Sunday, February 04, 2007

Daily Kos Rebuttal

I missed this one. But it was caught by Stephanie at debate policy. Essentially the dummies at Daily Kos have leaped on the bandwagon to slam the military based on a story in the Washington Post. To them I say Get Real...

For starters you need to understand that slamming the troops merely demonstrates that you are idiots in the mold of the nutjobs who spit on troops in the sixties. Then you need to look at your general attitude, summed up in the second link...


n00161's diary

This, of course, is a point I have brought up many times and the Milblogs when crazy then. You, the military, are the servants of the people. That is what you signed up for. We send you to war and we bring you home. We tell you when to wake up and when to go to bed. If you do not like that, GET OUT. But, that is the life you chose.


In reality we are not servants of the people. You, the people, get no say in hiring, firing, employing, disciplining, using, or abusing us. IN fact: You the people are in general inferior to those of us who wear or have worn a uniform in service to our country.

Yeah, that's right, you the people are generally inferior. After reading the links All I could think of was: These idiots are thinking of the Military specifically as if they were simply "those people"

Well...

Those people are physically superior. They are physically superior to the American (and I suspect Canadian) norm. Your average American citizen simply isn't physically fit enough to chase anyone a quarter of a mile and still have the energy reserves to subdue him. Your average Canadian citizen simply isn't physically fit enough to march with sixty to eighty (or more) pounds of gear in extreme climates for a mile let alone the standard of forty klicks and and still have the energy reserves to dig in and fight if needed.

The US Military folks are mentally superior. Your basic average citizen (of either nation) isn't trained or equipped to respond well to crisis. It requires a mental fortitude to not surrender to hardship that is lacking in most of the citizenry. The problem is that they are not trainable. It's fundamentally a lack of the needed will to dominate a situation.

Military folks are more adaptable. Mr or Mrs average American/Canadian doesn't adapt quickly or well. The adage "adapt or die" normally means that Mr./Mrs. Average will die. The public servants consistently adapt faster and more effectively. Failure to adapt is what lets the enemy win.

Those people are morally and ethically superior. Our CanAmerican citizens don't score high on morals or ethics in most cases. It's not that they are evil, it's that they get what mom or dad teaches them with a smattering of whatever they pick up here and there. "Those people" you tend to start with a higher set of values and then they receive additional and ongoing training.

On any given day of the week you pick a hundred average citizens and a hundred of "those people" and test em. You will find that they are physically fitter (the reason is not relevant), and they are mentally sharper. If you check the demographics on crime you will find that "those people" are about the same on minor crime such as traffic citations but far less on felonies. The demographic search should include courts martial as well.

You, the people, will argue that if you had the training then .... I agree that the training they get, and the application of it in daily life, and the continued (in many cases) application of it makes them in general better than the folks they serve.

Take physical fitness for example: I am forty-two and holding (till June anyway). I can still run over five miles and I am holding at my ideal weight. Check the demographic information on Americans and you will find that society is becoming fatter and more lethargic. So, it doesn't matter whether you give credit to genetics, or to training, I am still physically superior to most Americans.

The same applies to mental fitness. The average American isn't trained in critical observations skills (ala the cops), or rapid problem solving (ala the firemen and .mil), or immediate actions in emergencies (ala the EMT). That same training will allow me (as a retired military man) to observe, orient, decide, and take action faster and more effectively on my civil job than the untrained counterpart. Most of the folks who wash out of recruit training (.mil) or entry level academy (cops/emts) fail training because they are not mentally able to continuously deal with the stress of training. They are not accustomed to being held accountable without being allowed an excuse. They have grown up being conditioned that "it isn't really your fault" when they fail. IF you look at our current educational process there is less stress applied to the students than ever before. Perhaps it helps the learning environment, but it doesn't keep thier heads cool during an auto crash.

If we try to put it together I have an example to share: About three months ago a ford expedition t-boned a Saturn coupe as me and my wife were making a turn. She stopped our car and began dialing 911 as I ran to the car. He was bleeding from three places and was going into shock. Other citizens gathered around. I applied a tourniquet to his worst bleeder using a belt, I cut away his seat belt to improve his breathing and one of the non-panicking citizens helped me calm him (the victim) down. His leg was obviously broken and had we allowed him to move, it would have been worse for him. His screams were agitating those who were gawking. Within five and a half minutes of the call the EMS arrived. I exited stage right as the real professionals took over. I gave my name to a cop in case they wanted to talk later.

The point is that I believe my training in combat first aid (severe trauma), as well as the mental discipline imposed in the service, allowed us to help that guy. The other citizen who stepped up instead of being frozen? He was an Army reservist. The rest of the onlookers likely were not callous people, they were simply (for whatever reason) unable to perform.

Then we can look at ethics and morals. But, let me ask you (the people) this: What are your Core Values and can you articulate them? Any member of the services can. Because the services core values are imprinted on them and reinforced throughout the entire career. Again, it is training, and reinforcement of both positive and negative types.

Finally, I have to say that there are those wearing a uniform that don't deserve it. Approximately ten percent of any group does not deserve to be there. Demographics again. I was speaking of the faceless groups. Individually there are awesome citizens who are highly moral, mentally and physically fit and disciplined. But they are not the norm. There are fat, lazy, and dishonest Marines or Cops as well, but they are not the norm. What is the norm is that the civil leaders of both parties are corrupt and society is easily manipulated with bread and circuses.

Oh, and we are better educated than you (the people) as well. Don't take my word for it either. Look up the stats for number of folks who graduate HS and College and compare it to the US Military.

So, when you can honestly prove that I worked for you then you can run your mouth. Until then shut up and let your betters do what they need to do.





6 comments:

  1. Yeah, you are right, Lyndie England and her gang are far superior. I forgot. Thanks for reminding me.

    I just can't remember when anyone in my company has tied people up naked and made them think they were going to be electrocuted.

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  2. Well hello and thanks for stopping by. You are absolutly right about England et al. I do not condone atrocities or conduct unbecoming in anyone wearing a uniform.

    I hope you read all the way to the bottom. Because I had your back IRT England et al. Third para from the end states in part: "Finally, I have to say that there are those wearing a uniform that don't deserve it. Approximately ten percent of any group does not deserve to be there. Demographics again. I was speaking of the faceless groups. Individually there are awesome citizens who are highly moral, mentally and physically fit and disciplined. But they are not the norm. There are fat, lazy, and dishonest Marines or Cops as well, but they are not the norm."

    I hope you read the rest of the posts in my blog and feel free to comment. No censorship and no rules to limit you in that regard.

    Cordially,
    Phil

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  3. Well said.

    My opinion is that if the lower end, rank-wise, of the military has something screwed up then it is about command failure, all the way to the very top.

    The head (brain) is responsible for what the body does.

    In conparison to the civilians, I think military has many less habitual screw-offs, and I was, when living around military people, impressed with how they could take fresh out of school just barely out of childhood types and train them well to manage some very complicated things. I never have thought that they got the pay nor the benefits they deserved considering what we ask of them.

    The truth is that everything we enjoy in the US, mostly unthreatened by the majority of the world is because, among other things, those folks, mostly the guy/gal from next door or down the block scare the living whoosis right out of nearly everyone. I definitely appreciate not having to live in a war zone myself, and having people I can depend on to handle it.

    I also get really angry at politicians that misuse them and their talents for politico-personal reasons. Every one of their lives is too precious to be sacrificed without the most serious reasons.

    The Englunds and the Steven Greens are the exceptions. They are the fault of Command, and their own stupidity.

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  4. Hi Sharra, Agreed. The best thing about todays military is the quality of the people going in. Commanders are routinely held accountable for things subordinates do or fail to do, and that mentality goes all the way down to the most junior leaders (normally a Corporal E4). No one who isn't in the service understands that the proverbial "slap on the hand" is a career ender. So when you reprimand a Colonel, you've ended his career. That is more than most civil courts can do. I hope you get an email advising you of this reply. If you don't, let me know so I can tweak the structure a bit more. Thanks for stopping by.

    Phil

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  5. In reality we are not servants of the people. You, the people, get no say in hiring, firing, employing, disciplining, using, or abusing us. IN fact: You the people are in general inferior to those of us who wear or have worn a uniform in service to our country.
    I'm sorry but from a legal standpoint you are just wrong. In America the military is subordinate to the civilian power. You can think whatever you want about civilians, but our government is set up so that are "physically, mentally and morally inferior" are the boss of the military. Without that you have martial law and tyranny, the exact opposite of the ideals of the American government.

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  6. Hi Sam,
    From a purely legal standpoint you are correct. The US Military is subordinate to the Service Secretary, then the Secretary of Defense, and finally the President.

    I hope you noticed that Congress isn't in that picture, or the American People in general. While the military may answer to congress, it is in an indirect way. And as I stated, "the people" get no say at all except in the most indirect and roundabouts ways.

    The point of my rebuttal was to address the assertion that "You, the military, are the servants of the people. That is what you signed up for. We send you to war and we bring you home. We tell you when to wake up and when to go to bed. If you do not like that, GET OUT. But, that is the life you chose.".

    Obviously the tone of that was looking down on the US Military in general as "blue collar government employees". Since the author assumed a tone of superiority, I figured the best rebuttal would point out who was truly "superior" in measurable ways.

    I do agree that the military is subordinate to folks who are held to a lower standard as well. But that is how it is and as you noted a military government is antithetical to the American way.

    Thanks for coming by and commenting. Feel free at any time to do it again.

    Phil

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