Before you go on your first combat mission, your squad leader will tell you the following:
“Stay close to your buddy (usually an experienced soldier), watch what he does, keep your head down, and don’t play the hero!”
As the new guy, no one has particularly high expectations of you. You’ll be given simple tasks—carrying ammo for the machine gunner or being a rifleman in the middle of the column.
You won’t walk point (i.e., be the first in the column) or be sent ahead on a two-man reconnaissance mission to the next hill. You also won’t carry the radio, the medic’s backpack, or a squad weapon (machine gun, anti-tank weapons, etc.).
During the Kosovo War, with an “Osa” anti-tank weapon. (Picture: Visar Kryeziu, The Associated Press)
So if you see someone with an eager expression hurrying after another soldier, it’s probably a new guy. Once the bullets start flying and that new guy is still behind his buddy, doing his job, he’s passed the test. On the next mission, he’ll already be a full-fledged member of the team.
This isn’t about training. To be trusted, you need to go through your baptism of fire. And yes, that’s something that can’t be “bridged with any kind of training”.
