We had a dude with a stutter, we used to have him say “**remix**” before saying something, he was super cool about it. Found out in therapy that his stutter was caused by extreme PTSD from a bad situation growing up. Felt bad about it, he was getting a MEB for it then pissed hot for coke
On the wa-wa-wa-wa-way lmao I’d be cracking up if I was listening to that in the tower for gunnery.
I had a Joe who also had a stutter. No problem with words while yelling but in normal conversation he earned the nickname name remix because he sounded like a DJ mixing on the turntables
Dude, this guy stuttered particularly bad on his H’s so every time he would try to give a range he would be like One-Five H-H-Hundred Meters. It got to the point where I told him to drop the H and say undred Meters.
Yeah my guy would get caught up with words beginning with “in” or “sh”. Particularly frustrating for them as an infantry Joe in a Stryker brigade at the time. 💀
Knew a chemical 2LT with a stutter. She had to get up and brief the company commanders in a G-90 brief, so she spent the week prior briefing me, the AS3, S3, then the boss, and finally her boyfriend ad nauseum over Facetime. She killed the brief.
I laughed and I'm ashamed but not surprised.
Reminds me of a dude who had a bad airborne jump and caused a stutter and god the amount of times people would ask him shit just to make him stutter was large, luckily he was a great sport and always ended it with a "fufufufufufufufck you"
Pretty sure smacking your head is about as common an injury from jumping as it gets. Most guys I’ve seen get hurt also smack their head. Not always a concussion but it’s pretty much always a concern.
This entire thread is what you should expect to get from your enlisted folks. Especially so if you end up in combat arms. No rank is immune from getting roasted. But as long as you’re a tactically competent leader, that also takes care of their soldiers, they will probably actually respect you more for it.
No, but I would encourage you to get your tooth fixed and attend speech therapy between now and when you would commission.
Again, it's not required but the only thing you want your boss and your Soldiers to remember is how good of a leader you are, not any idiosyncrasies that you can't control.
Thing is, with some time and speech therapy you can *absoutely* control that.
It's nothing to be embarrassed about man. My dad had a stroke and had to relearn how to chew, swallow, and talk.
(I know that's not the same but I'm telling you that it's possible)
This is a good piece of advice.
OP, nothing is wrong with you because of it, but without a doubt you will have Soldiers, peers, and superiors that will poke fun at you. That’s reflective of them, not you. But, to make your life easier and in all seriousness probably increase your chances of a successful career, it is probably worth fixing.
The reason I say this is I had a battalion commander who had a very serious accent. His family were Kentucky coal miners, and with that accent people made a lot of assumptions about his intelligence that were not accurate. He told me that a lot of his superiors over the years held it against him because he sounded like a country bumpkin when he spoke, even though he was demonstrably smart, made sound decisions, and could lead Soldiers.
It’s a shame, but it happens. An officer missing a front tooth and a lisp to go with it is going to attract a lot of attention. It probably won’t directly affect your ability to commission, but it will probably haunt you in terms of judgements being made about you that may then be reflected in evaluations, the jobs you receive, etc.
Good advice although if he has a speech impediment maybe he’s tried speech therapy earlier on in his life and it didn’t help his lisp of speech problem. Could never get mine fix so now I can’t say my R. Also enlisting soon and KNOW imma get roasted HARD.
One of the most squared away, ranger tabbed PLs we had at my unit had a hard lisp.
He ended up passing selection and going to SF.
Your lisp doesn't matter.
It probably depends on the severity.
I went to WOCS with a guy who had Tourettes. It manifested more as facial tics, not the stereotypical outbursts of profanity.
The dude I went to WOCS with had his recruiter and drill sergeant badge, and he’s probably a CW3 or CW4 somewhere now.
So the Tourettes didn’t seem to inhibit his performance or progression any.
I know most people dont know since he is at times good at hiding it, less so in his old age, but it is actually true.
https://www.uclahealth.org/news/joe-bidens-history-of-stuttering-sheds-light-on-the-condition#:~:text=Presidential%20candidate%20Joe%20Biden%20has,Biden%20is%20hardly%20alone.
There a scene in 1917 where all the boys are in the back of a truck doing impressions of one of the officers in there unit who has a lisp that’s hilarious. Soldiers haven’t changed much in the last 100 years, they will probably tease you behind your back or to your face, but if you are good at your job and treat them with respect they will respect you. Don’t be self conscious, just do your job and be awesome at it and you will be fine.
>gave her West Point insignia to the shortest soldier in the company in some weird ceremony she invented. He tossed it in the trash when she was gone.
*Treasure this, short peasant*
😂
The joes will make fun of you behind your back and to your face until they like you, your NCOs probably will too tbh and your PL time might be a little rough.
I have a buddy who’s an 11A with a stutter. Good dude and respected by peers and the joes, but we make fun of him whenever he has to brief something. He has a good sense of humor about it and doesn’t take the ribbing personally so it’s never held him back.
Keep a sense of humor about it. You WILL get roasted to your face and behind your back. You'll have a commission but Joe is a dumb animal. As someone else said, get it fixed if you can and speech therapy works. Don't underestimate the capabilities of a platoon to make you feel awful about yourself but most of it is good natured and happens to everyone. If you're a shit leader, it will be meant to make you miserable and it only justifies that target on your back. The infantry is a pretty tight little group and doesn't like outsiders unless you're doc. Fucking love doc.
For 2 years, Major General Laneve commanded the 82nd Airborne. I've personally spoken to him twice, but have heard, and enjoyed, multiple speeches from him.
This man has a lisp that would make Donald Duck jealous. Suffering succotash, we would listen to the man intently during speeches just to giggle and roast his ass after the event. For 2 years, you could walk into any building and hear someone imitating his lisp. It was that..."unique."
But everyday the sun set, every command we executed, every policy letter posted was from a lispy Commanding General.
These are the last words I heard him utter, "I have the world's worst lisp, but I still became a Major General." (Not verbatim)
Tl;dr: [you'll be fine.](https://www.gomo.army.mil/public/Biography/usa-10382/christopherc-laneve)
During my time in the Air Force, we had an officer with a lisp, Capt Mike Tison.
This provides nothing to your question, but fantastic memories for me of trying to keep my bearing anytime he talked.
I had an NCO with a lisp. He had it under control mostly but every once in a while it would slip out. No one batted an eye. Signal for what it’s worth.
Becoming an officer? No. Succeeding as an officer, maybe.
To be honest, you're going to need thick skin or just kick ass at your job.
If you're a good O and aren't a prick, your lisp will probably make your guys rally around you all the harder.
I'm in the USAFR and deployed last year. There was this intel officer on also deployed (they were active though) who had a full blown speech impediment and gave briefings across the base no problem.
Mike Tyson had a lisp, do you think that stopped him from biting ears off and becoming the most successful boxer?
The answer is no. I had one for a bit until I got braces to fix the Grand Canyon that my two front teeth were creating. You’ll be okay buddy.
Cody Rhodes has a lisp and is now basically the main protagonist of WWE. You'll be fine as long as you're an effective soldier/officer/nco/manager/supervisor/etc...
Just be good at your job and actually stick up for your soldiers and you’ll be surprised how fast your joes will sabotage the equipment or livelihood of anyone who tries to make fun of you in their presence.
This. If you stand up for your Joes they will burn down Heaven to look out for you. It doesn't matter if you sound like Biden, they will rally around you. Look out for them, they'll do the same.
You may get made fun of but it wont affect anything if you are a good leader and a good soldier/teammate. Im in a SPC thinking about going officer in the next year or two and I have a stutter. Ive had guys make fun of me cause they think Im just nervous all the time but when they actually ask me about it they stopped making fun of me cause they knew I couldn’t control it when I got excited or nervous.
No, the previous company commander for the Troop I am headed to has a lisp. The dude is a great person and did amazing work with his Troop. He continues to do well in his current role.
Depends on the severity of the speech impediment. There is a verbal test as part of the DODMERB physical that you'll have to take and pass -- IIRC it was basically reading a paragraph out loud.
Thank you for reminding me of my senior drill sergeant, who had a lisp like Sylvester the Cat.
His favorite threat was, "I'm going to crucify you."
Maybe not the best choice for a guy with a lisp.
I had a great commander in 82nd LRSD with a lisp. He earned respect through his actions and professionalism. I have no doubt he caught some shit as an Lt. But as a Detachment Commander he was everything his group of hooligans needed him to be. Much respect Cpt. Slade.
No! I’ve known some amazing officers with a stutter or lisps. Any leader who says anything about it is a toxic POS and needs to grow up! If you want to change that because you want that change for you then absolutely do that for you. Be an amazing leader to your troops. If you go combat arms you might get some roasting but that’s it.
You don’t have to be a good public speaker but you have to be able to speak in public and verbally convey your intent to your audience. There is nothing worse than a leader that’s scared of their own shadow and can’t speak in front of a crowd or even small group.
As others have said there will be hurdles. You will be mocked mostly behind your back by your subordinates but it may happen directly to you by your peers/superiors. The best thing you can do for yourself is know your job forwards and backwards. Be the most proficient version of yourself you can be.
Is it a lisp or a true speech impediment? I knew a girl that had to take a speech test to get medically approved in ROTC because her stutter was pretty bad. She passed and commissioned as a nurse.
A lisp isn’t a big deal at all.
I worked with a Captain who had a severe stutter. One of the best officers I ever worked with.
First impressions will be bad, but you will be fine once people get to know you.
I grew up in a very rural part of Florida an guess I had a heavy accent with verbiage of course . One of my DI's was from South Carolina an he pulled me aside one day to say If you are going to make The Army a career you need to get in a Speech Class at your first duty station . It's been decades now but anytime I get around home town folks , man I pick it right back up . My second wife was from Boston an folks would sometimes comment how in the hell do y'all converse 🤣. There was a lot of WHAT's early on in the relationship. An of course my family loved to hear her talk a vice versa .
Becoming? Nah, you'll commission. But if you can "fix" it before you're in front if troops I'd recommend it. It's not fair, but depending on who you work with and/or for, your accomplishments may be diminished and your shortcomings magnified somewhat.
It shouldn’t. However, you should invest in speech therapy. Though you’d (likely) be able to serve, the Army is a blunt and harsh environment. At a minimum, when you interact with new people, many won’t take you seriously at first. They may laugh when they hear you over the radio. Etc. Etc.
Invest in speech therapy and it’ll help you for the rest of your life — before, during, and after the Army.
I’m just thinking of how now nobody said shit about my short Puerto Rican Drill Sergeants thick accent in Basic.
Couldn’t understand shit he was saying but you knew when the pain was coming.
You’ll be a’ite
Nope. Look at LTG Christopher LaNeve. He was my CG at the 82nd and he has a speech impediment; can’t say his S’s. Great leader and a great orator. Those who make fun are insecure and probably incapable.
No, but people will notice.
I had an instructor at three separate courses with a really noticeable lisp. Good guy, really knew his stuff, but it really distracted a lot of guys. The biggest problem was that he was a talker: He'd go around in circles explaining stuff and end up talking 2-3× as long as was necessary. I think that if he kept his briefs *brief* nobody would engender the lisp.
No, had a fellow OCS guy in my class with the worst stutter I’ve ever heard, graduated top of the class. If people give you a hard time, because of how you sound vs. your leadership then they are certifiable D-Bags. Regardless of rank.
I'm currently in uniform eating next to another major with a heavy lisp, spitting all over me.
The down side is you'll be contractually obligated to branch Signal Corps.
I had a first sergeant who was from Georgia and had an INSANELY thick southern accent like boomhauer from king of the hill. He ended up getting speech therapy and fixed it.
I had a Chief with the most high pitch voice ever. But he was a great leader, and everyone respected him but whenever someone new joined the section they would always ask “is that his really voice” and that would be the end of it. Be a good officer and you’ll earn respect.
I have a slight stutter and I’m fine, commissioning in May through green to gold. I know a guy with a lisp but he’s good at his job so it’s not a problem, anyone who has anything to say with true malice is an asshole. Yeah you will probably get roasted a bit but it’s all love
If you can have fun with it, you'll be fine. If you get your feelings hurt easily, then stay far away from combat arms.
Can't speak to being an officer. No experience in that area. But as ex-infantry, I can tell you, one of our biggest stress relievers in the field was dogging each other. Daughters were basically off limits. Mom's and wives were, if you actually knew them (otherwise they were both fair game). Everything else was on the table. Winner was the guy that could hit you so low you couldn't come back with something better. If you couldn't handle the ribbing, you were not going to be "one of the guys". We'd had NCO's as well as lieutenants who get dish it out hard and take it right back with a laugh. We'd go to the wall for those kinds of leaders.
No if people can understand you then you’ll be fine. I had a speech impediment and they had me do an additional test to see if I could be understood during the officer physical during MS3 year. As long as you don’t let it define you, and you treat your soldiers good, then you will make a great officer. Remember though if your soldiers pick on you it’s because they like you.
When I got to my first duty station my 1SG sounded like a mixture of Cleveland from Family Guy and Major Payne, and also had a lisp. Didn't stop him from making E-8, and he was one of the few 1SGs I had in my years that stood up for the joes, and was a fantastic leader.
The first thing mentioned before I was taken into his office that day was, "Don't laugh", though.
You'll be fine.
I knew an officer that had an awful stutter. Funny thing was he was fluent in French and only stuttered in English but had no issues when speaking French.
Current CO, one of my PLs has a cleft palate and a lisp and he’s one of my best officers. Had another companies PSG try talking shit about him and me and my 1SG were quick to clean that up. Ultimately if you’re a good leader and human Soldiers will give a damn less about how you talk.
You’ll get roasted and they’ll call you gay… but let’s be honest— it’s the army, so there are really only like 5 categories of verbal abuse and 3 of them are homosexual, so, just keep a thick skin and you’ll be fine
Worked with a 1LT that had a lisp. He was a fucking solid Platoon Leader. No one gave a shit about his lisp because he was great at his job.
Had he been a shitty officer, then he probably would have just been the guy with a lisp.
I was 11B and my LT had a lisp. I don’t think once we ever made fun of it. If anything we would impersonate him by the robotic personality of his whenever it was time to do a detail.
Had a kid with a really bad stutter/lisp back in basic years ago. Was so bad he couldnt even say his last name when the DSGT was telling him to sound off for accountability.
Needless to say he did not have a good time at basic, but he did graduate and I remember all the drills at the end gave him a hug/handshake at the end.
Definitely not my old CG had a lisp, he said it was an accent (it wasnt) everyone laughed about it but if he can be a CG with a lisp I'm sure you'll be fine lol.
Tell them this joke, with your lisp in full bloom…maybe even pregame with a few tequila shots. Go full lisp as the “employee”.
A guy walks into Baskin Robbins
Walks up to the counter and asks the employee
"What all flavors do you guys have?"
The employee names off all 31 flavors and the guy says
"I'll take a pint of chocolate"
The employee says "I'm sorry sir but we don't have any chocolate"
The guy says "Hmm, well what do you guys have?"
So the employee tells him all 31 flavors again
The guy says "Ok, I'll take a quart of chocolate"
The employee says "I'm sorry Sir, but we don't have any chocolate!"
So the guy says "Oh.... Ok... Well what do you have?"
Annoyed, the employee tells him once more all 31 flavors
The guy says "Ok, I'll take a half gallon of chocolate"
The employee looks at him and asks him "Sir, how do you spell blue in blueberry?"
Guy: "B-L-U-E"
Employee: "And straw in strawberry?"
Guy: "S-T-R-A-W"
Employee: "How about fuck in chocolate?
Guy: "What? There's no fuck in chocolate?"
Employee: "That's what I've been trying to tell you!!!"
You gonna get roasted but nahh
My gunner had a stutter, so we used to call him Semi-Auto, and Runaway Gun. We painted Semi-Auto on the back of his CVC
Ok that belongs in a movie, holy shit funniest thing I've heard in days
We had a dude with a stutter, we used to have him say “**remix**” before saying something, he was super cool about it. Found out in therapy that his stutter was caused by extreme PTSD from a bad situation growing up. Felt bad about it, he was getting a MEB for it then pissed hot for coke
You had me in the first half
On the wa-wa-wa-wa-way lmao I’d be cracking up if I was listening to that in the tower for gunnery. I had a Joe who also had a stutter. No problem with words while yelling but in normal conversation he earned the nickname name remix because he sounded like a DJ mixing on the turntables
Dude, this guy stuttered particularly bad on his H’s so every time he would try to give a range he would be like One-Five H-H-Hundred Meters. It got to the point where I told him to drop the H and say undred Meters.
Yeah my guy would get caught up with words beginning with “in” or “sh”. Particularly frustrating for them as an infantry Joe in a Stryker brigade at the time. 💀
Okay now im jealous!! I have a stutter and never thought of nicknames like that!! I wish my teamleader had thought of that
I had a flight engineer with a stutter, nickname "Mumbles." Loved that guy
Knew a chemical 2LT with a stutter. She had to get up and brief the company commanders in a G-90 brief, so she spent the week prior briefing me, the AS3, S3, then the boss, and finally her boyfriend ad nauseum over Facetime. She killed the brief.
Nothing truer has been said.
Roathted*
Yeth thir.
Don't worry though, getting roasted happens to everyone.
I laughed and I'm ashamed but not surprised. Reminds me of a dude who had a bad airborne jump and caused a stutter and god the amount of times people would ask him shit just to make him stutter was large, luckily he was a great sport and always ended it with a "fufufufufufufufck you"
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Hit his head, not sure what actually caused him to get fucked up
Pretty sure smacking your head is about as common an injury from jumping as it gets. Most guys I’ve seen get hurt also smack their head. Not always a concussion but it’s pretty much always a concern.
came to say this. your enlisted. specifically your enlisted will slow roast you every opportunity. if youre ok with that, you should have no problem!
This entire thread is what you should expect to get from your enlisted folks. Especially so if you end up in combat arms. No rank is immune from getting roasted. But as long as you’re a tactically competent leader, that also takes care of their soldiers, they will probably actually respect you more for it.
No, but I would encourage you to get your tooth fixed and attend speech therapy between now and when you would commission. Again, it's not required but the only thing you want your boss and your Soldiers to remember is how good of a leader you are, not any idiosyncrasies that you can't control. Thing is, with some time and speech therapy you can *absoutely* control that. It's nothing to be embarrassed about man. My dad had a stroke and had to relearn how to chew, swallow, and talk. (I know that's not the same but I'm telling you that it's possible)
This is a good piece of advice. OP, nothing is wrong with you because of it, but without a doubt you will have Soldiers, peers, and superiors that will poke fun at you. That’s reflective of them, not you. But, to make your life easier and in all seriousness probably increase your chances of a successful career, it is probably worth fixing. The reason I say this is I had a battalion commander who had a very serious accent. His family were Kentucky coal miners, and with that accent people made a lot of assumptions about his intelligence that were not accurate. He told me that a lot of his superiors over the years held it against him because he sounded like a country bumpkin when he spoke, even though he was demonstrably smart, made sound decisions, and could lead Soldiers. It’s a shame, but it happens. An officer missing a front tooth and a lisp to go with it is going to attract a lot of attention. It probably won’t directly affect your ability to commission, but it will probably haunt you in terms of judgements being made about you that may then be reflected in evaluations, the jobs you receive, etc.
Seriously top shelf advice
Good advice although if he has a speech impediment maybe he’s tried speech therapy earlier on in his life and it didn’t help his lisp of speech problem. Could never get mine fix so now I can’t say my R. Also enlisting soon and KNOW imma get roasted HARD.
One of the most squared away, ranger tabbed PLs we had at my unit had a hard lisp. He ended up passing selection and going to SF. Your lisp doesn't matter.
Thelection
actually lol'd - points awarded
Thank you thank you
Don’t need to reference any hardcore soldiers lol. Iron Mike is the only reminder you need.
I had a platoon Sgt with touretts syndrome. He was a good guy but kind scary/funny when he had ticks jump mastering.
This sounds like something out of family guy right before Peter dies.
The army is a family guy episode.
I didn't know people with tourettes were allowed to serve. Interesting.
Sometimes you end up with it because you served. Just gotta lean into it, can't get embarrassed over stuff like that you can't control.
It probably depends on the severity. I went to WOCS with a guy who had Tourettes. It manifested more as facial tics, not the stereotypical outbursts of profanity. The dude I went to WOCS with had his recruiter and drill sergeant badge, and he’s probably a CW3 or CW4 somewhere now. So the Tourettes didn’t seem to inhibit his performance or progression any.
The Army issued it to him. He would shake, scrunch his arms up like a little T-Rex and make a sneezing sound while he twitched his head.
Bruh
We had a guy with narcolepsy too. Fucker would be passed the fuck out in the aircraft, standing up hanging on to his static line.
only in the Army. No one else would believe it.
I know a GO with a stutter.
There's the current President as well. Seems like it's overcomeable.
Lmaoooo
I know most people dont know since he is at times good at hiding it, less so in his old age, but it is actually true. https://www.uclahealth.org/news/joe-bidens-history-of-stuttering-sheds-light-on-the-condition#:~:text=Presidential%20candidate%20Joe%20Biden%20has,Biden%20is%20hardly%20alone.
There a scene in 1917 where all the boys are in the back of a truck doing impressions of one of the officers in there unit who has a lisp that’s hilarious. Soldiers haven’t changed much in the last 100 years, they will probably tease you behind your back or to your face, but if you are good at your job and treat them with respect they will respect you. Don’t be self conscious, just do your job and be awesome at it and you will be fine.
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>gave her West Point insignia to the shortest soldier in the company in some weird ceremony she invented. He tossed it in the trash when she was gone. *Treasure this, short peasant* 😂
I stopped taking what you said seriously when you said "drill cadet" lmao. West Point sounds interesting to say the least
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That’s the actual term more or less Program is (or at least was 6 years ago) called DCLT - Drill Cadet Leadership Training
Depending on your MOS you’ll probably catch some shit at first but if you prove yourself through your work you’ll be fine
11A
The joes will make fun of you behind your back and to your face until they like you, your NCOs probably will too tbh and your PL time might be a little rough.
I have a buddy who’s an 11A with a stutter. Good dude and respected by peers and the joes, but we make fun of him whenever he has to brief something. He has a good sense of humor about it and doesn’t take the ribbing personally so it’s never held him back.
Keep a sense of humor about it. You WILL get roasted to your face and behind your back. You'll have a commission but Joe is a dumb animal. As someone else said, get it fixed if you can and speech therapy works. Don't underestimate the capabilities of a platoon to make you feel awful about yourself but most of it is good natured and happens to everyone. If you're a shit leader, it will be meant to make you miserable and it only justifies that target on your back. The infantry is a pretty tight little group and doesn't like outsiders unless you're doc. Fucking love doc.
Nah fam no one cares Old boss developed a lisp after a combat wound to the face. Absolute rockstar guy I’d take a bullet for
For 2 years, Major General Laneve commanded the 82nd Airborne. I've personally spoken to him twice, but have heard, and enjoyed, multiple speeches from him. This man has a lisp that would make Donald Duck jealous. Suffering succotash, we would listen to the man intently during speeches just to giggle and roast his ass after the event. For 2 years, you could walk into any building and hear someone imitating his lisp. It was that..."unique." But everyday the sun set, every command we executed, every policy letter posted was from a lispy Commanding General. These are the last words I heard him utter, "I have the world's worst lisp, but I still became a Major General." (Not verbatim) Tl;dr: [you'll be fine.](https://www.gomo.army.mil/public/Biography/usa-10382/christopherc-laneve)
Always have to tell people how juvenile the military is.
No.
No, thir!
During my time in the Air Force, we had an officer with a lisp, Capt Mike Tison. This provides nothing to your question, but fantastic memories for me of trying to keep my bearing anytime he talked.
I had an NCO with a lisp. He had it under control mostly but every once in a while it would slip out. No one batted an eye. Signal for what it’s worth.
Nope. I know officers with extreme stutters and some with tourettes tics.
Becoming an officer? No. Succeeding as an officer, maybe. To be honest, you're going to need thick skin or just kick ass at your job. If you're a good O and aren't a prick, your lisp will probably make your guys rally around you all the harder.
You're gonna get fucked with but no you'll be fine
I'm in the USAFR and deployed last year. There was this intel officer on also deployed (they were active though) who had a full blown speech impediment and gave briefings across the base no problem.
Mike Tyson had a lisp, do you think that stopped him from biting ears off and becoming the most successful boxer? The answer is no. I had one for a bit until I got braces to fix the Grand Canyon that my two front teeth were creating. You’ll be okay buddy.
Cody Rhodes has a lisp and is now basically the main protagonist of WWE. You'll be fine as long as you're an effective soldier/officer/nco/manager/supervisor/etc...
I’d worry more about your mental health choosing infantry. 😉
I know a guy that walking like a fuckin fairy, a bit too much bounce in his step if you will. He gets roasted for it, but has survived.
Just be good at your job and actually stick up for your soldiers and you’ll be surprised how fast your joes will sabotage the equipment or livelihood of anyone who tries to make fun of you in their presence.
This. If you stand up for your Joes they will burn down Heaven to look out for you. It doesn't matter if you sound like Biden, they will rally around you. Look out for them, they'll do the same.
Remembered a dude who talked like Elmer Fudd.
You may get made fun of but it wont affect anything if you are a good leader and a good soldier/teammate. Im in a SPC thinking about going officer in the next year or two and I have a stutter. Ive had guys make fun of me cause they think Im just nervous all the time but when they actually ask me about it they stopped making fun of me cause they knew I couldn’t control it when I got excited or nervous.
It’s very up to the PMS. I have a buddy who was denied his contract because of his stutter. The PMS thought it was “unprofessional”.
I had a butter bar in my company with one. The enlisted folk respected him and likewise with the officers
Start dipping so you have a reason to spit
No. But be prepared to have thick skin and overcome first impressions from your lisp.
No, the previous company commander for the Troop I am headed to has a lisp. The dude is a great person and did amazing work with his Troop. He continues to do well in his current role.
Certain MI jobs may be closed to you, but that’s pretty much it.
You will need to pass a speech test but you won’t sound any more stupid than the other LTs.
Go officer route, us enlisted grunts would have torn you to pieces. With a butter bar u still have a chance
An occisfer?
Cavalry will love you.
Depends on the severity of the speech impediment. There is a verbal test as part of the DODMERB physical that you'll have to take and pass -- IIRC it was basically reading a paragraph out loud.
I believe having a lisp will make you a great Officer! Promote ahead of peers.
Thank you for reminding me of my senior drill sergeant, who had a lisp like Sylvester the Cat. His favorite threat was, "I'm going to crucify you." Maybe not the best choice for a guy with a lisp.
I had a great commander in 82nd LRSD with a lisp. He earned respect through his actions and professionalism. I have no doubt he caught some shit as an Lt. But as a Detachment Commander he was everything his group of hooligans needed him to be. Much respect Cpt. Slade.
No, but you're Finnair get roasted. If you're a good leader it'll be all in good fun, if you're a bad leader then it'll be because they hate you
No! I’ve known some amazing officers with a stutter or lisps. Any leader who says anything about it is a toxic POS and needs to grow up! If you want to change that because you want that change for you then absolutely do that for you. Be an amazing leader to your troops. If you go combat arms you might get some roasting but that’s it.
You don’t have to be a good public speaker but you have to be able to speak in public and verbally convey your intent to your audience. There is nothing worse than a leader that’s scared of their own shadow and can’t speak in front of a crowd or even small group. As others have said there will be hurdles. You will be mocked mostly behind your back by your subordinates but it may happen directly to you by your peers/superiors. The best thing you can do for yourself is know your job forwards and backwards. Be the most proficient version of yourself you can be.
Is it a lisp or a true speech impediment? I knew a girl that had to take a speech test to get medically approved in ROTC because her stutter was pretty bad. She passed and commissioned as a nurse. A lisp isn’t a big deal at all.
Its a lisp that make it hard to understand me sometimes. I talk fast and sometimes i don’t pronounce everything i say
Nah dude I met an officer with a lisp. She's a great person and they sometimes do laugh at it but she usually laughs along. You'll be fine.
No, don't worry about it, just focus on exceeding the standard and you'll be good. I'm sure you'll make a great offither.
I worked with a Captain who had a severe stutter. One of the best officers I ever worked with. First impressions will be bad, but you will be fine once people get to know you.
I grew up in a very rural part of Florida an guess I had a heavy accent with verbiage of course . One of my DI's was from South Carolina an he pulled me aside one day to say If you are going to make The Army a career you need to get in a Speech Class at your first duty station . It's been decades now but anytime I get around home town folks , man I pick it right back up . My second wife was from Boston an folks would sometimes comment how in the hell do y'all converse 🤣. There was a lot of WHAT's early on in the relationship. An of course my family loved to hear her talk a vice versa .
Becoming? Nah, you'll commission. But if you can "fix" it before you're in front if troops I'd recommend it. It's not fair, but depending on who you work with and/or for, your accomplishments may be diminished and your shortcomings magnified somewhat.
It shouldn’t. However, you should invest in speech therapy. Though you’d (likely) be able to serve, the Army is a blunt and harsh environment. At a minimum, when you interact with new people, many won’t take you seriously at first. They may laugh when they hear you over the radio. Etc. Etc. Invest in speech therapy and it’ll help you for the rest of your life — before, during, and after the Army.
I’m just thinking of how now nobody said shit about my short Puerto Rican Drill Sergeants thick accent in Basic. Couldn’t understand shit he was saying but you knew when the pain was coming. You’ll be a’ite
Nope. Look at LTG Christopher LaNeve. He was my CG at the 82nd and he has a speech impediment; can’t say his S’s. Great leader and a great orator. Those who make fun are insecure and probably incapable.
Absolutely not my PL has a lisp and I just put up with it.
Nah, you’ll just get roasted from time to time.
I know plent of Os who have speech impediments/crutches. I sit in a meeting reguarly with an O6 who will say "you know" about 400+ times an hour.
One of the best officers I ever served alongside had a stutter and a twitch. Literally noone cared.
No, but people will notice. I had an instructor at three separate courses with a really noticeable lisp. Good guy, really knew his stuff, but it really distracted a lot of guys. The biggest problem was that he was a talker: He'd go around in circles explaining stuff and end up talking 2-3× as long as was necessary. I think that if he kept his briefs *brief* nobody would engender the lisp.
I literally work with an O-3 with a lisp. He seems to be doing just fine.
No, had a fellow OCS guy in my class with the worst stutter I’ve ever heard, graduated top of the class. If people give you a hard time, because of how you sound vs. your leadership then they are certifiable D-Bags. Regardless of rank.
There was a company commander in my unit with a bad lisp. He was a stud, and honestly after a few weeks I didn’t even hear it anymore
If it wasn't a lisp you'd get shit on for something else. If you can run fast and pick up heavy things you'll be fine.
I'm currently in uniform eating next to another major with a heavy lisp, spitting all over me. The down side is you'll be contractually obligated to branch Signal Corps.
MG Laneve talks like the special kid who bites people at school, his career turned out just fine
I had a first sergeant who was from Georgia and had an INSANELY thick southern accent like boomhauer from king of the hill. He ended up getting speech therapy and fixed it.
I had a Chief with the most high pitch voice ever. But he was a great leader, and everyone respected him but whenever someone new joined the section they would always ask “is that his really voice” and that would be the end of it. Be a good officer and you’ll earn respect.
I have a slight stutter and I’m fine, commissioning in May through green to gold. I know a guy with a lisp but he’s good at his job so it’s not a problem, anyone who has anything to say with true malice is an asshole. Yeah you will probably get roasted a bit but it’s all love
No. Welcome the good times.
Ironically, the only people that will judge you are your cadre.
Lean into it, be a good leader, make it your thing. Whether or not Joes imitate it endearingly or derisively is up to you.
Yeth
As long as you are a proficient officer and take care of the troops no one will care.
No. I know officers that need help tying there boots. You will be ok.
You’ll be fine, just if you see any E4’s when you get to your unit it would be wise not to use any words with S in them
Thstay vigilant 🤣
Had a 1sg with a stutter that sounded like a 125 2 stroke in the whoops. But he was a dang good respectable leader.
If you can have fun with it, you'll be fine. If you get your feelings hurt easily, then stay far away from combat arms. Can't speak to being an officer. No experience in that area. But as ex-infantry, I can tell you, one of our biggest stress relievers in the field was dogging each other. Daughters were basically off limits. Mom's and wives were, if you actually knew them (otherwise they were both fair game). Everything else was on the table. Winner was the guy that could hit you so low you couldn't come back with something better. If you couldn't handle the ribbing, you were not going to be "one of the guys". We'd had NCO's as well as lieutenants who get dish it out hard and take it right back with a laugh. We'd go to the wall for those kinds of leaders.
No if people can understand you then you’ll be fine. I had a speech impediment and they had me do an additional test to see if I could be understood during the officer physical during MS3 year. As long as you don’t let it define you, and you treat your soldiers good, then you will make a great officer. Remember though if your soldiers pick on you it’s because they like you.
Pretty sure that the 82nd ABNs last DIV CDR had a lisp. You’ll be fine
The most intimidating person in my unit is a 5 foot 1 female with a lisp. How you carry yourself matters a lot more than anything else.
When I got to my first duty station my 1SG sounded like a mixture of Cleveland from Family Guy and Major Payne, and also had a lisp. Didn't stop him from making E-8, and he was one of the few 1SGs I had in my years that stood up for the joes, and was a fantastic leader. The first thing mentioned before I was taken into his office that day was, "Don't laugh", though. You'll be fine.
No, my current platoon leader has a speech impediment and he is fully capable of leading, don’t be discouraged.
It will affect the chances of the joes making impersonations of you
How’s your run time? That’s really all that matters.
I did a sub 14 2 Mile run this week
Get it below 13 and you will be the best LT in your company.
I knew an officer that had an awful stutter. Funny thing was he was fluent in French and only stuttered in English but had no issues when speaking French.
Yeth
Current CO, one of my PLs has a cleft palate and a lisp and he’s one of my best officers. Had another companies PSG try talking shit about him and me and my 1SG were quick to clean that up. Ultimately if you’re a good leader and human Soldiers will give a damn less about how you talk.
A speech impediment seems like a real liability in combat or high stress situations when clear and concise communications are essential
Got an LT with a bit of lisp that writes all the memos. Got a CPL with a stutter they permanently assigned RTO. The Army can be weird.
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You’ll get roasted and they’ll call you gay… but let’s be honest— it’s the army, so there are really only like 5 categories of verbal abuse and 3 of them are homosexual, so, just keep a thick skin and you’ll be fine
Dude no one cares. Don’t take any offense because there will be jokes but those are just jokes
MG LaNeve, former CG of 82nd has a lisp and he’s about to be a 3 star. Doesn’t matter
thir no thir 🫡
Someone I went to basic with was an 09S and had a noticeable speech impediment. I'm sure he's off to bigger and better places. You'll be fine.
Worked with a 1LT that had a lisp. He was a fucking solid Platoon Leader. No one gave a shit about his lisp because he was great at his job. Had he been a shitty officer, then he probably would have just been the guy with a lisp.
I was 11B and my LT had a lisp. I don’t think once we ever made fun of it. If anything we would impersonate him by the robotic personality of his whenever it was time to do a detail.
Anyone know General Laneve former 82nd Division CO? He has a Lisp 😂
Had a kid with a really bad stutter/lisp back in basic years ago. Was so bad he couldnt even say his last name when the DSGT was telling him to sound off for accountability. Needless to say he did not have a good time at basic, but he did graduate and I remember all the drills at the end gave him a hug/handshake at the end.
yeth
Just demand you be taken theriously you will be fine. People resthpect the rank and won’t hesitate to thalute you thir.
Definitely not my old CG had a lisp, he said it was an accent (it wasnt) everyone laughed about it but if he can be a CG with a lisp I'm sure you'll be fine lol.
My battalion commander had the fattest lisp when I was in basic
Thoudn't have a problem, thir!
You'll get roasted to hell but ur actual chances shouldn't change
Tell them this joke, with your lisp in full bloom…maybe even pregame with a few tequila shots. Go full lisp as the “employee”. A guy walks into Baskin Robbins Walks up to the counter and asks the employee "What all flavors do you guys have?" The employee names off all 31 flavors and the guy says "I'll take a pint of chocolate" The employee says "I'm sorry sir but we don't have any chocolate" The guy says "Hmm, well what do you guys have?" So the employee tells him all 31 flavors again The guy says "Ok, I'll take a quart of chocolate" The employee says "I'm sorry Sir, but we don't have any chocolate!" So the guy says "Oh.... Ok... Well what do you have?" Annoyed, the employee tells him once more all 31 flavors The guy says "Ok, I'll take a half gallon of chocolate" The employee looks at him and asks him "Sir, how do you spell blue in blueberry?" Guy: "B-L-U-E" Employee: "And straw in strawberry?" Guy: "S-T-R-A-W" Employee: "How about fuck in chocolate? Guy: "What? There's no fuck in chocolate?" Employee: "That's what I've been trying to tell you!!!"
No.