History Main / SoldiersAtTheRear

* Cezary Regard in ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' is only a Sniper because it keeps him away from the front lines. He's also one of the more unpleasant members of the army, being a {{Jerkass}}, a KnowNothingKnowItAll and racist.

* ''LightNovel/HeavyObject:''

* In ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'', as the human realm prepares for war, Alice notes that not all of her fellow Integrity Knights, the most elite fighters, are at the front lines. Eldrie, her disciple, explains that some of them stayed behind to guard Centoria Cathedral. A few of those knights appear in the ''Moon Cradle'' arc, and the fact that they never saw front-line service explains why Kirito never met them before.

* ''LightNovel/SagaOfTanyaTheEvil'': Tanya's stated goal is to become one of these after she's drafted. Unfortunately for her, she's still thinking like a Japanese salaryman, so her "plan" is to be so ruthless and hyper-competent at her job (fighting) that she'll get promoted out of it. Instead, this has the opposite effect, with her superior officers congratulating her as being a super soldier and keep sending her to ever-more dangerous front lines. Of course, her plan was doomed from the start due to the country she's fighting for being on the losing end of a war and facing enemies on every side of them.

* Specialist Grimes (Creator/EwanMcGregor), one of the [[BadassArmy Rangers]] in ''Film/BlackhawkDown'', has always been away from the fighting, a fact he says isn't his fault. It's because he has a rare and valuable skill beloved by the Army that keeps him busy: He can type. However, he doesn't like being in this trope and actually wants to fight, rather than spending his entire career typing and making coffee. He ends up getting caught up in the [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor worst of the movie's fighting.]] And copes with the stress by [[{{Irony}} making coffee during the lulls.]] This is probably one of the most realistic and unbiased portrayals of the regular REMF there is. The logistics system to maintain even a small force in the field is a beast, and most people get shifted to help maintain it without even a whit of corruption or nepotism involved.

* Yang Wen-Li from ''Anime/LegendOfGalacticHeroes'' only joined the military for the education and the pension and was hoping for a position like this. Sadly, he proved to be a military prodigy and ended up getting his own command, as well as becoming the ArchEnemy of TheEmpire (''and'' [[TheLastDJ his own administration]]).

** In a minor subversion, they choose warehouse duty, but not for its safety: it's because of how important supplies are to an army, and how much damage they can do by mishandling requisitions.

* In the Literature/{{Discworld}} of Creator/AAPessimal, a [[AmoralAfrikaner student Assassin]] who is capable of planning ahead knows, if he doesn't do anything about it, that the inevitable conscript military service wnen he returns to his native country will involve front-line service in a dangerous border area where skirmishes often flare up into small wars. He got into the Assassins' School because he is a gifted musician, the sort who will effortlessly meet the Concordat requirement that the Assasin should be musically accomplished. [[note]] He knew, even at eleven, that the School offered a far better musical education than anything he is likely to get in Rimwards Howondaland and open up paying orchestral jobs afterwards in Ankh-Morpork and elsewhere[[/note]]. Just to make sure he will get a nice safe posting to a military band somewhere, he contrives to get his Assassin training slanted towards anatomy, physiology and medical care, as bandsmen are also medical corpsmen and this opens up assignation to a military hospital. A third insurance policy is being good at sports, as he knows military units gain prestige from winning inter-Regimental sports competitions, and will not risk their best players in the front lines. It also has the potential for postings close to where his girlfriend lives and works.

%% Please see thread to discuss a new image.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fobbit.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:War is Hell]]

Similar to the StrawCivilian, this trope shows up in Military Fiction. Unlike the civilian or the [[DraftDodging Draft Dodger]], this guy joins the army when things go bad because he knows the safest place to be is ''in'' the military, in a position where absolutely nothing can go wrong. While everyone else is out fighting on the distant PlanetOfHats, he's safe and sound back in Muskogee, Oklahoma, sewing buttons onto uniforms.

The story in RealLife is, naturally, different. The military is a big organization, and a lot of necessary jobs don't involve getting immediately shot at by random [INSERT BAD GUY HERE]s. In fact, in modern armed forces, there's roughly 10-15 [=REMFs=] working in support for every soldier actually pulling a trigger at the front. This doesn't mean the REMF isn't resented, mind you, he's still a REMF who isn't deep in the shit at the moment - many frontline grunts won't care and still hold grudges. There is one and precisely ''one'' universal exception: Medical personnel. Doctors and nurses may never see direct combat, but rare indeed is the front line grunt who will speak ill of the people who stitch them or their buddies back together if things go wrong. There are also other personnel who are specifically forbidden by regulations to enter combat zones, like Military Chaplains, and you'd figure regular combat troops would understand.

!! Examples:

Arguably, most of the wars the US has fought since UsefulNotes/WorldWarII could probably have been said to lack a "true" rear, as that was around the time the US Army commissioned the M1 Carbine: to give REMF troops a decent long arm in case the Germans or any other Blitzkrieg-style enemy force suddenly broke through the lines and struck at all the supporting infrasctructure.

** The series is about a group of mainly elderly men in the Home Guard who were meant to be Britain's last line of defence should the German army invade. Most of them are earnest about doing their bit. Some, like the ancient Cpl Jones, are actually dead keen to come face to face with the enemy. However, since Britain was not invaded, they are mostly given unimportant duties or sent on training exercises. The closest they get to the enemy is occasionally guarding some [=POWs=].

[[folder: Trivia]]
* In Israel, these people are known as ג'ובניקים (''Jobnikim''), because (supposedly) their military service is just a kind of "job".
** Funny because it's true: In Russian, the word "Jopnik" refers to [[TheChikan perverts who grope people in crowds]]. Every 6th IDF recruit comes from a Russian background and has to explain his new "title" to his parents, or better yet, grandparents. A complicated bit of wordplay among the more motivated recruits translates as "better be a pervert than a REMF".
* In Finnish army, these people are known as ''töpinä'' (thumping) as they are seen nowhere, only thumping of their shoes is heard. Another word is ''kumipää'' (rubberhead) for "rubber bullet" as {{Main/Foil}} for "live bullet" grunts.
* In Swedish, the common term is ''kasernjägare'', which roughly translates to "barracks-ranger". Compare the English term "Chairborne Ranger".
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Anime]]

* In a later book Robert Asprin's ''Literature/MythAdventures'' series, the heroes are trying to disable an army. Some of [[TrueCompanions the gang]] are disabling from within; after Basic Training, they face deployment. At first they're offered, literally, a shit assignment. They mention they know the commander-in-chief... a few comments later their interlocutor learns they know a RetiredBadass... And they're offered their choice of sweet, sweet candy.

* Despite becoming later becoming a badass mercenary, Jon Sable of ''ComicBook/JonSableFreelance'' spent his tour of duty during UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar as a clerk/typist in an intelligence unit.

* In ''Film/TheOddAngryShot'', a pompous admin sergeant-major tries to throw his weight around with the SAS troopers arriving in Saigon for leave. Taking none of his bullshit, Harry threatens to punch his teeth down his throat. A fight is only averted by the arrival of a senior officer.

Being a REMF in an unconventional conflict might be almost impossible, since by definition there isn't a rear-echelon once you're in the theatre, and someone whose job normally isn't anywhere near combat might find themselves under fire or IED attack at any time, such as in places like Afghanistan. In UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, that's why the US Army commissioned the M1 Carbine: to give REMF troops a decent long arm in case the German's made an Blitzkrieg move to interdict the supply lines. For soldiers deployed to Iraq, "REMF" generally got reserved for the personnel stationed in Kuwait and Qatar.

If becoming a soldier at the rear is actually because of the individual soldier's actual skills, it is known as ''getting wise''. No wonder becoming the company clerk is one of the favorite tasks amongst the conscripts around the world.

Being a REMF in an unconventional conflict might be almost impossible, since by definition there isn't a rear-echelon once you're in the theatre, and someone whose job normally isn't anywhere near combat might find themselves under fire or IED attack at any time, such as in places like Afghanistan. For soldiers deployed to Iraq, "REMF" generally got reserved for the personnel stationed in Kuwait and Qatar.

** Inverted in the episode, "Friends and Enemies," when Col. Potter found that an old friend, who was assigned to garrison duty in fuel logistics far behind the lines, took it upon himself to attend to a matter at the front when he could have easily sent a subordinate. Once there, the officer, obsessed with his GloryDays being in action, illegally took command of a combat unit out of his chain of command and ordered to take a hill it was previously ordered to leave alone. As such, the unit suffered heavy casualties to satisfy the officer's battle lust and Potter is forced to report his friend to Command when he should have remained a REMF.

* ''Series/ThePhilSilversShow'': Nobody on the base has seen a battlefield since World War Two and we almost never see them doing any actual military work.

** The series is about a group of mainly elderly men in the Home Guard who were meant to be Britain's last line of defence should the German army invade. Most of them are earnest about doing their bit. Some, like the ancient Cpl Jones, are actually dead keen to come face to face with the enemy. However, since Britain was not invaded, they are mostly given menial jobs or training exercises. The closest they get to the enemy is occasionally guarding some [=POWs=].
** During the battle of Jutland, Frazer was below decks making the shepherds pie. He gets prickly when this is brought up.