bending stereotypes

[WaterAndWindSpirit]

The soldier who's actually a teen genius and only joined the army to pay back his student loan/finance his studies/to have something good on his resume. As soon as that's done, he's gonna go back to the civilian sector.

The private military contractor who is just a heavily armed and armored security guard in an unstable region. He's not there to fight, he's just there to guard the warehouse full of supplies and his duty is mostly dissuasive. Sure, he'll shoot back if someone shoots first, but so far all he had to to was to politely but firmly turn away drunks showing up at 1 AM and intimidate unarmed troublemakers, because the fact that the warehouse is guarded by 20 guys equipped with LMGs, grenades and heavy armor did wonder to keep the real trouble away.

The cop who is neither a bleeding heart who wants to solve all problems peacefully or a trigger happy crazy who will respond with police brutality at the first hint of trouble. He knows that most people neither want to kill or die, so he'll take cover and try to negotiate so he and the civvies stand a better chance of surviving, but if bullets start flying, well, he's gonna fight back as best as he can.

The by-the-book cop who is just doing his job not out of idealism, not because he's a bully looking for a badge that would allow him to act out his bully fantasies, but because it pays the bills.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Johnny1A.2

That's actually kind of hard to portray, though. Just by being in contact, the alien has effects, and if it's a sufficiently advanced alien, when it just passes through, the side-effects are likely to be 'interesting'.

Trance Gemini on Andromeda if I remember turns out to be the Genus Loci of a star whose avatar is an amiable pinkish-purple alien getting a job as a free-trader.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by WaterAndWindSpirit

The soldier who's actually a teen genius and only joined the army to pay back his student loan/finance his studies/to have something good on his resume. As soon as that's done, he's gonna go back to the civilian sector.

There were a number of literary and artistic lights who did service. This was usually because it was a troublesome time, though and they wanted to take one for their team whatever their team was. It is hard to think of a famous genius who followed that path for material reasons without becoming a professional soldier. Partly it would be because soldiering was a last resort job for Other Ranks, and nobles didn't soldier for money.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by WaterAndWindSpirit

The private military contractor who is just a heavily armed and armored security guard in an unstable region. He's not there to fight, he's just there to guard the warehouse full of supplies and his duty is mostly dissuasive. Sure, he'll shoot back if someone shoots first, but so far all he had to to was to politely but firmly turn away drunks showing up at 1 AM and intimidate unarmed troublemakers, because the fact that the warehouse is guarded by 20 guys equipped with LMGs, grenades and heavy armor did wonder to keep the real trouble away.

I had that as part of the Claim to Hospitality of a trading tribe. It is considered appropriate if viable police are not available for a visiting ship of one clan to get armsmen from a local factory of another to provide protection of their ship and cargo so the spacers can get a rest in port. This is especially the case if they are in a trader's enclave rather then one of their own cities.

[WaterAndWindSpirit]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

There were a number of literary and artistic lights who did service. This was usually because it was a troublesome time, though and they wanted to take one for their team whatever their team was. It is hard to think of a famous genius who followed that path for material reasons without becoming a professional soldier. Partly it would be because soldiering was a last resort job for Other Ranks, and nobles didn't soldier for money.

I seemed to remember the US army giving student grants a few years back in exchange for service in the armed forces, but maybe I'm wrong.

Where I live, soldiers are stereotyped as either brutes with an itchy trigger finger, or (sometimes) well meaning but not very smart muscle.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by WaterAndWindSpirit

I seemed to remember the US army giving student grants a few years back in exchange for service in the armed forces, but maybe I'm wrong.

Where I live, soldiers are stereotyped as either brutes with an itchy trigger finger, or (sometimes) well meaning but not very smart muscle.

Yes, that is more common today, in fact fairly normal. In effect all enlisted soldiers in the US Army are gentleman-rankers simply because the US has so much money to throw around. However it is historical models of that that are rare.

In times past there must have been occasions for reasonably well educated people to go soldiering just as a temp job. It's just that I can't think of them off hand. Most of the examples I know came when there was a big brew-up going on or a perceived threat to their tribe's existence or whatever. Tolstoy went chasing Caucasian tribesmen in his younger days but I can't remember much else about the circumstances. He seems an odd fellow for an educated man in a Small War, who was not a professional soldier. Lincoln was in the Creek War, however that was a militia duty not to get a resume. Lewis and Clark might fit your bill though.

That stereotype you talk of is a fairly old one though. You know, "it's tommey this, and tommey that and chuck him out the brute..." etc. I don't hear it much around my neighborhood but I don't get out much anyway.

[ericthered]

Originally Posted by WaterAndWindSpirit

The private military contractor who is just a heavily armed and armored security guard in an unstable region. He's not there to fight, he's just there to guard the warehouse full of supplies and his duty is mostly dissuasive. Sure, he'll shoot back if someone shoots first, but so far all he had to to was to politely but firmly turn away drunks showing up at 1 AM and intimidate unarmed troublemakers, because the fact that the warehouse is guarded by 20 guys equipped with LMGs, grenades and heavy armor did wonder to keep the real trouble away.

The cop who is neither a bleeding heart who wants to solve all problems peacefully or a trigger happy crazy who will respond with police brutality at the first hint of trouble. He knows that most people neither want to kill or die, so he'll take cover and try to negotiate so he and the civvies stand a better chance of surviving, but if bullets start flying, well, he's gonna fight back as best as he can.

The by-the-book cop who is just doing his job not out of idealism, not because he's a bully looking for a badge that would allow him to act out his bully fantasies, but because it pays the bills.

May I add: "And stays that way".

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by WaterAndWindSpirit

I seemed to remember the US army giving student grants a few years back in exchange for service in the armed forces, but maybe I'm wrong.

The GI Bill has been a thing since 1944. It's so well known in fact that I'm not sure if you are kidding.

[WaterAndWindSpirit]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

The GI Bill has been a thing since 1944. It's so well known in fact that I'm not sure if you are kidding.

I'm simply not a US citizen, so things that are well known for a US citizen might not be so well known for a French citizen. I had some vague memories of a US soldier who was deployed somewhere (I don't remember where) being interviewed a few years back saying he only joined for the student grant. Still, the wannabe scientist who has the smarts to back it up but no way to actually get a student grant unless he joins the army is both a realistic scenario and completely against the usual soldier stereotype, or at least the soldier stereotype that's coming from where I live.

[lwcamp]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Yes, that is more common today, in fact fairly normal. In effect all enlisted soldiers in the US Army are gentleman-rankers simply because the US has so much money to throw around. However it is historical models of that that are rare.

In times past there must have been occasions for reasonably well educated people to go soldiering just as a temp job. It's just that I can't think of them off hand. Most of the examples I know came when there was a big brew-up going on or a perceived threat to their tribe's existence or whatever. Tolstoy went chasing Caucasian tribesmen in his younger days but I can't remember much else about the circumstances. He seems an odd fellow for an educated man in a Small War, who was not a professional soldier. Lincoln was in the Creek War, however that was a militia duty not to get a resume. Lewis and Clark might fit your bill though.

That stereotype you talk of is a fairly old one though. You know, "it's tommey this, and tommey that and chuck him out the brute..." etc. I don't hear it much around my neighborhood but I don't get out much anyway.

Socrates was a hoplite in the Peloponnesian war.

Luke