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Justin Markwat
Instructor Agosta
UWRT 1101
July 26, 2014
Army Armory Observation
These observations occurred Saturday, July 26, 2014
Jottings
Private, who told you to move? ssg Worthy Uh nobody did. pvt lancer Excuse me? -
Worthy Nobody did, sergeant, sorry sergeant worthy. Lancer Do I look like a sorry Sergeant
to you! Worthy
Can you run down there and see what the problem is. sgt Vasquez
THERES NO QUITTING THIS FREAKING ARMY, ITS THE BEST FREAKING ARMY IN THE WHOLE
FREAKING WORLD!! msg Crocker
Yes master sergeant. pvt bellicose
Descriptions
In the first conversation I jotted down, a private is getting reprimanded by a sergeant for being
out of place. While waiting in line for chow, private lancer stepped out of the line to see how many
people were ahead of him. This was a big mistake for him; breaking formation is a sure way to get yelled
at. Luckily for him, he got off easy and just had to do pushups and go to the back of the line. Getting out
of line can often lead to much more severe punishments, depending on the mood of the instructor.
The second conversation I recorded occurred during the recruits Physical Fitness test. One of the
recruits had had a heat stroke down the trail; none of the recruits had any official training yet, and none
of the sergeants had specialized in a medical field. As my specialization is Combat Medic, I was instantly
looked upon to take charge. Because I had the most expertise in the medical field, people of higher
ranks than me were counting on me to take charge and take care of the problem.
In the third conversation, Master Sergeant Crocker is in the middle of giving a motivational
speech to the recruits. The Physical Fitness test scores just came in and a large portion of the recruits
didnt pass. He was doing the best he could to motivate the recruits to keep on training and to not be
discouraged by this failure. He could be seen and heard, yelling motivation, during all of the exercises. At
one point, he even started doing them himself and challenged someone to beat him.
In the last conversation, private Bellicose was just asked to do something by Master Sergeant
Crocker. During the conversation, Bellicose was respectfully at the position of parade rest and not
making eye contact. When answering, he responds with Crockers full rank. He had immediately stopped
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joking around with his friends, who had also assumed the same position, to listen, and immediately
afterwards he went off to go to what had just been asked of him.
Analysis
The first encounter allows one to see exactly how the different ranks communicate with one
another. The sergeant talks with authority and commend and the private is hesitant, afraid of being
scolded. It is clear that the sergeants higher rank allows her complete control over the privates. Also,
the sergeant only calls the private by his rank, the private is expected to address her by her rank and
name. We can deduce from this that lower ranks must treat higher ranks with respect, while higher
ranks may instruct, reprimand, and belittle at will.
The second observation shows how different specialties are treated. In this particular case, my
specialty was treated with the upmost importance, because thats what was needed at the moment.
However, if the problem had not been medically related, I would not have been treated this way. In the
Army, no job is inherently treated better than others. A job is only valued higher if it is the one needed
to accomplish a certain task.
The third observation shows how all the people in the Army work together towards the same
goal, which is making the Army the most effective military force in the world. Every person at the
armory was playing their part towards this end. The recruits were preparing for their training, and the
sergeants, especially Crocker, were all doing the best they could to help them. Regardless of rank or
role, every one of them was trying to make the Army better.
In the last observation we see how certain people are respected. Privates are treated no
differently than normal civilians, and sergeants are treated with respect. However, Master Sergeant
Crocker is treated with the highest level of respect. When he walks into a room, the whole room comes
to parade position. This level of respect is due to a mixture of his rank, his contributions and expertise,
and his years of service.
Reflection
I was very at home and felt perfectly comfortable doing this research. The military is a large part
of my life so I had no problem observing a military Armory. One thing that surprised me was how I was
able to relate to some of the recruits. I had gone through similar training not long ago, and so it was
interesting to see what I most likely acted like. I connected with all the people there in that I want to do
my best to make our Army as strong as possible.