Still Alive

The idea was good. The intent was there. The desire was there. But HOLY FREAKIN SHIIIIT this whole idea of "running commentary from soldiers' perspective" turned out a billion times trickier than I thought. Not unlike a certain war effort that's now outlasted our war with any of the Axis Powers...

I was injured in Iraq in 2003. I'm still being treated for the same injury, due to some FUN Catch-22s in the military medical system. That's a separate rant with a separate blog. The only significance here is that it seems to take so...much...EFFORT to get the simplest things done. And for we who missed the Web2.0/MySpace generation, putting thoughts online in a public domain is intimidating. But a valid thought is no good if repressed, so here we go again.

Major issues to work through along the way:

1. Obviously, there is no "military opinion" -- the notion is stupid. Opinions on most issues all over the board. We are not the Borg (though assimilation is helpful, and resistance can often be futile). I'm surprised how many of my civilian friends, even the super-educated ones, assumed the Full Metal Jacket-style "break recruits completely, to re-make/sculpt/brainwash them" indoctrination was still the norm. That doesn't fly anymore; leaders can actually get in Heap Big Trouble for "hazing". The idea is to get people to a faster/more disciplined/more organized version of who they were when they came in.

Ok, so that doesn't always work, but does at least establish what's expected and, for most, a sense of common purpose, teamwork, pragmatic courage (or fatalism), some degree of pride in self, pride in country (regardless of policy opinions) and for lack of better words, getting shit done. The West Point motto "Duty, Honor, Country" can sound cheesy and over-the-top, but if you think about it -- doesn't it take an over-the-top reason to provide enough motivation to put up with all the crazy shit we do? It's sure as hell not for the money.