Soldiers at the Rear: Difference between revisions

It's worth noting that being a REMF in an unconventional conflict might be almost impossible, since by definition there isn't a rear-echelon (if you're in the theatre), and someone whose job normally isn't anywhere near combat might find themselves under fire (or IED attack) at any time, such as in places like Afghanistan (2001-?).

 

 

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

** At the beginning of ''[[Redliners]]'', a group of elite commandos on R&R want a drink. The REMF behind the bar sneers at their battered BDUs and refuses to serve them. The Redliners (a term that means "about to blow") take this badly. Trouble ensues.

** 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.

** 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.

** In ''[[Time Enough for Love]]'', Lazarus first intends to avoid WWI by fleeing to South America. Then he's faced with the scorn of his birth family and is motivated to join the army; he then realizes that being a lily-white, red-haired gringo in Brazil would paint him as an agent of some European power and get him killed, so his actual best bet is to join the army and be the best damn REMF he can. Unfortunately, his adopted family has some pull, and they put him where every red-blooded, kraut-hating American should ''want'' to be. France. [[Oh Crap]].

* [[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 a later book Robert Asprin's ''[[Myth Adventures]]'' series, the heroes are trying to disable an army. Some of [[True Companions|the gang]] are disabling from within; after [[Basic Training]], they face deployment. At first they're offered, literally, a shit assignment. They mention they know the [[Commander in Chief]]... a few comments later their interlocutor learns they know a [[Retired Legend]]... And they're offered their choice of sweet, sweet candy.

* Richard Marcinko, author and former SEAL, has several of these in his ''[[Rogue Warrior]]'' series. Some are inspired by service members and even SEALs he knew.

* John Clark from [[Tom Clancy]]'s Ryan books ''hates'' [[REM Fs]], especially when one is in charge of an operation and fails to run it properly, putting the front-line grunts at risk. In ''Clear and Present Danger'', when he finds out that {{spoiler|National Security Advisor James Cutter}} is behind the deaths of some Army soldiers, he personally talks to the man and convinces him to {{spoiler|commit suicide rather than face the inevitable Congressional inquiry}}. And he does it with a smile.

* Possible inversion or subversion in Major Winchester from ''[[MASH]]''. He was using connections to keep his Tokyo posting until he ticked off the wrong person, and spent most of the rest of the show trying to pull strings and get back to a nice safe clean Tokyo hospital.

** Justified with Father Mulcahy. As an Army Chaplain, he is specifically forbidden by regulations to fight, so his proper role is usually behind the lines. Normally no one has a problem with this, but one front line soldier refused to talk to him because he had no combat experience. As a result, Mulcahy has an adventure in the front which includes doing an emergency tracheotomy under fire, which impresses the soldier.

** Captain Picard himself is also an inversion: he's been offered promotion to Admiral rank many times, and is more than qualified to hold such a position, but continually declines as he prefers to be out among the stars rather than behind a desk. He's ''so good'' at his job that Starfleet never, in the series or the movies, moves to push him out of his captaincy.

* In ''[[Blackadder Goes Forth]]'', Captain Darling is happy to be General Melchett's aide-de-camp because that way he doesn't have to be in the trenches. In the last episode he gets sent there anyway.

** Blackadder himself spends the entire series trying to get out of the trenches and into a position where he's less likely to be killed. [[Failure Is the Only Option|It never quite works out.]]

* The entire point of Sergeant Bilko's career in ''[[The Phil Silvers Show]]''.

 

== Music ==

 

== [[Video Games]] ==

 

== Web Comics ==

== Western Animation ==

* 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.

 

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