Chris Taylor
- 1219 comments
- 3 likes given
- 422 likes received
Bio not provided
@BruceSheppard I don't recall the exact figure but it's something like 20%. By that I mean only 20% of today's military age teens are eligible to join the service. This is because they are too fat (thanks to Xbox etc.), too dumb (thanks to bad schools etc.), or too criminal to enter. Given that women make up (IIRC) 51% of the U.S. population further reducing that 20% by close to half doesn't strike me as a long term solution to maintain the force.
So we might just have to properly integrate them into the force and treat them appropriately. Oh wait, we have been for many decades. Indeed, I recall (for example) the first class of women at West Point graduated 33 years ago.
Your assessment of who can fix this problem is wrong too. The CJCS and every other swinging dick and jane in the military serves at the behest of the civilian leadership. We can argue as much as we like behind closed doors about the efficacy or effectiveness of an order but when given the order to execute that is what we do.
Passive-aggressive undermining of those orders and stupidity like looking the other way with regards to sexual assaults is not the way one endears themselves to the civilian authority or the populace who employs us.
Ultimately, we are charged to train, equip, command, and ultimately protect our people who are scarce resources (as I noted above). They are also the sons and daughters of the American citizens. I'm not surprised that those people would be a bit unhappy at how their daughters are being treated. As a soldier and citizen myself I share that sentiment.
@Gibbon @tomricks You're post might have more credibility if you actually spelled Schwarzkopf correctly.
@BruceSheppard I got a legacy of soldiers who know that PC is not my forte. Indeed, I'm probably the least PC guy around. But you don't have to be PC to see that some things are the way they are, and they ain't going to change. And your backward views are beyond countering PC.
Show me where I said "here comes the company line about the naysayers hating women and wanting them to be subservient, how convenient". Yes, you are definitely acting like a misogynist, and you probably believe those things...but I never said it (until now).
I don't have a female boss. I am, and have been, an officer and a gentleman, so I don't think you are insulting me in that regard.
I'm not that excited about the implications of females in combat units...it will probably undermine the expected standards. But, that's not the same issue we are discussing. But its going to happen too, so you best get on board or (if you are still serving) GTFO.
@Gefreiter Ah, I see that you ARE the artist formerly known as OberstFeldwebel, previously Feldwebel, and perhaps even before that Surf.
Tom, Can we put a suspense on changing names?
@BruceSheppard While I don't like the adulterous behavior of those men, none of them (at least as far as we know) had unwilling partners. The fact that you can't see the delineation is worrisome at best.
Eisenhower had to put up with that distraction so this may not be all that new a problem. Of course King David (not Petraeus, the biblical one) also had to deal with Bathsheba. Maybe by the 22nd century we'll be civilized enough, given this conversation we obviously haven't made it that far yet.
@BruceSheppard You keep complaining that we aren't getting your point, perhaps you can elucidate what that point is better.
But I think we are getting your point. But "whats the point?" You don't women in the force, they are in the force, they aren't likely to depart the force any time soon, deal with it, without illegally and immorally fucking with women who don't want to be fucked with.
Your right wing, misogynist screed about the feminist/liberals is just as bad as theirs. (BTW I'm a small l libertarian so don't bother questioning my loyalties one way or the other). You can go on with this wishful, wistful thinking or you can deal with present reality. Stomping your feet and complaining how things shoulda been is just dumb. Esp. when the crux of this argument is whether women (or men) should be sexually harassed/assaulted.
How hard is that? I'm not PC, and while I am in a position where it matters (O6 command) I don't have anyone lording over me to keep to some tight line - that I wouldn't adhere to anyway. Treat people (look I didn't even use "women") with dignity and respect. It's simple.
Did you happen to see the conversation between Shatner and his Canadian compatriot Hadfield aboard the International Space Station. Or Hadfields rendition of Bowies Space Oddity? Both are on Youtube and worth a look.
@majrod @Kriegsakademie rod, love ya, but I'm not sure you are "helping"
@Another Opinion so you decided to double down on stupid. You're a real piece of work.
@BruceSheppard I'm far from perfect but I don't stick my wick in unwilling holes. Thats not a particularly high standard to ask. Our military is supposed to be a professional force, part of being a professional is getting autonomy from our client to execute upon our abstract professional knowledge. We cant do that without trust. This situation is destroying that trust. We're supposed to be warfighters not mercenaries. I see that you can't delineate the difference.
@BruceSheppard testosterone is no excuse for forcing yourself on someone who doesn't want your attention. This revisionist apologia is part of the problem. We poor men just can't help ourselves; please take those vixen harpies away lest I be tempted by their Siren song. (Sarcasm off)
@Tyrtaios Ain't nothing wrong with that idea. I met Jimmy Doohan once, he was a nice guy.
@Kriegsakademie wll Forbes rated USMA number 1 a year or two ago...and IIRC they score top ten most years along with its younger sisters. I'm done with this though...we've spent enough elctrons now.
@majrod @Another Opinion @DHMazur just because you are paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you. Have a good weekend rod, but keep your eyes open.
@JPWREL Yes you are spot on...modular BCTs are the thing these days...so much so that they have their own unit patches. I would argue for abandoning DIVs...but the political repercussions would never allow for it. A problem with modularity is the rotation of BCTs disconnected from DIVs. I guess this is also strength but getting to know your boss in theater and watching them leave before you and dealing with a new one (and vice versa) violates everything we always knew about unity of command and team building.
@Gefreiter I'm guessing you are posting in the wrong thread...but I'm also wondering why you are channeling ObertFeldwebel...perhaps a sockpuppet?
@Kriegsakademie its a discussion/argument. By nature of that fact one is expected to "defend" ones argument. This is not the same connotation as "defensive." I will admit exaggerating with "the very best," but I would still measure them highly if not higher than their peers with better scores at other schools. Because as I and Alvie note this is about an aggregate. Pasty, asthmatics who survive by monitor light at Caltech are no doubt smarter. Heismann trophy winners might be better athletes (though they also might fail height weight standards). A jesuit school might have a better moral education program (though unlikely). But in matters of those intangibles of purpose and duty, the Academies (plural) are pretty much peerless. No other programs in the USA focus so wholly on the whole person. Navy is usually the hardest academically (though all three are annually top ranked for engineering schools which do not offer Phds). Army is most demanding physically and morally (their Honor system demands more and trains more than its peers). Army probably also demands more mentally from the dealing with the harsh environs and Spartan lifestyle. If I thought my opinion was unfounded or unsupported by others I'd concede. BTW according to Feb.s College Magazine West Point is also the number one school to find a husband at (I wish I was joking)...so game, set, match. (Wink)
I recall some nasty comments about the content and availability of Parameters just a few posts ago. I was surprised and pleased to see this edition in the GOs office this past Tue. Further surprised to see my acquaintance Fivecoat on the cover. I could only quickly skim the article, but found it interesting. I was going to mention the edition, if not the article, but was overcome by events. Glad TR saw it and liked it.
A custodian thanked me for my service today. I gratefully returned his acknowledgement, but I still can't help be a bit sad/irritated. Weve said it here before. Memorial Day is for the dead, Veterans Day is for the still living. I should be grateful that someone said something nice...I mean at least he remembered its not about racing and barbeques. Yes, we need to cross this continental civil-mil divide...that's starts with the simple basics...like understanding why Monday is a day off. As for cartoons, I must command yesterdays winning Doodle 4 Google. A servicemembers daughter encapsulated homecoming feelings in her "my best day" entry. Touching in its simplicity it was a very deserving award.
Apologize if this is overly crass. Karl Marlantes book "What it is like to go to war" is a phenomenal read...better than Matterhorn...and it should be read following Matterhorn to better understand Matterhorn. That said WIILTGTW is a confessional on many, many levels. There is a genius sectin when Karl describes going to a Vietnamese prostitute. He tries to reconcile his action on many levels but he realizes ex post facto there can be no reconciliation. She couldn't be a willing participant because her poverty drove her to it. Ultimately, he concedes that he masturbated himself on/with her labia, rather thsn do the simpler, righter thing by using his hand. The net effect would have been almost the same, a momentary, illusory, dose of dopamine embedded in orgasm. But he was trying to be manly, or something like it. He realized much later the fallacy of his actions, too bad so many men never do. That section would make a great reading to add to some of the otherwise stupid ppt slides. Easy summation: women (or men) are not receptacles for your use. A little Kantian absolutism and maybe the threat of physical castration might help too.