'He had sunken down to his waist in mud': Sergeant gets swamped when he fails to listen to local recruit who knows the lay of the land

Brad Dickson • Managing Editor

Jul 19, 2023 9:00 AM EDT

There's no stronger way to learn something than through experience gained through repeated attempts and failure… and there's no better way to get this experience than through learning basic skills when you're a kid who is time rich and made of dang near literal rubber. So, you might think that growing up in a certain geographic area and spending lots of time outdoors would make you more qualified to make judgments about that geographical area than some random military officer. After all, there's a reason why militaries from all over the world hire locals of the environment they're in order to make sure they don't make some fatal error like driving their legions across an open plane while facing a force of fleet horseback archers who you they don't have a hope in heck of catching.

So, even if it's just a training mission, if you happen to have someone in your unit who knows the lay of the land better than you, you'd better listen. Too many people think that being in charge is just a chance to flex your ego when it's actually more about knowing when to listen to others in matters where they are more knowledgeable than you. All that being said, there's also no better teacher than humiliation. Hopefully, this Seargent has learned a valuable lesson and will reconsider before he tries to pull rank on someone who is more knowledgeable in an area than he is.

In this sure-to-become-a-classic tale of military malicious compliance, this soldier shared how Sergeant Swamp learned a valuable lesson in not being an egotistical jerk.

For more, check out this Air Force mechanic who got even with a jerk Sergeant.