20 Jul 2009, 9:47 am
22 Jul 2009, 4:29 pm
22 Jul 2009, 6:20 pm
22 Jul 2009, 7:46 pm
22 Jul 2009, 8:31 pm
zer0netgain wrote:
That's really inaccurate. Our military is among the most skilled and best trained in the world.
The problem is that the military environment demands people who can do what they are told without question, and it has a "dumbing down" effect. One of us would go crazy with the wasteful BS that goes on, but that's the way they run things, and they want people who can cope with it being that way.
The problem is that the military environment demands people who can do what they are told without question, and it has a "dumbing down" effect. One of us would go crazy with the wasteful BS that goes on, but that's the way they run things, and they want people who can cope with it being that way.
That's a much better way of putting it. You'll see a smart guy look like an idiot, and a complete numbskull know exactly what he's doing. Then you get smart people who like the army and dumb people who hate it. I have pretty strong sociology skills, but my personal psychology is pretty lame, so I was just an oddball who knew how to keep his head down
(and not complain about bs)
22 Jul 2009, 8:48 pm
MDD123 wrote:
zer0netgain wrote:
That's really inaccurate. Our military is among the most skilled and best trained in the world.
The problem is that the military environment demands people who can do what they are told without question, and it has a "dumbing down" effect. One of us would go crazy with the wasteful BS that goes on, but that's the way they run things, and they want people who can cope with it being that way.
The problem is that the military environment demands people who can do what they are told without question, and it has a "dumbing down" effect. One of us would go crazy with the wasteful BS that goes on, but that's the way they run things, and they want people who can cope with it being that way.
That's a much better way of putting it. You'll see a smart guy look like an idiot, and a complete numbskull know exactly what he's doing. Then you get smart people who like the army and dumb people who hate it. I have pretty strong sociology skills, but my personal psychology is pretty lame, so I was just an oddball who knew how to keep his head down
(and not complain about bs)The inherent problem with any super disciplined organization is that tactics and strategies are devised by central control groups that are not required to share their thinking with those who do the actual action. It is not unusual for groups of soldiers to be consciously sacrificed or put in situations in which they are unlikely to survive and probably would revolt if they fully understood what is going on. To send people on suicide missions for the greater good of the rest of the army is an unfortunate consequence of war and individual initiative is not necessarily helpful in such a situation. This is not to justify the stupidity of the central control groups but to indicate that war is not necessarily sympathetic to the individual participant.
Last edited by Sand on 23 Jul 2009, 12:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
22 Jul 2009, 11:55 pm
23 Jul 2009, 1:44 am
23 Jul 2009, 7:47 am
Sand wrote:
This is wandering away from the gay discussion but it might be an interesting if problematic experiment for soldiers, the guys who have their lives on the line, to have some forceful democratic feedback to the top military planners when unnecessary numbers of troops are sacrificed in badly thought out and executed military operations. I doubt it has ever been tried and of course the macho spirit of military leaders would fight it all the way but if I have a good chance of being killed I would appreciate being able to emit a scream of dismay.
The military regards people as a resource, an expendable one at that. No objective is impossible if you have enough bodies to throw at it.
I prefer Villa's statement on the matter (from Blake's7):
I'm not stupid.
I'm not expendable.
I'm not going.
23 Jul 2009, 10:21 am
23 Jul 2009, 6:39 pm
24 Jul 2009, 1:19 pm
24 Jul 2009, 1:45 pm
24 Jul 2009, 2:32 pm
24 Jul 2009, 7:37 pm
24 Jul 2009, 8:34 pm
