Military Roll Call! Veterans, GTFIH!

Christ! Are you still in the Marines? So, a female 2nd Lieutenant leading her Platoon of 45+ men in combat. That's a recipe for disaster. Thank God for Platoon sergeants, Squad leaders, and Team leaders. They will certainly make up for any deficiencies.

Only if those damp-butt greenies listen to those who have "been there, done that." My last assignment, I was with a Capt. who swore she knew how it all worked. I had been doing it since before she was born and she wouldn't listen to one single suggestion. I saluted smartly, carried on, and retired.

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Wooks no longer have to pass the combat endurance test to become infantry officers

https://www.military.com/daily-news...acebook&utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social

I knew this would happen. A gradual decline of the difficulty until females can pass these course on a semi consistant basis.

I hear an argument of - literally what they're saying - the standard is too high just to be a high standard. Well, no shit. What do you want? Lesser individuals graduating courses that require traits that are frankly not common in the average human being? I know I don't. Thus, yes things need to resemble the "worst case scenario" and if you're unable to finish within a passable standard, move along. I mean this with sincerity, thanks for trying, you're a great American now continue to be great in another MOS.

My thoughts were with the new administration this social experiment, which literally defy's human biology, would have been curbed. I believe it has slowed but clearly there continues to be political pressures.

This quip at the bottom summarizes all that is wrong with this thought process:

"The quality of the course, and the caliber of infantry officers it produces remains the same,” they told Military.com in a statement. “The Marine Corps continuously improves upon programs of instruction to reflect the requirements of the operating environment.”

That's like saying, "The quality of our police force is still top notice, we just removed the pistol qualification because some of the students were unable to pass it. But, our academy still makes capable police."

I don't want capable - I want the best. Not everyone gets a trophy.
 
I knew this would happen. A gradual decline of the difficulty until females can pass these course on a semi consistant basis.

I hear an argument of - literally what they're saying - the standard is too high just to be a high standard. Well, no shit. What do you want? Lesser individuals graduating courses that require traits that are frankly not common in the average human being? I know I don't. Thus, yes things need to resemble the "worst case scenario" and if you're unable to finish within a passable standard, move along. I mean this with sincerity, thanks for trying, you're a great American now continue to be great in another MOS.

My thoughts were with the new administration this social experiment, which literally defy's human biology, would have been curbed. I believe it has slowed but clearly there continues to be political pressures.

This quip at the bottom summarizes all that is wrong with this thought process:

"The quality of the course, and the caliber of infantry officers it produces remains the same,” they told Military.com in a statement. “The Marine Corps continuously improves upon programs of instruction to reflect the requirements of the operating environment.”

That's like saying, "The quality of our police force is still top notice, we just removed the pistol qualification because some of the students were unable to pass it. But, our academy still makes capable police."

I don't want capable - I want the best. Not everyone gets a trophy.
I want the best killers leading killers. If you can't keep up, you can't lead.
 
This may take a while. :)


...and this was hilarious. Lady on the right got the joke. We had huge dark circles under our eyes from lack of sleep. These girls certainly got their 'beauty' sleep.

Ranger Class 7-92
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Was the CET different prior to 2012? Was it pass/fail?
 
This may take a while. :)


...and this was hilarious. :):) Lady on the right got the joke. We had huge dark circles under our eyes from lack of sleep. These girls certainly got their 'beauty' sleep.

Ranger Class 7-92
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Not even a Ranger graduation but my dad showed me his unit picture from basic... this is regular, Navy basic training...

Everyone had the 1000 yard stare. Looked like the barely awake walking dead.
 
How common is it to have officers in country spaz out like McGraw did at least in the show? I always figured HBO played it up a bit for the sake of the show but friends tell me it's more common than people want to admit.

 
Man.

"Capt. America" really needed to be in charge of the yeoman pool on a Hospital Ship somewhere...




In the North Atlantic.
 
How common is it to have officers in country spaz out like McGraw did at least in the show?

My experience was that it was not very common. Same goes for NCOs. The unit already has the 'fuck-ups' pegged before a deployment. At the first sign of trouble, word goes up the chain-of-command fast. No one wants a 'fuck-up' in a leadership position. That individual is usually re-assigned. I think 'Band of Brothers' did a better job of portraying that. Platoon Sergeants usually have a direct link (and more respect) to the Company Commander. Incompetent leaders get people killed. Something both the Army and the Marines try to avoid. I've seen both Lieutenants and Captains get replaced and reassigned. There are plenty more waiting in the wings to have command time. We are all replaceable. Some folks are good in the field and combat but suck in staff positions. Some are just the opposite. OERs (Officer Evaluation Report) and NCOERs are also a great way to get rid of people. If you are below the 50% mark, you are gone. It's like the 'dreaded' peer evaluations in Ranger school.
 
How common is it to have officers in country spaz out like McGraw did at least in the show? I always figured HBO played it up a bit for the sake of the show but friends tell me it's more common than people want to admit.



I was attached to 1st Recon during the initial invasion, and knew most of those guys at least in passing, and some a little bit more from going through BRC together.

Yeah, it was hyped up for the show. I think they needed to in order for his incompetence to come across to the civilian viewer. Opposed to say, his real life fuckups, which while severe, may not be that obvious. Now I didn't stay with 1st Recon for more than a couple months. Pealed off somewhere after Baghdad to go with RCT 5, then later attached to Task Force Tarawa for the push into Tikrit. The only incident I'm personally aware of is we were in a convoy moving where we half-expected contact. He opened up with an AK, which freaked everyone out for a second because we weren't sure if we had just made contact. So yeah, very stupid move there. Anything else though I can't really comment on. Hell, it's been 15 years since then.
 
I always figured HBO played it up a bit for the sake of the show but friends tell me it's more common than people want to admit.
Yeah, it was hyped up for the show. I think they needed to in order for his incompetence to come across to the civilian viewer.

I'm not too fond of 'Generation Kill'. Too 'hyped' up like @Darkballs said. No, you don't get to keep or use AK-47s in theater. Where are the 7.62 rounds going to be coming from? Also, officers ride in the first HUMVEE, not the last. Lead from the front, not the rear. There is a lot of stuff on the show that is just not real.

Same for 'Valor' on Netflix. No, you don't get to wear a long beard and hair as a male officer (aviator) or a long pony tail as a female officer. Not talking about the SF guys in theater. I really wish they had a military adviser on these sets to correct some of these mistakes. Another reason for no facial hair is that you can't get a proper 'seal' on your NBC mask.
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But now the U.S. Army has made exceptions on religious grounds. "Soldiers will still have to submit their requests for brigade-level approval, but the move opens up service to people who otherwise would have had to abandon cherished religious practices to serve."

 
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I'm not too fond of 'Generation Kill'. Too 'hyped' up like @Darkballs said. No, you don't get to keep or use AK-47s in theater. Where are the 7.62 rounds going to be coming from? Also, officers ride in the first HUMVEE, not the last. Lead from the front, not the rear. There is a lot of stuff on the show that is just not real.

Same for 'Valor' on Netflix. No, you don't get to wear a long beard and hair as a male officer (aviator) or a long pony tail as a female officer. Not talking about the SF guys in theater. I really wish they had a military adviser on these sets to correct some of these mistakes. Another reason for no facial hair is that you can't get a proper 'seal' on your NBC mask.
I thought Rudy and Kocher played themselves in that show though and were acting as advisers the whole time.
 
I'm not too fond of 'Generation Kill'. Too 'hyped' up like @Darkballs said. No, you don't get to keep or use AK-47s in theater. Where are the 7.62 rounds going to be coming from?

Hell, I remember we overran a Special Republican Guard base. And by overran, I mean, no one was there and it was reported as a superb op with no casualties. But we immediately had to secure and I did some perimeter patrolling and found a whole crate of brand new AK's in some dudes barracks room. Took the whole crate. All the officers were going apeshit that we were all gonna have AK's shipped home. About a week later some dickhole reporter got busted trying to sneak 5,000 year old artifacts he looted from the national museum back to the states. So the word went down hard that we couldn't keep anything we found. So that Iraqi flag I took from said base? Confiscated. All those AK's too, although I'm sure some pog officer kept one.
 
About a week later some dickhole reporter got busted trying to sneak 5,000 year old artifacts he looted from the national museum back to the states. So the word went down hard that we couldn't keep anything we found. So that Iraqi flag I took from said base? Confiscated. All those AK's too, although I'm sure some pog officer kept one.

'Looting' being the key word. Plus DoD not wanting the military to get a bad image in the media. If you want it that bad, you can buy a 'good' AK-47 for around $700. Maybe less at a gun show. I was never a fan of the weapon, but it certainly beats the M-16A2. It was crazy what soldiers were shipping home during WWII. I had a female officer that somehow managed to bring a dog home from Iraq. She found it as a pup and it stayed with her throughout the deployment. I'm sure she managed to somehow get an Army veterinarian to sign off on the paperwork. Marines brought back a donkey. It became their mascot at the base in Iraq. If you get the right paperwork and someone to sign off on it, it can happen.
 
'Looting' being the key word. Plus DoD not wanting the military to get a bad image in the media. If you want it that bad, you can buy a 'good' AK-47 for around $700. Maybe less at a gun show. I was never a fan of the weapon, but it certainly beats the M-16A2. It was crazy what soldiers were shipping home during WWII. I had a female officer that somehow managed to bring a dog home from Iraq. She found it as a pup and it stayed with her throughout the deployment. I'm sure she managed to somehow get an Army veterinarian to sign off on the paperwork. Marines brought back a donkey. It became their mascot at the base in Iraq. If you get the right paperwork and someone to sign off on it, it can happen.
My dad could have come home from Vietnam with a brand new still in the oil BAR and Thompson.

The fucker didn't do it. I never let him forget that and rip him for it constantly as well as selling two 60s era Corvettes.

Like "dad, you have those cars my fat ass woulda been dating the cheer captain you ASSHOLE!"
 
Hell, I remember we overran a Special Republican Guard base. And by overran, I mean, no one was there and it was reported as a superb op with no casualties. But we immediately had to secure and I did some perimeter patrolling and found a whole crate of brand new AK's in some dudes barracks room. Took the whole crate. All the officers were going apeshit that we were all gonna have AK's shipped home. About a week later some dickhole reporter got busted trying to sneak 5,000 year old artifacts he looted from the national museum back to the states. So the word went down hard that we couldn't keep anything we found. So that Iraqi flag I took from said base? Confiscated. All those AK's too, although I'm sure some pog officer kept one.

my friend got an ak shipped home, only to change his mind and dismantle it and throw it into a river...got caught on cctv throwing it into a river lol. this was in the uk. alot of lads stole the fancy persian carpets and got them home no issues tho
 
my friend got an ak shipped home, only to change his mind and dismantle it and throw it into a river...got caught on cctv throwing it into a river lol. this was in the uk. alot of lads stole the fancy persian carpets and got them home no issues tho

I was the first American to go inside Saddam's palace in Tikrit. Most of it had already been looted by the locals. I did find one nice run from one of the more obscure rooms. Planned on having that in my apartment for college. But yeah, some officer pulled that out of our vehicle, and I'm sure someone kept it. Oddly, the only other thing I found in the palace was a small projection room not more the size of a closet behind a room for showing movies. All the movies were about 70% American war movies like Platoon and Saving Private Ryan. The other 30% were interracial porn. Guess Saddam liked black chicks.
 
I was the first American to go inside Saddam's palace in Tikrit. Most of it had already been looted by the locals. I did find one nice run from one of the more obscure rooms. Planned on having that in my apartment for college. But yeah, some officer pulled that out of our vehicle, and I'm sure someone kept it. Oddly, the only other thing I found in the palace was a small projection room not more the size of a closet behind a room for showing movies. All the movies were about 70% American war movies like Platoon and Saving Private Ryan. The other 30% were interracial porn. Guess Saddam liked black chicks.

I got a few enfields back from Afghan in the early days, just had to have it decommissioned before bringing it back. Nice wee present!
 
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