Soldiers at the Rear: Difference between revisions

In modern military parlance, he's the "Rear Echelon Motherfucker." Whereas a civilian might not know any better, being fat and stupid, this guy's actually been through basic training and had to pull strings and know people to get his cushy job. Or he got lucky and is assigned to a unit that's not going to combat. Either way, he gets all the perks of being a soldier (drinking and wearing a uniform) and none of the hassle (strangers trying to kill you a lot). He's the military version of the fat, lazy cop.

In fiction, a REMF tends to be portrayed as someone who sought the job and got it because he knows a guy. He pulled strings. He's a Senator's son. He's a celebrity. Because fiction tends to be black and white, the REMF usually isn't portrayed as someone who got lucky, but as someone who kissed a lot of fat, rich behind.

In [[Real Life]], the REMF is often just someone who happens to not be in the shit. At the moment. The military is big and a lot (to the tune of 10-15 REMFs for every guy actually pulling a trigger) of necessary jobs don't necessarily involve you getting shot at by random [INSERT BAD GUY HERE]s; some people are just lucky. He's still a REMF, though. Motherfucker didn't get shot at.

Often, the children of important and or wealthy people do join the military because they want to serve. Fortunately or unfortunately, the military brass aren't morons and know that if the child of a VIP dies on their watch, they're in for a world of trouble. Thus, through no fault of his own, the boy with the silver spoon might spend the war typing up reports.

This guy is often [[Gung-Holier Than Thou]] and a [[Miles Gloriosus]]. A bad [[Officer and a Gentleman]] and [[General Failure]] are both probably REMFs. A good [[Drill Sergeant Nasty]] rarely is. See also [[Armchair Military]], and [[Desk Jockey]].

'''No [[Real Life]] examples, please.''' Let's avoid a flame war.

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* In ''[[Irresponsible Captain Tylor]]'', the title character joined the military to get a cushy day job in the Pension Office. However, he becomes involved in a hostage crisis and is promoted to command rank and [[Reassigned to Antarctica|assigned to the destroyer Soyokaze.]]

** And this becomes [[Reassignment Backfire]] when it turns out he's surprisingly good at being a starship captain, despite his own wishes.

* Yang Wen-Li from ''[[Legend of the Galactic Heroes]]'' only joined the military for the education and the pension and was hoping for a position like this. Sadly, he proved to be a military prodigy and ended up getting his own command, as well as becoming the [[Arch Enemy]] of [[The Empire]] (''and'' [[The Last DJ|his own administration]]).

* During World War II, [[Captain America (comics)]] had the secret identity of a clumsy infantry private who'd get stuck at the rear.

* Lawrence begins [[Lawrence of Arabia]] like this.

* REMFs show up a lot in the works of [[David Drake]], as he writes mostly [[Military Science Fiction]].

** In his ''[[Ranks of Bronze]]'', the bad guys aren't the people the Roman Legionnaires are fighting against (mostly just bronze age, barbarian aliens). The bad guys are the fat assholes telling the Romans who to fight. And one arrogant prick who happens to be a Roman.

* [[Robert A. Heinlein]], no stranger to the military himself, also had a problem with REMFs. Sort of. As with every other trope, he [[Playing with a Trope|played with it]].

** In ''[[Starship Troopers]]'', he both despised and avoided REMFs. For anything that required esprit de corps, a member of the MI served (possibly on disability, if it was something like teaching, which requires spirit without the corp). For everything else, they hired civilians. Civilians are like beans; buy 'em as you need 'em.

** Also in ''[[Time Enough for Love]]'', "The Man Who Was Too Lazy to Fail". He joined the navy because he didn't particularly care for farming. Then he bucked for officer. Then he applied for pilot training. Then he bucked for multiengined seaplanes rather than fighters to avoid serving on carriers while still accumulating all the promotion and pay benefits of sea duty. He didn't particularly cotton to getting shot at. Then he bucked for early retirement on disability (crazy on the job), getting an honorary bump to rear admiral and three-quarters pay.

* As far as [[Ernest Hemingway]] is concerned, you're a REMF, you're crazy, or you're dead. And if you're not dead, you're going to be dead. Soon. Alone. In the rain.

* [[Ciaphas Cain]] aspires to be this; early in his career he managed to pull some strings (although by doing well at poker, since he's [[Conveniently an Orphan]] like all other Commissars) and get himself transferred to a nice, safe artillery unit. Unfortunately, it turned out less safe than expected and gave him a reputation for mighty heroism. Later his reputation makes this much harder, so he has to find somewhere safe to be when the fighting breaks out. It always leads to a sort of self-targeting [[Reassignment Backfire]] when he inevitably gets in danger anyway (and thus even more of a reputation when he survives).

* In ''[[Catch-22]]'', Former PFC Wintergreen always manages to avoid being sent into combat by manipulating the discipline system. Many of the other characters would do the same if they thought they could pull it off.

* In ''War Story'' by ''[[Derek Robinson]]'', the newly arrived gung-ho pilot, Paxton, is surprised to see the squadron clerk, a mere lance-corporal, is a on old boy from his prestigious public school. He asks why his old schoolfriend is in the ranks, when surely a chap like you has family, has connections, knows people? You should be at least a captain by now? To which the public-school corporal replies that he'd successfully dodged recruitment until enlistment became compulsory. Then he took a typing course, as men who can type are so rare in the Army that they are never ever sent into the front-line trenches. Then he enlisted as a private soldier, and with any luck will actually ''survive'' the bloody war.

* Victor Henry goes through most of [[World War II]] like this in Hermann Wouks wind's of war/war and remembrance duology. He does get a fighting command in the Solomons and at Leyte though. He also takes opportunities to go on observation missions up forward.

* [[Creedence Clearwater Revival|Creedence Clearwater Revival's]] song "Fortunate Son" is about an unnamed young man from a wealthy, political, and military family. He was in the navy during Vietnam. The band felt that his cushy assignments only came because of who his father was.

* ''[[Terminal Lance]]'' had a few comics about various types of "POGs", typically admin troops and "Water Dogs" (Marine plumbers. Someone needs to make sure there is fresh drinking water.) Representations of these troops varies from obnoxious to merely being definitely-not-grunts but otherwise inoffensive.

* In ''[[Futurama]]'', Fry and Bender join the military purely for the benefits. Unfortunately for them, shortly afterwards, war [[Shout-Out|were]] declared and they are shipped to the front lines.