American Culture : The United States Army

Military personnel have the unique opportunity to experience many different societies and cultures. For many of us, we experience this upon initial enlistment as we are indoctrinated into the Army. Military personnel come from all walks of life. All with different values, morals, experiences, traditions and beliefs. Culture is what defines us and categories individuals. As human beings, we are constantly analyzing and putting labels on people. Observe a roomful of newly introduced people. You will notice how people begin to form groups based off of race, gender, interests and other commonalities. Categorization in the pursuit to understand cultures can be beneficial.

The paper initiates a discussion regarding the Army’s roots, which consists of being a Profession of Arms, encouraging professional culture, and upholding the Army Ethic.

The Values identified, manifested and espoused by the US Army are: Loyalty, Duty Respect, Service &Stewardship, Honor, Integrity and Personal Courage. These are defined by our US Army as:

The early mornings when you are awakened by the sound of a bugle call, to gather for accountability and to salute the red, white, and blue American flag to start your military day, brings you a sense of fulfillment and a smile on your face. When you are in the United States military you are a part of an organization that becomes your family, because you live, breathe, fight, and die for your country. When you join the United States military you are broken down mentally and physically, so that they can build you up to protect and serve your country. In the United States military your weapon is the love of your life, because you eat, sleep, train, and kill with your M16 rifle, but who could

One subculture within the United States is that of the US Army. The Army defends the nation against all enemies, foreign and domestic. It is an exclusive group since not everyone in the country serves in the Army.

The United States has always taken great pride in its military. Our soldiers have been the focal point of keeping our country not only safe, but the beacon of freedom for others to come to in time of need. However, the military was one of many places that weren’t welcome to African Americans in a brewing civil war. The North and South were at each others necks with the moral question: Are black people truly Americans? The bravery and perseverance of the 54th Massachusetts Infantry protesting for better wages and equal rights pushed the United States to seeing not only African American soldiers, but its citizens in a more positive light, paving the way to the Civil Rights Movement and eventual protests of the modern era.

The Navy has had few leaders who completely transformed the service branch in its entirety. Hyman G. Rickover was one of those individuals. ADMIRAL RICKOVER REVOLUTIONIZED NAVAL WARFARE WITH THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE NUCLEAR SUBMARINE, PROMOTED SAFETY AS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY OF THE NUCLEAR PROGRAM, CHANGED THE CULTURE OF THE NAVY, AND WAS A TRANSFORMATIVE LEADER WITH UNIQUE MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THAT PERMANENTLY ALTERED THE SUBMARINE COMMUNITY.

Throughout the decades, there has always been a rivalry between branches of the United States Armed Forces whether it is the army, navy, airforce or marines. Army is known as the most common and popular branch; It is very easy to be part of; It requires a short and uncomplicated bootcamp training (eight weeks); The staff is much less strict. On the other hand, we have the rival branch: the Marines. It requires soldiers to pass through the most insane and overwhelming bootcamp, with a length of about thirteen weeks; The staff is the strictest out of any Armed Force branch. The marines have less than half of the soldiers the army has, yet, they are still the toughest, scariest, deadliest, and most tactical branch of the entire U.S. Armed

This semester in military history we talked about several different topics that are very pertinent to the shaping’s of today’s military. They are mainly important whether the individual serve in the United States Army, United States Air Forces, United States Navy, or United States Marine Corps. History is the study of the past. Studying may not be interesting to some, but if you do not understand your history, you will be liable to repeating some of the same mistakes made in the past. So it is very important to try and understand a little about the world we live in today.

The culture that I want to tell you about is that my Grandpa was in the Army for two years. He was a Military Policeman. He served in Vietnam for one year. He was 19 years old when he went in and 21 years old when he got honorably discharged. He took basic training in Ft Lewis, Washington, then he took military police training in Fort Gordon, Georgia, and then went to Fort Campbell, Kentucky for more training before going to Vietnam. He got out in July, of 1969. He had lots of friends. Everybody that he met in Vietnam usually went their own way after they returned back home.

Culture of a nation is manifested and influenced by a number of factors. National psyche and traits being the most pronounced ones. Military culture , to a certain extent , is in harmony with the national culture, however, it has its own impulses and dynamics. It incorporates obedience that curtails individual freedom or at times it may be at tangent with the socio-cultural values of a society ; Military culture of British – Indian Army ,as inherited by us is a case in point here. Philosophy of our present military outlets draws strength from history , organisational infrastructure , uniform , traditions social moorings and a host of other factors which , despite numerous changes , is still undergoing the process of evolution.

I also think that family is very important. Growing up I was always taught that family will always stand by you no matter what. This assisted me when I was deployed to Afghanistan as I relied on my close friends and we became like family. I still keep in contact with some of them and it has been years since I separated from the military. With this I was taught not only my own culture, but the military culture as well. With communicating with others in the military culture I can say things like I will ETS (Estimated time of Separation) and I’m so ready and they would understand. Using acronyms is a huge part of the military culture. How do you communicate with others in your culture that doesn’t speak English? I have some friends that are from

Many people would say I had it easy growing up; my parents are still married, I never went hungry, and I always lived in a safe environment. But what people didn’t know was the struggle I went through being a military child. I would spend many weeks trying to make new friends, go months without seeing my parents, and years wondering when we would finally settle down in one spot.

There are many job oppurtunitiesin the army. Anyone one can join and be anything he wants. In the army everyone has the chance to travel the world. The army has certain benefits and requirements. All of them will be explained.

I enlisted in the United States Army in the summer of 2005 and was quickly caught by surprise by how different the culture within the military truly was. People were valued by their rank, physical ability and marksmanship, not education, looks and wealth. I wish I could say my time in the Army was filled with crazy fun, and excitement, which there were plenty of both, however, my eight year enlistment was also filled with depression, heartache, loss and fear. I deployed three times during my career twice to Iraq and once to Afghanistan. I lost friends, soldiers and even got divorced during my deployments, but it was my last deployment that changed my life. During a routine patrol my vehicle was hit by an improvised explosive device (IED), the explosion left me disoriented and concussed, however, I was able to get my guys out of harm’s way. The explosion screwed up my back