Do soldiers listen to music when going into combat or is it quiet?

Do soldiers listen to music when going into combat or is it quiet?

Absolutely not.


A Marine with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment take cover behind a berm after receiving accurate small-arms fire, Feb. 13, in the city of Marjah, Helmand province, Afghanistan. Marines with Bravo and Alpha Co., 1/6 inserted into the city at night by helicopters as part of a large-scale offensive aimed at routing the Taliban from their last-known stronghold in Helmand province

There are many reasons why, but the most obvious and glaring is, it severely fucks with your situational awareness. You won’t be able to hear the enemy if you’re busy listening to Eminem or Taylor Swift. Combat isn’t the time, nor place, to sit down and watch a movie, or listen to anything except orders, and the enemy’s movements.

Secondly, it draws attention. If you’re a guerrilla, or a sniper, or anybody in general who is trying to be sneaky, you don’t want the enemy to know you’re there. You want to surprise them, scare them, and shoot them. If they see or hear you, they can shoot you.

Third, you already have to carry a bunch of crap. You don’t want to load yourself down with useless entertainment items like an iPod and earbuds, or a record-player and vinyls.

We stay silent and serious when we’re in combat. We don’t want any excessive attention, because we don’t want to die.

EDIT: Some commenters have noted that the situation is different for tankers and the like. Apologies, I wasn’t part of a tank crew, and just a SAW gunner who sometimes hitchhiked on top of tanks. Neither me, nor anyone in my platoon, played music during combat.

But that’s probably because we were out in the open, where we could be heard. Tanks would be different. So, tankers do play heavy metal or rap in active combat, and some guys listen to music (obviously not off the FOB or when the enemy was an immediate threat). Thanks for correcting me!


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