For countries like the US, serving in the
military can be a great way to earn some really good benefits. You can have access to free health care- worth
the risk alone if you live in the US and its insane health care costs- as well as earn
tens of thousands of dollars for your education. You can even get paid while you're going to
school after your service contract is up, and in today's world of rising education costs,
this alone is another powerful incentive to sign up. But it shouldn't come as any surprise that
serving in the military comes with great risk, but some MOS's- or jobs- are more dangerous
than others. In today's episode we're going to be looking
at the top ten most dangerous jobs in the military today. 10 - Artillery Observers The great thing about artillery is that it
can lay down heavy volumes of fire at very long distances, keeping your troops nice and
safe while pounding the hell out of the enemy. The terrible thing about artillery is that
it lays down heavy volumes of fire at very long distances, typically well outside of
visual range. In ancient times when artillery took the form
of primitive ballista and catapults, adjusting fire for your artillery was typically handled
by the firing crew themselves- after all, if they wanted to know how accurate their
shooting was all they had to do was watch the giant rock they just hurled and where
it landed. With the invention of the cannon ranges were
increased, as well as lethality- yet still a firing crew was generally able to watch
the effect of their own fire and adjust accordingly. It wasn't until the advent of true artillery,
heavy pieces of equipment capable of firing a shell over a mile, that getting accurate
fire on target became more difficult. At first militaries around the world relied
on the tried and true strategy of 'shoot everything everywhere and eventually somebody will die',
using heavy concentrations of guns to deliver inaccurate, but large volumes of fire across
a wide area. With that much explosive metal raining out
of the sky, some of it was bound to hit what you were hoping to hit. As the artillery pieces themselves improved
and became more accurate, crews could make some adjustments for wind and distance and
have a rough idea of where the tens of pounds of explosives they were hurtling through the
air were going to land. Eventually though, somebody hit upon the most
obvious conclusion- somebody was going to have to go out there, stick their head up,
and actually watch where all the damn arty was hitting. Men armed with spyglasses would crawl forward
and try to spot fire, relaying instructions back with hand and arm signals or signaling
flags. Then as hot-air balloons became a thing, one
of their very first uses was to spot fire for friendly artillery. It wasn't until the invention of the portable
radio though that artillery observers really came into their own and became an indispensable
part of any military force. The job today remains the same as it ever
was- watch how and were friendly artillery splashes and radio back adjustments. Unfortunately though, artillery observers
tend to stick out like a sore thumb thanks to the giant radios they carry, and because
people tend to get really annoyed about having explosives rain down on their heads, artillery
observers are a priority target on any battlefield. 9- Pilot Literally from the moment that mankind invented
flight, we started using it to kill each other. In fact World War I alone is credited with
super-expediting the development of flight and catapulting the brand new technology forward
by leaps and bounds. Yet mankind has long dreamt of murdering itself
while floating serenely through the clouds, and even before the invention of aircraft
plenty of conceptual drawings of flying contraptions loaded with rudimentary bombs were already
in circulation. Today we've achieved that lofty ambition of
killing people while floating through the heavens, but unsurprisingly the job is one
of the most dangerous in any military. As the US has often found out, air superiority
alone will not win a war- but it will make it a hell of a lot easier to do so, and in
today's environment a superior ground force will always lose against even an inferior
air force. That's why so many weapon systems have been
developed to blow other humans out of the sky, and the sheer amount of firepower dedicated
to clipping a pilot's wings is enough to make being a pilot the number nine most dangerous
job in the military. However it's not just the enemy you have to
worry about, because nature tend to get really pissed that we decided humans should fly,
when biologically speaking we really shouldn't. Any failure of one of the many complex systems
keeping helicopters, transports and fighter jets in the air will immediately see you plummeting
to the earth at terrifying speeds, and while the fall won't kill you, the very sudden stop
at the end just might. If that's not enough to worry you as you cruise
in your state-of-the-art fighter jet, then just remember that every single nut and bolt
keeping you from a horrific death was all made by the company willing to build it as
cheaply as possible. 8- Transportation You're probably not surprised to hear that
artillery observer and pilots are amongst the top ten most dangerous jobs in the military-
but transportation? Truck drivers?! Yes indeed, being a military truck driver
can be one of the fastest ways to pay out your life insurance to your next of kin. As you've probably heard, an army marches
on its stomach, and while it may not be glorious and there's certainly no hollywood movies
made about delivering ammunition and food to troops at the front, transportation soldiers
are every bit as critical as an infantryman- if not more so. Without our truck drivers soldiers won't eat,
and they won't shoot anything because they'll have no ammo. In yesteryear transportation was a relatively
safe position- at worst you'd have to worry about cunning raids by skirmishers against
your supply convoys, such as those mastered by the American rebels during the revolutionary
war. But you certainly didn't have to worry about
facing a full-fledged army, militaries simply weren't mobile enough for that and unless
your forces were terribly outmaneuvered, being in the rear and driving trucks, or wagons,
was a pretty safe military job. With the advent of flight though, that all
changed, and suddenly there were tools to penetrate deep behind the front lines and
target the vital supply convoys feeding and arming enemy troops. In the first Gulf War, NATO firepower absolutely
decimated Iraqi convoys, and along Highway 80- a six lane highway between Kuwait and
Iraq- air power destroyed between 1800 and 2700 vehicles, dubbing the roadway the Highway
of Death. (use picture https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/IrakDesertStorm1991.jpg) 7 – Medic Cicero, a Roman philosopher, once said, “In
nothing do men more nearly approach the gods, than in giving health to men.” Doing their best to save lives across a battlefield,
medics are an indispensable part of any fighting unit, and a welcome sight for a casualty. While they are protected under the Geneva
convention, these protections only work if the enemy abides by said conventions- and
under the heat of combat there's no telling if an enemy soldier is going to act in accordance
with international law or not. Then of course there's conflicts against modern
foes, terrorists and insurgents, who don't recognize or operate by international conventions,
and see any target as a valid military target. If that wasn't bad enough, artillery and bombs
are notorious for not distinguishing between friend and foe, let alone who is a legal military
target and who isn't, and kill indiscriminately. Despite this, military medics never fail to
treat their casualties, even under the worst of conditions, and this makes them heroes
to any man or woman who has ever carried a rifle into battle and known that a guardian
angel was watching over them. 6 – Artillery Earlier we saw that artillery observers were
our number ten most dangerous job in the military, given the fact that they must expose themselves
to enemy fire in order to call in accurate fire, and are typically easily recognizable
given their large radios. How then could artillery be even higher on
this list- aren't they safely back behind friendly lines, miles away from the fighting? Well, while artillery is in fact typically
far from the front lines, it turns out that most enemies find firing high explosive shells
at their troops to be extremely rude, and thus they will politely ask artillery men
to stop doing so- with high explosives of their own. In a modern battlefield artillery must always
take measures to protect itself from counter-battery fire, this happens when enemy radar detects
incoming rounds and then mathematically projects their origin point. That gives the enemy's own artillery a location
to shoot back at. To avoid this, artillery typically practices
shoot-and-scoot maneuvers where they fire a quick barrage and then are immediately on
the move to avoid the return fire. However there is also air power to worry about,
and aside from hunting tanks, enemy air cavalry is typically tasked with locating and eliminating
artillery positions. 5- Cavalry In ancient times cavalry was typically a reserve
force of shock troops, meant to be dispatched when the regular infantry engaged the enemy
and then attack from the flanks or rear. Today while cavalry can be used for such maneuver
actions, they also hold one very important, and very dangerous job: reconnaissance. On a modern battlefield you can't always rely
on air power or even satellites to get you detailed information on where the enemy is,
and sometimes you have to rely on good-old fashioned ground recon forces. These soldiers may be safely tucked inside
heavily armored vehicles, and accompanied by a few battle tanks, but because of the
nature of their mission they are very often fighting against much larger forces as they
make contact with the enemy. Modern armored warfare strategies often sees
a recon element dispatched ahead of the main force, with instructions to fix the enemy
but not become decisively engaged- or get caught up in a pitched battle. Find the enemy, figure out size and strength,
and then retreat and regroup with the main force. Unfortunately it turns out that the enemy
often very badly wants to decisively engage cavalry recon elements, and operating so far
ahead of friendly forces there is always the risk of being outmaneuvered and ending up
with no options for retreat. 4 – Infantry Little surprise that infantry, the rank and
file of a modern military, is one of the most dangerous jobs on a battlefield. Artillery may be the King of battle, but infantry
is the undisputed queen- and if you want to know why that is then ask a veteran, because
this is a kid-friendly show and we can't explain it. The job is simple: make contact with the enemy,
shoot the enemy until they stop shooting at you, rinse and repeat until the war is won. Air power, artillery, engineering, literally
everything else about war is nothing but flavor, and the core of combat has always been and
will always be the infantry. Before helicopters and satellites, cannons
and fighter jets, it was infantry that decided the fate of nations, and nothing has changed
today. Unfortunately the human body is notoriously
allergic to bullets and bombs, something in no shortage on the front lines of a war, therefore
infantry remains one of the most dangerous jobs in any military. 3 – Explosive Ordnance Disposal If you watched our recent episode on how to
navigate your way out of a minefield, then you're well aware that this is one of the
last places on earth you want to end up- yet for explosive ordnance disposal technicians,
or EOD for short, minefields are their bread and butter. They tread where no man dares tread- literally-
and are responsible for quickly and safely clearing lanes of travel through enemy mine
fields. In World War II EOD techs were vital for many
of the war's most famous battles, and it was their heroic efforts and sacrifices that allowed
the allies the break out of their landing zones. Without the careful work of EOD, and typically
under heavy enemy fire no less, all the heavy vehicles and tanks needed to establish a beachhead
in Nazi Europe would have had no safe path to travel. In the last two decades though EOD's risk
levels increased significantly as insurgent and terrorist forces in Iraq and Afghanistan
got into the habit of creating improvised explosive devices. Disguised as trash, children's toys, or even
expensive electronics a soldier may be interested in picking up, these bombs have caused countless
NATO casualties-and at the forefront of trying to prevent further carnage was EOD. Soon though the enemy began to create secondary
explosives in an attempt to kill these critical technicians, and now an EOD tech must have
nerves of steel as they respond to an IED site knowing very well that secondary, or
even tertiary, explosives could be laying in hiding waiting for their response. 2 – Special Operations The elite of any military force- these are
the men and women who are trained to do jobs too dangerous, complicated, or impractical
for large conventional forces to carry out. They typically operate deep behind enemy lines,
and can do anything from direct-action missions such as sabotage and target-eliminations,
to rescue of VIPs or hostages, or simply remain undetected as they scout out enemy forces
and fix positions. Without these elite operators wars could still
be won, but albeit at a much higher cost in treasure and blood both. Far behind other nations in the special operations
game, the United States was a quick learner during World War II and even faster to adopt
the use of one of the largest special operations forces of any military. Yet often these soldiers must operate too
far from friendly forces to rely on fire support, or even an emergency evacuation, and each
operator knows that their lives are mostly in their own hands. Even in peacetime though SOF soldiers suffer
from the highest casualty rate of any other MOS thanks to the incredibly grueling training
that they undertake. All that training however produces some of
the finest soldiers on any battlefield, and as is the old adage in the US military, the
more you sweat in peace the less you'll bleed in war. 1 – Pararescue The US Air Force gets a lot of flak for being
the 'armchair' service thanks to its roles in cyber and information warfare- yet it also
fields the one MOS that is hands down the single most dangerous job in any military:
Pararescue. Known as Pjs, pararescue airmen are essentially
the most elite ambulance service in the world, and are responsible for responding to casualties
wherever they may be- at the top of a mountain or in the middle of a raging battlefield,
it doesn't matter for a PJ. Their job is simple: find and treat casualties
and rescue anybody in need. Air Force Pjs are literal guardian angels,
even conducting HALO jumps to get to their man or woman. Most often though Pararescue airmen are responsible
for finding and bringing home downed pilots, even if that means they have to travel deep
behind enemy lines or into raging seas. Trained to treat any matter of wounds, but
also defend themselves with a variety of small arms, Pjs without a doubt have the most dangerous
job in the US military, and their counterparts around the world share in that risk. What do you think is the most dangerous job
in the military? Ever work one of these jobs? Let us know in the comments! And as always if you enjoyed this video don't
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