Introduction: 

 Have you ever heard stories about the military from the men in your family and thought; what the hell are they talking about?  I am here to tell you that many of those funny, crazy stories you heard were none other than urban legends. Urban legends in the military have been part of a long history and tradition in the armed forces, and they serve many functions. Some are told to scare new recruits that are just heading off to basic training, some are made up and passed around by an older generation to tell how they had it harder than we did and some are just misinterpretations of a true piece of the military. No matter what the story or what the reason, these urban legends have and always will be an integral part of the United States Military, and your going to have a great time reading about them.

    There are many examples of military urban legends. There are some you may not have heard, but there are many you have. There are many military legends told to new recruits by others in the military, past or present, and those charged with training the recruits. One of these, which is one I heard in basic training, is the old saltpeter legend. This one is told to give an easy explanation of why the recruits' flags are half mast in the morning, so to speak. It is completely false and dangerous but has been around for many generations. Another one I was told by my drill sergeant, is about the recruit that couldn't hack it and killed himself just weeks before we arrived. This may or may not have been true, but I have heard many different variations from friends that went to basic training long after I did. This one is told to mentally build us up and show us how tough we are, since we can hack the rough lifestyle. I heard one when I was deploying that if since I was an only son I didn't have to deploy. Apparently this is one of those misinterpretations of a true piece of the military. There is a true version of this, but it has been widely construed by people to try to get out of a deployment.
   
    There are several more of these urban legends, and they all serve some of the same purposes. Some are to build up new recruits, some are to break them down. Some are to tell the younger generations that they are pansies, some are some are to show just how much harder and stronger one group is over another. I have heard ones that are the most unbelievable lines of bull and some that even after you have proved wrong you still believe them. Just like many other urban legends though, they are there to tell a story, and tell a story is what I intend to do. I have put a lot of thought into what stories I want to share with you. I want them to be stories I have heard personally; I want them to be interesting and exciting. My goal for these stories is that you not only leave feeling entertained but somewhat educated on the subject of the military.

    The first story that I intend to tell you is the saltpeter legend. This is one not only I heard, but is one that has been going around since before my dad went to basic training during Vietnam. The legend works because it plays into the truth of a man's "part" not working when he is in a stressful, tiring, testosterone filled new environment. The second story I am going to tell involves what we refer to as "stress cards". These are fictitious cards that a new recruit is issued when going to basic training. A recruit that is feeling too stressed can pull it out, and in turn has to be left alone by his drill sergeant for a pre-determined amount of time. This plays into the old adage that we had it harder than they do now. It is generally told by older generation guys to each other for a good laugh about todays Nintendo generation pansies.

    I will be telling each of the four stories in a different setting in order to facilitate the different reasons for military urban legends. One story will be set at basic training, where the recruits are discussing the malfunction of "the goods". One story will will be set around a group of older guys talking about how the new generation has it easy. One story will involve a talk between father and son before the son ships off to basic training and the last story will be set at basic training with the drill sergeant telling the recruits a story. I hope you all enjoy these stories and learn some fun facts about the military; if nothing else I'll get to relive my glory days.


Cover Page
I.    Stress Cards...
II.   Saltpeter...