# What question could I ask someone I believe is lying about being in the Military? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 15, 2011, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155 "2011-07-15T18:18:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Silver\_Fire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e4f/32.png) [@Silver\_Fire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Fire)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2011, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/41 "2011-07-16T16:56:04Z")
Tell him happy birthday on Nov 10 and see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 6:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/42 "2011-07-17T06:22:27Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > My brother has changed from Marines, to Army, and now to Navy. He did not have to take basic again. My brother was a Navy lawyer, in some barracks that also had Marine lawyers and accountants in basic. All Marines are Riflemen, including lawyers and accountants. Navy? Not so much. He was annoyed that the Jarhead recruits were woken up by banging on garbage cans at 4:30AM when he didn’t need to appear at breakfast until 7:30. He also complained about a posting on which the captain of the carrier ate what the enlisted men ate, claiming that rule on a proper carrier meant the enlisted men ate what the captain ate. You can imagine the difference. He also thought the CIA was out to get him. He’s safer in real estate. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/43 "2011-07-17T06:34:36Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Switching services is possible - I know someone who did it. > > (I do believe that he is lying, but I just wanted to mention that it is, or at least was, possible to transfer) Might be something you’d mention if you’d signed up Army and then went into the Corps. Especially since that would be a person who would know he’s sounding like he’s full of shit and would take an opportunity to set the record straight in the same sentence. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/44 "2011-07-17T07:17:09Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > He also complained about a posting on which the captain of the carrier ate what the enlisted men ate, claiming that rule on a proper carrier meant the enlisted men ate what the captain ate. You can imagine the difference. [Brain explosion]Wh-What??[/Brain explosion]. But, what’s the diff??! ---
**Author:** ![RadicalPi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/radicalpi/32/9806_2.png) [@RadicalPi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RadicalPi)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/45 "2011-07-17T22:58:28Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > Ask him to tell you about Chesty Puller. > > I once worked for the navy. A smartassed Marine Lieutenant I was friendly with walks into the wardroom, stands beside me and loudly announces “{shiftless} here says that Chesty Puller is a faggot!” You could have heard a pin drop. Never having heard of the guy I didn’t realize how close to death I was. The name sounds made up. I don’t get this at all. Could you explain? ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/46 "2011-07-17T23:05:11Z")
> [@MichaelEmouse](#): > > About being corrected on various terms: Some people just aren’t pedantic or don’t bother correcting civilians’ misuse of certain terms. Do former members of the military really constantly correct civilians on terminology in casual conversations? Yes. All the fucking time. Maybe it isn’t all of them, but it’s a hell of a lot of them. I don’t mind service-specific things like “former Marine” but it used to drive me bugfuck when this guy I was dating would correct me when I said “gun”. And I wasn’t even talking about his gun or any soldier’s gun. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/47 "2011-07-17T23:25:00Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > Yes. All the fucking time. Maybe it isn’t all of them, but it’s a hell of a lot of them. I don’t mind service-specific things like “former Marine” but it used to drive me bugfuck when this guy I was dating would correct me when I said “gun”. And I wasn’t even talking about his gun or any soldier’s gun. That bugs the crap out of me as well. “weapon” is extremely vague, and in no way preferable to “gun” as a descriptor of the object in question. “Weapon” could mean anything from an intercontinental ballistic missile to an aluminum baseball bat. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2011, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/48 "2011-07-17T23:41:01Z")
When I did my BOTC in the Canadian Forces, we were corrected that a “gun” had wheels and was pulled behind a truck\*. The proper term was more specific: sidearm, rifle, etc.; “weapon” was never given as the correct alternative, IIRC. - Okay, so that’s hardly an exact definition either, but we were disinclined to dispute the NCOs who were in charge. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/49 "2011-07-18T00:32:25Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > I don’t get this at all. Could you explain? Calling Chesty Puller a faggot in front of Marines leads to an asskicking by those Marines. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/50 "2011-07-18T00:35:57Z")
Chesty Puller was decorated US Marine ever. (Just for background). ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/51 "2011-07-18T03:39:10Z")
> [@Capitaine\_Zombie](#): > > [Brain explosion]Wh-What??[/Brain explosion]. But, what’s the diff??! Captains eat good food. Swabbies eat food that is not so good. Pardonnez-moi. I know the French have been known to feed their enlisted men food that is not pig slop, so this may be hard to understand. 😉 I declined Uncle Sam’s invitations to the party (there was a shooting war going on and Sam wasn’t insistent), but my brother said that some carrier captains believed it a way to bond with the enlisted men was by the officers eating the same slop as they. Others thought their men deserved food as good as what their officers ate. Still not Michelin level, but probably better than what they ate at home. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/52 "2011-07-18T04:29:30Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I don’t care how long it’s been, you’re going to remember your drill instructors and specialty school instructors. Just for the record, I don’t remember any of their names. None of the drill sergeants, none of the instructors, and most of the people I’d ever reported to. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/53 "2011-07-18T04:41:27Z")
I’m always on for bashing pretenders. I especially enjoy nailing West Point pretenders to the wall, and have had to perfectly delicious opptunities to do so. But just to be certain: He doesn’t have a palsy or anything does he? Or eyes that track strangely? One would hate to find that we’d been bashing some poor guy with a brain injury from Iraq. . . ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/54 "2011-07-18T12:21:44Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Captains eat good food. Swabbies eat food that is not so good. > > Pardonnez-moi. I know the French have been known to feed their enlisted men food that is not pig slop, so this may be hard to understand. 😉 I declined Uncle Sam’s invitations to the party (there was a shooting war going on and Sam wasn’t insistent), but my brother said that some carrier captains believed it a way to bond with the enlisted men was by the officers eating the same slop as they. Others thought their men deserved food as good as what their officers ate. Still not Michelin level, but probably better than what they ate at home. LOL you can actually find the US navy recipe cards online … some of them are amazingly horrific [I am specifically looking at Beef Roulades] Subs are supposedly the best food in the Navy [as compensation to being stuck incommunicado for months at a time, or so hubby tells me] and the captains can be widely different. Wingnut Murphy refused to let the cooks modify recipes to make them more palatable, while Bremmerton let the cooks change up the spicing or prep methods to suit the crew. Bremmerton did actually do the banhammer on making of [beef ‘rolaids’](http://www.quartermaster.army.mil/jccoe/publications/recipes/section_l/L04500.pdf) [the roulades were battered and deep fried :dubious::eek:] [warning PDF and scary recipe] ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/55 "2011-07-18T13:51:49Z")
> [@RadicalPi](#): > > I don’t get this at all. Could you explain? Chesty Puller is the most decorated, bad-assed marine of all time, or so I hear. It has also been explained to me that EVERY Marine knows who Chesty Puller is. Those of us who have never served have probably never heard of him as he wasn’t a famous general on the scale of MacArthur or Patton. So, if you want to identify all the marines in a room, just mention loudly that you could kick Chesty Puller’s ass. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/56 "2011-07-18T17:02:00Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > Captains eat good food. Swabbies eat food that is not so good. > > Pardonnez-moi. I know the French have been known to feed their enlisted men food that is not pig slop, so this may be hard to understand. 😉 I declined Uncle Sam’s invitations to the party (there was a shooting war going on and Sam wasn’t insistent), but my brother said that some carrier captains believed it a way to bond with the enlisted men was by the officers eating the same slop as they. Others thought their men deserved food as good as what their officers ate. Still not Michelin level, but probably better than what they ate at home. The food that is served while a ship is underway is far from ‘slop’. I recall having lobster aboard a Navy amphib ship. ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/57 "2011-07-18T17:18:59Z")
> [@T.Slothrop](#): > > But Fort Bragg _was_ a basic training post. Been there, done that in 1969. > > But you are right, the guy is lying. Ask him to name one famous murder and at least three hookers from Foxfire Drive. (Military dependent not long after you) ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/58 "2011-07-18T18:01:10Z")
> [@T.Slothrop](#): > > But Fort Bragg _was_ a basic training post. Been there, done that in 1969. > > But you are right, the guy is lying. Respect for ya then, I did not know that. Probably if I had been stationed there instead of Stewart (which used to have an artillery school) I would have known that ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/59 "2011-07-18T18:40:50Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > The food that is served while a ship is underway is far from ‘slop’. I recall having lobster aboard a Navy amphib ship. Depends on when you served - my dad was in Korea and the food was nasty, my ex’s dad had gotten out much more recently and wouldn’t even eat lobster anymore because he got sick of it. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2011, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155/60 "2011-07-19T03:25:23Z")
“This is my rifle’ This is my gun. This is for work, This is for fun.” Even in the Corps of Engineers back in 1953 I had that one memorized. Three guesses what the “gun” was. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-question-could-i-ask-someone-i-believe-is-lying-about-being-in-the-military/589155.md?page=4)