Freddy Figbottom
Was it me?
In a really bad situation the best place for you is in the middle of them.
Many moons ago I was temporarily assigned with the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Force as an observer for an exercise on the north end of Honshu. I was riding in the back of a Huey freezing my ass off because it was the dead of winter when I noticed that each pilot had a combat helmet and an M-16 under his seat. I asked them what those were for. The answer was that if they were shot down they'd join the ground forces. "Wow" I thought. Up to that point I'd always thought that if I went down with a load of grunts I'd surround myself with them and head back to the airfield.
Unlike the JGSDF with their standard issue M-16, all we were issued was a .45 (a .38 in the Navy). Anyone who read the book or saw the movie "The Bridges of Toko-Ri" knows why that's not very good.
While there was a traditional rivalry between the services and, in the Marine Corps, between the aviation side ("airdales") and the ground side ("grunts"), I'd do anything for them.
except stop pointless oligarch power wars.
