The Arrogance of the Grunt

I'm going to front run any bitches, moans, or complaints by those who are not grunts by saying the following. First off, this isn't a dis to non-grunts, if I were insulting you, you'd know. Second, I know there are going to be guys and gals alike that say "Oh well I did such and such just like a grunt," ok first off, no you probably didn't, second I'm hungry can I have that giant chip on your shoulder and third...whatever bro, if it helps you sleep at night. Lastly, I'm a grunt, I'm going to write about grunt shit. I don't know the inner workings of supply or motor t, so I won't pretend that I do. Cool? Good.The arrogance of the grunt comes from his attitude, especially in an all-volunteer force, (yes, certainly, there were grunts during the Vietnam and WW2 era that were drafted and were huge badasses, and grunts today that are huge shitbags and extenuating circumstance after extenuating circumstance), but...today, today in the all-volunteer force, if you joined September 12th, 2001 or after, and had your choice of jobs, and you choose infantry...you had to know a few things.The first thing you had to know is that you were going to go to war. Like...it was on like donkey kong about to do some wrong. War sucks asshole, like a huge hairy, haven't wiped your booty hole in a few days asshole. And you, as the grunt are asking "Hey can I be first in line for this shit show?" That's where the arrogance starts. The guy who volunteers and chooses to be a grunt isn't necessarily the most badass one-man national asset Rambo killing machine. More than likely he's a glutton for punishment, and in the culture of manhood, being able to take a lot of punishment and then kick it back out is a hallmark sign of masculinity.The second part comes from the fact that the grunt is willing to stack bodies. He may suck at it. He may never get the chance, but I remember joining and thinking of Joker from "Full Metal Jacket," I wanted to be the first kid on my block with a confirmed kill. I wanted to make it rain bad guy body parts. Hence why I became an 0351, because you know...explosives.Lastly, we knew we had the highest percentage chance of not coming home. We'd be in the thick. We'd be intimately involved in the fight. We wanted it. Call it a death wish, call it bravery, call it whatever you will that helps you get through the day, the truth is, all of us knew there was a pretty significant likelihood that we'd only be on this Earth for...like 18-22 years (age of your average grunt). The grunt was willing and on some level knowingly cool with sacrificing his life for those around him if that's what it took.The grunt is arrogant because when you take all three of these things and add in the fact that the grunt WANTED to do them, without any extra incentive...well, you'd be f***in' arrogant too.