- Joined
- Jul 13, 2009
- Messages
- 17,660
- Reaction score
- 12,265
- Location
- State of Jefferson
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Moderate
Sometimes it is true that people dont know exactly what they are getting into. I mean at 18 years old you dont always think things through.
Over the last 5 years, I had a question that I would ask every young soldier after they had been in our unit for about a month.
"Is the Army what you thought it would be?"
And ya know what? Almost universally, they admit it was not. They expected it to be tougher, more like a permanent boot-camp with Sergeants yelling at them all the time, and spending weeks at a time in the field living out of tents. And that we only deploy once every 2-3 years. Almost every one was very shocked that it was not anything even close to that. Most were amazed that other then the PT and the long hours (6am-5pm), it was pretty much like any other job.
This reflects my experiences when I joined (30 yrs ago). I liked the discipline and structure of the training aspects. I lost interest in the Army itself when I got to my permanent assignments. I did enjoy field assignments (my service was entirely peace-time), but other than that I found out that the service is a highly-functioning bureaucratic hypocritical mess.Over the last 5 years, I had a question that I would ask every young soldier after they had been in our unit for about a month.
"Is the Army what you thought it would be?"
And ya know what? Almost universally, they admit it was not. They expected it to be tougher, more like a permanent boot-camp with Sergeants yelling at them all the time, and spending weeks at a time in the field living out of tents. And that we only deploy once every 2-3 years. Almost every one was very shocked that it was not anything even close to that. Most were amazed that other then the PT and the long hours (6am-5pm), it was pretty much like any other job.
With the United States not having been invaded since 1812, and millions of civilians having been killed in Vietnam, Korea, and Iraq. We also spend about 750 billion on defense against middle easterners with ak-47s. I am tired of people yelling out ignorantly how we should support our troops. When they fight these useless wars(Vietnam, Iraq, Korea, Afghanistan, Panama, Grenada). All for political gain and also another factor is the military industrial complex. All the companies that build the tanks, body armour, fighter jets, rifles ect... Do you think we should glorify war and our soldiers as hero's?
This reflects my experiences when I joined (30 yrs ago). I liked the discipline and structure of the training aspects. I lost interest in the Army itself when I got to my permanent assignments. I did enjoy field assignments (my service was entirely peace-time), but other than that I found out that the service is a highly-functioning bureaucratic hypocritical mess.
Ever hear of pearl harbor.....were you ever in the military ? I dont know why im even responding to this drivel...
Pearl Harbor was an attack, not an invasion. Pearl Harbor could have easily been prevented, but then FDR wouldn't have been able to justify the murderous war with Japan. Also, without Pearl Harbor, FDR's illegal supplying of GB would have ended sometime in 1942.
And then we'd have been facing an Asia ruled by a militaristic Japan for generations, and Europe dominated by the 3rd Reich, most likely.
Le Fail, mon ami.
Do you really believe the Third Reich wouldn't have been destroyed from within? Hitler was a sickly drug addict. Surely he'd die eventually.
as for Japan's Imperial ambitions, it's no different than our current foreign policy. We just can't stick bamboo shoots in innocent Chinese women, as it's a taboo in our culture.
3rd Reich wasn't a one-man show; someone would have taken over after Hitler.
If you really see no diff between Imperial Japan and modern America then I dont know what to say to you, other than get your eyeglasses checked.
Ever hear of pearl harbor.....were you ever in the military ? I dont know why im even responding to this drivel...
Pearl Harbor was an attack, not an invasion. Pearl Harbor could have easily been prevented, but then FDR wouldn't have been able to justify the murderous war with Japan. Also, without Pearl Harbor, FDR's illegal supplying of GB would have ended sometime in 1942.
That man wouldn't have been able to control the Empire that Hitler had built. Hitler was a brilliant man, but it was his charisma that created the Third Reich and without Hitler, it would have crumbled. The French, the Czech, the Norwegians, etc would have taken back their homelands by themselves.
Philippines? Guam? Alaska? Those were all invasions, with huge numbers of US citizens killed and imprisoned. Between 7-10,000 Americans and Philippino National Guard members were killed just on the Battan Death March alone. An estimated 1 million Philippinos were killed during the occupation. Every one of them a US National.
But they were not whites living in the Continental US, so I guess they don't count.
I wouldn't bring up the philippines haha... How many did Americans kill in the Philippine-American War, their war for independence? Over 200k was it? Though the number varies, these were not direct casualties but, they were indeed indirect casualties of the war.
3rd Reich wasn't a one-man show; someone would have taken over after Hitler.
If you really see no diff between Imperial Japan and modern America then I dont know what to say to you, other than get your eyeglasses checked.
some soldiers serve as clerks at an army base stateside.
what's heroic about that?
Are you aware of what that really was?
The Philippine Insurrection was not one but a series of battles, going way back to the 1890's. And it was a multi-sided affair with multiple groups fighting for control of the Islands. In fact, there were 5 major groups involved, each of them trying for control of the islands. You had the Republic, which favored ties and limited control-sponsorship with America. Then you had the Katipunan, which was a racially based secret society which wanted to control the islands through the Masonic Temple. Then there was the Moros, a largely Muslim population based on Mindanao, which wanted to turn it into a Muslim state. Then the Sultinate of Sulu, another Islamic group also based in the Southern Philippines, which wanted to turn it into an even more radical Islamic Republic. Then finally the Pulahan, a group that was based on a combination of Catholicism and Philippine mythology and folklore.
Do not equate the Philippines Insurection with the US Civil War. On one side you had a mostly unified force operating under a unified command and government structure, and on the other you had a great many groups, each fighting for what it though the Philippines should become.
And even the "Philippine Republic" was not a republic, but a dictatorship. With a President that was appointed by decree with complete dictatorial powers.
With the United States not having been invaded since 1812, and millions of civilians having been killed in Vietnam, Korea, and Iraq. We also spend about 750 billion on defense against middle easterners with ak-47s. I am tired of people yelling out ignorantly how we should support our troops. When they fight these useless wars(Vietnam, Iraq, Korea, Afghanistan, Panama, Grenada). All for political gain and also another factor is the military industrial complex. All the companies that build the tanks, body armour, fighter jets, rifles ect... Do you think we should glorify war and our soldiers as hero's?
Some of the factions weren't unified correct, but most of the ones you stated were, out of those five I see three groups. The Moro people, the Pulahan, and the Rebels, also you left out a sultinate in the first group.
The Moro Rebellion was not attached to the Philippine Insurrection, in which most of the fighting was in the north.
Doesn't matter what ideology they followed, we should not have been there, it was against what our nation was supposed to stand for.
Most people I served with were pretty intelligent, though there were always a couple dolts mixed in, too. I was in aviation, so that may have had something to do with it. Most of the dolts who tried aviation didn't make it through AIT.Its changed dramatically since then...First of all the Army used to be Americas babysitter...judges used to order delinquents to join the army or go to reform school...the army had issues other branchs did not because of that and it was over a million men.
The kids today are smarter...better trained and better equipted and it better stay that way...they send these kids tour after tour after tour out of country relentlessly....my heart breaks for them..I know the toll it takes....GOD BLESS THEM ALL.
That man wouldn't have been able to control the Empire that Hitler had built. Hitler was a brilliant man, but it was his charisma that created the Third Reich and without Hitler, it would have crumbled. The French, the Czech, the Norwegians, etc would have taken back their homelands by themselves.
That way, we don't have to have blood on our hands.
I suggest you take the blinders off, if you can't see the obvious parallels between Imperial Japan and Imperial America.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?