I did appreciate Jason Anspach and Nick Cole's *Forgotten Ruin* series, and their Rangers characters, but more because they emphasised the all in commitment involved, not the really very special status they get from wearing the right color beret ...
A fun inversion of this was in Die Hard where one of the FBI guys is hooting and hollering about "its just like Vietnam" and the second one laughs at him and says he was still in school during the war
As a vet myself it was funny to me how similar life in the military was to the movie jarhead than any other wartime portrayal.
Although my main in the Perfume of the World Tree is a Navy veteran and does eventually become elite it is obviously because he has magic and a world tree backing him up, lol. Not because he became elite over night.
I see this in sci-fi franchises for some reason. Halo in the mid-2010s or so did this with the Spartans. At first, Master Chief was supposed to be the last Spartan, which is why the soldiers around him kind of see him in almost a mythic light; as if he was a demigod like Achilles or Hercules. Then starting with Reach, you have a squad of Spartans, then when 343 took over from Bungie you got a bunch of Spartans as if the UNSC were mass-producing them now.
Another example is the Space Marines in 40k where a single space marine is a battlefield is considered a big deal (if you're an Imperial guardsman running into one it's like, though I repeat myself, running into some demigod warrior). IIRC the lore stated that a single chapter (basically 1000 marines) is enough to turn the tide of an entire planetary war (imagine 1000 guys changing the tide of World War II for Germany in 1945).
Part of it definitely marketing since Spartans and Space Marines are the bread and butter of their respective franchises.
Yeah I believe the marketing is a huge factor. Take Halo for example. With the amount of money that goes into developing the game and how important it is to the XBOX brand, each release has to be a hit and sell millions of copies. The short term gains for hype and profit are insane when you debut the squad of super soldiers as we see with Halo Reach being a fan favorite. After you blow that load though there really is no going back and thus the power creep has formed.
And they've all earned the Medal of Honor as well. I first noticed this when I saw FIRST BLOOD. Frank Castle, The Punisher, was a Marine Infantry Officer in the comic books. Not Force Recon. I haven't read Marvel in a long time so I'm sure that's also changed. I have no idea what the Jon Bernthal of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is . . . THE A-TEAM on the television series were regular Army (although the term "A-TEAM") comes from The Green Berets. When they did a reboot movie of THE A-TEAM they were made into RANGERS. The only DELTA FORCE I can think of was Chuck Norris. Sam Wilson aka The Falcon, was a reformed pimp who became a New York City social worker in the comic books. In the MCU? An Air Force Pararescueman. Or "PJ." It appears like everything else these days? SEAL. It's been that way for at least 30 years as far as I can recall.
When Jessica Lynch gets a Bronze Star for becoming a POW, I guess everybody who actually engages the enemy should get the Medal of Honor. Only fair.
I watched the A-Team as a kid and enjoyed it, but at that time was not aware it was an SF deal. They were regular Big Army legs? Or was it worse and the wheeler-dealer guy (Starbuck from Galactica) was a REMF?
LOL! Right! Only fair. They never mentioned them as ever being Green Berets and in the episode where the Army finally caught them and court-martialed them (https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=the-a-team-1983&episode=s05e02&utm_source=copilot.com) they wore their uniforms. No badges, tabs, or anything else showing they were anything other than regular Army. Hannibal? Infantry blue backing on shoulder boards and service cap piping, no Special Forces tab or Green Beret, standard Army service uniform, not SF‑specific. Same with Face: Standard Army branch insignia (the show never specifies his MOS) and certainly no Special Forces tab. B.A.? Sergeant First Class rank, Ordnance / Engineering‑type decorations consistent with his role as mechanic, no Special Forces tab and no SF unit patch. Mad Dog Murdock - being a Section 8 - was never charged but testified as a witness so he wore his uniform as well: Army Aviation branch insignia. That's all. The show’s narration (“a crack commando unit”) is dramatic branding and never a literal Special Forces designation. So that's one show that avoided the temptation.
I did appreciate Jason Anspach and Nick Cole's *Forgotten Ruin* series, and their Rangers characters, but more because they emphasised the all in commitment involved, not the really very special status they get from wearing the right color beret ...
A fun inversion of this was in Die Hard where one of the FBI guys is hooting and hollering about "its just like Vietnam" and the second one laughs at him and says he was still in school during the war
I remember that. “I was in junior high, asshole.”
As a vet myself it was funny to me how similar life in the military was to the movie jarhead than any other wartime portrayal.
Although my main in the Perfume of the World Tree is a Navy veteran and does eventually become elite it is obviously because he has magic and a world tree backing him up, lol. Not because he became elite over night.
I see this in sci-fi franchises for some reason. Halo in the mid-2010s or so did this with the Spartans. At first, Master Chief was supposed to be the last Spartan, which is why the soldiers around him kind of see him in almost a mythic light; as if he was a demigod like Achilles or Hercules. Then starting with Reach, you have a squad of Spartans, then when 343 took over from Bungie you got a bunch of Spartans as if the UNSC were mass-producing them now.
Another example is the Space Marines in 40k where a single space marine is a battlefield is considered a big deal (if you're an Imperial guardsman running into one it's like, though I repeat myself, running into some demigod warrior). IIRC the lore stated that a single chapter (basically 1000 marines) is enough to turn the tide of an entire planetary war (imagine 1000 guys changing the tide of World War II for Germany in 1945).
Part of it definitely marketing since Spartans and Space Marines are the bread and butter of their respective franchises.
Yeah I believe the marketing is a huge factor. Take Halo for example. With the amount of money that goes into developing the game and how important it is to the XBOX brand, each release has to be a hit and sell millions of copies. The short term gains for hype and profit are insane when you debut the squad of super soldiers as we see with Halo Reach being a fan favorite. After you blow that load though there really is no going back and thus the power creep has formed.
I see it as partly related to grade inflation and partly writers wanting to turn things up to 11 for dramatic purposes.
The everyone gets a black beret was General Eric Shinseki's marketing idea. What a POS!
What I heard was that he couldn’t pass Ranger School so he made the uniform change so HE could dress like a Ranger.
This is a great article. One of many in your stable. It makes me glad I put to standard 13 bravos in my newest piece entitled Elijah.
Thanks, Isaac.
Good points....
And they've all earned the Medal of Honor as well. I first noticed this when I saw FIRST BLOOD. Frank Castle, The Punisher, was a Marine Infantry Officer in the comic books. Not Force Recon. I haven't read Marvel in a long time so I'm sure that's also changed. I have no idea what the Jon Bernthal of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is . . . THE A-TEAM on the television series were regular Army (although the term "A-TEAM") comes from The Green Berets. When they did a reboot movie of THE A-TEAM they were made into RANGERS. The only DELTA FORCE I can think of was Chuck Norris. Sam Wilson aka The Falcon, was a reformed pimp who became a New York City social worker in the comic books. In the MCU? An Air Force Pararescueman. Or "PJ." It appears like everything else these days? SEAL. It's been that way for at least 30 years as far as I can recall.
When Jessica Lynch gets a Bronze Star for becoming a POW, I guess everybody who actually engages the enemy should get the Medal of Honor. Only fair.
I watched the A-Team as a kid and enjoyed it, but at that time was not aware it was an SF deal. They were regular Big Army legs? Or was it worse and the wheeler-dealer guy (Starbuck from Galactica) was a REMF?
LOL! Right! Only fair. They never mentioned them as ever being Green Berets and in the episode where the Army finally caught them and court-martialed them (https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/view_episode_scripts.php?tv-show=the-a-team-1983&episode=s05e02&utm_source=copilot.com) they wore their uniforms. No badges, tabs, or anything else showing they were anything other than regular Army. Hannibal? Infantry blue backing on shoulder boards and service cap piping, no Special Forces tab or Green Beret, standard Army service uniform, not SF‑specific. Same with Face: Standard Army branch insignia (the show never specifies his MOS) and certainly no Special Forces tab. B.A.? Sergeant First Class rank, Ordnance / Engineering‑type decorations consistent with his role as mechanic, no Special Forces tab and no SF unit patch. Mad Dog Murdock - being a Section 8 - was never charged but testified as a witness so he wore his uniform as well: Army Aviation branch insignia. That's all. The show’s narration (“a crack commando unit”) is dramatic branding and never a literal Special Forces designation. So that's one show that avoided the temptation.