I saw something the other day that reminded me of the fierce positions taken by many on issues like "flag burning" and abortion. Only this is one only the U.S. Army feels so strongly about, in particular the infantry soldiers. It's called the CIB. Before I tell you what happened I must first explain the strength of the "Combat Infantryman's Badge."
The CIB was created in 1943 to boost morale in the infantry. At that time, four out if five deaths in the Army were infantry soldiers, It clearly was the infantry that was bearing the brunt of the war, but the infantry has always done so. Throughout history it has been the "foot soldier" that has shed the most blood and bore the heaviest burden in wars, whether it be the Roman legion, the Spartans at Thermopalye, the Minuteman of the revolution, the Doughboys of WW1, the grunt of Vietnam or the Marines at Lebanon.
It has also has been the infantryman that has been the butt of many a REMF sarcastic remark, joke or MOS avoidance. MOS is Military Occupational Skill indentifier, the infantry MOS is 11B, or 11 Bravo. Most people in the Army never, ever, want to be in the infantry. Most will say that the life of the grunt is no life at all. They sleep in the mud, work 18-hour days, lack any formal education, rarely bathe while in training, are constantly doing manual labor and are the first and last to die. That, after all, is the function of the infantry. The infantry has four basic things it does, seek out, close with, engage and destroy the enemy. Or as we in the ranks say, find 'em, fix 'em, fight 'em and finish 'em.
Many people, when enlisting in the Army, will make it a point to get into a field that has a civilian equivalent, such as X-ray tech, dental hygienist, mechanic, postal clerk, administrative clerk, cook or anything but the combat arm of the Army. These are usually the people that, as a rule, kill the enemy. Combat Arms also has artillery, tanks, scouts, military police and special operations, however only the Infantry can wear the CIB.
Currently there is a big push for noninfantry people to get either the CIB or a new badge called the CCB, Close Combat Badge. The rational is that since convoys are getting hit and many MOSs are being forced to do infantry duties, find and fight the enemy, they should be recognized as infantry soldiers. It seems that since the Army has done such a great job at not promoting the infantry as a profession, there just aren't enough of us to go around. So, other specialties are being ordered to fill the gap. I myself was pulled from my California unit and sent to the Hawaii National Gaurd because of my infantry skills and MOS idenifier. My personal opinion is BULL. If you want to be recognized as infantry, join us and live the life of the Infantryman. I can go on for hours on the subject, but will simply say the Army is losing sight of honor and playing politics, more on this in future entries, now to the point.
Take off that Badge
While I and Doc Karella were at the gate waiting to meet the incoming IA for four days of training, a sergeant with the other unit there came very quickly toward the group of sergeants standing next to us, who would be conducting most of the IA training.
He seemed angry and at almost a shout said, "Who's the *********** that pulled a knife on my terp, and who the **** does he think he is!"
The Terp, an Iraqi national we call Sam, was right next to the American sergeant and was visibly upset. One of the group of sergeants told him to calm down and that a knife wasn't pulled out on Sam, they had simply told him to, "take off that badge," and had offered him a knife to do so. He was wearing the CIB on his uniform, and one sergeant had taken offense to it since he, an American, was not allowed to wear the coveted CIB due to his not being in the 11 series MOS, and yet had been risking his life doing infantry duties outside the wire.
The angry sergeant then explained that his group had given it to him to show their respect for his help and risking his life for the future of Iraq. The reply was, "And just what the hell do you think we're doing, if we can't wear it he damn sure can't." One of the sergeants then pulled out a knife and said "Here, take off that Badge."
Myself and Doc Karella both felt it was a pointless argument. Sam is not bound by the Army regulation and what's more, it meant the world to him to be honored by American soldiers. That point was stressed by Sam's sergeant to no avail. The argument just got more intense with one of the sergeants calling Sam a coward for stating that he felt humiliated and would not go to the field again with those Americans.
Sam walked away with tears in his eyes and came back holding the CIB in his hand. To his credit he laid it down on the hood of the vehicle and said, "There's your CIB, I'll never work with you again."
I was glad he didn't throw it, things would only have gotten worse.
Doc Karella went after Sam and apologized for our behavior, but the damage was done. The Sergeants even asked him to stay and said there were no hard feelings, It didn't work.
Myself and Doc had a hard time with what happened. I know that the greatest respect of the infantryman is for the medics and what they do for us, and they have the same level of respect for us and our badge, yet we both felt, at that moment, it's just a piece of cloth — but that's what some say about the Stars and Stripes.
It is a very emotional issue for the infantry and the Army, in truth, the standards for "earning" the badge have dropped drastically since the end of the Vietnam war. And, as an infantryman speaking for himself, I will say that to wear the CIB is to honor those that have fallen in battle ever since 1775, and it was and is the infantry that spends their life in the field and accepts the duty that only the those that have the infantry in their heart understand.
Those soldiers that caused such a fuss over Sam's CIB did a fantastic job with the IA over the next four days. Many of the Iraqi soldiers were proud of their American sergeants and were overjoyed at the praise given them by those very same sergeants. It was just a shame that that horrible situation happened to Sam, but I suppose only those that respect the CIB can understand the depth of emotion it brings. The CIB is to many just another thing to make up stories about and get a free beer, while to others it is a symbol of sacrifice that will never again be seen — And an extreme honor to represent the "GRUNT."
This is the same as my former CO, a man who rarely left his office and time and again showed his company how incompitent and fearful he was, who got Bronze Star. I can't look at a Bronze Star any more and not think, "Do you really deserve that?"
As for Sam, I can't see a problem with it. He clearly didn't get it through any legitimate military channels, so why all the fuss. It's kind of the same as when I see people who clearly don't have anything to do with the military wearing rank, or metals. Then again, I do sometimes want to just make them take it off...