chrismw5551
Plinker
- Apr 2, 2009
- 33
- 8
So are you a vet? I say no. Only because I don't consider myself one either. For me personally, I consider a vet someone who has served in a combat theater. Whether or not you saw actual combat...well, there is a badge for that. Where I formed that opinion I dunno. Just a product of everything I've heard people say I guess; just like what you are doing here.
You are just feeling guilty because you did not see combat.
Anyway, guess what? My knee came up on the radar again. Again, I went to an army orthopod, who said I had degenerative arthritis and would soon be in a wheelchair and wasn't fit to be an officer.
No, I'm not in a wheelchair. I still have arthritis in my knee, but other than ruining a promising athletic career, it really hasn't had that much effect on my quality of life. The doc was probably right to boot me, I guess.So, are you in a wheelchair today? I missed any story followup on whether the doc was right or wrong on you knee.
You didn't complete enlisted boot camp.
You didn't complete Officer's Candidiate School.
I have a DD214. There are no benefits for veterans with less than 60 days of active duty. I was willing to go fight, even though more than a few Second Louies were shot in the back. I thought maybe I change things for the better. The one thing I did know going in was that you made sure the career sergeants ran the outfit, because they are the ones who know what's up. It would be stupid to ignore them.
I think the killing of junior officers by their own men is in large part urban myth. NCO's are the backbone of the Army. Good junior officers work with their good NCO's, but stay in charge. A good outfit is a good team where respect flows both ways. A good combat leader can size up people and recognize who has the respect of the men, usually based upon their combat experience. A good combat leader can mine that experience to the benefit of everyone in the unit. Caring about one's troops and taking care of them goes a long way in gaining trust and respect. In combat, as well as, police work, the number one rule is to "make it home alive". The movies have had a large part to play in making junior officers out to be bumbling idiots who cower at the first sign of trouble. There aren't too many enlisted troops who like officers, but that is the nature of the game. The officers have to ask them to do things that they don't want to do and to risk their lives. On the other hand, to have the respect of the troops is a credit to the skill of any officer.
It appears to me that the current military is the best one ever fielded. The people stay in the same units for a long time and the units seem to work as a well-oiled machine. There seems to be a kinship amongst its unit members. Apparently this is a lesson learned from the failings of the Viet Nam era.