Tag Archives: military

“It’s a Hard Knock Bootcamp…..”

Nationality: American
Age: 25
Occupation: National Guard
Residence: Savannah, Georgia
Performance Date: March 13, 2012
Primary Language: English
Language: spanish

My cousin in Military bootcamp for the National Guard in Fort Leonardwood, MO wrote me a letter, and in it she wrote the lyrics to a song that they had made-up in the camp, including her little annotations in parentheses:

(“It’s a Hard Knock Life” melody)

 

Hot guys we never see

Ice cream we don’t get to eat

Mountain climbers, 30x a day (an exercise that sucks)

Then it’s back to scrubbing this bay…

-It’s a hard knock life-

Have to hold our cups to our chests

Always told we look a mess

Holy crap private, front leaning rest (down to pushup position)

You’ll never pass your PT test..

-It’s a hard knock life-

Army Greens and MRE’s (“meal ready to eat”-packaged food you take camping)

5 minute showers and 2 second pees

Trail mix is always gone

Our bunks are always wrong…

-It’s a hard knock life-

We used to play beer pong

Now we march all day long

We always avoid going to the pit (where you get “smoked” with PT)

In formation we aren’t allowed to spit…

-It’s a hard knock life-

I used to do my hair

Now I don’t even care

We used to shave our legs

Gunna throw-up if we have to eat more eggs..

-It’s a hard knock life-

Stand in the freezing rain

Get frostbite, feel the pain

Fingers are broken and I wanna cry

‘cuz I gotta write a 5,000 word RBI (paper you have to write when in trouble)

-It’s a hard knock life-

I really hate to pack

My entire life in that small rucksack (nothing ever fits)

For breakfast we eat lots of cake (drill sgts call pancakes, waffles, and biscuits “cake”)

After a 20 minute run, it clearly was a mistake…

-It’s a hard knock life-

Ask a male to hold my gun

Then we had to drop as one (pushups- “can’t” talk to boys)

I tried to plead my case

But all I got was a “half right face” (position you move to before getting smoked)

-It’s a hard knock life-

People eating candy

Playing pool and watching tv

Boy I can’t wait until that’s me

Living life at AIT! (2nd part-advanced individual training)

-It’s a hard knock life-

 

The informant enjoys singing this song because it helps pass the time and it lightens the mood of bootcamp and brings everyone closer.

Superstition – Bad Luck – Marine Corps

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

Military – Marine Corps – Superstition

“When you’re in combat or even training it’s bad luck to eat the charms in your MRE… It’s something you learn early on so you just don’t do it. Every MRE comes with some sort of dessert.. like lemon pound cake or poppy seed pound cakes. Those are the best, but you never know what you’re going to get.. but if you get these charm candies you aren’t supposed to eat them. You’re supposed to throw them out on the side of the road or into the garbage. I don’t really know why it’s bad luck. But I think it’s just in the Marines. There are stories of misfortunes from Marines disobeying this.”

The informant did not seem to have much of an opinion about the reasoning behind this superstition. In my opinion, it seems to relate to the Marines’ (or other military service members’) experiences with dangerous situations while in combat. Although the individuals play a large part in their own safety, they are living in constant danger, and the potential of death looms over them. In some ways, this superstition seems to be an attempt to alter one’s fate in a dire situation. The Marines have relatively little control over their situation during combat, and must follow orders in every aspect of their lives. In this way, it makes sense that throwing away these candies is a way of asserting some form of control over one’s own fate. It is ironic that these candies represent bad luck because they are charms, which typically are viewed as symbols of good luck. The charms remain symbols of luck in this context, but represent bad luck rather than good. This consistency as a symbol of some form of luck helps explain why these specific candies are associated with bad luck, and exemplifies that this association is not entirely random.

Evidently, this superstition is discussed in this publication:
Evan Wright (2004). Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America, and the new face of American war. New York, NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons. pp. 83. ISBN 0-399-15193-1.

Furthermore, there are many message boards and online posts regarding this superstition. There are even people who suggest that candy should be entirely removed from MRE’s, supposedly to prevent even the possibility of bad luck stemming from these candies. The informant also stated that he believes the film Jarhead (2005), directed by Sam Mendes, references this superstition.

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.