Priorities

So I was walking home a few nights ago to the concrete-and-stink hovel I live in. Something to note about nights here. I live on what is called a "black-out" FOB, one where there are no streetlights or really any exterior lights. The idea is that, I guess, Iraqis have some sort of Tyrannosaurus Rex-like inability to realize things are there unless they move, or in their case, give off light. (I mean, aren't we just a little off our rocker? The base is clearly visible during the day and its not like the Iraqis all suffer from whatever Drew Barrymore suffered from in "50 First Dates," only when it gets dark they forget that Americans live right freaking there. Moving on...) So when it gets dark there are no lights here and a white light headlamp, or really any other night time aid, is strongly frowned upon since "white light" is both highly visible and not naturally occurring. You are allowed a green- or red-tinted light, though, because they are deemed to be naturally occurring light. Why they allow those lights is beyond me, since if I saw a plant or squirrel giving off a bright green glow I would run as fast as I could away from it.

Oh look at the cute squi-- Its looking right at me!! HOLY CRAP

Anyway, I seem to have gotten off track. I was walking home when a car came screeching to a halt next to me and I heard the ever-discernible voice of my Sergeant Major (the top enlisted Soldier in my unit) say "Hey mother f@&%@$!!! Where is your goddamned reflective belt?!" (Now, let me take a moment to remind everyone that, while he has been in the Army over 25 years, the sergeant major is an enlisted Soldier, not an officer, and as such is bound by military code and custom to address me as either "sir" or "lieutenant" and not "mother f@&%@$." Just an aside.) I looked at him and we had this pleasant exchange:

Me: "Can I help you?"

Sergeant Major: "Yeah where the hell is your reflective belt?"

Me: (realizing that (a) he does not know who I am since it is dark and (b) being that it is dark, and we are on a blackout FOB and reflective belts work because they reflect light which, clearly, we do not have in abundance, my argument will nonetheless fail) "Ummmm you know what? I don't have it on right now. My fault."

Sergeant Major: (not wearing a reflective belt) "You need to have one, on, all the time."


I would like to pause here. The Sergeant Major is responsible for the discipline and general soldiering within his unit. He or she has no command authority as they are not commanders. He or she has no authority under the Unifom Code of Military Justice because they are not commissioned officers. He or she has their position because of a front-loaded mixture of longevity and tactical knowledge, and they serve as an aide to the commander. Do they have power? Yes. Responsibility? Absolutely. But authority?? Not really. My Squadron is about 500 people, and it is part of a Brigade of over 3500 people. That Brigade is part of a Division that has well in excess of 15,000 people. Each unit (Squadron, Brigade, Division) has a Sergeant Major. So yes, they have a very important and wide-ranging job and there are a number of Soldiers who they need to care for, and if necessary, place a boot firmly in the ass of should the situation dictate. So it was to my surprise that in the backseat of the Sergeant Major's car was not only the Brigade Sergeant Major, but also the Division Sergeant Major. All ironically without reflective belts. And it was to my further surprise that, in a country that had just been rocked with over a dozen car bombs and the ensuing civilian casualties, all they cared about was a lone lieutenant, walking home, without a reflective belt. That's right, a combined 90+ years of Army experience was telling me to put a belt on so the people who were not allowed to have white light headlamps could see me.


Is this what winning feels like?


You can tell when arguments between two people fail when one party brings up something that they know the other did wrong and tries to relate it to the argument at hand. It is a classic move that usually drives the argument further toward Increased Animosityville. Was I wrong? Yes. Should I have had the reflective belt on? Absolutely, and as an officer I owe it to the enlisted Soldiers to set the example in all places and at all times. But when I looked in the back of the car and informed the Sergeant Major that I was wrong and did not have one, with maybe a little bit of my condescending, fatigue-induced attitude, the argument nosed-dived from "Schmidt does not have a reflective belt" to "Schmidt is the most disrespectful person ever!!" And while I stood there, being berated by 3 Sergeants Major about a honorifics and why I am obligated to use them, all I could think about was how idiotic the whole situation was.


Soldiers are underpaid. Soldiers have to live in some of the worst conditions, conditions which people who never have to live in will never really understand. Soldiers have a seriously (and depressingly) high suicide rate. Soldiers (not me, I work at a desk, but other Soldiers) have - to a man - volunteered to put their lives on the line on a daily basis. Nitpicking them for minor issues is just that - nitpicking. People with responsibility for morale and discipline, who get to drive the 800 meters to their home every night, ought not to forget that. But when we are packing up to leave this place I think that we all forget that. When the tactical knowledge that you could offer is all for naught because, in all honesty, the mission we have is relatively non-tactical, you owe it to yourself to find another way to be useful, not harp on events that reinforce the scant amount of authority you have. The only lesson that 90 years of combine experience taught me was to never forget that.


And also not to forget the reflective belt.

First in War, First in Peace, First in Visibility