5 Reasons Why 'POG' Is Not a Slur

We Are The Mighty | By Sean Dodds

Published May 02, 2019

Personnel other than grunts, or POGs, are an essential part of the fight. POGs make up the majority of the military and they perform every job that is not specifically reserved for infantry.

Any non-03 or 11B (Marine and Army infantry MOSs) that gets butt-hurt when someone reminds them that they do not hold a very specific MOS may need to look in the mirror and do some soul-searching. The offended are, essentially, upset that someone said they aren't a security guard.

Infantry soldiers and Marines enjoy ribbing non-infantry personnel with the term, but when examined further, there is really nothing condescending about it.

1. It doesn't mean you won't see combat.

Talk to any motor transport operator serving in Iraq between 2003 and 2008 and they will tell you that there is no guarantee of safety provided by your occupational specialty.

2. Infantry is ineffective without them.

This one might cause some friction, but any unit that thinks they can sustain themselves without food, water, supplies, and munitions is kidding themselves.

There are zero infantry leaders that aren't appreciative of their logistician peers.

3. It's a fact, not a state of being.

Whether you hold an administrative position behind a desk at the headquarters building on mainside or you're an explosives ordinance disposal specialist clearing enemy IEDs, you are a POG. The only people who are not have an 03 or an 11B on their occupational specialty.

4. POGs learn useful skills for future employment.

Unless you want to be a security guard or security contractor, the skills mastered by infantry are not very relevant on the outside.

Of course, leadership and ability to operate under extreme pressure are handy, but these skills are not exclusive to the infantry.

5. Your job doesn't make you hard.

Every grunt has stories of the guy who shouldn't have been infantry and those same grunts will have POG friends they consider brothers. Your job doesn't make you hard — you do.

So, knock that chip off your shoulder and embrace what you are, whether that's a grunt or water purification specialist, we are all necessary cogs in the machine.