Tony Montana posted:So, Generation Kill is just being aired on TV here in Australia and after seeing an episode I've gotten the whole series and I'm watching it. Consider the sources that were used to create "Band of Brothers" and "Generation Kill". I don't know exactly what sources Stephen Ambrose used to write his book. He likely used the unit diary(chronicled the events/actions of the unit), interviews with some of the men(Both interviews conducted by others and his own), letters etc. Obviously, some information(either forgotten, not recorded, destroyed, documents lost) was lost in the time that passed between the events and the time of the writing. Things like conversations between the individuals, drunken nights, petty fights, their opinions or thoughts at the time tend to be forgotten or their nature fundamentally altered by the passage of time. Not only that, the war itself represented a hugely idealized piece of time in American history. The idealization of this period itself will cause memories/thoughts/beliefs to change in those that experienced. On the other hand, the guy that wrote "Generation Kill" was a first hand observer to many of these events. Those events that he did not personally witness he likely was able to interview the men immediately after they occurred. His observations are a lot more raw and visceral. The men who are the topic of the book didn't have time or opportunity to reflect on the events. Thus, their opinions/ideals/reactions haven't had opportunity to be softened/changed by time/changed by contact with regular people(the guys in "Generation Kill" had spent like 1-2 months with little contact to the outside world or people who aren't themselves Marines). Not only that, his book wasn't intended to be a scholarly but instead entertainment. There is a clear distinction in the scope and focus in his writing than that of Ambrose. To put in a nutshell, Ambrose had to write about history by reading what the people who had experienced it wrote(and who also likely did not record every single detail that they experienced exactly as it was) or what they said 4-5 decades after the war(memory is not perfect, beliefs change). Wright, for the most part, experienced the events first hand. He was able to provide a snapshot of history and record extraordinary detail. Not only that, but as an entertainment writer he likely desired to record the more extraordinary portions of his experience.
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Feb 23, 2011 00:16
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Full Battle Rattle posted:My favorite line from Generation Kill goes something like: "We do really stupid poo poo, and by some miracle nobody gets killed, and so we continue to do really stupid poo poo." That's awesome. I made the point today that the only reason our system is so hosed up is because we've got too many people who care enough to actually do their damnedest to keep it from imploding, so we haven't FAILED hard enough for it to be noticed how hosed up the system is.
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Feb 23, 2011 01:53
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Tony Montana posted:That is more frightening that all your ICBMs combined. You seem to be wondering if it's just the united states military that poo poo is all hosed up in. As a US army infantryman in afghanistan I used to think that we were the most unprofessional and poorly trained force in the world because whenever I got to combat and all the retarded people and retarded poo poo we do did not cease being retarded I started to wonder if the image we all have of the stoic and unshakable soldier dedicated to his warrior comrades was mostly hype. Then I moved to a british/danish FOB and met the rest of the ISAF forces and learned through working closely alongside them that they tend to be even worse. I do not mean to be condescending or defensive in the slightest when I say this having had never worked with the aussies, but I can virtually guarantee you your own country's average combat soldiers are not only regular people like you and I, but they're also probably far more poorly equipped and trained and far less disciplined than their american counterparts. I'm sure soldiers in the forties were sitting around talking about dudes they'd gently caress if they were gay and singing lovely pop music too. You really just need to forget the idea that soldiers are somehow different from normal people because if your only exposure to doctors was ER you'd get the same larger than life impression about them that you do watching TV shows about soldiers.
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Feb 23, 2011 03:57
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Anybody got any information, and opinions on Park University?
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Feb 23, 2011 18:21
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Somebody go into this thread and make some magic happen.Tactical Grace posted:I've been thinking of joining the military for a while now. I have struggled to get into university for 2 years longer than normal but I made it into a journalism degree this year. Now I'm in, I'm really not enjoying it and will probably be dropping out because I'm terrible with dedication and meeting deadlines, which is why it took me so long to get here in the first place. I am intelligent but I have this avoidance problem where instead of handing in a essay late or badly written and getting a reduced mark, I'd rather ignore it entirely and pretend it doesn't exist. Handlebar Mustache posted:You really shouldn't join the army, you're either going to be directly occupying a country or helping your government occupy the country, and both of those is far more damaging to other people than robbing a bank or something like that. Car Stranger posted:If you want to deal with the mental torment of killing people as part of wars you probably (being an apparently intelligent journalism student) oppose, I couldn't think of a better vocation. Purgey posted:is the UK military also where society dumps off its useless chaff? GirlBones posted:Don't join the army unless you want to be a murderer and an imperialist stooge. Just because you hosed up your life doesn't mean you ought to grab a gun and gently caress up other people's lives too. Man up and learn how to make something of yourself without running away. And the greatest quote: Your Mans and Them posted:I can't speak for the British forces, but if it is anything like the United States Army, I say go for it. All the money you would be spending on rent and healthcare can get you booze at prices that would make your head spin. It's good training.
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Feb 23, 2011 20:04
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Let me just say that I posted in that thread before you put that up and I ignored that inflammatory bullshit to give the dude a little actual advice because who really wants to argue with insecure douchebags in an e/n thread. vvvvv Just making sure you know that I'm indier than thou, also I'm sure I'll get flamed and I'm about to go on a 10 day field problem and thus won't be around to defend the military-industrial complex so if someone could do that for me it would be swell Hippay fucked around with this message at 21:00 on Feb 23, 2011 |
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Feb 23, 2011 20:41
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Oh I know you got there first and tried, but it's just a nice project for a quiet Wednesday afternoon.
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Feb 23, 2011 20:54
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I gave him advice too. 8-) Oh no. I think it makes sense but you will all probably attack me still?
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Feb 23, 2011 21:31
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Regicide posted:I gave him advice too. 8-) He's doomed.
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Feb 23, 2011 22:09
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Regicide posted:will all probably attack me still? This is because (possibly through no fault of your own), every time you post in GiP you come off as either a whiny d-bag, or a whiny d-bag who is bravely putting on a transparent too-cool-for-school act.
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Feb 23, 2011 23:59
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Well, how do y'all feel about my response?
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Feb 24, 2011 03:33
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Ya bro, giving no fucks means give no fucks. You give fucks about not giving fucks, it reeks of giving fucks, and you come off as a try-hard. No one likes a try hard. Personally though? I give no fucks. 
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Feb 24, 2011 03:35
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If one were to write to congress and be a big whiny baby, should they just write their elected senator of their home of record? That would be Dick Lugar for uh me. Should I write the House too? i have no idea of the protocol on this.
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Feb 24, 2011 15:00
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DEVILDOGOOORAH posted:If one were to write to congress and be a big whiny baby, should they just write their elected senator of their home of record? That would be Dick Lugar for uh me. Should I write the House too? i have no idea of the protocol on this. Yes. The time that I wound up doing this I wrote both the Senator and the Rep from my home-of-record district. The Senator's office wound up being the one which actually got poo poo done; the Rep just returned boilerplate which referred to my wife as 'Mr.'
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Feb 24, 2011 15:28
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Honestly, I would call their office. http://lugar.senate.gov/contact/ has numbers on the bottom. I had a buddy call Rep. John Larson (CT) and they got back to him within a week, it's much better to call than to write/email. If this is about the bullshit that got pulled on you, then good luck dude. Hope they can do something for you. You might have better luck with calling someone on the Armed Forces Committee in the House. For Indiana, that would be Todd Young. His info is: 1721 Longworth HOB Washington, DC 20515 Phone: (202) 225-5315 Fax: (202) 226-6866 You won't talk to him, but someone on his staff. Seriously though, give him a call.
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Feb 25, 2011 08:21
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Probably a dumb question: Is there a way to find out when/where a unit is deploying before I get there? I'm hearing through the grapevine that the guard unit I'm supposed to go to after AIT is supposedly deploying "soon" but I don't know any way to confirm that. I have a feeling I won't know poo poo until I get out of training though.
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Mar 1, 2011 01:27
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old dog child posted:Probably a dumb question: Call the unit and ask.
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Mar 1, 2011 01:50
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Veins McGee posted:Call the unit and ask. Also take into consideration that no one knows anything in the Guard and everyone is full of poo poo. You'll know that you're deploying when your boots are on the sand.
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Mar 1, 2011 01:53
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If it was the AF I'd say call the maintenance squadron. Somehow those fuckers know before the wing staff.
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Mar 1, 2011 02:02
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I'll call the unit up, I didn't even think about that. kombatMedik: The only reason I thought it was plausible was because the SFC confirmed what I heard. I'll take that into consideration for future reference though.
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Mar 1, 2011 02:22
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old dog child posted:I'll call the unit up, I didn't even think about that. No, sorry if I sounded like a douche there. Everyone knows someone who saw our company on some sheet somewhere with some date before our deployment, and seriously it just got to the point where none of us gave a gently caress anymore, we just figured it would happen when it happens. You'll go nuts trying to figure out whats true and whats not. Just get prepared to go, and live your life normally. They'll let you know when they want you to do something. Edit: If your unit gets new supplies all of a sudden, pack your bags. We got a brand new LMTZ painted DCU colors one January. That September, we were mobilizing. Nostalgia4Butts fucked around with this message at 02:57 on Mar 1, 2011 |
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Mar 1, 2011 02:53
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Don't listen to poo poo until you have TCS orders in hand edit: to old dog child: Just because the dude is a SFC doesn't mean he knows his rear end from a hole in the ground, especially if he's someone at your AIT or wherever you are currently at. Those dude's are all full of poo poo
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Mar 1, 2011 02:54
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I think the National Guard may have hosed up my pay. I left active duty in December and had my first drill with the Guard in January, then did a 3 day drill in February. (MUTA 6 or something) Just today I got my a check, nothing on MyPay, from DFAS for $553.07. That doesn't sound right, I'm an E5 with 3 years service, shouldn't that be closer to $900? Also, when I ETSed finance hosed up and didn't pay me for about 10 days of leave...so could this be the pay for that? I'm God damned confused, and my unit is at SRP so there's no one for me to ask.
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Mar 1, 2011 05:52
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Just wondering if anyone else who receives benefits from the VA has not received this months(March) direct deposit? It always show up on time to the minute in my account but nothing there now. I thought I would ask here but seeing as I live in Australia and it is a huge pain in the rear end I would check here first.
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Mar 1, 2011 08:54
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gleep glop posted:I think the National Guard may have hosed up my pay. I left active duty in December and had my first drill with the Guard in January, then did a 3 day drill in February. (MUTA 6 or something) Just today I got my a check, nothing on MyPay, from DFAS for $553.07. That doesn't sound right, I'm an E5 with 3 years service, shouldn't that be closer to $900? Also, when I ETSed finance hosed up and didn't pay me for about 10 days of leave...so could this be the pay for that? I'm God damned confused, and my unit is at SRP so there's no one for me to ask. Last year I was an E5 with 4 years of service, and a 3 day drill netted me $450-475ish IIRC. So they definitely messed up your pay. Edit: It might have been less than that, maybe like $300 something. I just checked out mypay and I guess I've been out too long to access my past LESes. EconOutlines fucked around with this message at 10:28 on Mar 1, 2011 |
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Mar 1, 2011 10:22
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kombatMedik posted:Edit: If your unit gets new supplies all of a sudden, pack your bags. We got a brand new LMTZ painted DCU colors one January. That September, we were mobilizing. This. We all new poo poo was on when we picked up around 30 of those fancy new thermal imaging scopes a couple months ago.
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Mar 1, 2011 15:31
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Roving Reporter posted:Last year I was an E5 with 4 years of service, and a 3 day drill netted me $450-475ish IIRC. So they definitely messed up your pay. As an E-5 with 5 years, I can tell you there's no way you got 450 for a MUTA 6. Unless you live in bizarroland My last MUTA 6 netted me around 370. And the only thing I have taken out is life insurance for 50k. A regular drill is ~262. They didn't screw up his pay, he's just not going to be getting an assload of cash for drill. It's really only for beer money.
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Mar 1, 2011 15:56
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Ahh...maybe that $450 was actually my bar tab from when we went out the night before, since the busses didn't leave till 0500. Hazy times.
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Mar 1, 2011 16:23
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Raged posted:Just wondering if anyone else who receives benefits from the VA has not received this months(March) direct deposit? It always show up on time to the minute in my account but nothing there now. Got my disability man, all seems fine to me.
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Mar 1, 2011 16:43
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No Butt Stuff posted:As an E-5 with 5 years, I can tell you there's no way you got 450 for a MUTA 6. Unless you live in bizarroland My last MUTA 6 netted me around 370. And the only thing I have taken out is life insurance for 50k. A regular drill is ~262. Seriously? The little info sheet they gave me says a three day drill is 600 almost. In that case they still owe me for my first drill, but if you're right well then boo.
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Mar 1, 2011 18:13
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kombatMedik posted:No, sorry if I sounded like a douche there. Everyone knows someone who saw our company on some sheet somewhere with some date before our deployment, and seriously it just got to the point where none of us gave a gently caress anymore, we just figured it would happen when it happens. You'll go nuts trying to figure out whats true and whats not. Just get prepared to go, and live your life normally. They'll let you know when they want you to do something. Nah, you didn't at all. And that sounds like the best tip, so I'll just do it that way. I was trying to find concrete information so I could cancel a lease that I just hopped on (that starts in September), but I'll just wing it I suppose! DEVILDOGOOORAH: I'm probably naive, but I didn't realize that all the stuff I've read in GiP about inept superiors was actually true. I'm sure I'll find out the longer I ride the government gravy train.
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Mar 2, 2011 00:24
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It's a hard lesson man, but I'm disgruntled so dont let me get you jaded
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Mar 2, 2011 00:50
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I have a question about vision waivers and Air Force enlistment: My uncorrected vision is 20/100 in my right eye and 20/400 in my left, with -4.25 diopter (right) and -7.45 diopter (left) [approximate value, both are within the +- 8.00 range required], however, it corrects to 20/20 and I have no issues with wearing normal glasses (no pain or discomfort). After my first trip to MEPS I was informed that I would need a vision waiver and the recommendation from the SG was for an independent consult. I head to STL on the 9th, and I'm worried that I'll basically get told to gently caress off. Are these worries justified or should I be okay as far as getting the waiver? This is the last hurdle in my enlistment and I'd hate to think that I'd get bounced out after waiting since April of last year to enlist. EDIT: Also I'm getting nothing but "don't worry" from my recruiter but he's the one that said I'd be in by last fall so I'm taking it with a grain of salt. Professor Bling fucked around with this message at 01:00 on Mar 2, 2011 |
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Mar 2, 2011 00:58
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If you meet standards for enlistment, what's the waiver for? Are you going into a career field with different standards? Generally a vision waiver is no big deal, it's one of the easier ones to get. Especially if you're going into a career field that's not being cut.
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Mar 2, 2011 01:02
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gleep glop posted:Seriously? The little info sheet they gave me says a three day drill is 600 almost. In that case they still owe me for my first drill, but if you're right well then boo. Yeah, they lied. http://www.militaryconnection.com/2010-pay-charts/2010-drill-pay.asp MUTA 4s before taxes and benefits are taken out. E: Your LES should show the dates of training covered too.
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Mar 2, 2011 01:02
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An E-4 today tried to pull the "SGT, there's a new regulation that says E-5s now have to drop with you if they smoke you!." when he was getting smoked. This rumor is slowly going through the PNN since some SPC went to legal about some personal issue and that's what he was told during random bullshitting. Anybody ever hear of this lunacy?
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Mar 2, 2011 01:28
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Some posts have that policy, fort polk maybe being one, but no one follows that because its a gay babby rule, and I don't even like smoking soldiers
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Mar 2, 2011 01:30
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Like everything else, it goes in cycles. Some private will get hosed up, then it'll be the 'big thing' for awhile, then slowly go away until it repeats itself.
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Mar 2, 2011 01:47
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I always thought that an E-4 could smoke an E-3 or below, as long as the E-4 dropped with them, but I've never seen an E-4 smoke anything other than a pack a day.
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Mar 2, 2011 02:26
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Nillerz posted:I always thought that an E-4 could smoke an E-3 or below, as long as the E-4 dropped with them, but I've never seen an E-4 smoke anything other than a pack a day. Yeah, that's pretty standard. This new NCOs having to drop too thing is a little TOO ridiculous though.
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Mar 2, 2011 02:39
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