At the United States Air Force Academy, the first experience of a new cadet is the loss of personal "stuff" and hence individual identity. All material possessions — those that signify individual identity, safety or relationship -- are taken from the cadet and replaced by "stuff" which indicate membership in the cadet wing. Clothing, jewelry, wallet, even hair, disappear as indexes of membership in an economic group. Pictures and address books vanish as symbols of connection with social groups in the broader world. Watches and calendars and money, reminders of being and safety, have no relevance as cadets move into the "other world" of the academy grounds.
Replacement "stuff" is utilitarian. Clothing is functional and suits its intended purpose to shelter and protect with a well-researched efficiency indicative of the military frame of mind. The clothing is easily cleaned and sanitized. It is even named in a military way — shirt, nonflying, blue; gloves, dress, white — indicating its function as well as obvious characteristics. It is most importantly uniform. The not so subtle message is that all people are identical, in purpose and value, except for a name.
The clothing is at first bare, like the personality-stripped human who wears it, but gradually it acquires ornamentation and indicates a new identity for the wearer. USAF Academy emblems appear first as cadets begin to see themselves as a real part of the academy system. Individual units identified by color, red, blue, yellow, etc, begin to work together. They build their bodies and their skills in these groups and as groups. They struggle, survive and triumph as a unit. Those who choose or are chosen to leave do so quietly without contact with the group as they depart...
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... This symbol of individual recognition, honor, and respect will continue with them throughout their careers.
It is probably not incidental that cadets, even in basic training, retain names rather than, say, numbers. As long as he has his name, the cadet remains an individual. This is essential to the military structure for "good name", honor, integrity can exist only when the individual exists. The military officer, despite this temporary subjugation to the group, is always personally responsible for his actions, and responsible to each individual under his command.
The symbolic structure of the uniform which unites, the insignia which are indexes of achievements and relationships, the name tag and salute which signify recognition of the individual are in combination symbolic of the tension between group and individual identity which is vital to the military.
The Vietnam War was a challenging time for soldiers both physically and mentally. They often didn’t have a choice on whether they were going to war due to the drafting system that had been in place. Many had tangible and intangible things that they carried with them for the sake of their sanity or their job in the unit. The chapter, “The Things They Carried”, in the novel The Things They Carried, captures this immaculately. The author, Tim O’Brien, speaks of the things each man within his unit carried with him. Each man did not just carry tangible objects with him, but also intangible objects as well .
In the novel “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien, there are a lot of characters that carry burdens which manifest later into themes of the novel. The novel is about the Vietnam war and the experience of drafted 18-24-year-old individuals serving in a platoon squad together. For instance, Lieutenant Jimmy Cross who is a vital member of the Alpha Company carries vital things that later translate into the theme. Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carries compasses, maps, and responsibilities for the Alpha Company such as marching in a line and keeping guns clean. The character accompanied with all his objects is used as a metaphor for the war that has no structure. He is a leader in the eyes of the Alpha Company who see him as the oldest and wisest but
In Tim O'Brien's story "The Things They Carried" we see how O'Brien uses symbolism in order to indirectly give us a message and help us to connect to what the soldiers are thinking and feeling. During a war soldiers tend to take with them items from home kind of as a security blanket. The items they normally take with them tend to reveal certain characteristics of their personality.
The things we carry may define the type of person we are in a broad but effective sense. For example, a construction worker might carry a hammer, a mailman some mail , and a police officer would carry those beautiful pieces of paper we call tickets. In carrying these items, each person may experience a different type of day in the framework of their lives. A mailman might get chased by a dog, while a cop may be chasing the “dog”. Each item may dictate our particular interest in objects and gives insight into the psychology of an individual. This was done in 1946 by a man named Tim O’ Brien. His novel titled “The Things They Carried”, first appeared as an excerpt in Esquire Magazine and told the story of the men in war with the things they carried. In the pages of this excerpt, one is able to see an epiphany performed by the soldiers. This epiphany relates to the items they had carried around during their missions and is geared especially towards the leading character, Lt. Jimmy Cross, of the excerpt. A coming of age is derived from this individual, which also sheds light on the psychological atmosphere of the men serving the Vietnam War.
Or the way that they all look up to the pantyhose as an almost godly relic. All the way to Norman Bowker finally realizing that courage comes from within, not from winning the Silver Star. These things, made up the soldiers attributes, made up the soldiers’ persona, made up the soldiers. But they didn’t stop at the soldier; certain items characterized all the soldiers as a collective group. It even went as far as to describe an entire group by the things all of them carried, of course, being the green berets.
At the start of the war, many people, including president Abraham Lincoln, thought that the few battles wouldn’t turn into much and that the fighting would be over soon. Clearly, they were wrong. As the fighting continued, uniforms became necessary in order to stop men from shooting others on their own sides. When uniforms were first created, they were very inconsistent in the way they were made. Styles of clothing depended on where they were made or who made them. Many s...
In Chapter one "The Things They Carried", Tim by O'Brien gives deeper meaning to items soldiers were carrying consistently. “The Things They Carried” which takes place in Vietnam during the war time the physical weight humped is emotional and psychological burdens. The purpose and the way O’Brien describes the situation in the chapter tells the reader different aspects and reasons for carrying certain things with them and how they coped with war. The items carried directly correspond to the soldiers’ behaviors. It is directly correspond to the soldiers behaviors. The soldiers adapt to the things they have to deal with by force
One aspect of having all students wear the same school-district uniform, is that it helps students focus on learning. In my case, I went to a private junior high school few years ago. Students there are required to wear the uniform every day; everyone dresses like a student. When I wake up every morning, I just grab my uniform and put it on without having any other thoughts about how it will look on me; thus I have more time to spend on learning. Therefore, I was prepared every day, and so were others. Yet, the high school I went to was a public school; it does not have any uniform policies. Comparing to my junior high, students dressed differently every day with different kinds of clothing. Since it does not require un...
...sies in different forms of respect that are still being used today throughout the Army. As the Army uses these to instill pride and discipline and soldiers both enlisted and commissioned officers because of the history of these customs they are pushed even today to be used by the newer soldiers and leaders. There are many other things that AAR 600 – 25 goes into such as ceremonies like parades, honor guard ceremonies and even the playing Army song and went to salute the flag. So in a nutshell this would be the custom courtesies in the United States Army and how they affect our daily life our work life and also our social life in the different ways and the things that we do on how we communicate to each other. The people that work with us and those that are subordinate to us and superior to us by rank and/or position it just goes to show how we respect to each other.
The majority of the civilian populace would equate bearing with manners, which has more to do with ethics than true military bearing. There are some conflicts that arise between the two interpretations. One of the most common is the custom of addressing officers as “Sir” or “Ma’am” and to never say the same to an NCO without getting sharply correct if not brutally reprimanded for your insolence. This comes as quite the culture shock to many new soldiers who come from the South or from other old-fashioned families where it is ingrained from birth to call everyone elder to you “Sir” or “Ma’am” regardless of position. But because we as an organization hold ourselves to such a high standard, we iron out these inconsistencies and deficiencies with haste. Due to this standard of perfection however, it is often appalling to civilians to see us make a mistake and have to realize that we are human. Soldiers are not seen as normal people, but cookie-cutter images of strength. This image has been fostered through the years by a strong sense of patriotism in the American people. While not achieving perfection, soldiers as a whole do uphold a higher standard of behavior than the rest of the populace. This is accomplished through implementation of the Army Values, regular ethical instruction, and a well-structured hierarchy with a strong sense of uniformity
The military was built on long standing values and customs and courtesies such as saluting, being willing to die for your country, professionalism, and respecting the uniform that you wear by wearing it proudly. All service members are proud of their uniform and what it stands for, but many people don’t know what a uniform is. Oxford Dictionary defines uniform as something that is not changing in form or character; remaining the same in all cases and at all times. Synonyms of uniform are unchanging and constant. If we have a line up of military members in uniform under this n...
This collective mentality is cultivated from the first day of boot camp where an individual will lose his first name, his choice of clothing, and his social status. With the suppression of self-identifying traits, the individual is accepted as part of a larger body that is the military identity. This identity is designed for obedience, self-regulation, and adherence to good order. To maintain this
Another reason I state is that the uniforms can be expensive for families. There are families out there that struggle to get 3 proper meals a day, and asking them to pay for uniforms is just too much. We have to buy a new uniform after we outgrow one and that just adds to the cost. If we could wear whatever we wanted
A uniform is a standard set of clothes that is worn by a group of people. These people may be members of an organization or a group of people having the same ideas. There are thousands of kinds of uniforms in the world worn by people, such as police officers, firefighters, doctors, lawyers, security guards, and even fast-food restaurant workers. School uniforms are a controversial issue in schools today. Many schools have already adopted a policy mandating school uniforms, while many more are still considering the change. School uniforms create an atmosphere of equality in which the students are able to achieve to their best, while attaining the most out of their education. School uniforms should be mandatory to unite the school community as one, to instil discipline among the student body, and to eliminate distractions that will help students focus more, which in turn will help our society.
So in order to show the unification, each group has their own uniform. The army has army uniforms, the school has school uniforms. When we go to primary school, we should wear school uniform. The most obvious sign is the students’ school uniform. And we see many students wearing school uniforms everyday and everywhere.