Tag Archives: military

Military Ritual – Blood Stripes

Nationality: American
Age: 29
Occupation: Treasury Dept., ex-military
Residence: Austin, Texas
Performance Date: April 2011
Primary Language: English

Military – Marine Corps – Promotion Ritual/Ceremony/Tradition

“In the Marines, blood stripes are red stripes you get when you are promoted to Corporal as an NCO. At the same time, when people congratulate you they shake your hand and hit your rank insignia, which can make you bleed because the back of the insignia hasn’t been put on yet… so it goes along with the blood stripes. And they say that the blood stripes are from the Mexican American war in memory of those lost in battle. I think they go together because, in a way, when they hit you, you’re feeling the pain and blood of the Marines that were lost in the Mexican American War… so it’s like a connection to them, to the past.”

I agree with the informant’s analysis of this ritual/tradition. It seems likely that in an organization so reliant on camaraderie, like the military, this connection to the past would be important. According to the informant, the Marines that fought in the Mexican American war were considered especially courageous. By associating themselves with these past Marines, the new Marines are allying themselves with ideals of courage, while paying a sort of homage to their history. Traditions such as this seem to be formative when it comes to identity, and the military places much importance on a sense of common identity among service members. In effect, this ceremony where they are hit on their insignia ties them to their fellow Marines that are being promoted at the same time, but also to the Marines of the past, creating a camaraderie and commonality that spans generations of Marines.

Joke – American

Nationality: Italian American/Cape Verdean/Azorean
Age: 24
Occupation: Warehouse Worker
Residence: Los Angeles, CA
Performance Date: 4/1/2011
Primary Language: English

“What does Michael Jackson and Walmart have in common? And then you say…”
“What?”
“They both have kids’ pants half off.”

“How do you know when it’s bedtime in Michael Jackson’s house? When the big hand meets the little hand.”

The informant is a 24-year-old warehouse worker, equipment operator in the Navy Reserves, and a painter. He grew up in the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts until he moved to Los Angeles, California about a year and a half ago.

The informant learned this joke at a Navy Reserve weekend in Quincy, Massachusetts. Michael Jackson had just died so it seemed like a good time to make some Michael Jackson jokes. Told them because they are “freakin’ hilarious”. The informant says that Michael Jackson was a “pretty crazy dude.” Examples of Jackson’s freakiness included, “he was black then he was white, then he was a girl…hanging his kids over the side of the building, molesting kids, which I’m pretty sure he did do; he’s just a freak.” He finished by saying, “I don’t care if he died I have no respect for the guy.”

At other times when I’ve asked him where he learned it he wasn’t sure if it was when it was in the news that Michael Jackson had draped his kid outside his window or after he had died. He would have had to have heard them between March and early October 2009, because these were the only times he drilled in Quincy, MA. As Michael Jackson died June 25, 2009 this corroborates the context surrounding the informant learning the folklore. The informant has told this joke on the way to movies, and in moments of quiet – I can’t remember exact contexts, but these are probably some of the informant’s favorite jokes. I think it’s interesting that he heard them in the military as the military can be stereotyped as a man’s world, where gay men are not allowed to be out. It may be that Michael Jackson’s presence in the world was a threat to that. But on a deeper level I think that the allegations of molestation got under the informant’s skin in particular. While the informant does not like being in the Navy Reserves in the least, he appreciates his role in the Navy as a SeaBee, an Equiptment Operator because the emphasis is not so much on killing as it is on rebuilding – and frequently in humanitarian causes. Michael Jackson may have also represented a threat to the informant’s social justice focus.

Rite of Passage – United States Marine Corps

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Nationality: Jamaican
Age: 26
Occupation: Anthropology Student
Residence: Long Beach, California
Performance Date: January 30, 2009
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish, French

(This Rite of Passage takes place at Parris Island, South Carolina during Marine Corps recruit training or boot camp as it is more commonly known) It is early in the morning and all of the young Marine Corps recruits have just been woken up and are standing at the Position of Attention awaiting orders from their drill instructors. For some reason the drill instructor has a sad and concerned look on his face. Although no one is speaking there seems to be a general feeling of dread in the air. The young recruits look to their left and right occasionally, searching for some clue as to what is going on.

The drill instructor takes a deep breath in and says in a very low voice, “The United States has been attacked. At 0800 hours we received word that terrorists have attacked the White House and they have confirmed that there are multiple fatalities. According to our intelligence, North Korea is responsible for the attacks. President Bush feels that the United States need to quickly respond to this threat, and has decided that the best course of action is to declare war on North Korea. The situation requires recruit training to be cut short dramatically. Instead of 12 weeks you will all become full-fledged Marines next week. After you earn the title Marine you will be assigned to a combat unit and deploy to North Korea. Whether or not you want to continue recruit training is up to you. If you decide you want to leave no one will hold it against you. You will return you issued gear and after some logistics you will be flown back home. All of those who wish to leave please take one step forward.”

At this point the recruits are completely blown away. Some are muttering to themselves while others talk amongst each other. Inevitably someone steps forward. After a while there are a handful of recruits who have taken a step forward. At this point the drill instructor asks if anyone else wants to leave. No hands go up. He then says, “Take a good look at the individuals who have stepped forward. These are people who do not deserve to earn the title Marine. These are guys you do not want watching your back on the battlefield. The United States was not attacked. There is no war with North Korea. I just wanted to see how many cowards were in this platoon. Remember them well and remember those that did not step forward. Those are the real Marines.”

This experience was a real eye opener for a lot of recruits. Some of the guys that stepped forward were guys that acted tough and appeared to be more hardcore than myself and other recruits. I personally did not step forward. Unlike some of the other recruits, I was actually warned in advance of such a scenario taking place during Recruit Training. Another reason I did not believe what was said was that at the time, the United States was already at war with Afghanistan. Later in the year they went to war with Iraq, which blew my theory about the impossibility of simultaneous wars to bits.

Rites of Passage – United States Marine Corps

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Nationality: Jamaican
Age: 26
Occupation: Anthropology Student
Residence: Long Beach, California
Performance Date: February 23, 2010
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish, French

When new Marines join the fleet and are officially part of the United States Marine Corps they are called boots. These Marines are considered boots until they gain seniority and especially when they get junior Marines that they are put in charge of. There are various pranks and tricks played on these new Marines. When a new Marine comes to work he may be asked to find an ID-10 Tag. This Marine will then go around asking others where he might be able to locate an ID-10 Tag. Everyone is usually in on the joke because they have all been through it before and they all usually play along. They will tell the Marine random locations or send him to another Marine who will also keep the wild goose chase going. Eventually the Mane will be told, or find out, that an ID-10 Tag does not actually exist. ID-10 Tag is actually code for IDIOT.

A boot may also be sent to hunt down a PRC-E5 (pronounced prick-ee-five). This prank is a little less forgiving than others. E5 is the pay grade of a Sergeant in the Marine Corps. He is in essence being asked to find a Sergeant who is a prick. When the Marine actually finds the Sergeant and tells him he was told to ask for a PRC-E5 the Sergeant may not be too happy that some boot is calling him a prick. What often ends up happening is the Sergeant hunts down the Marine that sent the boot to him and reprimands that individual. After being scolded, the Marine usually makes it a task to somehow punish the boot that went to the Sergeant. This prank is not exclusive to Sergeants it can be used amongst Marines of any pay grade.

Usually pranks like these occur during a workday when there is not much to do and senior Marines are bored. It is uncommon for these pranks to happen during combat deployment mainly because there is not much time to initiate boots when constant danger exists. These pranks are usually conducted by senior Marines who “know the ropes.” Often someone will take pity on a boot and inform him that he is being screwed with. When I first joined my unit I was sent on a series of wild goose chases and eventually I was pulled aside by a fellow Marine and informed that I as being tricked. I actually became extremely angry because I was more eager to actually do legitimate work than participating in what I felt were sophomoric pranks. I was so angry at being duped, in fact, that I never forgave the Marine that duped me and hold a grudge against him to this very day.

Some Marines swear by the utility in playing pranks on their new Marines. They feel it teaches them to distinguish ridiculous and unfounded orders from legitimate ones. I feel that it is more important to actually do ones job properly and save the games for non-work hours. I have had any arguments with other Marines over this subject and whenever I see a boot being tricked I inform him as soon as humanly possible. This resulted in senior Marines pranking their boots only when I was not around because they knew I would spoil their fun.