Evening star., 1946-04-23
Letters to The Star
Army Caste System Discussed
From Angle of Experience

Army Caste System Discussed
From Angle of Experience
To the Editor Of The STAR
So we took the old carriage and added
portion Of 10000 to land because few
parts would not fit, 1t is decreed that
the main chassis needs remodeling.
Would 1t be considered inappropriate
to allow the public to receive few
opinions of one of the original parts,
since the only press notices observed
have been those of the maladjusted at
tachments?
One Of the complaints presented thus
far has been mainly the dress of off,
GERS and enlisted men being different.
When organizations are on parade be-
fore the public, 1t has been observed
that fraternal organizations, churches
and governments have used the show
manship of insisting that their selected
leaders wear regalia, vestments and
insignia which were outstanding 1t
never occurred to the writer that this
was unnatural or undemocratic. In
the old Army certain pride in the
unit, sometimes called esprit de corps,
demanded this foolish custom. The old
enlisted man demanded that the leader
stand out in public. Naturally one did
not expect the novitiate to explain that
the uniform worn by the enlisted man
is issued to them, while the fancy togs
we required the officer to wear we also
demanded that he pay for. II you think
this was all bed of roses, it is sug-
gested that you confer with few of
the junior-grade officers of yesterday,
who quite often received pay below that
of senior grade enlisted men.
Another so-called inequality consists
of the social life of the officer and en-
listed man. Observance of the life of
all humanity has presented the fact that
the owner, boss and worker naturally
will seek the type of companionship
and recreation their desire, common in
terest and pocketbook will allow. 1t has
been presumed that the difference in
salary and position was merited by some
display of difference in qualities and
information on the subject possibly
could be the reason Tor the unsatisfied
gentlemen having neglected to explain
that great deal of the social life and
recreation Of the enlisted personnel is
provided by the Army and civilian or
ganizations. Also that the officer usual
ly Is prohibited from attending these
n fro ty~lv
ing he would be displacing some en-
listed man and quite often because he
was not invited. How often the old
enlisted man has awaited the departure
OF the officers from a social event so
they could forget the unconscious role
OF being soldiers and relax!
The gentlemen omit to mention
that in this desire to avoid intrusion
on the clubs, mess and games of their
men, the officer pays from his own
pocket twice as much for food and clubs
| which often are not SO good
The gentlemen have forgotten to re-
call the officers removed from assign
ment because they neglected. ito see that
their men were fed and housed before
| looking after themselves; the general
| in Africa and his officers who required
even distinguished guests to sleep on
| the ground in pup tents since that was
| the way his men were sleeping; the lead
er who swan the river before asking his
men to follow. These leaders, and the
officers and men they led, are the rea-
sons we won a war, and the officers
and men were, like them, more con-
cerned with being soldiers than with
social activities. May we also believe
that the success out there seems to in
dicate that the percentage of misfits
was negligible?
Twenty years as an enlisted man in
all grades, six months as warrant off,
Ger permanent grade) and the last four
years as one of the so-called privileged
class-with the desire to remain a SOL
dier-should qualify one to know a few
things about the Army caste system" :"
| After serving at a regular post for
the necessary length of time to feel the
strains when under full pressure and
overloaded, the old soldier can tell you
where the main body needs reinforce
ment, and he can also tell you just what
Is wrong with the creaking attachment
which would not adjust itself. He dealt
with these and found place where
they could fit very effectively until you
! gave them to him too fast for any ad-
| justment to be attempted
We only ask that in presenting our
Army to the owner-the public-that you
open up the hood and take a look at
the engine and parts that make the old
car go. And that in speaking of democ-
racy so loudly the public and the SOL
dler understand what is meant by the
| word-that democracy has never meant
the same house, same clothes, same
pay for each individual: on the con-
trary, the America we know was founded
on the freedom of man to win that
proportion of those things he desired
Gentlemen who came in disliking u.s.
refused to try to know us and have
never even glanced at the family album.
| II the Army Is to be altered to suit the
fancy of men whose only complaint is
that the kind aof pants they wore could
not compete with the pink pants of Off
GERS, that the officers caught more girls
because of snappy uniforms, that the
officer and enlisted men should drink
the same brand of whisky or eat the
same food-this new creation may at
tract some peculiar type of person which
we have yet to understand; however, it
will be necessary to revise the military
definition of the word Soldier"