Contrary to popular belief, the fact that some Troops are enlisted does not necessarily mean they are not educated or qualified to be commissioned officers. While college-level education is not required as with officers, many enlisted Troops* are indeed educated and successful regardless of their military rank.* Recognizing this can save a counselor (especially a civilian counselor) from losing serious rapport points with a military client.

I was having a conversation this week with someone who may join the Navy as an officer. I’m sharing this to illustrate the potential negative impact that such questions can have upon Troop-civilian rapport.

Question to me: “So what are you in the Army?”
My answer: “I’m a Staff Sergeant.”
Q: “That’s not an officer, right?”
A: “Right, I’m enlisted.”
Q: “What’s a Staff Sergeant compared to an officer?”
A: “I’m an E-6. So in other words, an E-6 has been promoted five times if he started as an E-1 Private.”
Question upon seeing a business card sitting on my kitchen counter: “So then what’s S, G, M?”
A: “Huh? S, G, M? Oh, you’re reading the card. SGM stands for Sergeant Major. That’s basically the top enlisted. The only thing higher is a Command Sergeant Major or Sergeant Major of the Army even though they have the same pay grade*.”
Q: “Oh. So if a Second Lieutenant was to tell a Sergeant Major what to do, he’d have to do it?”

Now, here’s the part I’d like my readers to pay attention to: the feeling that came over me when I heard this question. It wasn’t anger, because I know the person asking it didn’t understand. It was a feeling in the pit of my stomach that I can only assume resulted from defensiveness due to prior experiences. I felt a wave of, well…annoyance which I suppose stemmed from a feeling of disrespect of not just my enlisted rank but for my SGM as well. That was just my gut reaction—I’m not saying it’s logical or even fair. My answer to the question as I tried to control my tone of voice: “I doubt that would happen. A Second Lieutenant would most likely not dare order a Sergeant Major to do anything because he would want to show respect for the Sergeant Major.” Q: “Yeah, but he has to do what the Lieutenant says, right?” And the questioning continued like that. Ugh.

At work today I told two of my enlisted buddies about this conversation. They clearly shared by sentiments. We also mentioned how people are always asking us, “Why aren’t you an officer?” And then one co-worker used one of my favorite enlisted trademarks: humor to deal with the frustration. I’m sure I will not do my buddy justice by putting his hilarious response into words. But he--while seated in his chair in our work area within the Pentagon--did The Robot and said in a robotic voice, “I… Have… Found... That… If... You… Do… This… While… Explaining… They… Are… More… Likely… To… Understand… I… Will… Tell… Them… I… Am… Enlisted… Because… I… Want… To… Be.” Yes, he did The Robot. You remember that dorky dance of yester-year. I cracked up laughing because he looked and sounded so funny, even though I didn’t understand his point. Returning to his normal voice he explained, “Yeah, you know how people ask but you can tell they aren’t really hearing what you’re saying—they’re just looking at you like, “oh, ok”. But if you dance while responding they might actually pay attention and remember what you said.”

One reason I love being enlisted is the camaraderie with my fellow enlisted. Not that officers don’t have camaraderie, they clearly do. It’s just that over the years I have noticed a few general differences between the enlisted and officer ranks in regard to within-group interaction and communication. I’m not implying one is better or worse—just different.

Perhaps my favorite distinction is the enlisted use of humor. To someone on the outside looking in, the tone of this “humor” (as I’m calling it for lack of a better word) may appear immature, crude, or downright ridiculous. Oh and by the way, it is likely to contain profanity. I think this is important for civilians to try to understand this with an open mind so not to think negatively or judgmentally.

I’ll be honest here—how my buddies and I joke around would sometimes be inappropriate elsewhere. But this is a way for us to bond and to cope with the stereotypes and condescension we frequently experience due to the rank displayed on our uniforms. I have many enlisted buddies who could become an officer at any time (myself included) but opt to remain enlisted. For example, I work directly with a PhD-level archeologist and two former international college professors among other professionals.

So now we’ve cleared up another common stereotype: Enlisted does not automatically mean “uneducated” or “under-qualified.”

Hmmm…but it may mean someone who prefers the freedom to express frustration by doing The Robot at work.