And a follow up to Thank You…

Two comments I have to bring forward; once you read them you’ll understand…


First from AOA



Look at what a bunch of “uneducated” 18 to 40 year-olds accomplish everyday in the military:

• They operate and drive carriers, submarines, battleships, etc that are small floating cities unto themselves. They work in efficient harmony, constant danger, unending stress. . . and yet look at how many actively seek to re-enlist.

• They staff, maintain and operate Air Force bases all over the world that ARE small self-contained cities. The Wing Commander, usually in his late 30’s/early 40’s is the mayor or city manager, Base Commander as the mayor pro-tem, etc and the purpose of these cities is to maintain, operate and fly the most sophisticated aviation machines ever known to mankind and do so with a safety record that is unparalleled.

• Army bases/posts/forts have the manpower, hardware and artillery to virtually wipe any city in the world off the face of the map, and the infantry’s heart and soul is made up of young men still in their teens.

When is the last time anyone has seen that kind of cohesiveness, efficiency and unit-integrity in the private sector?

I sure as hell haven’t and after leaving the Air Force and earning my degree, I started at the bottom and retired from a corner office–and worked on both coasts and everywhere in the middle.

In the military, if you f’d up, someone got hurt. . . or worse. In the civilian business world, if you f-up, you generally get promoted because to punish you would invite a lawsuit and “wrongful termination” or allegations of a “hostile work environment.”

Hostile work environment my ass. Try a pitching, rolling carrier deck, or up/downloading nukes on a B-52 or B-1, filing out the back of a C-130 in turbulent skies because you’re an airborne soldier and that’s how you get delivered to the scene of YOUR work environment.

Try a job in which you’re paid a fifth, or less, of what the same or a similar job in the private 8 – 5 sector pays and nobody is going to ever scream or shoot at you.

Hostile work environment my ass.

What’s hostile is the attitude too many of our great “academic” and political thinkers have towards those who wore the uniform, who wear the uniform, and who desire to wear the uniform.

There is where MY hostility gets directed.



And from Michael

 



Let’s try this again, shall we? *grin*

Well written my friend!

But remember that this is a very old problem. It goes back as long as there have been people who were willing to fight for others who are either unable or unwilling to go in harm’s way to protect their fellow citizens.

Rudyard Kipling put it far better than I ever could. 

Tommy

I went into a public-‘ouse to get a pint o’ beer,
The publican ‘e up an’ sez, “We serve no red-coats here.”
The girls be’ind the bar they laughed an’ giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again an’ to myself sez I:
O it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, go away”;
But it’s “Thank you, Mister Atkins”, when the band begins to play,
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
O it’s “Thank you, Mister Atkins”, when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but ‘adn’t none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-‘alls,
But when it comes to fightin’, Lord! they’ll shove me in the stalls!
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, wait outside”;
But it’s “Special train for Atkins” when the trooper’s on the tide,
The troopship’s on the tide, my boys, the troopship’s on the tide,
O it’s “Special train for Atkins” when the trooper’s on the tide.

Yes, makin’ mock o’ uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an’ they’re starvation cheap;
An’ hustlin’ drunken soldiers when they’re goin’ large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin’ in full kit.
Then it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, ‘ow’s yer soul?”
But it’s “Thin red line of ‘eroes” when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it’s “Thin red line of ‘eroes” when the drums begin to roll.

We aren’t no thin red ‘eroes, nor we aren’t no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An’ if sometimes our conduck isn’t all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don’t grow into plaster saints;
While it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Tommy, fall be’ind”,
But it’s “Please to walk in front, sir”, when there’s trouble in the wind,
There’s trouble in the wind, my boys, there’s trouble in the wind,
O it’s “Please to walk in front, sir”, when there’s trouble in the wind.

You talk o’ better food for us, an’ schools, an’ fires, an’ all:
We’ll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don’t mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow’s Uniform is not the soldier-man’s disgrace.
For it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ “Chuck him out, the brute!”
But it’s “Saviour of ‘is country” when the guns begin to shoot;
An’ it’s Tommy this, an’ Tommy that, an’ anything you please;
An’ Tommy ain’t a bloomin’ fool — you bet that Tommy sees!






Both of these gents bring up EXCELLENT points, and yeah, Tommy pretty much says it all… sigh…

Comments

And a follow up to Thank You… — 8 Comments

  1. I never served but I know full well those that have and what they sacrificed for me. I will never forget and I do all I can for those that did.

  2. I live in a country that has had a draft, though by the time I was up for it, there had been cutbacks, and a lot of people were sorted out, I think I was due to the fact that I told the shrink I wasn’t really interested unless I got placed in the radio section(which also contains computer work, including cyber warfare). I did score in the top percentile on the intelligence test though(it’s graded 1 to 9, I got a 9, but additionally the grading officer told me if you took all the 9s and made a new 1-9 scale internally of those, I got an 8).

    Mind you my country hasn’t been to war for 200 years. Our military has recently gone fully optional, and a duty tour now includes being a UN peacekeeper.

  3. PS: I’m now very happy I didn’t get into the cyber warfare division, as I’ve known someone who was. Apparently you’re classed as a security risk for 30 years afterwards, and if you’re out of the country for more than 10 days they put an international warrant on you through interpol. Kinda clashes with me loving diving, having become a diving instructor and prefering to work in hot climates.

  4. Reminds me of the Asshole at the State Department a few years back who was Whining that being sent to Iraq was a “Death Sentence.” Bet you he still has his GS-whatever Job.

    Meanwhile, across town at Walter Reed….

  5. Keads- Thanks!

    Mikael- good scores, and probably a good idea on your part!

    Les- Your point is well made!!!

  6. I am with Keads, I never served anything but coffee, but I have always tried show my appreciation and do whatever I could to help. As always thank you!

  7. Re: “bunch of “uneducated” 18 to 40 year-olds”

    I beg to differ. These are not “uneducated” people; they’ve been educated by an efficient teaching process post-public school.

    One does not need college to become “educated”; college often gets in the way of becoming educated.
    Q

  8. Q makes a very good point …

    I’m also with Keads & AGaHG … ever thankful to those that do serve.