declarations-ofa-citizen-blog

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Army, Truths and Lies

Founded in 1775 to help a blooming nation fight for independence, the United States Army has been a constant force in our country. Throughout the years, the Army name has been raised, degraded and approached with caution. With those changes in public opinion comes many different thoughts, some founded and some not. So in honor of our branch’s 242 birthday, I will approach some common public thoughts on the Army and say which ones are true, false, or misconceptions.

 The Army Gets Paid A Lot At A High Rate

Verdict: Misconception

“They give you $100 and take back $99!” - “They Say That In The Army…” Cadence

 When looking at our Leave Earning Statement (LES), I can see where this comes from. Our base pay is pretty high for starting rates but this thought is not entirely true. See, that pay is mostly just for show. In the Army, we have items that are mandatory to pay. Our SGI Bill (life insurance, will, etc.), TriCare, Federal Tax, State Tax (certain states do not tax military though) and FICA Tax. Also, at least once a fiscal year we have a mandatory charity donation automatically withdrawn from our pay at our commander’s say.

Keep in mind, military personnel are also salary employees. This means that no matter how many hours we work, four to five, five to 2000, seven to 12, etc., we get paid a constant amount. On days where we work little, this is great. For those days where we work long hours that would get us more money as hourly workers, it’s a drag. That $240 looks pretty good until you see how many hours you actually worked.

Don’t even get me started on being a reservist that can’t find a job in the civilian world. One day pay will kill you when your two bills cost $110 but you only get paid $94.46 for that month. That is keeping in mind that I have no dependents, no house or apartment to pay for (until August), or college to pay for (again, not until August).

So yeah, our pay may seem a lot but most of it goes towards mandatory purchases. New rank patches, DFac meals (automatically taken from our pay when at Basic Combat Training (BCT) and AIT (Advanced Individual Training), new uniforms when they get updated, and more.

 Most Soldiers Are Conservatives or Republicans

Verdict: False

“You don’t have to be straight to be in the military. You just have to be able to shoot straight,” - Barry Goldwater, former State Senator

 How this thought came to be, I will never know. The Army is just as diverse as any other workplace. I think people would be surprised at how many soldiers dislike President Trump. Not that anyone would mention it as he is our Commander in Chief and we can get an Article 15 (similar to being written up for doing bad) for what we say. Just a small tid bit, most soldiers dislike presidents who have no background in any military branch.

There are plenty of new and old soldiers who do not believe in what Conservatives or Republicans say. There are those who do though and that is, obviously, their right.

The Army Soldiers Are Always Willing To Help

Verdict: True

“Voluntarily Told” - Military slang

 This opinion comes from a soldier from the Canadian military. I find this to be rather true. When it comes to our foreign allies and Battle Buddies, many are more than willing to help them. In my MOS class, we have a Lieutenant from Saudi Arabia’s National Guard (unsure if that was him saying it in our terms or a direct translation). Sometimes he gets lost. Not only do our instructors move quickly to help but so do we (though we are a bit more hesitant given that his rank is way above us). It is not always for school related things either. If he has a question about shake downs and their process, we stop and explain why we do it a certain way and what they are for. Same with our soldiers who speak English as a second language. They have trouble sometimes and all of us help them when needed.

Overseas, my instructors and my dad recount how they remember helping foreign nationals. They were gifted in return which was confusing. We don’t really expect much in return other than you stay loyal to our alliance and help us when we need help. We are taught to help, surprising I know, and many of us enjoy helping. For some, that is why they joined the Army.

Despite our willingness to help, don’t be offended if certain topics turn us cold. There are certain things we are not at liberty to discuss and it could get us chaptered out of the Army if found. Though we are more than willing to help move things, pull security and more (even if we aren’t necessarily supposed to).

The World Thinks About The U.S. Army All The Time

Verdict: False

“I think the primary message to the world is that the United States is going to remain the strongest military in the world,” -Lean Panetta, former United States Secretary of Defense

 From one of my penpals and her friend, Europeans do not often think of us. In fact, she shared a little .gif of a soldier in partial uniform (his top/jacket was off) dancing around to show what she thinks of when she thinks of our military. Which, honestly, is not too far from how we act when not working.

Sure, we are on the news when something bad happens or if a major world victory is made. That’s a given but we are not always in people’s minds or opinions. It’s better that way.

The Army Is Mostly Non-Combat Related Jobs

Verdict: True

“Our armed forces exist solely to ensure our nation is safe, so that each and every one of us can sleep soundly at night, knowing we have 'guardians at the gate,” - Allen West, former U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel 

This one actually comes from a friend. Her thought would be correct. I can count the number of direct combat trained jobs on one hand (there are four). The most well known are 11Bs, also known as infantry. Those attacks and deaths due to a fight gone wrong in the military, more than 80% of those people will not be in a direct combat MOS.

In the Army, the new Army, everyone will see combat at some point in their enlistment. Regardless of our job, combat is a secondary item that we must know. We all learn in. At BCT we learn mostly about combat, how to survive and built ourselves physically. At Advanced Individual Training (AIT) we focus more on our jobs directly and put combat to the side, temporarily.

We will all go to combat zones. It’s unavoidable, even for reserves. We will all, sadly, shoot at a person with the intent to kill at some point. This is a war afterall.

 The Army Deals With Land Battles

Verdict: Misconception

“... Surrounding a  mariner's wheel is a shield representing a U.S. highway marker. Superimposed on the shield is a winged rail wheel on a railroad track. The symbols represent the four major modes of transportation: marine, road, aviation, and rail,” - Army Transportation Corp Insignia

 This is a bit of a doozy. Yes, the Army mostly fights on land but we also have jobs that deal with ships and aircrafts. In the Transportation Corps, where I work, we work with rail, motor and sea. This means that the Army is not just land. We use the air and sea as well but most of our fights are done via land, rarely anything else.

Fun fact. The Army has more ships than the Navy and more aircrafts than the Air Force.

The Army is Organized, Punctual and Uniformed

Verdict: False

“Hurry up and wait!” -Army Saying

 This one brings a laugh to me. Plans change so suddenly and ruin a backup plan then that plan’s backup is messed and so on and so forth. NCOICs can’t be found, Commander is gone, no memo was sent, the whole shabang. All sorts of problems arise into chaos. It happens mostly in state where things are calmer but things can get really hectic when out in war.

The Army is not good at being uniformed either. There are many rules and regulations to make us uniformed but there are always those that mess up and/or try to bend the rules. Always someone who does something to mess everything up. Then there is us trying to get into regulations when uniforms change. A full set of uniforms is over $100 and we need at least two or three plus PTs which are about $70-80 a set. Regulations are a mess. Hair and shaving is even worse.

Punctual. That word doesn’t exist in the Army. Pretend that word is fake.

 When It Is All Said And Done, Soldiers Are Proud Of Who They Are

Verdict: Truer than true!!

“I am a guardian of freedom and the American way of life,” -Soldier’s Creed

 Despite all the hardships of being in the Army, there is nothing more than many of us want than to be a member of this team. We hold the memories of those left behind within our dog tags. We hold their legacy and advance forward for our nation. We defend the Constitution of the United States against threats both foreign and domestic.

Sure, not many of us knew exactly what we were signing up for. Who would know what to expect when what happens depends on where you go? Despite not knowing, despite messing up along the way, despite long hours and constant aching bones we are proud of this proud.

We are American soldiers.

- J. E. Luca

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Flag of Pride Not Race

When asked what a symbol of the LGBT Community is, many people will reference the iconic rainbow flag used since the ‘70s. That flag is viewed with pride by many and used at special LGBT events everywhere. Now that flag is subject to a questionable petition to add two new colors to it.

First presented in Philadelphia, the flag will have black and brown added to it in that city. These colors are said to represent those of color in the community to show there are more than just white gays. While a good gesture with the right intentions, it is being greatly misused. Race has had nothing to do with the flag’s creation and use.

Debuting in 1978, Gilbert Baker took his inspirations from many places including the hippie movement. With the help of Harvey Milk, the man who showed Baker that actions could bring change, 30 volunteers had stitched the first two pride flags to use at a pride parade. Each color on the flag had a special meaning that Baker gave them. In descending order they are: life, healing, sunlight, nature, magic, serenity and spirit. None of these have to do with race. So why do colors for race need to be added?

Here’s a quick background on myself and why I have such an opinion. I am a genderfluid asexual with panromantic leanings. I am from a military family and currently serve as an Army Reservist. I am Southern and proud. I am the daughter of a Filipino immigrant and I am also Native American. I have been a gay rights and equal rights activist for many years now. My friends are all various LGBT members and a good number are people of color like myself. We have concluded that this is not how we want representation.

No color on that flag is about race. The big picture, the original picture, is not about race. So why make it so? What is the point of taking a non-racial item and making it racial? I want representation too but I see it all over. If what I see is not enough, then there are other ways of representing ourselves without  adding a symbol that has nothing to do with race but about love and self.

There are different ways of representation, just look at what the other orientations have done. They have made flags for themselves. There are online communities for support and information. There are blogs with content related to their needs. They have days, weeks, or months dedicated to them and their orientations. We could start there. Making something new on our own. Don’t take something with a specific purpose and try to change it. That will sometimes just make things worse.

We need something to call our own. If we can’t find representation, then we make it. But, we can not take what is not ours and make it how we want. That makes us no better than those who came before. It makes us no better than the imitators. Making something racial when it was not about race in the first place is not an improvement. That is not the representation that we need.

Get creative my fellow LGBT PoCs. I know we can create something all of our own if we collaborate with each other. I know we can get representation without piggybacking onto another item.

I believe we can do this.

- J. E. Luca