This Army Life, Part 1

We've been at Ft Bragg for about a month now. So far, so good. We've really enjoyed getting to know the people in our ward and moving into our new, clean, spider-free house without holes in the walls. And floors.

I would say that the more challenging thing for me is transitioning from "a doctor in the Army" to "an Army doctor." The doctor/clinic/hospital culture in the military is very different from those assigned to units in the "regular Army" (ie, not medical).

For example, every different Army post has its own "saying." Sometimes, when people salute, they'll shout the phrase at you and then there's an appropriate response you give. I was told it's a big thing in regular Army, but I've never heard a doctor say it. Also, I made it a point to wear civilian clothes to work, then change into my uniform when I got there, the whole phrase-and-salute thing hasn't come up much.  I never did figure it out when I was stationed at Ft Lewis. The two times people said whatever the phrase was (which I could never understand), I was always with someone who knew what to say in return ("courage").  Honestly, it really hasn't been that big of a deal.

Until Ft Bragg.

During my inprocessing week to Ft Bragg, I was hit with a barrage of crisp salutes and "ALL THE WAY, MA'AM!!" Which sent me into an apoplexy of anxiety. What do I say in response? Will they think I'm stupid or rude if I don't say the right thing back? After a few mumbled "good mornings" in response, I spent over an hour attempting to find what the correct return phrase was on Google and came up empty.

The next week, I started inprocessing with my unit. My first day with the 108th, I spoke with my NCOIC (Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge) and asked her what I say in response to "All the Way." I felt much better that she didn't know. We had to ask three people before someone knew the answer: "Airborne!"

On the way home, and armed with the correct return phrase, I felt much more confident.

Until I encountered a group of sergeants on my way to the car who saluted smartly and said, "NO FEAR, MA'AM!!" as one giant chorus.

But I had already primed my go-to response and my brain-to-mouth buffer didn't have time to engage, so even as I returned with "airborne," I inwardly cringed and they gave me a funny look.

I still don't know what to say to "no fear." It's a phrase that's specific to one particular battalion in this brigade. Before I remembered to ask someone how to respond, someone saluted with "DEEDS ABOVE WORDS, MA'AM!!" I didn't return with "airborne," but I felt bad giving a generic "good morning," when there's obviously a "right" way to answer that I just don't know.

This morning, I got "CRY HAVOC, MA'AM!!"

Okay, now, stop. Just stop.

Cry havoc??

What do I do with that?  You can't go changing phrase rules on me every week. Choose one. Apparently, each battery within each battalion within my brigade has their own saying to promote morale and unit cohesiveness. That's about 15 different sayings, and I've only encountered four so far.

So there you go. Lesson #1 in "The Physician's Guide to Transitioning to Real Army:" Unit cohesiveness and fighting strength depend upon the utilization of morale-boosting phrases given with each salute. Your Arminess can be measured by the volume with which you deliver the phrase, along with its frequency of utilization.

DEEDS CRY ALL THE WAY ABOVE HAVOC! TOTAL FEAR!!