History Main / DeskJockey

** On the other hand, in Teal'C's flashbacks as First Prime to Apophis, he averts this (although these aversions may be the exception and not the rule).

* In ''MASH'', Father Mulcahy has a famous episode where a patient refuses to talk with him because he has no field experience since he was the camp chaplain. Mulcahy asks Col. Potter if he could spend some time on the front to fix that, but Potter refuses saying that no commander nowadays will tolerate having a soldier in the field who is forbidden by regulations to fight. Regardless, Mulcahy sneaks away anyway on an errand with Radar to the front and has a memorable experience having to perform an emergency tracheotomy under enemy fire with Hawkeye guiding him on the radio. As a result, the patient is impressed that the Padre had now just enough battle experience for any front line soldier to respect him.

* Stark from {{Eureka}} is the administrator of Global Dynamics. When Henry tells him his brilliance is being wasted as a desk jockey, Stark points out that he's much more valuable where he is, being the person that makes their cutting edge research happen with as little interference as possible.

* In the original ''DieHard'' movie, John [=McClane=] and Sergeant Al Powell have a conversation that jokingly derides desk jockey cops, up until Powell reveals why he's now a desk jockey instead of patrolling the streets: because he made the horrible mistake of shooting a kid with a fake gun. [[LetsGetDangerous He still proves he can get the job done]] when [[TheDragon Karl]] [[DragonTheirFeet comes back from the dead for one last shot at McClane]].

* In ''[=~M* A* S* H~=]'', Father Mulcahy has a famous episode where a patient refuses to talk with him because he has no field experience since he was the camp chaplain. Mulcahy asks Col. Potter if he could spend some time on the front to fix that, but Potter refuses saying that no commander nowadays will tolerate having a soldier in the field who is forbidden by regulations to fight. Regardless, Mulcahy sneaks away anyway on an errand with Radar to the front and has a memorable experience having to perform an emergency tracheotomy under enemy fire with Hawkeye guiding him on the radio. As a result, the patient is impressed that the Padre had now just enough battle experience for any front line soldier to respect him.

-->'''Millr''': "Then get your gear."

* Averted with [[Corporal Upham ButtMonkey]] in ''SavingPrivateRyan'' - he was ''planning'' on staying safely behind lines doing translation and cartography...

* In the fourth Artemis Fowl novel, Holly Short worries about her upcoming promotion to desk jockey, and Julius Root attempts to ease her mind about it.

In RealLife [[TruthInTelevision military parlance]], a DeskJockey might be known also as an REMF "rear-echelon motherfucker", a "pogue" (etymology uncertain, though the usual story is that it comes from the Irish for "kiss my ass," but now [[FunWithAcronyms backronymed]] to Person Other than Grunt), or a "fobbit" (someone who never leaves their Forward Operating Base).

** It is mentioned that some desk jobs are filled by people who want to serve, but are physically limited in their capabilities. For example, whe Johnny goes to sign up for military service, the officer running the desk is missing an arm, a leg, and an eye. Having him in this position serves the double purpose of giving him somewhere to serve, and reminding potential recruits the dangers they're signing up for.

* Most of the color commentators in the ''BackyardSports'' series, with the exception of Vinnie the Gooch, Earl Grey, and [[ReplacementScrappy Jack Fouler]], were once players but are now confined to watching. Chuck Downfield is basically retired (as he has a charlie horse), but [[spoiler:the others are [[SecretCharacter unlockable players]].]]

* ''HonorHarrington'': [[spoiler:HonorHarrington]] is currently commanding Home Fleet, which [[CaptainObvious stays home and doesn't go anywhere.]] If it wasnt for the ensuing Mesan surprise attack, that would take her out of the real action, which is why Henke and the Saganami group have been brought into the limelight; to take over from [[spoiler: Honor]] as the "out there wuppin ass" group from Manticore.
* Starting with RainbowSix, John Clark bemoans his status as a desk jockey, despite acknowledging that he can't physically keep up with the special force troopers under his command. To be fair, he's already in his senior years, about to be a grandfather, and up against very elite special forces troops that are in their primes.

* Hayate and Reinforce are mostly confined to desk jobs in ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha [=StrikerS=]''. It's ''safer'' that way, since they both qualify for the PersonOfMassDestruction trope.

* DoubleSubversion in RobertAHeinlein's ''StarshipTroopers'': One motto of the Mobile Infantry is "Everybody drops, everybody fights" -- everybody has combat duty, and any support job that can be done by civilians is. In practice, this means that the officers are forced to juggle ''multiple'' desk jobs in between drops.

** Salaakk of the Green Lantern Corps handles the day-to-day operations while the Guardians of the Universe focuses on the big stuff. However, he has shown he can fight when the situation demands it.

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In RealLife [[TruthInTelevision military parlance]], a DeskJockey might be known also as an REMF "rear-echelon motherfucker", a "pogue" (etymology uncertain, but now [[FunWithAcronyms backronymed]] to Person Other than Grunt), or a "fobbit" (someone who never leaves their Forward Operating Base).

* In ''[[{{Metroid}} Metroid Prime 2]]'', one character complains about it, saying that it would never happen to Samus.
** It should be mentioned that said character is [[BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor rather dead when the player encounters him]].

* Hayate and Reinforce are mostly confined to desk jobs in ''MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha [=StrikerS=]''.

* In ''MassEffect'', ex-Spectre candidate Captain David Anderson is confined to a desk job at the beginning of the game, though [[spoiler:you can make him the Human representative in the galaxy in the end]].

*Mr. Incredible of ''TheIncredibles'' was forced into mundane work after excessive lawsuits forced the government to set up a legal protection program for supers. He spent his free time listening to police scanners and indulging in small acts of illicit heroism until someone finally [[CallToAdventure offered him a chance to go legit]]. His family was relocated several times because he got caught and in the story he's an insurance claims adjuster (in which he also tries being heroic, telling an old lady how to avoid excessive bureaucracy).