Being a Soldier - An Inside Look
So, as some of you may have read in my introduce yourself, I'm a soldier in the United States Army. I just wanted to talk about life as a soldier. I don't know if there's any interest or if anyone will even read this, but I'm going to put it out there anyways.
For the most part, being in the Army is your normal 9-5 job. I wake up around 5:30am Monday through Friday. I go to PT (physical training) until about 7:30-8:30am. I go home and get ready for the work day and am back at work by about 9:30am. Then I do daily tasks at work that get put out by the people who are higher ranking than I am.
My job in the Army is an Infantrymen. For those of you who don't know what that is, we're the ground force that goes out and assaults the enemy. The simplest way I can put it! In my previous paragraph I talked about our daily routine, now for the non-regular day. When we're training as infantrymen, we call it going to the field. When we're in the field I would describe it as playing war games. It's a simulated war scenario and we train up what we would do in each scenario. We're given a mission and have to successfully accomplish that mission. There are long nights and days of being up for hours on end. The longest I've personally been awake on mission is about 36 hours.
Those long days and nights are filled with battling the urge to nod off for a few minutes, physical exhaustion from walking miles carrying all your gear, and my personal favorite: thinking about the shower you're going to have when you get home. Didn't I mention that yet? Yeah, no showers for up to about a month at a time. When we're in the field that is, deployments are a whole different story. My baby wipes have become my best friends at times! But what makes it all worth it in the end? Knowing I get to come home to my beautiful wife.
I'm personally not a military spouse so I can't speak for her, but those long weeks of me being gone have to be hard especially when we as soldiers aren't allowed to have our phones on certain missions. Without my wife I seriously don't think I could make it through those times. Being married to your best friend while you're in the Army makes you appreciate each other so much more. Possibly because the time we get to spend together is sacred at times. I never know when I'm going to get thrown on a 24 hour duty, have to go to the field, or be deployed. The sacrifices she makes are more than I could ever do. She's left her family to come half way around the world (we live in Germany) to a place she knew nothing about, but only knowing that I was leaving again and she'd be on her own. That takes courage. Thank you Kels, I love you!
Thank you for reading! If you have any questions I'd be more than happy to answer!
Written by Mike
Hey Mike,
Impressive article! Very interesting to read about your daily life. It sure does seem risky and unsure if you can just be posted or deployed last minute.
Also, a month without a shower sounds awful!
A lot of respect man :) Bless you!
Thanks @sjennon!
Usually we will have some time to know if we're going to be deployed, but in emergency situations - we don't.
Trust me, it is! Taking that first shower when I get back home it a God-send and what I look forward to!
Same to you! Have a good day!
I can imagine, wow! Also just being in your nice, own, comfy bed is a really nice thing to look forward to :) And ofcourse, your wife. I don't know if I could switch places with her!
Really liked this Mike, keep it up! A month without a shower, dang and I thought we had it rough bathing in the creek!
how does it feel to be a class traitor
Great comment and even better question!! I'd like to start off by answering that not everyone was born into the same class. People join the military for all sorts of different reasons. There are people of all different classes in the Army. I know a middle eastern prince who was stationed here with me as well as people who came from nothing. You say class traitor, I say I'm just trying to move up in life and I happen to be doing that by serving my country. If that makes you mad, then I guess I feel bad for you.
" by serving my country. "
you mean serving the rich, nothing you are doing is helping your country. Well maybe bringing more of the fruits of imperialism. How does it feel risking your life so the rich can get richer? How does it feel to be the main cog in a system which kills 20 million a year through poverty alone?
If you don't like what I do, then whatever man. I made this so people would know a little more about me and have an insight into what it's like to be a soldier. That's me and if you don't like it tough shit brother. Doesn't hurt my feelings one bit. You've got the right to your opinion.
Did I say I agree with everything the US or the military does? Nah, I can't find that anywhere in my post actually. I have the right to my opinion as an individual, too. What would you like to see happen to the military? It just not exist? The entire world be one big, happy playground? If the US didn't have a military poverty wouldn't exist? Alright, sounds good to me. If I didn't have this job, I would be one of those in poverty.
"Did I say I agree with everything the US or the military does? Nah, I can't find that anywhere in my post actually. I have the right to my opinion as an individual, too. What would you like to see happen to the military? It just not exist? The entire world be one big, happy playground? If the US didn't have a military poverty wouldn't exist? Alright, sounds good to me. If I didn't have this job, I would be one of those in poverty."
You exist as a tool to uphold capitalism the system that creates this poverty. Without you the system would change to mutualism or socialism, which has proven to essentially erase poverty. Without destroying every military state socialism is an example of the erasure of poverty, look at the ussr.
To each their own.
to each based on how much control they have over the means of production and the workers*
There, made a special capitalist version for you.
To each their own describes mutualism
"Alright, sounds good to me. If I didn't have this job, I would be one of those in poverty."
"If I didn't take food from that starving child, I would be starving myself" The soldier says in front of the store with food rotting on its shelves for the extra bit of profit and then thinks. "Good thing I fought for freedom, otherwise that child could have stolen food from the store"
What are you even talking about?
20 million die a year of poverty while there is enough to feed them. The only thing keeping them from food is the money to buy it. Money is a social construct, and it must be enforced to exist. You are the one who enforces it. You are the one who keeps the starving child from food because of legal fictions.
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Interesting post man, thanks for sharing! What do you normally do on days when you aren't in the field, on a training exercise or deployed? Are there more 'office' type tasks that you get?
You're welcome @jadoob!
I'm actually on a 24 hour detail right now called CQ, or charge of quarters. I have to sit behind a desk for 24 hours without going to sleep. The purpose is to always have someone on duty if anything were to ever happen when leadership isn't around. But to answer your question, we would mostly hold something almost like a classroom setting and learn about different things that can benefit us in combat like medical training, learning how to drive different military vehicles, etc. There is always a class being held so we can learn all sides of our job. Being a combat MOS (Military Occupational Specialty, or in other terms - what my specific job as a soldier is) it's really important to know self aid and buddy aid in case we can't get to a medic or they can't get to us. Some other things we learn in these classroom environments are about tactics and the best way to handle a combat situation. We have 8 "battle drills" that we live by and are our bread and butter, almost like a play book. We get them drilled into our heads over and over again. I've had a class on entering and clearing a room more times in my military career more times than I can count! I hope I answered your question. I know I kind of rambled, but if you have any more I'd be happy to answer! Thanks for your support!
Thanks for your answers, very interesting! I've often wondered what the day to day life of someone in the military is like :)
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