View Full Version : Getting too attached to indigenous civilians...
You're going to have a hard time being a soldier, let alone a QP, if you can't put aside that kind of thinking. There are times (lots of times!) when you've got to just do the mission. Second guessing decisions made at echelons above you will be extremely unproductive - and can be dangerous to you and your mates in certain situations. But.....my guess is that you're gonna hear, in a short while, from a QP who is going to tell you that you have more pressing matters to think about if you're serious about going to SFAS.
I know where you're coming from about the Balkans though. I've spent a lot of time in Serbia and in Northern Bosnia myself. (and every other part of the former Yugoslavia) Some of it was for work, and some on my own time since the end of hostilities. There are a lot of good people there. But if you never met any bad ones, then you might want to go check out Arizona Market some time. But I think I know where you're coming from. The really bad ones aren't bad because they're Serbs. They're just bad. For the most part, there isn't a huge difference between most of the populace there and in any other part of the former Yugoslavia. But they had some pretty ruthless leadership for a while, and they followed them willingly - even eagerly at times. You can't deny that!
brownapple
12-29-2007, 22:52
There are plenty of QPs who have become close to the people that they work with in various cultures. If you can't see their point of view, it's pretty hard to work with them. There are reasons you will find so many retired SOF personnel in places like Panama, the PI, Korea, and Thailand.
When you place the interests of those peoples over the interests of the United States, then it is a problem. If you allow it to cause you to disobey orders, then it is a problem.
I just never understood why I am so different than every other "contractor" I've ever met.
You're probably better informed than a lot of them. If they're one and only source of intel on the subject has been CNN and Christiane Amanpour, then you are definitely better informed. If they knew what you know, maybe they might not be so different.
Most of the contractors I've met are a mixture of two types - really really good ones who are mostly retired military, and a bunch of others some of whom are dubiously credentialed. The latter group has at times been tough to work with, maybe because their frame of reference is incomplete owing to a relative lack of experience. (Who knows.) But they are more than compensated for by the former group, who care a lot about what they're doing, and are more than sufficiently experienced.
Gladan, it is generally very difficult for regular Americans to become ex-pats. I can not say anything more that has not already been said. The biggest part is knowing who you are and what your are will to NOT live with.