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Old 12-08-2022, 11:01   #12
Box
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: State of Confusion
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I thought about this quite a bit after my first post in this thread and I realized that five lines of climate-controlled snark just wasn't enough.

It's the holiday season - people need a “pick me up” - they need something to read while they are in their pajamas, sitting in their easy chair, drinking their coffee, and pretending to be productive while "teleworking"

...hahahahaha “Teleworking™” - now THERES a big fucking trust-builder to start this rant - I think I may have just pee'd a little in my boxer shorts a little bit.

Boxers - that’s funny - BOXers - I'm even part of the underwear game - anyway, I’m getting off track…
…let’s take a step back and see how deep this "trust in the military" problem really goes.

Hold onto your hats mother fuckers – RANT MODE ACTIVATED:

Lets start off with something that seems more at home in a Seinfeld episode than a discussion about the military and their “trust problem” - the US Army Beef Scandal.
After a quickly drawn “contract” to provide provisions to Army expeditionary forces, the Army started feeding rot gut quality beef to its troops. Beef that was so poorly handled that it was chemically contaminated and spoiled.
…but hey, eat up boys.
This fucking bad-beef fiasco actually killed twice as many soldiers during the Spanish American war than actual combat with the Spanish. Notable is that one of the contract companies is still in business and is the ONLY certified Japanese Wagyu Cattle distributor on the eastern seaboard. The other makes “Treet” – for the uninitiated, Treet is a cheap knockoff of SPAM.
A cheap knockoff of SPAM – say that in your head a few times and tell me – does the company that made a cheap knockoff of SPAM sound like a company that would sell shitty meat to the Army so Frank Costanza could over season it and serve it in his mess hall? When you combine a company that distributes Japanese Wagyu Beef and a company that makes a cheap SPAM substitute and tell them to send some meat to the troops at a heavily discounted price, do you expect a shady result?
Yes.
The fucking correct answer is YES.

The trust is already flowing through my veins, and I am just getting started.

Did the Ohio National Guard earn any trust for the military when they opened fire at Kent State and killed 4 student protestors?
...I wasn't there – I’m just asking for a friend

What about that little frat-party-run-amok at Mai Lai in March of 1968?
Yes, the same frat party that was pretty much covered up until November of 1969 when the DoD just couldn’t cover it up any longer. How much trust in the military did THAT little bit of poor judgement build ?? Considering that the military essentially covered it up for over a year, I don’t feel like that was one of our more ‘transparent’ moments in the era of military trust building. Whatever came of that little error in tactical judgement that the peace-niks called a massacre?
I mean, other than the ONE GUY being convicted a serving 3 years on house arrest?
...again, I wasn't there - I'm just asking for a friend

Oh - and here's one that just won't go silently into that good night...
Quote:
If You Or Your Family Were Exposed To Contaminated Water At Camp Lejeune, Let Us Help You. It's Time For The Men & Women Who Served Our Country & Their Families To Receive the Compensation They Deserve! Toxic chemicals were released into the water supply systems from 1953 to 1987. This means that nearly 1 million people may have been exposed to these harmful chemicals. As a result, anyone who lived or worked at Camp Lejeune for at least 30 days during this period may now be entitled to compensation.
WHAT.IN.THE.ACTUAL.FUCK.
...SERIOUSLY?
This shit went on for 34 fucking years - and was then COVERED UP for another 35 fucking years before the fucking ambulance chasers finally got a hold of it?

Housing for soldiers hasn’t really been all that trustworthy in recent memory – well, not until things went completely off the rails at MacDill AFB as part of a 65 MILLION dollar lawsuit – of course most of the executives walked away scott free while the military basically gaslighted the victims and let the issue die a silent death. Has housing gotten any better?
…my son’s hasn’t - but you know - those lower enlisted folks just like to complain. Besides, we need to use this money to reseed the Penncross Bent on the main post golf course putting green.

Boy oh boy - the trust in the military is just squirting out of my asshole at this point.

And how about this one: I've got two words that will jog your "trust" in the military and its institutions:
-Lieutenant
-Colonel
-Oliver
-North
-United
-States
-Marine
-Corps
...how did the trust in the military work on that one?
I'd say more about this, but, I don't recall.
Really, I cant remember.
I don't recall and I can't remember.

Fat Leonard?
Agent Orange?
The VA Health Scandal?
Abu Ghraib?
What about "XO Movie Night", on the USS Enterprise?
THE FUCKING USS ENTERPRISE (talking about CVN-65 not NCC-1701; Mr Spock wouldn’t have gotten involved in such shenanigans)
…for what its worth – the “XO” during the "XO Movie Night" scandal was actually a graduate of Top Gun so, go figure. Depending on your point of view, "XO Movie Night" was pretty harmless and never got any complaints from the crew or is subordinate leaders - but - once congress got a hold of it - LOOKOUT MOTHERFUCKERS - RIGHTEOUSNESS IS COMING

Here is another one of my favorites – the side effects of mefloquine?
…it took until 2013 before USSOCOM decided that with three alternatives for chloroquine resistant malaria prophylaxis, perhaps there was something better – but boy oh boy – the dreams you would have were certainly worth the ride – amiright?

What about everyone’s favorite Marine turned politician, James Mattis and his haphazard response to the Haditha Massacre?
Mistakes were made.
Pfft... moving on

What about politicians that said we should have stayed in college instead of getting stuck in Irack?
What about politicians that called us baby killers and murderers?
What about politicians that called our offensive efforts “night raids” and compared US SOF to the Nazi stormtroopers?
Is it at all possible that part of the trust problem comes from our sElected representatives bad mouthing the military as a way of building political street cred?
Yes.
Again, the correct fucking answer is 'Yes'

When our self-righteous virtue signaling politicians take every opportunity to accuse the military of sexism, racism, nationalism, and every other bad-ism they can come up with, you can’t expect the public to just give their trust freely.

Then of course is the wokeness addressed in the article…
An admiral suggesting that the Navy should consider reviving the practice of looking at photos in promotion boards indirectly because it allows them to make promotion decisions based explicitly on race doesn’t build trust.
…because muh’ diversity

Or that fat SF guy, Chairman Mack Milky, testifying to congress that he wanted to understand “white rage,” in response to reasonable inquiries about whether cadets at West Point should be learning critical race theory
…because muh inclusivity

Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen (and Airwomen) keep getting arrested for drug smuggling, murder, rape, torturing prisoners, pissing on dead bodies, more rape, embezzlement, conspiracy to commit and cover up drug smuggling, murder, rape, and embezzlement…
…and suddenly, this problem with the military and the problem with squandering the public trust doesn’t seem like such a mystery after all.

Besides, I spent 30 years in the US Army and while I would have willingly sacrificed my life for my nation as well as the men and women that I served with – but I don’t trust the “institution” any further than I could throw somebody that is currently flagged under AR 600-9.

Trust.
People keep using that word. I do not think it means what they think it means.

RANT MODE DEACTIVATED




That is all.
__________________
Opinions stated in this post are solely those of the author, and in no way reflect the opinions or policies of The Department of Defense, The United States Army, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, The Screen Actors Guild, The Boy Scouts, The Good, The Bad, or The Ugly. These opinions are provided purely as overly sarcastic social commentary and are not meant to be used for mission planning or navigation.

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-Airplane Safety Briefing

Last edited by Box; 12-08-2022 at 11:22.
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