For those of you who write military fics
If you have never been in, or arenât around people whoâve been in, I would dearly love to give you a few pointers.
Let me preface this: I love it when people write military fics (be they AU or canon-fic). I love the characterizations, the story arcs you create, and the love with which you create the stories.
But Iâd like to help you make the actions of military personnel as accurate as possible, so someone whoâs actually in doesnât start to read your fic and roll their eyes at some of the things you unknowingly write.
-First off, you do not salute in civilian clothes. Itâs actually unauthorized. There are only two exceptions to this rule: the President is allowed to salute in civvies, and if the national anthem is playing outdoors, combat veterans are now allowed to salute. (That came about in 2010, for accurate reference.)
-Do not salute indoors, unless during a formation (but I doubt people who donât have intimate knowledge of drill and ceremony would bother writing about a formation, so that point is mostly just thrown in for shits and giggles).Â
-The army and air force do not say, âsir, yes sirâ. Thatâs a marine thing (Iâm not sure about the navy, since Iâm not in the navy, but Iâm sure someone else could help out if thereâs a question about it).
-Saying âblack opsâ isnât really something we do. For the army, youâve got SF (which is how we refer to special forcesâthe guys youâre probably thinking about (âgreen beretâ is an old term for them thatâs not really used anymore)) and Rangers for the two big special operations forces. SEALS are the navy force, and I apologize, but I donât know the other branchesâ special forces. Again, ask someone whoâs served in that branch.
-People donât usually refer to themselves (or others) by their ranks. Exceptions are usually made if hanging out with people from your unit speaking about a superior, such as âYeah, LT and I were talking the other day and âŚâ.Â
-Sergeants are not referred to as âsargeâ. You have no idea how many people got the shit smoked out of them in basic for that error.
-Army goes through Basic Training (or Basic Combat Training now; BCT for short), and marines go through Boot Camp. Yes, there is definitely a difference in terms. Army people tend to refer to their initial training as simply âbasicâ. I donât know about marines or other branches.
-Calling someone âSoldierâ is really something only done on TV/film. Itâs usually mocked by people who are in.
-In the army, it is against regulation to just stick your hands in your pockets. We mockingly call them âAir Force glovesâ, though I donât know if they typically put their hands in their pockets. There is also a big stigma against wearing âsnivel gearâ: the poly pro cold-weather protection gear worn underneath your uniform.
-The everyday Army uniforms are called ACUs (Army Combat Uniform). They are never called anything else, but especially not fatigues. If youâre going back to 2003 or earlier, the uniform was BDUs, or the Battle Dress Uniform. The tan uniforms worn during the Gulf War and first few years of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF; Afghanistan) were called first chocolate chips (gulf war-era) and then DCUs (Desert Combat Uniform).Â
-The dress uniform is called something different depending on what time period youâre going for. Saying âdress uniformâ is usually a good bet, because youâve also got Class Aâs, Class Bâs, ASUs, Dress Blues, Khakis, etc.Â
-Typically when meeting someone else whoâs in, the first things you ask are, âWhatâs your MOS (military occupational specialtyâyour job)? Where were you stationed?â Giving out rank and deployment backgrounds out of the blue donât usually happen.Â
-Time spent in the military is usually referred to as simply being âinâ. âHow long were you in for?â is heard way more often than âhow long did you serve for?â That question is usually asked by civilians.Â
-There are enlisted, and there are officers. Enlisted are those who start out as privates, work their way up through the NCO, or non-commissioned officer ranks: sergeant (called âbuck sergeantâ in a derogatory term for someone who has been freshly promoted), staff sergeant, sergeant first class, and eventually get to first sergeants and sergeants major after fifteen to thirty years in. Officers also usually start out as privates and specialists, then graduate from college and commission as second lieutenants (the derogatory term is âbutter barâ and is usually used in reference to said officerâs lack of experience and knowledge) before working up to first lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel (âlight colonelâ), and colonel (âfull birdâ). The general timeline is making captain (âgetting your railroad tracksâ) after about 5-8 years for competent officers, and spending 5-10 years as a captain.Â
-We do not stand at parade rest unless forced. Ever.
-When talking to an NCO, a lower enlisted will stand at parade rest. When talking to an officer, an enlisted will stand at attention.
-The highest ranking NCO is lower ranking than the lowest ranking officer.Â
-If you want to throw in some humor, if there is a lower enlisted (E-4 (specialist) or below) joking with an NCO, and the lower enlisted says something, the NCO can snark back with, âIâm sorry, I didnât hear you because you werenât standing at the position of parade rest.â Itâs a dick move usually to call people out for that, but it happens often enough that if you put that in a fic, someone whoâs in will likely laugh at that for a few minutes.
-There is a term for a slacker in the army called POG (pronounced âpohgâ with a long o). It stands for Personnel Other than Grunt, meaning everyone whoâs not infantry. The term has transformed to mean anyone who shirks their duty or is kind of a shitbag and should be kicked out.Â
 -Thereâs also a bit of a stereotype that infantry are made up of dumb guys, because you donât need a high GT score to get that MOS. Their nomenclature for their MOS is 11B (eleven bravo), which is often referred to as an âeleven bang-bangâ when trying to insult them.Â
-If someone is making someone else do push-ups, they do not say âdrop and give me x numberâ. Theyâll tell them either to push, or tell them to get in the front-leaning rest. The front-leaning rest position is the starting position for the push-up.Â
-Usually referring to basic training and AIT (advanced individual training, where you learn your military occupational specialty), you get âsmokedâ on a regular basis. This refers to PT (physical training), usually in the form of push-ups, flutter kicks, and sprints. Itâs not fun. One of the least favorite phrases to hear in basic is, âPlatoon, attention! Half-left face! Front leaning rest position, move. In cadence! Exercise!â Because that is the full command for getting people to do push-ups. There is literally no other reason for the half-left face movement. It honestly exists only for push-ups.
-It is awkward as fuck to be told âthank you for your serviceâ. Itâs wonderful that people want to show their support, but it is very difficult to respond to that without sounding like a douche.
I know I said a lot about basic training in there, but thatâs because I tend to read a lot of fics that are either about basic or about deployments. I can give some pretty firm answers on basic, but everyoneâs deployment is different, and I also could be violating a shit-ton of OPSEC (operation security) by telling you guys specific details about deployments. Everything Iâve told you is information you can look up on your own on the internet, but this is a bit more insiderâs culture for you to help make your stuff more accurate.
And if you ever find yourself writing a military fic and have questions, by all means, inbox me. Iâve been in for almost nine years and I do have one deployment under my belt, so I can give you accurate army info. Iâve never served in any other branch, though, but I can probably give you a little bit more accurate info than what the movies do if youâve got general questions.
Also, if youâve got questions about PTSD, I can help with that. Itâs not the cake walk that a good deal of fics portray it as, and it doesnât always involve nightmares and aversion to touch. It can present as depression, intense anger issues, pulling away from loved ones, driving in the middle of the road, freaking out over pops, bangs, crashes and other unexpected noises, being easily startled by things other than noises, hypervigilance, the inability to sit with oneâs back to the room, sudden bouts of anger, depression, tears, silence, or mood swings, among many others.
-Also, please, please, if youâre going to write about someone with a disability, or something that gave them a medical discharge, talk to me about the VA first, unless youâve got a lot of knowledge about them. Not only am I in, but Iâve also worked professionally for the VA, some of that time in enrollment and eligibility, so I know a lot about disability pensions, who would qualify, what type of benefits they would qualify for, etc. I also know the ways that people can accidentally get screwed over from the VA. (Itâs actually one of my long-term professional goals to change some of those things, so I am very passionate and very knowledgeable about it.)
TL;DR: I know shit about the military and the VA. Ask me if you have accuracy questions.