I've been in two unlikely places this week--Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. That's right, I've left behind my Brooklyn coffee shops and my MLK books for an adventure in military culture.
The Media & the Military Workshop, a collaboration between the University of Kansas Journalism School and the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, is in its second year (funded by the McCormick Foundation). It is an attempt to help journalists understand the military better, and visa versa. A group of about 25 of us have been learning about the military, meeting new soldiers, and even experiencing a bit of life inside (I did "PT," aka physical training, at 4:30am yesterday with a group of soldiers!).
It's been thrilling to have the experience to really learn firsthand about an institution that I have such complex feelings about.
As some of you may know, I've become increasingly interested in veterans' affairs over the last few years because my dear cousin Lang was in the Marines and served two tours of duty in Iraq, and also because I wrote an in-depth profile of Maricela Guzman, an amazing veteran activist who co-founded the Service Women's Action Network. This led me to write frequent columns on the topics of military sexual assault, veterans' benefits etc. While I've learned a lot from my interviews, and even a trip to a Congressional Round Table of the Veterans' Affairs Committee in DC, I felt like I was lacking in very basic knowledge about how the military works, and how those involved in it relate to their work.
I'm particularly interested in--shocker, I know--the intersections of gender and class in the military and military culture, more generally. Stay tuned for Part Two to hear some of my insights after a few days in the trenches...
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That's great but I wonder how much insight you'll actually get from this experience, given that it'll be tightly controlled and regulated. Still it's better than nothing, and a lot more than many commentators manage.
I think feminist perspectives on the military are interesting; in many ways soldiers' lives aren't especially a women's issue, but the impact of the military on wider society clearly is).
I have a lot of conflicting feelings about the military and warfare. My faith tells me that it is inhumane, wrong, and against the teachings of Jesus. Yet, I will openly admit to being fascinated by the process and fascinated as a historian by military strategy and the way how a the progression of a battle makes for such a compelling narrative.
Courtney -
Glad to see you're getting the chance to learn more about the military from a gender perspective. I also hope they give you MRE's! The journalists I often worked with always loved those.
If I might add something, as my previous position in the military required me to work with civilian journalists as well as show them around: you're always going to see the 'good' side of the military. Very rarely do we put our dirty laundry out. Everything is carefully planned, as to only let you see what we want you to write about.
A true reflection of military culture, on a personal rather than political level, can be seen in two places: bars and porta potties.
The first is fairly obvious, especially not only with the human connection, being able to understand and see how the military behaves on a daily basis, but also because you're a woman, and from a gender perspective, might be able to understand much more by how Soldiers treat you.
Porta potties are a whole different story, but - and I've only seen this in the military, they are filled with graffity and writings, and nowhere else are you going to be able to get candid, honest insights into the minds of the "common" Soldier than in a porta potty. I swear to God, one can write a thesis on military porta potties writing culture!
I am really looking forward to reading your findings and personal experiences!
Which branch of the military are you staying with? Each branch has a very different culture.
I want to third dawn's and Marc's comments about perspective--the military has been unique for me in that my impression of it when I was outside was totally different than the one I have now from within. And I am a military brat--I grew up on bases and pretty much only saw my father when he was in a flight suit for several years.
In my experience, military people are skeptical and dismissive of outsiders. This is in large part because they feel, often justly, that outsiders do not understand them or their lives.
Re: gender issues, there's also a lot of posturing around masculinity and women in the service that sometimes just doesn't hold up when working with actual women. There's sometimes not a lot of matchup between projected images and reality, and sometimes people are oblivious to this and other times they are acutely aware of it.
I'll be interested to hear your impressions.
1. Army culture is different than Marine culture. Or Air Force culture. Or Navy culture.
2. You are NOT going to get an accurate picture of...um...anything.
Sorry.
People are jumping through hoops to make sure sure you have a good experience and you will probably only see what they want you to see.
Plus, even if you do have a "genuine" military experience, experiencing something once is nothing like experiencing it day after day, year after year...
It depends on what you mean by "culture." If by such, you mean service traditions, then I am with you. But in a broader context of gender, masculinity, and how the military views human rights/women's rights and other social issues, I'd have to say that my Army is no different than your Marine Corps, than the Navy, than the Air Force, and even the Coast Guard.
I'd like to see more comments from folks like "a female marine" for more of a reality check. Most of those spending time on this blog have no clue about what these people do every day to cover our asses.
The amusing thing is that to most of you an exercise like this is pretty much a term paper that will be delivered to people who will read and grade it that also have no context as to what they are reading. From those that understand the issues and have some experience it is almost laughable.
For the record I'm a Navy Sub vet.
Entitled much? Just because you've got military experience does not mean you are better than those who do not. In fact, your experience is yours only, and is not a reflection of anyone else who's spent time in uniform.
So, let's drop the attitude. If you have something to contribute, great. If not, then shut the hell up, because telling others they're clueless about the military isn't really helping.
Understand this: you are not special, despite of what anyone else has said to you, or how many "thank-yous" you've gotten.
Actually PepXC isn't "entitled" - it's just that they know a hell of a lot more about life in the armed services than the average civilian, because they served in active duty aboard a warship.
You mean an average civilian like you? The point is, I don't care what kinds of experiences the person in question has, those experiences will always be different than everyone else's experiences, and to try to get on a high horse and talk about how civilians are clueless, is just classless, and lacks a fundamental understanding of what real life is all about.
Let's not pretend the military is anymore disciplined than civilians.
I'm going to have to disagree pretty strongly with both A female Marine and PepXC.
I understand their sentiments to some degree. Even though it's been more than 5 years since I came home from Iraq, it still annoys me when someone I barely know expects me to divulge all the gritty details of my time overseas.
The program Courtney described is not going to give her 'perfect' insight into what it means to be a soldier. But she never claims that it will. The post clearly states that the program 'is an attempt to help journalists understand the military better, and visa versa.' (In case anyone misses what I'm trying to get at by quoting that line, the key words in it, for me, were 'attempt,' 'help,' and 'better.')
Frankly, I think it's great that Courtney is trying to learn more about the military. To those of us who have gone to war, doing PT at 4:30 in the morning one time (or even for a full week) pales in comparison to the sacrifices we've made. However, it's still a larger sacrifice than many Americans have made.
Furthermore, it's important to have a wide variety of voices telling the story about the military and the war. It wasn't that long ago that anyone who voiced dissent was silenced with the accusation of being 'unpatriotic' or 'not supporting the troops.'
Giving more people, with a variety of backgrounds and opinions, more confidence in their ability to weigh in on the war and the military will only strengthen our ability (as a nation) to have a rigorous public debate on these issues that will hopefully help us make better decisions in the future.
I, for one, look forward to reading more on this topic from Courtney.
I am just curious - what exact sacrifices do you think servicemembers are currently making? How are theser sacrifices any more important than those of anyone else's?
It gets really tiring to hear so much about these sacrifices, yet no one is able to tell what these sacrifices are, or why they're important?
I just absolutely hate the sense of false entitlement of servicemembers, as well as the thank-yous that are given by civilians, who automatically assume that servicemembers are somehow defending America's freedoms.
Well, say what you will about America's military adventures overseas, but the fact is folks in the armed forces are actually getting shot at to carry out the aims of US foreign policy.
Quite a few of them come back to Dover AFB in metal boxes because of that.
And many end up being medivaced home and spending quality time rehabbing their broken bodies in Bethesda or Walter Reed.
And if that's no a "sacrifice" than I don't know what is.
And you don't have to agree with American foreign policy (and, trust me, I don't) to agree with that.
Dovetailing what A female Marine said, if you want to get an idea of what military culture is like, talk to veterans. There are a lot of us out there who are both willing to talk about our experiences and who are active in feminist circles.
Each branch has their own culture. Each rating or MOS within each branch likewise. My life would have been very different than a sailor with a different job, and different than an airman even if zie had the same job I did.
I am sure that since you are a grown up (I hope I am not coming off condescending, b/c I am not trying to be) that you know you are getting the carefully controlled and precisely rationed version of military life (which was talked about by a committee of Important People and decided upon). To add a sense of authenticity to your investigation, I would suggest that you reach out and talk to actual veterans (which includes active duty people).
I am glad you are doing this. I think that a lot of people get hung up on their objections to war and forget about the lives of the people on who's backs a war is fought. The military is less than 1% of the US population, and it is easy to forget that we exist, and that our needs and concerns might actually intersect with your own. Thank you.
There seems to be a no-win situation, wherein people involved in the military say that civilians don't understand the reality of being involved in the military, while simultaneously mocking said civilians for trying to understand. You can't have it both ways.
Please, share your stories. We want to hear. But it sounds like Courtney is making an effort to learn and understand. Why is she being scoffed at? How would you like civilians and journalists to behave, PepXC?
If you are interested in Marine culture, watch Generation Kill, a delightful HBO miniseries.
I was a comm bubba (I repaired communication equipment) so I did not have to put up with the same operational bullshit that those dudes did, but culture wise, pretty much the same.
My favorite part of the whole series was "The Explanation" that comes when the final credits role.
(severe language warning... racist, sexist, everything else-ist)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0JUBsjCK3M&feature=related
There is a lot of passing in the Marines, with people passing as Marines. There are those that are Marines, and there are those that just wear a uniform.
And two of the things you need to have to be a Marine is a competitive streak and a willingness to undertake overt conflict.
One of the things that happens when you combine the competitiveness and willingness to undertake conflict is you begin to despise weakness (physical and emotional), in yourself and in others.
Competitiveness and willingness to undertake overt conflict is one of the best lenses to use when looking at the Marines, and the types of people that join the Marines.
On a slightly different note, welcome to Missouri. Try the barbecue, and you may never leave.
Sorry to derail, but...MikeT - I'm new to Missouri. Any BBQ suggestions? Thanks!