llort_vbo wrote:
I have a number of friends who served in Iraq and they reported some fights between NCOs and enlisted men. They told me that as long as you weren't insubordinate that you could request to settle things like men later if you felt that you were poorly treated. Of course if anyone got seriously hurt, somebody would get courtmartialed.
I can think of at least 3 people who told me this and none of them exaggerate. One E6 tank driver, one marine gunnery sgt, and a Lt C in the Navy. So a pretty reasonable cross section. The Army and Marine guys were combat units.
First of all, as a former 19K who served in Iraq a long time ago, I can GUARANTEE that they are full of $hit. I only saw one fight and it was between two lower enlisted that was just a case of horsing around that got a little out of control. No big deal. Any NCO who laid a hand on a lower enlisted would first get his @ss beat down by several other NCOs who would defend the soldier and secondly get Article 15'ed and wouldn't be an NCO very long. During the height when I was there, he would almost have certainly remained in the Army for the duration of the tour (after being demoted) but would be separated upon return. We had a few soldiers use drugs and did not get kicked out until we got back.
Secondly, soldiers tend to exaggerate or outright lie about their experiences. I always hear people talk about the "four hour smoke sessions" they had in basic. Funny how these same people who endured four hours of hell can barely do 40 pushups and struggle to run 2-miles without walking. I had someone who deployed with me tell new guys to the unit all kinds of BS exaggerations about the combat he endured despite the fact that I was right there and could refute everything he said (which, of course, I did.) We may have lost a couple guys but he made it sound like we endured the second invasion of Normandy.
And finally, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS AN E6 TANK DRIVER. All drivers are E4 and below and most are E3 or below. Driver and loader are E4 or lower, gunner is usually an E5 (or a senior E4), and the tank commander is an E6 or above (or sometimes a senior E5). This glaring error shows how little you know about the military. Turn off your "Full Metal Jacket" movies and come back to reality.
All these BS threads about the military need to be deleted. All started by people who sit in their basements and watch movies and therefore KNOW what it was like in Iraq and Afghanistan. Pathetic.