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I’ve had different ways to approach this debate in my head for a long time now. I feel like this strip harkens back to a kind of “old school” Terminal Lance comic that doesn’t really get an opportunity to rear its head anymore. Years ago, when I began this monstrosity, there was a lot more anger and resentment, as well as a recurring theme of POGs VS Grunts. It’s a debate that will be around as long as there are such differences in Marines.
The argument I always despised, most of all, was that a POG was not of the oh-three inclination because he was simply too smart for such menial duties during his enlistment. I like to think that this comic, along with whatever other accomplishments of mine and other successful infantry Marines should serve to prove that grunts are in fact not stupid. Perhaps I’m a minority, and perhaps it’s the reason I’m an 0351, but I’m proud to say that my ASVAB score was above 90 and my GT was above 130. I chose to be infantry (specifically, I chose 0300 open-contract and 0351 once I got to SOI).
Scores and other numbers aside, perhaps there is a greater wisdom in the long-term vision that most of the POG population enlisted with. Most grunts tend to have a somewhat existential purpose for their enlistment, transcending rational things like job security after their 4 years or whether or not they’ll actually enjoy it. That’s not really the point of joining the infantry. You don’t choose to be in the infantry because you’re worried about what job you’ll get when you exit your time in, you don’t choose to be in the infantry for cutting scores or anything else that can be expressed on a resume. You do it because you have something to prove.
What was Abe looking for when he enlisted?
Good question.
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