That all Marines are stupid.
That all Marines are tough.
That basic training teaches you how to fight/kill. (It did teach me to shoot a rifle, but mostly how to march, iron a uniform, polish boots and be yelled at by everybody who had something on their sleeve or collar)
That if you are military, you get loans for cars/jewelry/stereos and such from the government, or that these things are free.
That you can go to college in your "off time"
That you will receive "valuable training" for a future job on civie street
That if you are "only a Corporal" you didn't have anything valuable to add
That the Marine Corps does everything better than the Army
That the MC is part of the Navy.
It's in the Department of the Navy. the Men's department
That polishing a scuttlebutt (water fountain) and it's supply and drain pipes has a legitimate military purpose
That it is important to train the way you fight, just so you can go to war and find out that you do everything differently because there's a "war" and we are under combat conditions. I can't tell you how many dummies almost got shot coming through our positions at night with lights on because they never trained driving tactical vehicles with blackout lights. Ditto for NVGs and PVS4s because the batteries were expensive.
That chow sucks no matter where you are. The Navy, Air Force and Army all ate better during Desert Storm than we did at Camp Lejeune in garrison.
That the guys in Supply/Motor T./Admin/Cooks have easy jobs. These guys get to do all the grunt stuff, then work 60 hours at their MOS while the grunts go on liberty. That and all these jobs promote slower also.
That Reservists are not real Soldiers. Huh! I had D Battery, 2d Battalion, 14th Marines with my unit in DS. These guys were awesome. Good morale, good leadership, and well trained. Not as proficient at first as the AD troops, but much better discipline and initiative. Ditto for my own reserve unit later on. I guess the difference is that they want to be there.
That once you get out the VA will help you get a house, and take care of your medical needs.
That it matters to somebody that you have ever worn a uniform.
That all military people want to overthrow the government and institute a dictatorship.
That they all want to go to war also.
That you only go into the military if you can't find a job
That civilian employers know what a DD214 is or what it means.
That all troops in combat get to sleep in portable buildings, have real toilets and get warm meals and showers every day.
That just because the Navy put you on the USS G.W. which is 300 miles from the MLR, you are safe.
That an Airman who is safely in the rear with the gear is in no danger (even though a large amount of that "gear" is high order explosive ordinance made by the lowest bidder, and damaged planes come back to the base to land. ... or crash)
But the absolute worst is that these poor slobs will ...
... go do what silliness it takes to earn the uniform they chose,
... be sent off to train for and possibly make war,
... face death from hundreds of different ways,
... be separated for days, weeks, and months at a time from their families who often qualify for food stamps so the rest of this wonderful country can sleep at night without worrying about anything more important than the Jerry Springer show, not asking for recognition or reward...
and do it all knowing that most people never even notice, much less say "thank you."
I am ashamed to say that this is the first Christmas since 1986 that I forgot to add in my prayers the members of our armed forces who cannot be with their families.
