Lieutenant Uses Memes To Connect With Soldiers
FORT SILL, Okla. — In an effort to connect with his new platoon, 1st Lt. Stephen Simon has developed a “meme speak” technique that he hopes will catch on with officers across the Army.
“As times change, so do the way soldiers learn," says Simon. “These days our young enlisted newbs are all about what’s hot on the internet so I’ve adjusted to that part of their culture.”
“I don’t want people to think, “watch out, we got a bad ass over here” but I also can’t come off as an overly attached girlfriend, rather a 'much wow, such cool' kind of guy to these young normies,” said Simon.
Most days he tries to join his soldiers for lunch if he can find them, as a way to give them life advice that he hopes will resonate with them better than mandatory safety briefs.
One recent morning, he told a squad, “Make sure you’re all Good Guy Gregs this weekend. Don’t be Scumbag Steves or else you will end up as a Bad Luck Brian because it’s a trap, ya know?”
The soldiers of HHC, 214th Fires Brigade, have a very…
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Duffel Blog to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.