The Army Was Well-Served By Specialist Ranks

EDITORIAL
By JIM PURCELL

All that is left of specialist grades:
Specialist, formerly Spec. 4

The Army's lack of true specialty ranks goes back to the mid-1980s. It was then that the last of the soldiers who held the rank of specialist fifth class were converted to the rank of sergeant. At the time, I was a going through the Intelligence Analyst Course (Class 96B10-16) at the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and Schools, in Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Two of the students in the class were converted from SP5 to SGT (E-5).

   In my opinion, it was a mistake to wipe out an entire class of ranks, which gave good service to the Army. Does every enlisted military occupational specialty need leadership associated with its duty description? Well, certainly the combat arms and close combat support jobs do. However, where it involves logistical, intelligence, driving, aviation, personnel, food service, finance, administrative and medical military occupations, as an example, I think specialist ranks would serve the Army well again.

SPECIALISTS KEEP 

THE TRAINS ON TIME

   The Army is not the Marines, where "every Marine is an infantryman, regardless of their job." The Army has a larger mission strategically. Its specialties are necessary would be better served by additional technical schools throughout soldier careers, as opposed to traditional leadership academies.

   Should a finance sergeant first class (E-7) have tactical oversight of an infantry corporal (E-4)? I don't believe so. Though, I have spoken to fellow veterans who served in this era, in the recent war in Afghanistan, and I've been told that  soldiers are sent on direct combat missions immaterial of their branch or training...if true a bad practice. Specialists could, as they had been from 1902-1986 (or so) the soldiers who keep the trains running, the force paid, and the immense administration of the Army running while combat units and combat soldiers perform the vital function of fighting America's enemies.

A Spec. 5 during the 1960s

   Whatever the Army does should be done well. Specializing soldiers again (specialist grades E4-E9) would focus many vital functions without superfluous training or assignments. A drill sergeant should come from the combat arms, ideally. Any NCO position involving tactical prowess should have candidates come from the combat arms. Meanwhile, a valued intelligence professional should be able to gain advancement even if they are not fluent in infantry leadership methodology. While every soldier should know how to shoot, move and communicate...not every soldier needs to learn how to run a fire team or an infantry platoon.

THE ORIGIN OF SPECIALISTS

   Specialist ranks have their origin in the U.S. Army dating back to 1902, with the creation of the rank of technical sergeant.

A Spec. 7 during the Vietnam Era

   There was an overhaul of the rank structure in 1920 and the rank of "private/specialist" was created. Soldiers who qualified for this rank attended six classes and were paid the same as privates first class. However, this rank represented competence in certain tasks and did not convey any leadership abilities with it.

   On July 1, 1955, four grades of specialist were introduced in the Army, specialist third class (E-4), specialist second class (E-5), specialist first class (E-6) and master specialist (E-7). In 1958, the Army added two additional specialist ranks, recognizing six specialist ratings to provide career paths for those serving in these positions.

   Also during 1958, the specialist fourth class rating was assigned to those in pay grade E-4, which became the beginning step in a rank structure that concluded with the pay grade specialist 9, which was the pay equivalent of (E-9), or command sergeant major.

   Only the lowest specialist grade survives today after the more senior specialist grades were gradually phased out, concluding during the mid-1980s. During the late 1980s, specialists fourth class were converted to just "specialists," and remains so today. The force-wide prevalence of this pay grade led to the humorous characterization of the "E-4 specialist mafia."

CONCLUSION

   Was abolishing an entire class of specialist ratings a good idea? Feelings are mixed. Personally, I believe that specialized career fields would be well-served by a specialist rank structure. Good, competent specialists of certain jobs in the Army should be able to excel within the confines of their military occupational specialty from E-4 through E-9, without the expectation of leadership responsibilities.

   Everyone in the Army should know how to protect themselves and possess basic soldier skills. But, not everyone was born to lead in squads, platoons, companies or battalions.

(Jim Purcell is a former U.S. Army sergeant, who left the service and became a journalist for many years. He graduated with a Master's Degree from N.Y. Theological Seminary and retired to Western North Carolina with his wife, Lita.) 

Commentary: Soldiers' tattoos are a sign of the times

By JIM PURCELL

There are older people who would say that the Armed Forces, and specifically the Army, are institutions rooted in being conservative and backward in the case of societal change.  

Heavily 'inked' soldiers are a sign of the times

   I will have to disagree with that. The Army was among the first organizations to de-segregate soldiers, one of the first to give women equal pay and rank to men, based not on their sex but their abilities. The Army welcomes people who are rudderless and gives them direction. Whatever someone was before joining up is not as important as who they become in uniform.

   So, when I begin the conversation about tattoos soldiers are getting these days while they are in uniform, I am not coming out against it. The current Army standard states soldiers: 1. Cannot have tattoos placed above the T-shirt line, 2. Tattoos must be two inches above or one inch below the elbow, 3. Tattoos cannot appear on the wrist or hands, and 4. Tattoos must be two inches above or below the knee.

Soldiers of other eras weren't as inked as today

   I was a soldier during the 1980s. Myself and fellow soldiers got tattoos, but it was nothing close to the extent that happens today. Soldiers are getting full ‘suits’ of tattoos and I don’t see it as a bad thing. I see it as a sign of the times.  I think tattooing is now seen as accessible, portable, personal art far more than in my younger days. I would be lying if I said that I understand why soldiers, be they men or women, feel the need to fill up every possible area of permissible skin with a tattoo or a series of tattoos. 

   In my younger days in the Army, large and elaborate tattoos would sometimes be seen as unprofessional. In some units, if there were not formal sanctions against this, then there surely would have been informal ones (e.g. not getting boarded, assigned to certain public duties). Yet, I think understanding things generationally with the Army is a way of understanding society as a whole. This tattoo discussion is just a way to do that.

Body art is the 'new normal' in uniform

   In the 1980s, soldiers pressed uniforms, shined boots, were not covered head-to-toe in tattoos. But, they also had a far greater problem than today with alcohol abuse, unruly behavior, domestic violence and soldier-on-soldier harassment. Personally, I abused alcohol while I was serving, I sometimes got into physical altercations with other soldiers and when I wasn’t in uniform on duty then I was out of uniform partying somewhere. This is behavior that would not be allowed to exist today. Rather than making sergeant early, I would have been out of the service in a few years. But, the Army reflected society. Consequently, back then “boys would be boys,” I suppose. And, I was the beneficiary of that.

   I hear some old-timers saying the tattoos today are “unprofessional,” “low class” and “excessive.” However, in this ideation of the Army, alcohol abuse is monitored closely, unruly behavior doesn’t happen – or else, physical altercations between soldiers is a quick trip to being put out of the service and any nonsense like domestic violence turns a soldier into a civilian in a snap. Furthermore, harassment of any kind is taken very seriously. These are all substantial improvements to the Army. Oh, by the way, this Army has a lot of soldiers who like to get big tattoos.

The Army is still a reflection of society

   You know, time moves on for all of us. No, the soldiers from today’s Army would probably not get along very well in the Army I was a soldier in. They’re different. Different things are demanded from them. And, these people are the reflection of the society today. This has always been the way the Army rolls. So, if everything changes, the fact that there is always change is one of the oldest traditions in the Army. The society moves and changes, and so the Army changes with it. Things that were sacrilege in my day (e.g. un-shined boots, un-pressed uniforms) are the norm today.

   I do not compare the eras of soldiers who served in the Army to one another. It would quickly become a practice of me saying the Army of the 1980s was the best it ever got, just out of ego. Yet the truth of the matter is that the Army of any generation is the Army that the nation needs at that moment. This has been true since the Revolutionary War until today.

   Today’s soldiers want to express themselves, in this case through body art, in a way that their fathers and grandfathers didn’t want to do. So, I will chalk it up to generational prerogative and leave it at that. No, I do not understand it. It is not my ideal or something I think is cool. But, the older generation always gives way to the younger one, and that is how the world has worked since the first cavemen decided to put an army together.

Army Uniform Standards Have Changed For The Worse

By JIM PURCELL

Like a lot of soldiers from the 1990s and before, part of our everyday lives in uniform included polishing boots and pressing uniforms, even when it was applied to fatigues. Today, that isn’t a part of a soldier’s requirements. Soldiers do not press uniforms or polish boots.

There is no replacement for looking squared away.

   Certainly, many civilians will think that caring for boots and uniforms is superfluous to the important mission the Army performs. However, I would disagree with this.

   When conditions permit it, pressed uniforms and shined boots reflect not only professionalism but also the personal motivation of individual soldiers. I saw a soldier yesterday at the Veterans Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina. He was a seasoned soldier, who held the rank of sergeant first class. On his left shoulder was the unit patch for the North Carolina Army National Guard, and on his right shoulder he displayed his 1^st Infantry Division combat patch.

   This soldier had put in a lot of effort and work to become a senior non-commissioned officer. He has served his nation in times of war and peace. But, did he look the best he could? No, not by a long shot. But, it’s not his fault, that is how the Army goes these days.

   Why is that even important?

Shined Corcoran Jump Boots

   Well, when I see a police officer who has spent time on his uniform and boots or shoes, it tells me something about the character of the police officer. If a police officer takes his position seriously, then his shoes will be polished, his uniform will be pressed and he will be wearing his pistol belt correctly. Immediately, in one glace, I know that I am speaking to someone who is invested in his role as a police officer. And, it matters. Every reaction and interaction that happens with that police officer’s contact with me is colored by that initial impression.

   When I was a soldier in the 1980s and ‘90s, soldiers competed with one another to gain rank. One small part of that competition included how soldiers looked, on a day-to-day basis. How does a soldier represent themselves, their unit and the Army? What impression is being left?

   While I was a soldier stationed in the Federal Republic of Germany, between 1986-1988 with the 2^nd Armored Division (Forward), our uniform standards were high. It just so happened that when my wife and I, as well as a few friends, traveled to West Berlin, we had to travel through then-East Germany to get there. Along the course of the trip, as happened regularly, the train was stopped by the Soviet military to check the identities of everyone who was on board. It was late, about 1 a.m. when the train stopped. It was a sleeper cabin, so my wife woke me up in expectation of showing my ID and papers to the soldiers climbing aboard the train.

Are these soldiers as sharp as they can be? Maybe not. 

    My wife and I could hear the soldiers going from cabin to cabin until they showed up outside our door. There stood a Soviet officer and two soldiers. And, they looked amazing. Their boots were highly shined, their uniforms were pressed perfectly and there was not a ribbon out of place. Meanwhile, the officer’s leather pistol belt was shined and the soldiers’ AK-47s positively gleamed. Do not forget, this duty of theirs was happening in the middle of the night, yet still these soldiers took the extra time to make sure they represented their unit, their Army and even their country in a professional manner.

   I was so impressed by the way these guys looked, I said automatically, “You guys look sharp.” Neither the officer or the soldiers acknowledged the compliment as they checked our paperwork.

So, what did I take away from that meeting? Alright, these border guards took their job very seriously. Not only was their manner efficient and crisp, but they looked like professional soldiers. It was evident that their equipment was good to go and that they had put the work in on maintenance. Their appearance told me the Russian soldier cared about his job and his service, and it earned a level of respect.

   A regular part of every soldier’s life is maintaining their vehicles, communications equipment, weapons systems and personal weapons. This much has not changed. This is done so that the Army can shoot, move and communicate. If an army cannot do any one of the three then it is not much of an army. While such maintenance is routine, it is also a testament to individual soldiers’ abilities to focus and pay attention to detail. How a soldier looks in garrison, or where it is practical, makes a potent statement about who that soldier is underneath the uniform.

These collars are pressed and starched

   I say ‘where it is practical’ because there are circumstances where care of a uniform and boots just doesn’t work out well. When a soldier is in the field, uniforms are going to get grungy, boots will be in mud and water or whatever. So, it is understandable that a standard for a soldier in garrison would not be applied to them.

   Yet, a soldier in garrison has no business whatsoever appearing no better than a soldier working in the field.  It is counter-intuitive that wrinkled uniforms and dull, dirty boots be the standard in the U.S. Army.

   I spoke to a soldier who was in the Army recently, and he said that he was glad the Army didn’t go for “spit and polish” anymore. When it comes down to it, though, isn’t caring for one’s boots and uniform a mark of professionalism?

   I don’t care what the Army changes its uniforms too. I do not care what the latest military fashion is. All I am saying is that it would be a better reflection of the Army, and all the uniformed services too, if uniforms could be pressed (shall I go so far to say starched?) and boots be shined. Being a soldier is serious business and looking right is just one aspect of military professionalism.

Ranging Way of War: Roger's Rangers

Capt. Robert Rogers was America's first ranger. The legacy that he left is with us today in the U.S. Army.

The Military Jeep and its Role in the Armed Forces

By JIM PURCELL

In 1983, I was 17 years old and had just returned to my Army Reserve unit in Bristol, Pennsylvania after graduating Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia. I had to bum a ride with another soldier in the unit to get to the drill, because I didn’t drive yet. But, in my first weekend back, I was told to report to the Motor Pool, where I learned how to drive an M113 Armored Personnel Carrier and a jeep.

The M38 Jeep became a legend during World War II

   My father fought in World War II (1941-1945) as a combat engineer. He sometimes talked about jeeps, and praised them for their flexibility, reliability and relative ease in repairing. Many of my cousins served in the Army or Marines and they held jeeps in high regard also. It could be argued that the continuity between my father’s days in uniform and mine was the jeep.

   So many things had changed between the 1940s and 1980s: uniforms, rifles, rations, head gear, you name it and it changed. But, what hadn’t changed all that much was the Army’s workhorse, the jeep.

HOW THE JEEP BEGAN

   In 1939, the U.S. Army began standardizing many of its military vehicles by payload. Five categories were recognized: half-ton through 7 ½-ton. Yet, by 1940, the War Department also identified a need for a new vehicle, specifically a ¼-ton, cross-country reconnaissance vehicle. So, the U.S. Army solicited proposals from 135 domestic car manufacturers for this new vehicle.

The M606A2 Jeep was successor to the M38

   Bids were received back to the Army in just 11 days, when the War Department gave prospective jeep manufacturers 49 days to create a prototype vehicle and an additional 70 days to put those prototypes through a series of tests outlined by the War Department.

   The War Department required that the new ¼-ton truck would have to be four-wheel drive, include a crew of three on a wheelbase of no more than 75 inches (that was later changed to 80 inches), feature a fold-down windshield, carry a 660-pound payload and be powered by an engine capable of 85 lb-ft (115 Nm) of torque. It also had to weigh no more than 1300 pounds when empty.

   During 1941, the Quartermaster Corps released a memorandum that stated the design of the ¼-ton truck would not be the property of any one manufacturer. I don’t recall this provision ever being imposed on a model design, before or since.

The M151 Jeep fought the Vietnam War

   The first companies to come up with working prototypes were American Bantam and Willys-Overland. Ford would later join the small club of jeep producers. As it turned out, Willys was the low-bidder, but the company requested additional time on its prototype so it was penalized by the War Department. Meanwhile, Bantam had enlisted the talents of notable Detroit vehicle designer Karl Probst.

   Though Bantam was in the race to develop the jeep, it did not have the production capabilities of either Willys or Ford. So, Willys created the “Quad” and Ford made the “Pygmy.” Bantam would go on to produce the BRC-60. The vehicles were so similar, though, that all three of the prototypes were declared acceptable and 1500 units were ordered by the government from each company. And, though all of the vehicles purchased by the government would go on to be called “jeeps,” it is lost to history about how that name came to characterize the ¼-ton truck.

The M422 "Mighty Mite" jeep

   However, there is some speculation that the word “jeep” came about from the phrase “General Purpose” or “GP,” which is often used in military circles.

THE IMPORTANCE OF JEEPS

   The contribution of the jeep in World War II was everything that the War Department and its producers hoped it would be. In fact, Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall called the new truck “America’s greatest contribution to modern warfare.”

   It is widely believed that the creation of the jeep was the spark that later led to civilian jeeps and even contemporary sports utility vehicles.

U.S. Gen. George Marshall 

   In 1950, the first post-World War II jeep was produced for the military, dubbed the M38 by the uniform services. This was followed up by the M38A1. It even came in an ambulance version, known as the M170.  The jeep would later be modified into the M606A2 and M606A3, with the CJ-5 developed for governments friendly to the United States.

By the Vietnam War, the jeep was christened the M151, which had unibody construction. The Marines had their own version of the jeep constructed, the M422 “Mighty Mite,” which was made smaller and more portable.

   Though the jeep was replaced in the military’s inventory beginning in 1981, by the High-Mobility, Multi-Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV), the length of service the jeep rendered to the U.S. military could be counted in decades.

   Jeeps can still be found in militaries throughout the world. These vehicles have earned a special place in the history of warfare, and are a unique contribution for the world by the United States.

Edwin Maling: Service With the Multinational Force and Observers

Ed Maling is a former paratrooper with the 505th Regiment

By JIM PURCELL

Today, Edwin H. Maling is a grandfather who resides in San Marcos, Texas. He is retired and finds joy in his home-life and his family. But, there was a time, three decades earlier, when hearth and home was the last thing on his mind.

 Mr. Maling is a veteran of the United States Army's 82nd Airborne Division, where he served with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment as an Airborne Infantryman. His travels with the Division took him many places -- and among those places was the Sinai Peninsula, which separates the Middle-Eastern countries of Egypt and Israel, as part of the Multinational Force and Observers.

Mr. Maling's Army sojourn began right out of high-school, in his native Virginia. He was recruited in Norfolk and sworn-in at the Military Entrance Processing Station in Richmond on June 25th, 1981. He attended Basic and Advanced Individual Training at Ft. Benning, Georgia. After earning his blue infantry cord at Ft. Benning, he changed his address a few blocks there and underwent training at the U.S. Army Airborne School.

Like so many young paratroopers, Mr. Maling found his way to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 505th PIR. A storied unit that was founded in 1942 for service in World War II, the 505th has played a key role in nearly every U.S. military endeavor since.

Mr. Maling said, "It was a good unit with excellent training and opportunities and a chance for travel." However, Mr. Maling saw the 'downside' of the unit being its "dog and pony show" atmosphere and what he regarded as "toxic leadership" in some places within the unit at the time.
According to Mr. Maling, life at the 505th included many field training exercises and "prodigious drinking" when him and his fellow paratroopers were released from duty.

The 505th PIR crest

He was not even out of the 82nd Replacement Detachment, which all soldiers entering the Division pass through, when the Fayetteville Observer newspaper announced that the 1/505th Regiment had been selected for "MFO duty."

MFO DUTY

The Multinational Force and Observers is an international peacekeeping force that was organized for the expressed purpose of overseeing the terms of the peace treaty between the nations of Egypt and Israel. The MFO operates throughout the Sinai Peninsula and has included military units from around the world, including: Australia, Canada, Columbia, the Czech Republic, Fiji, France, Hungary, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, the United States, Uruguay and the United Kingdom.

The MFO's history is traced back to Sept. 17, 1978, and resulted from the Camp David Peace Accords, brokered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter and signed by Israeli Prime Minister Menachim Begin and Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. The accords called for a full withdrawal by all Israeli forces operating in the Sinai. Subsequently, the two nations signed the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty on March 26, 1979 and the nations of Egypt, Israel and the United States established a peacekeeping force after the United Nations passed on creating the force. So, on August 3, 1981, the MFO was created.

It would not be long after the creation of the MFO that Mr. Maling and his comrades would find their way to the Sinai Peninsula. His unit left Pope Air Force Base on an El Al airliner on March 19th, 1982. They would land at a place called Ophir, which is about nine miles from the MFO base camp at Na' ama Bay, near Sharm El Sheikh (on the southern tip of the Sinai). The contingent would not return to Ft. Bragg until September of that year.

Mr. Maling explained, "We were to observe, verify and report violations of the Camp David Peace Agreement. Basically, we counted and reported every camel, truck, pedestrian or ship that we could see. We would even do roving patrols, both mounted and on foot."

Ed Maling (far left) and his comrades

Mr. Maling said the contingent from the 505th initially spent a few days in the base camp and then deployed in squad-sized observation positions and check points. During the rotation, he said his unit switched locations. Today, though, he says that units at the MFO spend their entire 6-month rotation at the same locale.

"Some of the [fixed] positions that had been used were [created] by the United Nations Peacekeeping Force the Egyptians had ejected in 1956. Most were unimproved but there was at least one microwave relay site that had previously been fortified by the Israelis," Mr. Maling said.

The shift for the paratroopers were four hours long, with eight hours off. They counted whatever they saw and reported their counts hourly.

"I'd say we did a good job," Mr. Maling said. "When we arrived the facilities were almost non-existent. The first observation point I saw had nothing there when we arrived -- just some orange paint marks. Later, they brought in small buildings and 1,000-gallon water tanks." He noted that the paratroopers' radios, model AN-PRC-77s, turned out to be inadequate and the troops were later issued Motorola jeep-mounted high-frequency radios.

READY FOR ACTION: Trooper Ed Maling in the Sinai

One one dark day, an Australian UH-1 helicopter even crashed while delivering food and mail to Mr. Maling and his comrades.

There were many challenges during the rotation, and no small degree of hazards. Mr. Maling said that facilities were "non-existent," communications was poor and there was inadequate supplies of anti-venom. This last item became tragically evident when a soldier from the 505th was stung by a scorpion and died on the emergency helicopter transport flight to Eliat.

"Nobody thought to bring sandbags," he said. "Trying to dig in the sand without sandbags is a complete waste of time."

Mr. Maling said duty in the Sinai was marked by boredom and monotony, punctuated by "...intense, way over the top partying in Cairo and Tel Aviv."  Along the way, though, he also says he received a good education in Middle Eastern cultural contrasts.

BACK IN THE STATES

When his unit did return from the Sinai, it is perhaps ironic that Mr. Maling was re-assigned to the Army's National Training Center at Ft. Irwin, California, where desert-fighting skills are honed within units from around the armed forces.

The MFO Medal awarded to Sinai veterans

While at Ft. Irwin, his command sent Mr. Maling, who was a corporal at this time, to Primary Non-Commissioned Officer training at Ft. Ord, California. If he were to have re-enlisted, his unit made it clear he would be promoted to the rank of sergeant. "By then, it was obvious to me that the Army wasn't the place for me to try making a career," he noted.

After he left the Army, Mr. Maling said he went to college "so I'd never have to sleep in the dirt again." He studied engineering and worked, for a time, with the Bureau of Land Management, fighting fires. He went on to assist in saving Grant Village in Yellowstone National Park from a large fire in 1988.

Eventually, though, Mr. Maling's professional path concluded with him working for Chevron.

Though retired today, Mr. Maling still looks back with pride and satisfaction about his time in the Army as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne. Like so many before him, and after him, he took up his uniform and rifle and offered his service before turning his thoughts to family and career.
During his tenure in the Army, Mr. Maling earned the Army's Expert Infantry Badge, Basic Parachutist Badge, MFO Medal, the Good Conduct Medal, NCO Professional Development ribbon and the National Defense Service Medal.

The Infantry, Women and the Army

Photos by Jim Purcell

Women in the Infantry: It is a reality of everyday life in uniform.

By REV JIM PURCELL

There is a new initiative from the Department of Defense that women should be included in the ranks of all combat arms components in the United States military. There are supporters of this measure and, of course, detractors as well.

I served a substantial amount of time in the Infantry during my military service and can see where critics of this move can find fault with it. Being a "grunt," a term of affection by infantryman for infantrymen, comes with a rigorous lifestyle, which can include combat with enemy forces when the United States is at war. The Infantry is, by definition, a very hazardous way to make a living in the world.

The Army I served in during the 1980s was a reflection of the society it safeguarded. The Army is always reflective of the country it protects, the people that afford it and the nation that fields it. Would women infantrymen be welcome in the 1980s? No. They would not have been welcome or wanted in Infantry units, I believe. However, that was then.

Soldiers qualify on the M2, .50-caliber machinegun.

The Army today represents a people very different than America under President Reagan, before the Internet or self-driving cars. Things change and, like everything else, the Army changes with it. There was a time when Blacks were disallowed from serving with white soldiers. There was a time when women could not serve in the Army directly (or any other service) but served the cause as part of the Women's Army Corps, which supported Army operations. The first female paratroopers were not allowed to serve until the 1970s.

So this new personnel move by the Armed Forces represents yet another evolution of women in the service, and the military service itself. This change and the realities it will create should not be argued about because it has happened. It will not be undone or the hands of the clock turned back on this one.

Will there be challenges? You bet. There will regrettable incidents and I do not expect the transition will go flawlessly. At times, people may gnash their teeth and say, 'How did this ever happen!?' And then, they will get over it and do whatever needs doing and women will continue to serve in the Infantry.

I have already heard old soldiers grumbling about the prospect of female grunts. The last thing our female warriors should have to contend with is static from those who served in the Infantry back in the day, or civilians whom they protect, or legislators at any level of government anywhere in our great land.

A new day has dawned and, as in the case of every new morning, each of us has the choice to live that new day as a part of the solution or a part of the problem.

Boston Dynamics Military Robots and the Future

By REV JIM PURCELL

The advent of advanced robotic technology in the Armed Forces offers new possibilities, some welcome and some not, in my opinion. Where it involves protecting the force from hostile entities, it is a win -- no question. However, the question begs answering: Can a robot effectively replace a sentry from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard?

This video will show you the robotic technology being decided upon, and it is a considerable asset -- let's face it. Being a forward-looking country, and because it is incumbent on the military to move ahead and not stay behind, I think these robots will be fielded at some time in the future.

Do I have qualms? A few. But, I hope they are nothing. If an asset like this is given to tactical formations, especially the infantry in the Army and Marines, the upgrade in force efficiency would be amazing.This has the possibility of transforming important parts of the Airborne, Air Assault and Light infantry. I will reserve my opinion somewhat where it involves airborne use until I see how this thing handles a drop, though.