Life as a Private: Stories of Service from the Junior Ranks of Today's Army
Abstract
Why collect the stories of soldiers at the beginning of their careers? History tends to be written about the generals, not the privates. Popular portraits of the military focus on wartime valor and the combat arms. For most soldiers, though, the majority of Army life will be spent in garrison, juggling military service alongside home and family life. We captured rich narratives of soldiers at the beginning of their careers, asking why they were drawn to the Army, what their expectations of Army life were, and what the reality of service has been for them. As an oral history, this report tells the stories of soldiers in their own words. It is primarily descriptive, rather than analytic, making it an a typical RAND Corporation report.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1086471
Entities
People
- Cordaye Ogletree
- Marek N. Posard
- S. R. Zimmerman
- Todd C. Helmus
Organizations
- RAND Corporation