Thoughts for the day Split #3

[StnCld316]

I remember those drills, too. They herded all of us into the hallways and told us to tuck our heads between our knees. I think they intended for us all to kiss our sweet lil butts goodbye, but my lips would never reach far enough back.  :lmao:

The day isn't far off where those drills are going to turn into reality.

[Ozi]

I enlisted in August '74. All our guys were coming back from Nam. I was spared having to go over there. So, when someone thanks me, I tell them to save it for the real heroes -- our guys and gals who went to Afghanistan and Iraq. They went in knowing they were going to walk into a shitstorm.

As for our policy regarding ISIS, I would not lift a finger to stop them taking however much of the middle east they want. For about 5 years. Then, I would casually saunter over and create the largest sheet of glass humanity has ever seen.

  :bye: :lmao:

Sadly the Army taught you nothing.

[Guest TxFeller]

Oh? And what would you have had it teach me, pray tell?

[Ozi]

Oh? And what would you have had it teach me, pray tell?

Rational thinking, problem solving, even common sense would help.

[Guest TxFeller]

Rational thinking, problem solving, even common sense would help.

What makes you think I lack any of those things, or that the Army would teach any of those skills to anyone (not that common sense can be taught, but those were your words, so...)? And what evidence do you have to support that you possess any of those qualities yourself?

[Ozi]

What makes you think I lack any of those things, or that the Army would teach any of those skills to anyone (not that common sense can be taught, but those were your words, so...)? And what evidence do you have to support that you possess any of those qualities yourself?

Right, 70s and 80s thinking. The world has moved on since then, training people to develop and improve their common sense has been around for years and it's certainly part of what the Australian Army teaches. But I guess you do need to approach it with a positive attitude, not a negative "that the Army would teach any of those skills to anyone" viewpoint.

[Guest TxFeller]

I gave this more thought during the day as I cruised across KY and IN and back. Assessing a military situation would require both logical/rational thought and problem solving, so, perhaps my words were a bit hasty. I have never heard of any course that could teach what we ordinarily call common *sic* sense. As for the Army, however, I know that common sense was not always evident in a lot of their policies. As has been said many thousands of times: there's the right way, the wrong way, and the Army way.

As an example....

Our tactical communications company has been sent to the edge of an airstrip just south of Seoul. It sits in something of a valley, though I'd hesitate to call the western-most ridge parts of a mountain range. We have just had a serious incident at Panmun-jom and it looks like the balloon might go up at any time. We are sitting right next to an airstrip. In deuce-and-a-halfs with commo shacks attached. And the topkick wants us to do "area beautification". He wants us to put a square around the tail-end of our deuce.5's, the width of the truck with a path up the center leading to the ladder for our commo shacks.... and paint the rocks. What makes this so bad? Well, I'll tell ya... Inside the square he had us spell out the type of rig we were sitting in. As if it wasn't bad enough we were sitting next to a primary target, the airstrip, but we also had to put labels on the MIGs targets for them. One of those pilots streaking down that valley would probably have made us into toast anyhow, but to ensure we would be toast was, to say the least, devoid of common sense.

[Ozi]

Hopefully, a change in policy, teaching officers, who they hope will pass it down the chain, how to think rather than what to think, ultimately improving the application of common sense. They are teaching the principles of how rather than what to think in a number of schools.

As for your scenario, that has to be the original "cluster fuck".

For those unfamiliar with the phrase, the Army is run by Sgts and Warrant Officers, but managed by Majors and Lt. Colonels, the middle management  (I sit in between them). Middle management cause most of the fuck ups and cluster fuck refers to the oak leaf cluster worn by Majors and Lt Cols.

[Foamy T. Squirrel]

I inherited my father's letters. He had a forced vacation in Korea long ago. He did not have fun at Inchon, Seoul or Chosin.

I inherited his letters, which he wrote daily to his mother. She never read them, fearing for the fortunes of her son. But I have, though most of the Chosin letters did not make it through, he did.

Thank you for your service to your nation, Txfeller and Ozi.

[Guest TxFeller]

Ozi, yes I'd have to say that was a classic example.  But, after that incident cooled down, I got to be pretty friendly with my topsergeant. One night he was telling us about the skill of Korean "slicky boys", said they were so good,  they could come to your bivouac site, steal your generators, and leave you lights and noise. LMAO

Foamy, please. .. I appreciate the sentiment, but our thanks are better reserved for the troops that signed up after 9/11. They went knowing they would come under fire. To me, THAT'S a hero. I salute them one and all. Being a veteran and caring for my fellow vets is one of the principle reasons I back Bernie Sanders.  He is OUR GUY.

edit: "Slicky boy" = thief, in case you didn't figure that out.

[Ozi]

Ozi, yes I'd have to say that was a classic example.  But, after that incident cooled down, I got to be pretty friendly with my topsergeant. One night he was telling us about the skill of Korean "slicky boys", said they were so good,  they could come to your bivouac site, steal your generators, and leave you lights and noise. LMAO

oamy, please. .. I appreciate the sentiment, but our thanks are better reserved for the troops that signed up after 9/11. They went knowing they would come under fire. To me, THAT'S a hero. I salute them one and all. Being a veteran and caring for my fellow vets is one of the principle reasons I back Bernie Sanders.  He is OUR GUY.

Mate, don't ever sell yourself short, the Aussies were in Korea as well as Nam. I was lucky, I was way too young for Korea and too old for the Nam conscription. But the muslims made sure I didn't miss out. But I still catch up with vets from Vietnam, one Maj only recently retired from active service, and we compare notes a lot.

I still see Korea as the forgotten war, not talked about much, overshadowed by Vietnam. The casualties were horrendous in Nam, with the Americans suffering almost 47,500 combat deaths in ten years. But no one remembers America had 33,600 combat deaths in Korea in just 3 years.

The 3rd Royal Australian Regiment (3RAR) holds a special commemoration every year for the Battle of Kapyong, proudly displaying the Distinguished Unit Citation awarded to them by the US President.

[Guest TxFeller]

Oh my... please don't misunderstand... I am not THAT old. LOL

I was in Korea from '76-'77 and '79-'80. But... yes, there was a lot of casualties suffered in the "police action" of Korea. One only has to mention "Pork Chop Hill" and for those who know what happened there, it brings tragic memories of lost uncles and fathers. While the losses were not stupefying for our side, the lunacy of ever contesting the hill is. It had no strategic importance at all.

And to our Aussie brothers, we DO owe a huge Thank You for the help given in that conflict, just as in WWII, not only to the boys from Oz, but also the kiwis. Without the unimaginable courage of the coast watchers, that war could have had a very different conclusion.

An interesting note... the battle for Old Baldy ( a nearby hill ), and Pork Chop Hill included Thai, Colombian, and Ethiopian soldiers (our side) all under UN command.