Quote:
Originally Posted by SigmaAaron
Something that has crossed my mind a lot, curious on other QPs thoughts and info, if topic has been discussed before feel free to move to delete....
After time spent with other foreign forces it has come to my attention of the so called 'babying' of our forces. My father (due to agent orange) R.I.P. never said much about Vietnam but he did speak of the days when drill sergeants were allowed to 'put their hands on you'. I know because of the ever expanding numbers of media and our countries infatuation with lawsuits, have helped diminish our quality of soldier in past decades.
I like to reference my 1st hand experience with British soldiers. Their infantry training towards the end they have a kind of crucible, dropped something like 30 KMs alone with no compass or map and have to find their way home. Stories like this give me a feeling of inferiority. I know I left OSUT wanting more thinking that was it?
All combat mos's have a certain level of arrogance to them yet the rest of the worlds military's can bring a humble sense. As SFs mission you know you have more experience with other countries training than your assets.
Is it foreseeable for our military ever going back to a more intensive training process? What are your thoughts on quality or quantity (have read some past posts on this subject here)? Do most of you feel you still need the CAV and INF or are we on the edge of obsolete?
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About a month ago I had the chance to meet and spend time with a bunch of current service US Army Airborne, Ranger, and SF folks and some UK Forces Paras while I was in Normandy for the 70th.
What a great bunch of fellas(as well as one really switched on young female West Point grad with a fantastic attitude towards her soldiers).
The amount of operational and combat experience the folks I met possessed left me feeling a bit embarrassed(and I've done a bit of gang green overseas travel) actually.
I was impressed not just by the obvious big things(fitness, bearing, discipline, experience, maturity, professionalism) but the subtle little things(diplomacy, people skills, humor).
You mentioned arrogance. I certainly didn't see any.
The worst I personally saw was the odd person in ACU's without a Red, Green, or Tan beret(ACU brimmed cap, not sure what it's called) who could stand to lose a few KGs.
Very professional...and that includes before, during, and after a whole lot of alcohol was consumed in uniform and in public.
I can only assume there were some First Sergeants and Company Sergeant Majors that offered some verbal guidance on the consequences of mistakes in the public eye on such an occasion.
