Have a question about a military saying that I hear a lot from a good hunting friend of mine that served 18 years in the Army (Infantry). I’m putting this in the humor forum, mostly because I crack up whenever I hear it.

He has a habit of saying (more like yelling) something like “Yeah boys, all this Army sh!t works great until it gets wet, then we got problems.” Never fails to crack me up because it usually comes out of his mouth at inopportune times – heavy downpour while we’re hunting, standing in an icy river throwing out decoys, dropping a gun in a pond or lake, spilling a drink onto his gear…you get the idea.

I was wondering if any vets could enlighten me on this one? Is this a normal thing to hear in Army? Does it pertain to military gear or is there some nuance I don’t appreciate?

Whatever the answer is, it's sure funny as hell when he yells that across the reservoir after someone eats it getting out of the duck blind and goes in for a dip.

Not sure about the origin, but I did wonder if your friend carries a flask with him on these adventures...

quote:

Originally posted by Dulltool17:
Not sure about the origin, but I did wonder if your friend carries a flask with him on these adventures...

Not a doubt in my mind...

T.J.
That's a hilarious phrase and I've never heard it before.

Now if I can only remember it when a situation comes up to use it!

First time I heard it but it is funny. Military personnel tend to have a very sarcastic and at times warped sense of humor.

I served a few years back but whenever something new was introduced it was often up sold. All of its merits were emphasized and there was no talk of any problems. For example, if they came out with a new bayonet it might sharpen easily, weight 10 oz less than the old model, be non-magnetic, cut barbed wire, have saw teeth for cutting branches, etc. But then it wouldn't stay affixed to your rifle or the blade would break at the tang when you tried to open a C-rat.

So basically this was a sarcastic way of saying it sounds great but doesn't serve the basic function it needs to meet. It works just fine until it is needed to meet its primary purpose.

May have something to do with the modernization of the force...there's a metric sh*t ton of electronic gadgets in use that don't play well with water...it's all 'ruggedized' and works great....initially!

Utter nonsense. However, coming from an Infantryman, who thinks and acts at 3.2 MPH (even Mechanized Infantry is like that), I am not surprised. People who live in the mud ( and I do admire them) have a mentality that is warped by that; they see everything as wet, and dirty.
That is why my first branch choice was Armor; we never walk anywhere and tend to see things at a somewhat faster, and cleaner, pace. Tanks work, even when wet.
Now, don't even get me started on Aviators, sissy bastards. Hate the arrogant SOBs. Except when calling in TAS.