We've had our share of screw ups and misfits...happens even in a professional army...but for the most part we're still the best around...there's more than a few old school guys like me left around that are teaching these new kids what right looks like.
@txradioguy I am sure of that. All military units are what they are based on the leadership ability of the commanding officer,and the command Sergeant-Major. If the CO is a slacker just filling time while waiting for a hand-picked "slot to the stars" to open up for him,chances are it's like the ones I described.
If it is one of those units that has a hard-charger at the top who cares more about training and readiness than he does sucking up and flying to DC on weekends,chances are it is a good unit.
The last conventional unit I was in was a NG Signal unit out of Texas stationed at Nha Trang. I was sent there because when I reported into the SFOB at Nha Trang in 68, I had a dislocated shoulder and a pulled muscle in my back. If I had already been signed in,it wouldn't have been a problem,but they couldn't keep me with those profiles. 90 days later my profile ended,and SGM Odom send a driver over in a jeep to pick me up,and I was happy again. There was not ONE SINGLE NCO or Officer in that unit that wasn't a slacker piece of crap,hiding out in that signal company to pull their VN tour while making certain they were never exposed to fire. I got into a dust-up with a 1st Lt one day because I spotted his infantry insignia on his lapel,and asked him why he was there instead of a line unit. I was honestly curious,but he thought I was screwing with him and threatened to beat my ass if I ever asked him something like that again. He came to regret that within seconds. Luckily for me,I had witnesses to being threatened with violence by him,so he couldn't do squat. I didn't even hurt the SOB. I just scared him a little. Come to find out he came from a political family in Texas,and they used their influence to make sure "Precious" served his tour like the hero he was,but never had to go on patrols.
My job there was a the company armorer. I had been trained as a communications center specialist right after basic,but had never even been close to a com center since graduating from Signal School and going to jump school. Since I was useless for anything else,they made me the company armorer. M-14's locked away in rifle racks in squad bays,and the ammo and mags were in a munitions bunker nearby. I was the only enlisted swine in the company with the keys to the ammo bunker. The rest of the guys would get on a bus in the morning or in the evening,depending on their shift,and ride to a commo center downtown to work their 12 hour shifts before coming back to the barracks.
It was like serving time. I really didn't have anything to do,and was bored out of my mind. Because of this I spent most of my time over at the SFOB,drinking in the Delta or Recondo Club bars,and reminding SGM Odom that I needed a new home. One of the happiest days of my life was when that MSG showed up in that jeep with orders returning me to the 5th.
The US Army is one of the greatest jobs in the world if you are working with professionals,but sucks beyond all belief if you are in a unit populated with NCO's and officers who are clowns just trying to put in their 20 while doing the absolute minimum.
