It's been a while since I've made a blog post, but mostly because I didn't really have anything I wanted to post about. I don't know why, because this is something that has weighed on my mind for quite a long time.
When Episode finally released military assets in Limelight, I was excited, because it meant that the military could be better represented in the Limelight art style. However, over the past several months, I have come across several stories that not only have disheartened me, but honestly downright offended me.
You see, I'm a United States Army Veteran. I served from 2001 to 2007. I had planned to retire from the military, but my life changed so much and I became a single mother. Because I didn't want to orphan my daughter, and I didn't want my parents to have to continue raising her, I decided not to continue my service after my initial enlistment ended.
The military is not something that you just join on a whim. It's a serious life choice decision that is made. For me, I kind of always knew. I came from a long line of service members with family serving in each war this country has fought. Although my dad was already out when I was born (he was stationed in Germany in the 1970's) many of the values I grew up with were military values.
You see, the military isn't a job, it's a culture, and misrepresentation is offensive just like any cultural misrepresentation on Episode. I am actually joining a segment on the Axiom group called Axiom Class where I will be teaching the community the proper ways to represent the military. This includes appearance, language, the uniform code of military justice, and even jargon. Hoo-ah!
What are the branches?
Well, I'll start with the Army, since that's where I served.
The Army is the main ground-force of the United States. Its primary function is to protect and defend the country and its interests with ground troops, armor (such as tanks), artillery, attack helicopters, tactical nuclear weapons, and other weapons. The Army is the oldest U.S. military service, officially established by the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775. It’s also the largest of the military services. The Army is supported by two Reserve Forces which can be tapped for trained personnel and equipment during times of need: The Army Reserves, and the Army National Guard.
The Air Force is the youngest military service. Prior to 1947, the Air Force was a separate Corps of the Army. The primary mission of the Army Air Corps was to support Army ground forces. However, World War II showed that air power had much more potential than simply supporting ground troops, so the Air Force was established as a separate service.
The primary mission of the Air Force is to defend the U.S. and its interests via air and space. It operates fighter aircraft, tanker aircraft, light and heavy bomber aircraft, transport aircraft, and helicopters. The Air Force is also responsible for all military satellites and controls strategic nuclear ballistic missiles. Like the Army, the active duty Air Force is supplemented by the Air Force Reserves and the Air National Guard.
Like the Army, the Navy was officially established by the Continental Congress in 1775. The Navy's primary mission is to maintain and protect U.S. interests at sea. In times of conflict, the Navy helps to supplement Air Force air power, since Navy aircraft carriers can often deploy to areas where fixed runways are impossible. An aircraft carrier usually carries about 80 aircraft, mostly fighters or fighter-bombers. Navy ships can attack land targets from miles away with very heavy guns and cruise missiles. Navy submarines allow stealth attacks on our enemies from right off their shores. The Navy is also primarily responsible for transporting Marines to areas of conflict. The Navy is supported in times of need by the Naval Reserves. However, unlike the Army and Air Force, there is no Naval National Guard.
Marines specialize in amphibious operations; their primary specialty is to assault, capture, and control beachheads, which then provide a route to attack the enemy from almost any direction. The Marines were officially established on 10 November 1775 by the Continental Congress to act as a landing force for the United States Navy. In 1798, however, Congress established the Marine Corps as a separate service. While amphibious operations are their primary specialty, in recent years, the Marines have expanded other ground-combat operations, as well. For combat operations, the Marine Corps likes to be self-sufficient, so it also has its own air power, consisting primarily of fighter and fighter/bomber aircraft and attack helicopters. But the Marines do use the Navy for logistical and administrative support; there are no doctors, nurses, or enlisted medics in the Marine Corps, for instance. Even medics that accompany the Marines into combat are specially-trained Navy medics.
The United States Coast Guard, the smallest of all the U.S. military branches, was originally established as the Revenue Cutter Service in 1790. In 1915, it was reformed as the United States Coast Guard, under the Treasury Department. Legislation passed in 2002 transferred the Coast Guard to the Department of Homeland Security. In peacetime, the Coast Guard is primarily concerned with law enforcement, boating safety, sea rescue, and illegal immigration control. However, the president can transfer part or all of the Coast Guard to the Department of the Navy in times of conflict. The Coast Guard consists of ships, boats, aircraft and shore stations that conduct a variety of missions. It is also supported by the Coast Guard Reserves, and a volunteer Coast Guard Auxiliary in times of need.
One of the biggest things I see as far as misrepresentation, obviously, is appearance. I don't have to actually read a story to see the military is being misrepresented.
While in uniform, the head MUST be covered while outdoors. Likewise, unless during a ceremony, the head cover MUST be removed while indoors. The military has very strict guidelines in terms of hairstyles, facial hair, tattoos, piercings, jewelry and yes, even eye wear. Service members must maintain a clean, professional appearance, and nothing must interfere with the adorning of the protective mask.
Female hair must be at least 1/4 inch long. If it falls below the collar, it must be pulled back in a tight, neat bun. Male hair must be tapered and natural no longer than four inches. Hair cannot be touching the ears or the collar. While males can have a mustache, given it is neat in appearance, beards are only allowed in cases of religious waivers. This is actually a new regulation. When I served, males were not allowed to have mustaches or beards AT ALL. Tattoos must not be visible in uniform. The only visible piercings allowed is one set of simple studs worn by females. The only other jewelry allowed is a simple wedding band worn by married personnel.
The military has their own sets of laws, detailed in the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Many things that are legally, or even socially acceptable in the civilian world are illegal in the military. Any sexual contact outside of marriage is illegal. Cheating on a spouse comes with a stiff consequence, including loss of pay and rank. Relationships within the military are only allowed given the two individuals are of the similar rank or if they were married prior to joining the military. Enlisted personnel cannot enter into relationships with officers, and there cannot be vast differences in rank (E1 dating an E6).
Oh... E1 and E6?
The military has an elaborate rank structure divided into three classifications.
Enlisted (E) Officer (O) and Warrant Officer (WO)
An enlisted person is someone who has gone through basic combat training, but no officer training. In order to become an officer, a person must have a college degree, complete basic combat training, and officer candidate school. A Warrant Officer is in between. They must have achieved a rank of E6 or higher. If they have the right specialty occupation, they can then be selected to attend warrant officer school.
There are 10 enlisted, 10 officer, and 5 warrant officer ranks. However, there is only ever ONE E10 (The Sergeant Major of the Army), O10 (General of the Army), and WO5 (Warrant Officer 5) at a time for each branch of service (and many times these ranks aren't used). The title of the ranks depends on the branch of service.
Prior to training, a person must go through processing. They don't just let anyone into the military. You go through rigorous medical, physical, and psychological evaluation. A complete background check is performed, and you disclose EVERYTHING. Every scar, mole, piercing, tattoo, etc is thoroughly explained. They examine every orifice of your body. Yup. They get PERSONAL. You have to do various exercises wearing nothing but your underwear. I had a girl I roomed with during processing that didn't get in because she had too many freckles. FRECKLES. They said that she was a potential cancer risk. They ask you all kinds of very personal questions, question all your answers, try to catch you in lies. It's no cake walk. If you pass, then you take an oath, swearing allegiance to the country. This isn't the one you used to say every morning to the flag. This is the real deal, binding. Now the government OWNS you. That's right. You are government property, and you don't sneeze without their permission. You can get fined and lose pay for a simple sun burn because you damaged government property. It's not a joke.
Basic combat training is weeks (dependent on branch of service) of physical and mental training that pushes a person to their absolute limits. The closest Hollywood has ever gotten was Full Metal Jacket. To many military members, that's the Bible when it comes to what the military is like. It's probably because they actually used a REAL military drill instructor to play the roll. They asked him to consult and teach the actor to be a drill instructor, but then decided to accurately portray it, they needed the real deal. It made all the difference in the world. Full Metal Jacket IS Basic Combat Training. (Or was when I went through). They insult you, used to be able to punish you physically, and the word "smoke" was given new meaning. You too scared to do something? Too bad, you do it anyways. You're tired? Too bad. You're cold. SUCK IT UP. Tired? You learn to sleep standing up with your eyes open.
In the end, you come out in the best physical and mental shape you'll ever be in your entire life. You are a skilled combat machine. Then... occupational school.
Yup, you're not done.
Each branch calls it differently. In the Army, we called it Advanced Individual Training. My husband was Air Force, and they called it Tech School. The length is dependent on the job you selected. During this time, they don't torture you as much mentally, but you still do daily PT (physical training). That never ends. During your training, you learn the skills of your new job, and upon graduation, you're assigned to your new permanent party unit.
They become your family.
I was assigned to two different units during my service. The first, a HETS (Heavy Equipment Transporter System aka Tank Haulers) unit in Kentucky. Going in, I knew the chances of deployment were high, since we were one of only 4 HET units in the country and had been deployed in every war. It was also a low ratio unit. I was one of only a handful of non-administrative females in a unit of males. It actually took months to get my squad to see me as just one of the guys due to past problems with "sexual harassment" complaints over language. Once they realized I wasn't going to turn them in for using foul language, I was accepted, and even "promoted" to squad HMMVEE driver. This meant, that I got to drive the squad leaders around. When deployed, my main job was to drive from the very back of the convoy to the very front going as fast as I could (the speedometer only goes to 65 mph, and my speed was usually "miles") and then find the highest point possible to turn and watch as the convoy came by. This was to ensure that everyone was distanced appropriately in case of ambush, and also to count trucks for stragglers. It was fun, but it was also stressful. We did come under attack a few times, and one of the other platoon leaders did lose his life.
When I returned home, and found myself faced with becoming a single mom, I made the decision to move to Oklahoma. At that time, I put in for a transfer. I was transferred to a 5Ton unit in Oklahoma and boy, was it a change. I won't deny that I never felt like they were my family. While my unit in Kentucky was filled with experienced combat veterans from Desert Storm, the unit in Oklahoma was full of a bunch of greenies with big heads.
The one positive, our platoon leader was a black belt, so our PT was usually hand to hand combat. During this time, I learned how to put someone out in less than 4 seconds. That unit got deployed when my daughter was only 2 months old. I didn't go, because military regulations state that a mother cannot be deployed until her child is at least 4 months old.
I got sent to the "rear". Basically sitting idle until the unit returned. Of course, when they did, they all had bigger heads. By that time, my time was close to running out, and I knew that if I stayed, I would be deployed again. I couldn't do that to my daughter or to my parents. I was set to ETS (expiration – term of service) in November 2007. The unit got deployed in December and they tried to do what was called a Stop-Loss. That is where they try to deny you leaving service due to need and since I was in a high need occupation, they were allowed. I finally convinced them to let me out, and I was released from service in February 2008, the same month I started dating my husband.
When I see the way things I experienced, the life I lived, misrepresented... it honestly triggers me, and I don't use that word lightly. It invokes feelings of anger, which I hate feeling. It feels like the author is making a mockery of me, my family, and all who have given their lives.
I invite you to follow EpisodeAxiom and keep an eye out for posts about how to properly represent the military on Episode.
Sorry for the ramble.
Hoo-ah!
Comments