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Denver, 5:13 AM
Fri Nov 27
29 posts in the last 24 hours
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01/06/09
01/06/09
I think I'd last 2 seconds flat in a real army - bullying in school was bad enough, what do you think grown up ones would do to me? Eat me alive I fear.
Surely they need people who can become killers and who are over 6ft tall rather than under?
It makes no sense. Why don't they just recruit at frat parties? That's where they seem to get the rest.
01/06/09
The military has people of all different shapes and sizes, and they are fit for different needs based on their abilities. If you're not fit for combat arms, there are the support fields. Some troops only see the field for exercises, which would surprise some people here. There's a humorous fallacy that goes around that EVERYONE in the military goes out in the "killzone", when I've seen many troops never leave their camps! Some branches, of course, have more people in the rear than others. (Not here for the flame battle, I'm only speaking the truth.)
Just saying...
01/06/09
On the other, I can't deny that if I had the chance, I would absolutely play those sims.
01/06/09
...though if you want a a feel for an M4 assault rifle, just go to a shooting range and try an AR-15 with a 14.5" barrel and a collapsable stock. It's not full auto, but they are nice and accurate, and the kick is almost nothing compared to an AK-47.
01/06/09
It's a three round burst weapon, which in my opinion, is better than "auto". You conserve more rounds and wear the barrel down less from the heat. It does, however, have less range than the AK-47, and is more prone to breakdown compared to the AK-47 (kick withstanding).
My personal favorite range weapon idea: Barrett REC7. No frills weapon. Fires .608 rounds, weighs 7.62 lbs., and has a collapsible stock. Unlike the AR-15, this weapon has stopping power at "center mass". Because of it's unconventional rounds used, I wouldn't buy use it in the bush, though...
01/06/09
Can they simulate returning from a warzone a shellshocked veteran and being largely abandoned by the very government they risked their sanity and lives for?
01/06/09
But then again, I would suggest that your line of questions lead a fairly disparate form of logic, when the military is not all lost limbs and PTSD.
You see, (from my own experience) I CHOSE MY FIELDS. I went from a cushy series of MOSs (EOD, then Medical a couple of years later.) one of the hardest because I wanted it. MOST OF US WHO JOIN PICK OUR FIELDS TOO.
I got the signing bonus, the choice of tour of duty (Europe), and I picked my fields of work EVERY SINGLE TIME.
No one person told me that I had to go "combat arms". I went and reclassed for it on my own. I came in knowing that I can end up in harm's way, and it were drilled into my head to remember that any scenario in the World could spur a deployment. And while I went to some of those deployments, I knew that some people were going to be in the frying pan, while others sit in hangers all day.
But I came in knowing that it could happen. But as a PTSD Veteran, I can also tell you that it was worth going in, and I am a whole lot better off for it. I didn't "hope" for "change" and listen to promises. I took that opportunity and made my own "destiny", my own opportunities with what were taught to me, and the values refined from the experience.
I didn't become a "pity case". I took that malady and used it as my own motivation to get ahead in life, because being in some of the worst case scenarios taught me that nothing was going to be spoon-fed to me, and that I couldn't just "hope" that someone would "change" it all for me on hallowed words.
Those experiences of losing others, of taking my own licks, and hearing and seeing things made me (and others) a harder man because we (most) knew that turning your head never made things better nor easier.
"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf." -George Orwell
I may be digressing from my point, but even if you want to discuss the atrocities of war, I would rebut that even with the effects that war has among it, there is a strength that is often developed from one's own resilience. For every person that there is that wallows in pity and feeble-hearted sympathy; there are those who grow in spite of the confines of their conflictive state.
I've succeeded because I have learned to grow past those conflicts. And that was partially because of what was instilled in me by what I learned and developed in the military.
So, you will excuse me when I say "Speak for your own damned self!" I don't need anyone speaking on behalf of what I gained and lost in times of conflict and war, and I am confident that there are those (Veterans) who share my sentiment in this regard, as well. The military offers plenty of fields of work that don't require putting yourself in danger in most scenarios, and there are many "peacekeeping" operations that are conducted to this day that requires alot of able bodies to perform those tasks.
Just saying... Not everyone who has been in conflict is the wreck you seem to make us out to be.
01/06/09
The truth is that because The United States have an "all-volunteer" Armed Forces with only a "selected service" registration that hasn't been acted upon since the 70s, the recruiting branches need to find and do what they can to meet Obama's plan for 30,000 more troops for the Army.
Even in the 90s, when it wasn't taboo to be a serviceperson, the recruiting regiments of the different services still needed to maintain numbers to offset the attrition that occurs from discharges (PCS, ETS and Retirement). Every generation of the military needs able and competent troops FOR ALL FIELDS OF WORK. And with teens coming of age that don't know how they are going to pay for an ever higher college tuition, may want to really see the World with their own eyes (READ: No propaganda from the "boob tube"), or just want to see the realities of life from both the good and bad, I don't blame the United States Department of Defense for their methods.
Having been overseas myself on different occasions and different scenarios, I understand why people NOT from the United States may criticize the promo campaigns, but those not from the United States often fail to realize *WHY* The United States do what they do.
Personally, it wasn't a hard decision for me; as I saw it a "rites of passage". I come of a long line of Marines and Soldiers. It was my official test and mark of being a man. Because of my experiences, I got to see the vast differences of Capitalist, Socialist and Communist states, and how people live under those philosophies. I saw for myself who I thought had more freedoms, and who were only talking that rhetoric. I helped some, fired upon others.
But I personally gained experiences and saw some things that I could only have gained in uniform. It prepared me mentally, affirmed me spiritually and kept me from losing my physical abilities; as I am ever reminded to stay sharp regardless of my environment. My pride in myself, my country, my comrades, my god and my flag are instilled, not from the training and drilling that occured, but the lessons and the examples that happened in events that you may never know about. The media tells you tidbits of what happened, and my Government show you only a few small examples of shiny medals pinned in front of flashing bulbs, but those are nothing to the names and faces that are often washed away with each passing conflict.
People talk like they are experts because they watch a program, and everyone becomes analytical when they see body counts, but often most can't tell what the objective of the OPORDER was, what those men and women did, and what (if any) true example of bravery had been accomplished.
This being said, I don't object to the promotional concepts. As long as ALL fields are being shown/discussed, and the "experience" does not necessarily hound the potential recruits/supporters, then it is merely an edutainment facility in my eyes. I refuse to pacify the notion that every person that walks through any military promotional event is a dullard, and I see nothing wrong about educating (READ: Not conjecting) about the opportunities that the military has to offer.
The American potential recruit is no more a trigger-happy person than anyone else that plays videogames. And some people come into those ranks with the intent of finding different fields from the "combat arms" field. I am ever amazed that there are alot of ignorant (no offense) comments that conject what these recruit are like or what they aim to be.
As a person who proudly served in my nation's Armed Forces, I will tell you now that I am far better off for it. I am confident that today's United States military can and will breed future leaders.
01/06/09
At least I would hope that these recruiting tactics, especially since they apparently include mature games, are restricted to those over 18 who at least are legally allowed to make a life-altering decision based on a game.
01/05/09
01/06/09
01/05/09
01/05/09
But they'd probably ask you to leave or not let you play the games at that point.
01/05/09
OMG MURDER SIMULATORS!!111!!
Thanks for making us all look like bloodthirsty yahoos!
(before the flamage starts: daughter of retired infantryman [2 wars], sister of retired tanker, cousin of doctor currently in The Suck)
Do we REALLY want the type of people you have to mute on XBox Live representing our country?
Bah. Wrongness all around, with my tax dollars.
01/05/09
As i sad before
video games are more mainstream, therefore more accesible by the core audience they are seeking (young males).
And don't complain about what they are doing with your tax dollars. $13,000,000 is NOTHING in the overall budget of the US Government and military.
01/05/09
If they can walk their trash-talk, then yes.
Besides which, they learn from The Master himself:
01/05/09
01/05/09
I'd prefer the $13M go to more body armor, a few armored Humvees, a VA rehab program, etc. etc.
01/05/09
01/05/09
01/06/09
But even if they don't speak a lick of what we speak, they definitely understand the infliction of our voice!
There's nothing like a sharp diaphragm and a commanding burst of shouting with the anger of God in a person's eyes when they come barking down someone's throat!
01/06/09
Having served under him for USAEUR/7A, I can tell you that I have ALOT of respect for this man, and how well he looked after us during "The Original War on Terror". He's responsible, accountable, and very professional. He's a "bottom line" sorta guy, and why I were happy when he were the Army's chief of Staff.
01/05/09
01/06/09
It's a job. A J-O-B. Just because a person or team of people perform a task, doesn't necessarily mean that they wholeheartedly agree with it. However, most get the sense of a "bigger picture" within their tasks, goals and objectives.
We pray to a deity? WHAT THE HELL, MAN? Have you ever talked to a bunch of troops before? THEY ARE THE MOST CYNICAL BUNCH YOU WILL EVER MEET! They make Lewis Black and George Carlin look like Choir Boys in comparison. YOU ARE WAY OFF TARGET.
Having thought about it and experienced the military, and being a very vociferous person myself, I am more than happy to start flicking said cigarette with a douse of gasoline for good measure.
And I don't even smoke!
01/05/09
Riiight - that's why the place has quote "three full-scale simulators, including an AH-64 Apache Longbow helicopter, an armed Humvee and a Black Hawk copter with M4 carbine assault rifles."
Nothing about an army medic simulator or corps of engineers simulator building bridges and shelters.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking military service - in fact I think serving is a great thing for people to be a part of. But each new plan they roll out to try to boost enrollment just seems more and more desperate. Maybe their recruitment and retention numbers really are as terrible as has been said.
01/06/09
I got it, maybe you want them to show some 18 Wheeler for the truck drivers and that firefighter game that Sega had in the arcades a while back.
You can wow people with the games and simulators, while also talk shop about the other fields. Surely the potential recruit (if they didn't want to go "combat arms") would ask these questions anyway.
Either that, or their parents (provided they are in High School.)
01/05/09
They would have laughed at me if I demanded a free game.
01/06/09
The Bundeswehr does Conscription if I recall correctly.
As for the United States Armed Forces, we have been an "all volunteer" force for over 25 years. As such, you see more promotional events to try to attract potential recruits AND supporters.
01/05/09
Like playing Madden 09 of all things.
Is our military this desperate? Really?
01/06/09
...Then again, that would entice more Veterans.
btw: If you ever get the chance to enter a barracks, look at what goes on in the rooms. There are far more gamers than you would imagine. I didn't know any Soldier that didn't have at least one console (unless they were PC gamers, of course.)
01/05/09
i don't think that just by going at it, and having a little chat with the army folks will actually have any influence on me, coz i already have my goals set for my life.
but i know that can really have a great influence on many people, you know why i'm worried? not coz people don't know what the hell to do about their lifes and lured to join the U.S. Army.
I'm really worried by what people who controls the army tells them to do.
01/06/09
Some, like me, entered because of the long tradition that some of our families have in regard to having served in the Armed Forces. Some people may see joining as a way to do something while you are young, others do it as a means to not be unemployed. But for those of us that have long standing traditions, it is a "rites of passage". One that required ZERO marketing, and more rushing to the MEPS station to join the lineage of servicepeople continuing that tradition.
It's almost on par to a family's tradition for going to the same University, when you sit and think about it. (Which we also have in my family.)
01/05/09
01/05/09
01/05/09
/70's earworm
//but seriously, not a lot of call for the Navy in Afghanistan...
01/06/09
"Were all of your time in the Army served with 'good time'?"