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Post by artraveler on Aug 30, 2021 17:28:03 GMT -8
My youngest grandson is 14 and had been thinking of a military career. He cannot enlist for at least 4 years but as it stands right now his older brothers and myself are not offering encouragement. I am encouraging him to consider other endeavors. And, I believer my father the old gunny, his great grandfather would feel the same.
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Post by artraveler on Aug 31, 2021 6:51:54 GMT -8
Not worthy of the sacrifice www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/unworthy-of-the-sacrifice/They are so pants-shittingly incompetent that somehow it didn’t occur to any of them that it might be a bad idea to have the Americans with guns leave before the Americans without guns. And they are so unashamedly self-serving that none of them will face any consequences for any of it.
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Aug 31, 2021 6:58:10 GMT -8
It’s just tragic that it’s come to this. I lay the blame on all the dolts who bought into the hate-America agenda and voted for Biden and his party (although the Bush "nation builders" deserve as much blame). What good did they expect would come from empowering these political thugs and idiots?
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Aug 31, 2021 7:19:41 GMT -8
What a tragic story about Andy. And I couldn’t agree more about the writer’s biting sentiment toward these idiotic and corrupt military leaders.
I’m not entirely sure that a brain injury is necessary to induce that condition. Just lots of contact with the Left. Either that or I’ve sustained a brain injury that I am unaware of.
This is particularly powerful paragraph:
And a good summing-up:
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Post by artraveler on Aug 31, 2021 8:08:59 GMT -8
War damages all of us. Most manage to make adjustments and live with the sights, smells and the death. Others come home so damaged in mind and body that it is a wonder they are alive. Andy's story is just one of thousands that run under the radar of the political elite. Every time we go to combat we have to believe our leaders understand the sacrifice our young men and women are willing to make to accomplish the political goals. The average private is 18-19 years old and is led by a lieutenant who may be 24, a captain 28 and a major who may be 32.
War by its very nature is a young person's profession. It is not just the tragic loss of life, but the ensuing loss of potential. By the time a soldier has the experience to understand and not just blindly follow orders they no longer are on the front. Many captains, majors ant Lt. Col leave the military fir this reason. They cannot order others to sacrifice for causes that have no meaning.
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Post by kungfuzu on Aug 31, 2021 8:09:06 GMT -8
Here are a few signs that the whole Afghan War was a scam. What in God's name is all of that? Moving America to Afghanistan for the long haul? Keep your soldiers and marines completely cut off from the local populace? How about making things uncomfortable so as to insure fighters get the job done and get out? Everyone talks about the billions of dollars worth of equipment we left behind, the billions spent training the Afghan Army. What few are saying is that by leaving the equipment behind, we made sure that our armaments industry didn't miss a beat. Had those hundreds-of-thousands of M4s and the like been brought bad to the USA, it would have slowed the sales of future weapons to our military. Had we sold them to some other ally, the same point holds. What needs to be hammered on is the fact that of the US$2 trillion spent in this debacle, the vast majority of it came back to the USA in payments to the military-industrial-financial-intelligence-security-state-foreign-policy complex.
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Brad Nelson
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Post by Brad Nelson on Aug 31, 2021 8:14:21 GMT -8
Not having served in the military, I have to do a lot of reading between the lines, extrapolating from the data points here and there. Luckily Artler can provide an immediate perspective.
But I get the impression that for many the military is their family. I think from videos made by Lt. Col. Scheller, you see a guy not hurling criticism at faceless bureaucrats (who can all fuck off and die, as far as I’m concerned) but at people he seems to consider family. One of his superiors he says he regards as a father.
I don’t doubt that. One supposes there are many motivations for joining the military. But certainly many must be looking for a sense of purpose, perhaps a brotherhood and surrogate family, perhaps their own biological families having been the pits. And when they are then abused and betrayed by their military fathers, no wonder some of these fellows take their own lives.
Tragic as well (from a mission perspective) is having to adopt the lie of “Islam is a religion of peace.” The truth is that if God is a Nazi, Islam is the near perfect representation of this.
How any soldier can go into this clusterfuck — while enduring real hardships and facing death as a matter of course — and come out not screwed up or disheartened is beyond me.
But thank god “diversity is our strength.” Thank god the fudge-packers can feel good about themselves. After all, isn’t that the real purpose of the military?
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Post by artraveler on Aug 31, 2021 9:54:06 GMT -8
It is more than just family, but an extended family that can be called on for assistance in need. When I was in basic the DI had been a corporal working for my father in Korea. One of the first questions between vets meeting on the street is where were you stationed? The answer calls up possible friends we may have served with, or ops we may have in common. To the same extent the same is true of police officers no matter the jurisdiction the stories are common.
One of the reasons, perhaps the main one, is there is no one else we can talk shop with. You can't tell your wife, friends, or strangers a war story and have them truly understand. To be totally frank would send them off vomiting their guts out. You can't tell them of the bad decisions made that got their friends or family killed.
When I was young I tried to get my father to talk about the war(s). It was not successful and later I understood why. I have tried over the last 20 years to convey what I experienced but I realize it is only superficial. Occasionally a movie will convey the true elements of war. The opening of Saving Privet Ryan and most of We Were Soldiers give some of the most realistic but they are movies. When the scene is over the actors get up dust off and eat lunch an intense scene in a movie might let 15 minutes, try to imagine it for hours or days. No matter how realistic it pales to real combat.
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Post by kungfuzu on Aug 31, 2021 10:26:52 GMT -8
Youth is not know for clear thought or cynicism. It is simply the case that most Americans are generally good-hearted and naive'. They believe America is a good country. I believe this is particularly the case for those who serve in the military. It just doesn't enter their minds that our leaders are bad people who would lead us into immoral or stupid wars.
Of course, parents should have a more informed view on this and let their children know.
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Post by kungfuzu on Aug 31, 2021 10:40:43 GMT -8
As I said, this man has a plan. Message in the chess board Lt. Col. Scheller is an intelligent man. He has a Bachelor's in accounting and Masters in Military Science. He was what is called a "hot runner" in the military, i.e. was on the quick road to flag rank. I saw a post he made after the second video and it was very well written. I will try to find it and post it here. As many thought the moment they saw the second video, Scheller's mental health was called into question. His C.O. sent him to the docs the very next day. His recent post showed that he was in complete control. The man has a plan, and he has the training as well as the will to implement it. One hopes he brings down a lot of scoundrels in the military.
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Post by Brad Nelson on Aug 31, 2021 11:12:14 GMT -8
I think there’s little doubt that the second video had a bad optic to it. Although the guy was going through the wringer, I don’t question his mental health. I question the mental and moral health of his superiors, however.
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Post by kungfuzu on Aug 31, 2021 16:27:39 GMT -8
Here is another "hot runner" who was relieved of command by a scumbag superior officer. Lt. Col. Lohmeier was speaking out against the teaching of Marxism in the military. This all happened a couple of months back. Lohmeier is out as of tomorrow. Lt. Col. Lohmeier Here is something on the scumbag general who relieved him of command. Lt. General Whiting This weeny is indicative of where our military is. He needs to be expelled from the Air Force.
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Post by Brad Nelson on Aug 31, 2021 17:47:08 GMT -8
I've long said that Marxists need to be purged from the system. But I was talking about universities and schools. I had no idea I would one day be talking about the need to purge Marxism from the military.
One name for it is "diversity."
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Post by artraveler on Sept 1, 2021 6:08:59 GMT -8
On Monday the Lt. Col was ordered to undergo psychological evaluation by his CO. Needless to say to actual order came down the chain.
This is a common Soviet tactic for the treatment of dissatisfaction. After all if you are unhappy with the worker's paradise you must be crazy. Welcome to the new USSR.
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Post by Brad Nelson on Sept 1, 2021 6:47:27 GMT -8
Unfortunately, that does seem to be the case. But I would say the guy who needs to be sent for evaluation is this guy from the state department. Byron York reports: I try to keep hyperbole in check. But I'm of the mind that the government has become the enemy of the people.
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Post by kungfuzu on Sept 1, 2021 9:27:20 GMT -8
This is a longish piece, but the writer hits the nail on the head with his analysis of one of the main things ailing our military and other institutions. I ran into the types he describes during my time in a large multinational corporation. These people are similar to many journalists. They have no shortage of shelf assurance. They are good at writing but do not have much in-depth learning about any particular subject. They are essentially BS artists. Today's elites are too often BS artists talking to other BS artists and deciding the future of our nation. Reality has little to do with things other than they are really just trying to butter their own bread. One item in this article got my goat. The U.S. Military paid McKinsey US$18.6 million to develop its "strategic focus." What the hell? People have to understand that consulting firms like McKinsey are full of "bright young things" who also have about zero real life experience in the areas where they are giving "advice." They are good writers, do well in school, are presentable and willing to "adapt." It has always been a puzzle to me why corporations and others pay such large fees to these "consultants." I suppose the main reasons are that they can say they consulted "experts" and if anything goes wrong they can then blame the "experts." McKinsey-fied
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Post by Brad Nelson on Sept 1, 2021 10:15:07 GMT -8
In a nutshell. Almost would fit on a bumper sticker.
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Post by Brad Nelson on Sept 1, 2021 13:32:36 GMT -8
That’s what we used to call “Thinking your own shit doesn’t stink.” I read part of that article and some others. One of the reigning ideas is that in real wars there’s no time or place for such large amounts of BS. But in these “nation building” ventures (that are certainly real and just as lethal to our soldiers), they become just another Federal bureaucratized program, especially when they run on so long. And advancement comes not by winning victories but by (in present circumstances) expressing how woke you are.
Listen, I used to defend George W. Bush against all the Californian liberal flakes who said he was an idiot. I’ve changed my tune on that a little bit. I think all these Ivy-league guys coming out of today’s colleges are idiots to some degree.
But think back to Patton who was chastised for merely slapping a solider. Maybe some soldiers need a good slap. And maybe equating Democrats and Republicans to Nazis isn’t the smartest thing. But he was (from what I understand) an ample administrator in Germany after their surrender.
So “wokeness” and playing politics is nothing new. By the way, I think Patton was a useful Prima Donna. But I sometimes wonder if Douglas McArthur didn’t take his Prima Donnahood too far. Still, he was a masterful administrator in Japan.
So you see where this is heading, of course. Any real and effective soldier or commander is not necessarily going to be “woke” or politically correct. In fact, it would be a pretty good sign that you have a competent man if he isn’t. But in today’s world (and Army), the more stupid “woke” things you say and believe, the further you advance. I think these idiot types have taken over. It’s doubtful we could win a shooting war with China. If I’m living in Taiwan, I’m learning to speak Chinese. Well, you know what I mean.
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Post by kungfuzu on Sept 1, 2021 17:35:00 GMT -8
I believe that great warriors are virtually never of much use in times of peace. Their aggressive natures preclude them from playing well with others. As a result, it is not uncommon for "career officers" to act as place holders in times of peace. (MacArthur, which a prima donna was something of an exception to this rule.) Unfortunately, we no long appear to be able to determine when warriors are needed to replace these "place holders." As a result, we lose wars.
That ass lost me by 2005 at the latest.
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Post by kungfuzu on Sept 1, 2021 20:20:09 GMT -8
It appears the Marine Corps is seriously considering bringing Lt. Col. Scheller before a Court Martial. If they are fool enough to do this, they will bring hell down upon themselves. I warned readers about the scoundrel Marine Commandant Gen. Berger some year or two back. A good tar-and-feathering party would be suitable for him should the Corps punish Scheller. Court Martial
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