I don't know about the Army, but in the Marine Corps, a Sergeant Major has been "God" forever.
I don't think you'll find a lot of fat out in Al Anbar province. I personally know of a Marine who died because the Humvee driver fell asleep due to performing vehicle patrols for 24++ hours without sleep. At Haditha Dam, the patrols were wearing out between 100-150 tires a month. They had one cold shower, and the food was like bulk MRE's. There's a nice account of the 1/23's stay at http://www.politics1.com/usmc.htm
Yes. But this is what I had in mind when I made the SGM/CSM remark: http://carlisle-www.army.mil/usawc/Parameters/1988/bahnsen.htm