Changes in today’s Army

Many young people enlisted in the Army for medical, dental, and retirement programs. If you are active duty, your medical and dental care are still paid for by the Army. If you are an Army Reservist or National Guard soldier, you pay a premium for these services, which usually involve some out-of-pocket expenses.

In 2018, the Army came up with a new program called the “Blended Retirement.” The Army wanted to get away from paying a fully funded retirement. Now Soldiers who enlisted after 2018 pay into a 401(k) savings program.

After you finish your enlistment, you withdraw your savings and roll it over into an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or some other savings program. The Army wanted to stop paying these legacy costs.

Speaking of other changes, traditionally an Army Reserve Company Commander was a Captain. Now, most company commanders are First Lieutenants or Chief Warrant Officers who are Commissioned Officers at CW2.

In the reserves, a First Sergeant was always a Master Sergeant (E-8) and the Senior Enlisted Soldier in the Company. For this reason, the First Sergeant was sometimes called “Top Kick” or “Top” for the top sergeant in the company. Now, First Sergeants are Sergeant First Class (E-7) and usually do not wear the diamond on their uniform.

The Army no longer issues field jackets. Instead, the Army issues a brown fleece which is warm without weight. Remember those brown wool Army sweaters worn under your utility uniform? Well, those have been replaced with zippered PolyPro Thermal Underwear.

When a soldier goes through the line in basic training for his/her initial issue clothing, the items are now placed in a duffle bag that has a zipper on the horizontal side of the duffle bag. This makes it easier for the soldier to find things without digging to the bottom of the duffle bag. The new duffle bags also have a plastic window on the side for the soldier’s name and unit to identify your bag before you begin the “Duffle Bag Drag.”

No more stenciling your name and Social Security Number on the bottom or side of the duffle bag. The Army no longer uses social security numbers but issues a 10-digit Department of Defense (DOD) ID Number.

Army Food has improved greatly. C-Rations (C-RATS) which needed a P-38 (can opener) were replaced with Meals Ready to Eat (MRE) bags which contain 2,000 calories for a daily diet. MREs come with a heater in a bag by adding water from your camelback. No more trying to heat up your food on the vehicle manifold.

Canteens are also being phased out of use. These MREs have become popular with civilian backpackers, fishermen, and hunters and now available in gourmet varieties. Today’s soldiers do not know what a P-38 is unless their parents or grandparents used the word. Today’s Soldiers hear “P-38” and think of an airplane.

Mess halls have been replaced by dining facilities (D-FAC) because mess comes from a dog. In the dining facilities, the metal or plastic compartment food trays that you would use in the serving line are also a thing of the past. Now Soldiers use regular plastic food trays that you would get at the food court in the shopping mall.

Civilians are mostly employed in the dining facilities stateside and overseas. In the field, mess kits have been replaced by compartment paper trays, plastic utensils, and paper cups. Soldiers no longer drink coffee out of a canteen cup but out of a paper cup because like canteens, canteen cups are no longer issued to soldiers. If you still own a P-38, mess kit, canteen or canteen cup, you might want to hold onto them. These are relics from a bygone era that are on display at an Army museum on post.

Speaking of going to the field, there are no more canvas shelter halves to pair up with a buddy and snap them together to make a pup tent. Each soldier is issued a Nylon Individual LiteFighter Tent with zippered screens and fiberglass poles that fit into sleeves which are inserted into a cot. Except for the cot, everything fits into a Nylon bag about the size of a loaf of bread.

The Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) used to consist of three events: the push-ups, sit-ups, and two-mile run based on your age. That has been replaced with the Army Combat Fitness Test (ACFT) which consists of six events including the maximum deadlift with weights on a 60-pound bar, standing power throw, hand release push-up, sprint drag carry and plank, which is the same criteria for male and female soldiers and the two-mile run is based on your age.

The Willys Jeep was replaced with the Humvee which is being replaced by the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Vehicle. Soldiers are no longer in Gun Turrets which exposes them to enemy fire. On the newer vehicles, the turret is inside the vehicle which provides greater safety for the soldiers.

The two-and-a-half ton (Deuce and a Half) vehicle has been replaced by the Light Medium Tactical Vehicle (LMTV) and the five-ton vehicle has been replaced by the Medium Tactical Vehicle (MTV). These vehicles have air conditioning and automatic transmissions because soldiers do not know how to drive standard transmissions.

You can still find Deuce and a Half and five-ton vehicles painted black outside of Mission BBQ Restaurants.

I have had so many soldiers from the 1970s and 1980s tell me they wish they were still in the Army. I tell them that the Army they remember is not the same Army today. These changes may seem unusual to soldiers from long ago. It is not about political correctness. However, today’s Army is an all-volunteer Army and changes reflect improvements in technology for the safety, well-being, and improving the quality of life for Soldiers.

Paul M. Blitz writes about veterans issues and politics for various publications.