Jerry Smith’s War: 2025
The day after graduating from high school Jerry Smith visited a recruiter. He was not quite eighteen and like so many young men before him, he wanted to serve his country in this protracted conflict, and learn some skills for a profession later. His parents could not afford to send him to college but he probably would not have gone anyway. He wanted to see the world in a profession that valued his athletic as well as his intellectual talents. Plus Jerry had just broken up with his college bound girlfriend and wanted nothing more than to get out of Cedar Falls.
He made a good initial impression on the recruiter. Jerry was too small to play college football but he had turned out to be a fairly decent defense end in high school, making up for a lack of bulk with aggressiveness and smart play. The recruiter could tell Jerry was smart by his pointed questions and clear thinking. He surmised that Jerry’s average grades in High School were more indicative of his not being challenged by his teachers and curriculum rather than a lack of native intelligence. The recruiter was sure that if he were given the proper challenge Jerry would perform. And he knew of just the challenge for someone like Jerry.
“There are a lot of interesting options available for you,” he began. “But I want you to consider something really special. Do you know anything about the modern Infantry and have you thought about taking what we call the Infantry option?”
“No, not really,” Jerry replied somewhat surprised. “I heard about the Infantry from my uncles and they said they were just dumb grunts. I had sort of thought about learning electronics and stuff like that – isn’t there some kind of communications specialist field?”
“These aren’t your uncles’ grunts”, the recruiter said with a smile. “Today they are something really special. And you can still learn the electronics skills with the Infantry Option. Here’s the deal: first we’ll train you in communications. That takes about six months. Then you do a year with a signal unit serving in combat so you’ll be fully qualified in electronics if you still want to go that way later on. But if you still are qualified for the Infantry we’ll take you on for another year’s training. If you complete that you’ll be a full fledged Infantryman – with the best individual training possible and more importantly part of a world class team. It’s a real challenge but I think you’re up for it. You were a good player on the football team, and now you’ll be able to play on the best team of all. You would learn to become a leader in combat, the most demanding job in the world. I assure you that if you go that route, you will know how special all this is. But beyond that, it’s a good deal for a guy like you. The Infantry Option comes with a $100,000 bonus and an additional thousand dollars a month. Promotions are much faster in the Infantry and if you spend time in the combat zone you can retire in less than fifteen years total service. Think about it: Money in the bank. Leadership at the squad level before you’re old enough to drink. And an incredible set of skills to allow you to move on to a second career at the age of thirty three.”
“Yeah” Jerry replied cautiously, “but this is dangerous stuff. We’ve been at war a long time…and I hear a lot about PTSD….”
“Right”, the recruiter replied, “PTSD is a concern and that’s why we devote so much effort to it and are willing to pay you well for the Infantry Option. We’ve developed a series of tests to determine someone’s propensity for PTSD and if you’re really at danger, if you have the PTSD ‘marker’, we won’t send you into those situations. But if you don’t have that marker, we know how to train and organize you to avoid it. We’ve learned a great deal from our experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. We know now that one of the major factors contributing to PTSD is the sense of isolation on the battlefield, the feeling of being alone and vulnerable. To combat this feeling, and to put you in the best environment possible, we’ve developed the “Band of Brothers” program. We’ve learned that Infantrymen perform far better when tightly bonded in their unit. The best way to survive a tough situation is to be surrounded by the best people possible, ones you know intimately and who will take care of you, just as you will take care of them. Under this program you’ll go through Infantry training with the same squad, learning together and learning to trust each other. Then you’ll be guaranteed to serve with that squad in the same platoon for at least four years after you finish your training.
The recruiter went on with his pitch: “But we have also learned that infantrymen, properly selected, trained and acculturated, can actually prosper from combat experience. You know the old saying ‘What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’? Well, it turns out that’s true! Scientists call this ‘positive traumatic growth,’ a measurable increase in leadership ability, confidence, and mental agility that comes from shared experience in war.”
When Jerry was asked later what was it that convinced him to take the option, he admitted it was the challenge, the need to prove himself to be worthy of serving with this elite force the recruiter had described. He did well in his signal/communications training, picking up the electronics knowledge that had originally enticed him to approach the recruiter. Upon completion he deployed to join an Infantry Battalion in combat as a radio repairman and signal specialist. He enjoyed his tour with them and was proud of his service; he was good and he knew it. But what particularly impressed his were the Infantrymen he served. They were truly a breed apart, always working together as a team, bonded together as quiet professionals who absolutely knew what to do and how to do it. After his time observing their chemistry Jerry knew that he wanted to be like them, part of something bigger than himself and truly elite. He was more than ready to honor his commitment for the “option”, and with two others from his unit he left for advanced Infantry training. He was no longer worried about the dangers, or even thinking of the money. He just hoped he would measure up.
Battle School
Back in the states Jerry joined a small group of candidates who all shared the same concerns as they tried to get into the course. The first hurdle was a week of “pre-selection” exercises and evaluations conducted by a strange assortment of white-coated scientists. Doctors poked, prodded and examined him completely. Instructors pushed him and his fellow candidates to the limit on the track and in the gym. Jerry thrived on this part. A natural athlete and in excellent health, he knew that physical exams and endurance tests were no barrier to his making the grade. He also automatically helped his fellow candidates when he could on the physical tests - a trait not lost on his evaluators.
But he was worried about the shrinks. Their methods were impenetrable and their judgments absolute. No amount of athleticism or determination could get him through this gate. He just had to be himself and hope it was good enough. An eclectic assortment of psychiatrists, psychologists, sociologists and behavioralists held his future in their hands. For hours he toiled through what these guys called “instruments” - an endless series of written and verbal assessments that supposedly measured every aspect of his intellect, psychological makeup and character. At the end he was more exhausted than he had been by the grueling physical exercises, but this time had no idea if he had passed.
Somehow he did. At the end of the week his group, lessened by about a third, found themselves assembled into fifteen-man battle teams. Although they hadn’t realized it, the teams had been chosen with group dynamics in mind. The staff had reviewed the individual’s psychological assessments and followed up with personal interviews. The behavioral coaches formed them in teams and put them through a series of perplexing interpersonal exercises that evaluated the level of interaction and prospective cohesion. Every phase of the experience was taped for later retrieval and analysis. And on the basis of this evaluation they eliminated those not fit and sorted the remainders into teams.
Thus the team Jerry joined at the end of the grouping phase seemed random to him but actually was based on a great deal of analysis. As the team met together for the first time Jerry couldn’t help but be impressed by the caliber of his teammates. After overcoming some initial reticence they started coming together and by the end of the evening he thought they all seemed like good guys, guys he could work with. As he went to bed he had a flashback to an old expression from Cedar Falls: “I could steal horses with them.” That thought left a smile on his face as he fell asleep
In the morning Jerry’s team was introduced to the man that they would get to know intimately over the next four years. This man had already reviewed the team composition with his assistants and was initially pleased with it, while still ready to change it if necessary. He carried himself with a great deal of assurance and was obviously fit. He wore no rank, but as he spoke there was no question that he was in command. He was clearly a highly skilled combat veteran but he also seemed very wise – both a warrior and a philosopher. He spoke slowly and clearly, as if he was weighing his words carefully: “Welcome, gentlemen, to Battle School. I’m your Coach and you’ll call me that until graduation. My task is to make all fifteen of you into the finest fighting team in the world. This is more than just a task for me. Understand that I have ‘skin in this game’ because in all likelihood I’ll become your squad leader in six months. Thus my own survival may well depend on how well I prepare you for combat. Eventually you fifteen will be only eleven. Don’t be alarmed by the math. Chances are that all of you will make the grade. But we have learned over the years that your numbers will decrease due to what Lincoln called ‘the arithmetic’; that is, the natural attrition, sickness, wounds and the personal friction that comes from just surviving in war. If eleven is the right number, we will start larger and draw down to it, rather than inserting new members into the team. The team is the most important concept. We simply cannot afford to allow you to fight as strangers to each other. We will forge this team here and over time I guarantee you will go back into combat together. You will be a band of brothers, superbly prepared individually but more importantly as a team, to survive and win.”
The Coach cocked a leg over the edge of his desk but the intensity of his words belied the casualness of his posture. He gestured sparingly to emphasize his points and his eyes bore into each of theirs in turn. “You are entering a new world, a world crafted by a generation of visionary soldiers and Marines over the last two decades. While you were growing up these servicemen were changing our military culture. Experience in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere convinced our military leaders that the essence of victory in the irregular wars we’ve been fighting for so long rested in our small units, squads and platoons. They were then able to convince the politicians and national leaders that significant reforms were essential to enable these small units to perform at the optimal level.”
The Coach’s eyes grew even more intense and his words more passionate, his hand now chopping the air to emphasize each point: “This led to revolutionary changes in how we now select, train, acculturate and bond small units. Simply put, this group of reformers broke the ground services away from the Cold War traditions of mass armies and replaced it with the Army, Marine Corps and SOF you see today, comprised of small units all certified as having the “right stuff.” Today every small unit is like a professional sports team, properly selected and coached to be as effective on the battlefield as money, time and the human sciences can make it. But like any professional sports organization the front office here expects a return on their investment. They expect you to perform and you will be graded and held accountable for that performance. You will compete in everything you do at the team level and we will measure and test you accordingly. This is not about you the individual so much as how well you can perform as a team. The other teams here are going through the same thing so we will post your team ranking every day for all to see. You are competing against these other teams for now but soon your real competitors will be much more deadly.”
After pausing to let these words sink in he continued: “You may have heard that there is no course of instruction here. That’s true. We follow what’s called the Bayesian system of learning in which you set the conditions for every day’s activities. None of you are followers anymore but leaders in waiting. I am your coach. You are here to learn but more importantly, to learn to teach and coach others. I determine your team’s level of performance. But you determine what you will learn and how fast you learn it. There is no pass or fail here. It’s up to you how far your team progresses. You will finish at one of three levels depending on how well you demonstrate mastery of each competitive task. You will train yourselves and you will learn from each other. Each of you will in turn plan and execute every day’s event. When you leave you will be both a world class infantryman and Olympic class coach.”
“There is one last point I want to leave with you: You are not alone.” He paused to let the words sink in and then repeated them: “You are not alone. You will learn, you will teach yourselves that you are part of this team and you can and must count on each other. But it goes beyond that: you are also part of a much larger team that is always there to help you with an astonishing array of skills and information. You will learn, you will teach yourselves, to tap into that larger team and take advantage of it, while always retaining the essential ability to make split-second decisions on your own.”