

PV2 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 20:31:01 -0500

That Military Personnel that work in the office isn't as important as combat jobs

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 16 at 2014 8:44 PM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 20:44:00 -0500

That all women in the Navy are "Boat Whores/Ho's".....I can't speak for others but I know I'm no Jezebel/Ho/Loose Woman/Harlot/etc so that general blanket sterotype shouldn't exit. But alas, it does.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 16 at 2014 11:43 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 23:43:51 -0500

Another one that I recall hearing is that the Infantry is full of the minorities so they get killed first. I recall telling a guy it is not like that and it is pretty much the other way around. He was convinced he was right.

Response by SPC(P) Samantha Moore made Nov 16 at 2014 11:49 PM

SPC(P) Samantha Moore — Sun, 16 Nov 2014 23:49:38 -0500

That females get pregnant to get out of deploying. I had finally gotten pregnant after years of trying and my pregnancy was shamed by males and other females because I "got out of deployment."

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 17 at 2014 2:30 AM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 17 Nov 2014 02:30:21 -0500

We join because we aren't smart & won't amount to much. Oh, I had someone tell me that all military people are brainwashed & we don't know what is going on in our country or in the world.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 18 at 2014 12:48 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 12:48:27 -0500

That absolutely every second of our lives is controlled. They don't understand that, at least in garrison, our lives and jobs aren't that irregular. Also, most of my colleagues (I'm a reservist) think that we are automata who march and/or run everywhere, and that we only communicate by yelling.

Response by PO2 David Wagner made Nov 20 at 2014 3:08 PM

PO2 David Wagner — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 15:08:46 -0500

I think that the general public thinks that the mission of the Coast Guard is to protect the lakes and rivers of the United States. I have been thanked for that sort of service. Further, I have often heard reference to the "four branches" of the armed forces, even on RallyPoint. Huh?

I recently had a SeeBee reservist refer to me as a "puddle pirate" and while I can laugh at the those sorts of remarks, a large proportion of the Navy vets in my AMVETS post have never done sea duty.

In my four years of active duty, there was salt water running under my keel for 38 months including two cruises to Antarctica and one the the Arctic. I crossed the equator four times and I've lost track of how many times I've crossed the Antarctic Circle, the International Dateline, the Arctic Circle, or transited the Panama Canal. When I enlisted more than fifty years ago, I expected a career patrolling the Detroit River and the Great Lakes. I held a common stereotype about the Coast Guard.

Response by Cpl Charles Turnbull made May 25 at 2018 8:12 PM

Cpl Charles Turnbull — Fri, 25 May 2018 20:12:56 -0400

The Military is OK if you can’t get a Job! I was told that from a Civilian... many believe that!