Why is the sky Infantry Blue?

Q.  Why is the sky Infantry Blue?


     Sky blue is the color of the U.S. Army Infantry and the grunts wear it with pride. It was officially designated to the current configuration of the Blue Cord and Insignia with backing blue disks back in 1952.

     So now that we have the "official" mumbo-jumbo out of the way, let's get down to what it really is.  When a grunt "Turns Blue" he is officially indoctrinated into a brotherhood.  Receiving the Blue Cord is only the beginning for the Infantrymen and they won't really learn the full scope of what that cord means until they have spent some time as a grunt.

     You can take a man out of the Infantry, but you can NEVER take the Infantry out of the man.  The seeds have been planted and there will always be a spot deep in a grunts soul that glows true blue.  Sure, there are little rivalries within the Infantry units.  It's Esprit de Corps.  The fact of the matter is that there is a deep respect between those guys and there always will be.  There is also a healthy respect between the Army grunts and the Marine Infantry.

     Infantrymen have gotten a reputation since the dawn of time as being cocky, arrogant, stubborn, obstinate, relentless, A-type, and even sometimes barbaric.   I have to agree with most of these assessments, as would most grunts.

     What some would consider to be as "less than desirable" traits, the Infantry embraces, even encourages and enhances.  When the chips are down and losing is not an option, you have to be this way.  The infantry is life or death and in order to win, the team has to have a "win at all costs" mentality.  Never quit.  Never leave a buddy behind.  Intestinal Fortitude, the courage to continue in the face of extreme adversity, when others would fail, we shall succeed, together as brothers.

     From day 1 a grunt is trained to kill the enemy, by any means necessary.  Eliminate the competition with extreme prejudice.  That's our #1 priority, our mission, our goal, our purpose.  Two grunts will talk about the Spirit of the Bayonet with smiles and laughter, whereas any civilian or non-combatant type would be taken aback and SHOCKED at what they have just heard between those two guys.

     This IS the main reason why the Infantrymen gets a bad rep sometimes.  We volunteered for what you abhor.  We do what you will not do. We volunteer to be the primary defensive weapon and the defining offensive weapon for the United States of America.  We are the tip of the spear for democracy.  You can drop all of the bombs you want, you can drive through towns with tanks, but that ground is NOT yours until the grunts kick the doors in and secure it from all enemies, foreign and domestic.  The timid and/or faint of heart NEED NOT APPLY.

     What the typical citizen would consider as abysmal and sub-standard living conditions, the Infantry calls "home".  When the grunts operate and patrol, especially for long periods of time, there's no running water for a daily shower.  Rarely is there going to be decent shelter from the elements or enough food and water.  When it's the absolute nastiest weather and in the dark of night, during the time when everyone just wants to be warm and dry, snuggled in their beds, there's a squad of grunts out there in the miserable wet and cold, getting ready to kick the doors in and bring bad ju-ju upon the enemies of the United States.

       "I live near an Infantry regiment and all they do is cause trouble and get the local girls pregnant!"  There's a lot of truth to that statement.  Grunts in garrison are like junkyard dogs.  We train like animals to fight like the beasts you expect us to be when you call our number.  We are always preparing our minds and bodies for war and conflict.  It may never happen for us, but we prepare for it daily.  We live for the adrenaline rush, we're junkies for it.  We like to ride around in helicopters, jump out of airplanes, ford rivers, blow stuff up, shoot-move-communicate.  We do PT 5 or 6 times a week, and a lot of us hit the gym after "work" as well.  We clean our filthy gear until it is spotless and ready to get dirty again tomorrow.  When things "slow down" and the adrenaline rushes start to dwindle, that's when the grunts get into trouble around town.

     We let off steam by finding our own adrenaline rushes.  We live a life of extremes and are expected to be hard-core members of hard-core teams.  A fire team of single grunts on the town (especially when overseas) is a particularly dicey proposition.  4 or 5 guys who are trained in hand to hand combat and LOVE to be destructive who are out having several "cold 'uns" can only lead to trouble.  Is it right?  No.  Just consider the fact that they ARE what they ARE, and chances are good that they're single and "un-domesticated".

     Single grunts without kids are severely lacking in patience.  Heck, even grunts WITH kids are lacking in patience sometimes.  We work alongside highly motivated and truly dedicated people.  Half-assers, slackers, and non-hackers tend to try our patience.  "I can't", "I won't", "It is too hard", and "Impossible" are phrases and words that we have SEVERE issues with.

     We bitch and whine, we do.  What separates our bitching and whining from "the usual" is that we do it so that we can then tell each other to suck it up and drive on.  No matter how bad it gets, you bite your bottom lip, you suck it up, you drive on.  We continue the mission, regardless of the conditions.  It may suck, but we try to embrace the suck.  Tell us to move a mountain and a platoon of grunts will bitch and complain like you have never heard before....while they break out their E-tools and pioneer tools and get to work chipping away at that mountain.  While shoveling we will probably come up with a plan to somehow "liberate" a big machine and some explosives in order to complete the mission in a more expedient time frame.  We will improvise, adapt, and overcome....especially if it makes OUR lives easier.  We live for the "Can Do" attitude and we promote an "I can do better" attitude.  We like free thinkers who can think on the fly and come up with lots of good options to do things with better efficiency if at all possible.

     Some may think that the typical Infantryman has a lower I.Q., is less "educated", and/or less motivated mentally than the average soldier or even civilian.  This is SO far off base and incorrect.  There is a huge mix of intellect in the infantry.  If you were to compare the average ASVAB GT scores, you'd find that grunts have an average GT score on par with the aviation crowd and the technical crowd.  Just like anywhere else, there are smart ones and some that can be found "lacking".  Another thing to keep in mind is that 1 in 4 people who take the ASVAB test will FAIL.  I served with MULTIPLE enlisted men who had 4 year college degrees but did NOT want to become officers until they had done plenty of time "on the line".  I also served with many who did correspondence and college courses while enlisted and then attended OCS.

     One thing that the grunts have in common is a willingness to serve their country and to sacrifice anything and everything in the defense of this great nation. Predominately a bunch of guys who want to get paid to do things that the average "high speed" civilian would have to pay big bucks to do.  Firearms aren't cheap, especially when it comes down to fully automatic ones.  Hiking, mountaineering, riding in helicopters, rappelling out of them, jumping out of airplanes, riding around in Hummers, APCs, and BFV's are things that most "normal" people don't even WANT to do.  We live for it.

     We are adventurous spirits who typically possess abnormally high standards and work ethics.  We are sore losers because we cannot stand failure or sub-par performance.  We embody the importance of Standard Operating Procedures and excel in the gray areas between black and white.  We love to meet things head-on, but beware our brothers who are coming at your flanks.  We give everything we have to win, and then we'll give out our own supplies to those that need it more.

     It is funny (to us) how some people are shocked at "Blood Ranking" or receiving certain awards/achievements by way of blood.  Hazing is nothing new to the infantry.  A lot of it is done with brotherhood and love, although some forms of hazing is even considered by the grunts to be stupid and dangerous.  We do NOT consider blood ranking or earning blood anything to be stupid or dangerous if it is done in the proper way.  A lot of platoons and squads with good leadership will NOT allow a full blood line...but walking a team/squad/platoon gauntlet IS considered appropriate and even though you may not witness it at an "official" ceremony, chances are good that there is an "unofficial" ceremony that you will NOT see.  It's a right of passage in the Infantry.  I do not condone it anywhere else because your feelings might get hurt or you might be offended by having something pounded into your shoulder/chest.  There have been times that even I consider to be "rough" where I have thought back and remembered the sense of pride that I received when my 1st Sgt shook my hand and pounded something I had earned into me.  It saved my bacon on MORE than one occasion.  I don't expect anyone to understand unless they have been in those boots before, but those that have been there will certainly know what I am talking about.  Those that "don't get it" are typically frowned upon as "POGs", "REMFs" or civilians by the infantry and deemed "not worthy" of the argument.

     I don't expect anyone other than my fellow grunts to understand this.  Their families do to a certain point.  Being infantry is a calling, similar to those in medical or care professions.  It's a dirty job that not everyone is capable of doing nor even willing to attempt.  It's hard on the body and it's extremely hard on the mind.  There are times when every one of us wanted to quit, but reached deep down inside and kept going.  We live in the suck, we embrace the suck, and when there's a high magnitude of sucktitude a grunt is in his elements.

     The next time a nasty storm blows your way and you weather it out in your office or home, just remember that there's a bunch of grunts out there, standing guard or on patrol, 100% of the time, for your benefit.

     They're in their element, and when the skies begin to clear and the clouds part, that cold and wet grunt can look up and see the sky.  A little touch of relief for those on watch.

Blue skies = less suck.  

A.  The sky is blue because God loves the Infantry!


As a side note, even semi-barbaric grunts have a heart.  We love...not necessarily in any type of order...

Combat Medics and Medical Corpmen (Big time! Mess with our "doc" and shit just got real ugly, real fast for you. We will fuck you up beyond all repair and enjoy doing it)
Chicks (chicks dig grunts, too)
Music  (tames the savage beast, prepares us for an assault, drives out dictators from mansions)
Catching a ride (any ride, as long as we aren't walking it doesn't matter)
Preemptive Naming of any sport that we play as "Combat" (due to the inherent violence that will take place in lieu of rules.)
Accurate Meteorology (embrace the suck)
Accurate Intelligence  (big-time oxymoron)
Close Air Support (it damn well better be accurate!)  Specter, 'Hogs, Snakes, Apaches, just deliver it....
Food  (we burn 3x-4x the calories as the average person, feed the beast)
Beer  (we drink 5x-6x the normal weekly intake for an average person  in one evening, before 8pm)
Grandmas  (they probably have grand daughters who love grunts)
Little Kids  (future grunts?)

We pretty much have a disdain for everything else that isn't "grunt" related, especially non-Infantry Marines, Cav Scouts, MP's, and POGs/REMFs in general.

"I am the Infantry, Follow Me!"