# "Army Strong" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 13, 2006, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299 "2006-10-13T13:35:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/1 "2006-10-13T13:35:49Z")
The new Army recruiting campaign. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/YSbCnWe6e1o/hqdefault.jpg "Army Strong") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSbCnWe6e1o) I like it. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/2 "2006-10-13T13:44:41Z")
Cool. It’s a far, far cry better than that lame “Army of One” campaign. What’s that supposed to mean, anyway, "Army of One? ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/3 "2006-10-13T13:58:24Z")
Reminds me of that old Marvel Comics recruiting slogan, “Hulk Smash.” ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2006, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/4 "2006-10-13T14:04:29Z")
Anything is better than ‘Army of One.’ Also, nothing could be much help in the current recruiting environment. ‘Be All You Can Be’ was simply great. ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/5 "2006-10-14T13:35:51Z")
The local fire department is using “Fire Bad” for their recruiting slogan. They’re pretty pissed at the Army stealing their advertising meme. I hope they have a battle royale in the street, where they can throw cars and use various big-guy superpowers on each other. I’ll bring the popcorn. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/6 "2006-10-14T14:46:36Z")
[QUOTE=Subway Prophet] The local fire department is using “Fire Bad” for their recruiting slogan. They’re pretty pissed at the Army stealing their advertising meme. I hope they have a battle royale in the street, where they can throw cars and use various big-guy superpowers on each other. I’ll bring the popcorn. [/QUOTE] If they do it in Speedos, I’d pay for admission… ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/7 "2006-10-14T14:50:16Z")
Personally I don’t like it, but I have not figured out why yet. But anything is better than the “Army of One” campaign which all soldiers seemed to hate and other services used to make fun of the Army. I wish the services could find a slogan to use that is actually made to suit their service, to show how they really feel about their service in general, not used just as a recruiting tool. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/8 "2006-10-14T14:52:35Z")
[QUOTE=Monty] Cool. It’s a far, far cry better than that lame “Army of One” campaign. What’s that supposed to mean, anyway, "Army of One? [/QUOTE] An enlisted friend of mine tells me that it was actually spposed to be some sort of acronym: Officers, Non-Comms, and Enlisted. Which, I suspect, will not improve your opinion of it. Certainly didn’t mine. ---
**Author:** ![Subway\_Prophet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Subway\_Prophet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Subway_Prophet)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/9 "2006-10-14T15:03:23Z")
I figured out why “Army Strong” rubs me the wrong way. It does not stand well on its own. It’s because they’re simply identifying a quality of the organization - the army’s strength - without giving a baseline to compare this quality to. That in and of itself isn’t so bad, except that strength isn’t something the Army is already famous for. It’s too damn ambiguous. What if I said “Grandma’s Health” or “Bank Ethics” - does this inspire confidence? They merely identify qualities which we hope are good, but can easily be demonstrated to be poor. It’s an advertising slogan. It shouldn’t require 3 to 6 sentences explaining why it’s relevant. “Be all you can be” did so well because it could be understood without supporting documentation. That, and the dreary Og-like grammar in “Army Strong” does little to dispel jokes about “Military Intelligence”. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/10 "2006-10-14T15:39:39Z")
[QUOTE=Lemur Catta] An enlisted friend of mine tells me that it was actually spposed to be some sort of acronym: Officers, Non-Comms, and Enlisted. [/QUOTE] No, it wasn’t that clever. Besides, that wouldn’t even really make sense. “It’s an army made up of officers, noncommissioned officers, and enlisted ranks.” Oh, wow, can I join? Me first, me first! [Here’s a better explanation.](http://www.theonion.com/content/node/31873) ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/11 "2006-10-14T16:38:36Z")
Posted on another forum : > [@](#): > > Army Strong! America Good! Bad people bad! > > Your mission: > > 1. Find bad people! > 2. Hit bad people lots! > 3. Hit bad people more! > 4. Find more bad people! > > Drive tank! > > Shoot gun! > > Blow shit up! > > America love you! > > Army strong! ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/12 "2006-10-14T17:51:28Z")
Yeah, the Army has been encumbered by lack of creativity in their recruiting slogans in the current all-volunteer age. Heck, it started with “Today’s Army wants to join You” in '73. Not auspicious, really. “Be all that you can be” was the apex: it conveys a drive to perform as well as can carry the subtext that as part of the team you can achieve even more than alone.; while “Army of One” left me scratching my head. I don’t want an Army of one, I want a large team that’s got each other’s back. “Army Strong”? Meh. It’s _supposed_ to be strong. I suppose they could not just use “Far butchier than the Air Force, but way less psycho than the Marines” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/13 "2006-10-14T17:56:26Z")
[QUOTE=JRDelirious] I suppose they could not just use “Far butchier than the Air Force, but way less psycho than the Marines” 😃 [/QUOTE] I dig it. Can we add (no offense to those in the Army): “Army-no formal education needed.” “Army-where age doesn’t matter” ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/14 "2006-10-14T18:05:01Z")
[QUOTE=JRDelirious] Heck, it started with “Today’s Army wants to join You” in '73. [/QUOTE] I’d make a joke here, but I’m already recovering from a 5-at-a-time Russian Reversal simulpost in the Weird Al thread. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/15 "2006-10-14T19:27:24Z")
[QUOTE=Subway Prophet] The local fire department is using “Fire Bad” for their recruiting slogan. They’re pretty pissed at the Army stealing their advertising meme. I hope they have a battle royale in the street, where they can throw cars and use various big-guy superpowers on each other. I’ll bring the popcorn. [/QUOTE] I’ll bring the beer. ---
**Author:** ![fisha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/da6949/32.png) [@fisha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fisha)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/16 "2006-10-14T19:28:34Z")
Der Trihs, Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/17 "2006-10-14T21:06:44Z")
Army Strong! No Need Verbs! Grammar Bad Terrorist Plot! ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/18 "2006-10-14T21:15:49Z")
[QUOTE=Subway Prophet] I figured out why “Army Strong” rubs me the wrong way. It does not stand well on its own. It’s because they’re simply identifying a quality of the organization - the army’s strength - without giving a baseline to compare this quality to. [/QUOTE] Errr… no. Towards the end they did make some subtle assertion like “There is nothing on this green earth stronger than an Army soldier.” So the baseline of comparison is Army vs. everything. I reckon this would tend to rub Marines a little raw, but the shit flies both ways in that little dispute. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/19 "2006-10-14T21:27:26Z")
“Army Strong” reminds me of the phrase we used to hear, “there’s the right way, the wrong way, and the Army way.” I didn’t have to be in the Army very long to realize the truth of it. The Army can jump way past right and wrong and go flying headlong into “makes no sense whatsoever.” Nothing they’ve come up with yet seems quite so insulting as the Marine commercials. “You’re a medieval knight! Come fight dragons!” ---
**Author:** ![FormerMarineGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/65b543/32.png) [@FormerMarineGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FormerMarineGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2006, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299/20 "2006-10-14T21:35:07Z")
[QUOTE=Brain Wreck] Errr… no. Towards the end they did make some subtle assertion like “There is nothing on this green earth stronger than an Army soldier.” So the baseline of comparison is Army vs. everything. I reckon this would tend to rub Marines a little raw, but the shit flies both ways in that little dispute. [/QUOTE] No, it does not really rub Marines wrong in any way. The American army is considered the strongest army in the world. They are a big (amount of troops) force, unlimited budget, and overall compared to other armies, pretty well trained. The Marine Corps considers itself a specialty, an elite force. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/army-strong/376299.md?page=2)