"What is your dream military job?" Topic

What job would you have loved to do if you were in the military?

I would have to say fighter pilot, maybe a Great War pilot that would have been interesting…..

I think an F-104 Starfighter or P-38 Lighting pilot would have been cool…

What is yours?

Maybe an American civil war Cannoneer, WWII Battleship captain,in the Roman cavalry (equites Romani), ancient greek psiloi.

Firing the chicken cannon to test windscreens…

Contingency planning.

The bloke who got to pick the chicken curry out of the ratpacks.

REMF

Already did for it 21 years! Would gladly have stayed longer if they had let me!

I used to be a designer of mountaineering apparel and backpacks. In the mid 1990s spent two years designing Karrimor's range of military backpacks and camouflage clothing. It was a very interestng & fun job.

demobilizing..

Anything in the air force I guess, but mainly the one who does the advanced recce on the 5 star hotels….

War is hell, Sparker (and you're only jealous – like I am re the legendary chicken curry menu that we never saw).

Mick, are you to blame for the SA2000 back-system? If so, you owe me a couple of vertebrae :o)

Dear Mark,

If you mean the plastic SA7000 back system with moulded foam, then sadly, yes I worked on that project. The ergonomics were done by a famous university but users hated the thing.

I was at Karrimor from 1985-2001. I did the original versions of all the Sabre packs in about 1995. They did change a few things after I left.

Mick

Submarine Officer in the Navy (which is much more rewarding that being a Sumbarine Officer in the Army).

I've served in an armour unit and an infantry unit (both in peacetime); the "job" sucks, but the camaraderie makes it worthwhile. Everything else being equal, I'll take the one where I don't have to walk so much…

X-Wing Fighter Pilot

Mick,

Sorry yes, SA7000 was the fella. I actually really liked it (everybody else hated it), but sadly the plastic straps kept breaking – most memorably while clinging on to a knife-edge ridge in Snowdonia, which resulted in me totally losing my balance. Thankfully a Gurkha Sgt grabbed me before I went over the edge!

Karrimor were good and fast in fixing/replacing the straps and I loved the ergonomics, but the flippin' thing just kept breaking and I got rid of it when it tried to kill me. I've also had a few cars like that… :o)

Tanker or sniper.

When I was giving serious consideration to enlisting after high school, way back in the day, those were what I was after, and was all but ready to sign the papers on the dotted line at one point, even.

An honest recruiter (a rarity, apparently, at least for this area, at that time) took me aside and spared me from what would have been a mistake, however.

My ASVAB scores had apparently "sabotaged" me, putting me in a position where I was almost certain to be bounced over to Intelligence, whether I wanted to be or not, and he wanted to make sure I realized that, ultimately, I would be put where the military felt I was most useful/efficient. Same thing had happened to my friend Mark a few years earlier, when he graduated- he'd got Navy, with promises that he'd get to fly carrier-based choppers or some such (and, in all fairness, he did get trained to fly them, at one point), but because he scored off the charts in certain areas, he ended up seconded over to Crypto as a specialist, so I knew it could happen, and as a result, never enlisted.

It was disappointing, if understandable- I suppose fewer people match well to Intel than to Tank Corps, and I'm a far better shot w/a handgun than a rifle so I doubt I'd've qualified for sniper- and I've always been grateful to the recruiter for being so upfront with me about it all, and sparing me from ending up somewhere I didn't particularly want to be.

Shame, though, as I still love tanks to this day.

- Monk

Brigadier General of the 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade.

Anything involving analysis, engineering, or helping people in need.

Back sink. The secret is very hot water, as hot as you can stand and change it frequently. Chow sergeants value a good pots and pans man, so they leave you alone. If your pots and pans are squared away, and you are discreet, you can take a smoke break and the cooks will leave you alone.

When I was in the infantry I was surprised I got paid to do it. I loved the physical and mental challenges. Friendships made lasting a lifetime. Last year a group of us from across the country got together and we had last served together in 1974 and it was as if we had only been together the day before.
Sadly I wrecked my leg and them became an aero engine tech which had completely different rewards, and did it till retirement.
Though my infantry time was only a couple of years it is what I remember most and an most proud of.

Photography/reporter.

I did it, Tanker. I would have liked to fly WWI planes also

Peace time REMF.

War is DANGEROUS, people even get killed, like in wargames you know. Actually its more dangerous crossing the street in most towns & cities.

I think that Sergeant Ernie Bilko had the ideal military job.

Chief of QC/QA for the Israeli stripper-assassins (part one only)

a 3rd vote for REMF

A member of a crack, elite special forces desk division, carrying out important missions deep behind my own lines.

Chairmen of the Joint Cheifs of staff, I've tried enlisted before

I always wanted to fly helicopters for the USAF or Army. The idea of trying to land on a naval vessel is a little daunting.

NCIS? :)

Sat behind my desk with the red tabs of a staff officer.

U.S. submarine commander in WW2.

A supply seargent with all the right connections.

Tail Gunner on a B-17 (WWII) or a B-52 (Vietnam). Only filled a lot of sandbags and pulled guard duty (Vietnam). Being color blind eliminates all the good jobs in the Air Force.

Hmmmm, probably fighter pilot, or astronaut/pilot.

Along a similar vein to Timbo's assignment, if playing for the other side:

Spetznatz officer in charge of overseeing the in-depth training of their female operatives in the art of seduction, fitness training, and close-quarters, unarmed combat.

wtotheipi wrote:

Submarine Officer in the Navy (which is much more rewarding that being a Sumbarine Officer in the Army).

This is why the best job in the UK armed forces is being a helicopter pilot in 3 Commando Bde Air Squadron -- you get to be a flying soldier in the Navy.

All the best,

John.