The ultimate frisbee tournament??

[JJ_BPK]

U S Army SWCS introduces the ultimate frisbee tournament??

Catchy,, but I prefer the old phrase.

"Kill a Commie for Monnie"



https://www.instagram.com/p/Cw55t90O...RlODBiNWFlZA==

[PRB]

I always liked the 'modified by cut out'

'Breed a Special Forces Man'

[Box]

I think BG Beaurpere is a good guy - in fact, I'd argue that he is a much better guy than several of the men that have held his position over the last 5 or 10 years. From my foxhole, he is a sincere GO trying to do good for his troops.

An Ultimate Frisbee tournament is hardly the worst thing that the US military has sponsored in recent history.
Didn't we have uniformed cadets walking around in uniform while wearing high heeled shoes to promote the idea that the US Military is a boys club that supports the patriarchal rape culture that IS the modern military?

Here is the hook...
So what?
If we are just playing Ultimate Frisbee as a publicized team building event to generate awareness that some of our nations finest men and women are killing themselves because they have lost all hope - well, so fucking what?

We are ALL aware of this ongoing tragedy. I'm more interested in finding out WHAT the service is doing to identify the causes and WHAT they are doing to remove the triggers and prevent further tragedy.

That is the point I think WAY too many people are missing.
Including the good general and his staff.
We aren't talking about infantry privates with PTSD because they got tossed in a meat grinder and came home to find that "Jody" has been fucking his wife while he was fighting for his life...
...we are talking about men and women that are part of an elite unit that does very specific psychological and physical profiling as part of a very deliberate selection process.

I grew up in the Army being taught that leaders are responsible for EVERYTHING their men do or fail to do.
I've gotten phone calls from my BN CSM letting me know that I suck as an AOB SGM because someone in my company got a DUI...
Or had a domestic violence charge.
Or got dropped from an NCOES course because they failed the PT test.
Or got dropped from SFSC or SFARTAETC because they can't shoot.
Or grew too long a beard during a combat deployment

But it never seems to be "their" fault when someone in THEIR battalion got a DUI or failed a PT test, or dropped out of an advanced skills course...
...or committed suicide.

Senior leaders are funny that way. We are encouraged to participate in an endless stream of "command climate surveys" because commanders are obligated to pretend that they are concerned about the command climate more than the are concerned about their legacy. The fact is, the actions taken that provide NOTICEABLE changes after one of these never ending command climate surveys has eluded me for most of the last 35 years.

Everything thing always seems to be the fault of a junior leader.
Including suicide for some reason.

I'd opine that junior leaders can NEVER remove or modify the stressors that lead to bad behavior and suicide - all they can do is recognize it, and look for ways to work around the faults in the system.

A random Team Guy from a random Special Forces Group that is fighting his demons can ease his mind for a while with a little bit of PT with his buddies. Team building can make his buddies a little more aware that he is struggling - maybe even make them a little better prepared to try and intervene when his demons start to get control of him...
...but playing Frisbee doesn't fix the fucking problem any more than the lower third of a Jack Daniels bottle. It's MUCH healthier - but the relief is still just temporary and when the high wears off - the demons are still there.

I've had three team mates commit suicide over the years. Competitive shooting, Crossfit, Skydiving - each of them had hobbies that I engaged in with them at various times. Great hobbies that served as great distractions from the demons that haunt us all - and not once did I see it coming. Each time a little piece of my heart broke when I found out that my friend had ended their own life. I'd have gladly paid for a few lift tickets or the entry fee to an IPSC or IDP match, or gotten up and done some silly Crossfit WOD - if only to help put the demons back to sleep for a little while longer. These were all great dudes that seemed to have great lives - until they didn't.

I don't blame lack of suicide awareness for what happened to these men. I blame the Army's insincere commitment to Soldier welfare for their deaths. Ultimate Frisbee wouldn't have saved any of them - suicide awareness didn't save any of them, in each case - when things were said and done - what seemed to have driven every one of them over the edge wasn't actually the stressors in their lives - the straw that seemed to break the camels back ALL THREE TIMES - seemed to be their knowledge that the biggest demon was their perception that the Army was going to fuck them over the demon they were currently struggling with.

Team building and awareness are nice efforts. They help senior leaders sleep better at night. What they don't do is seek out and address the actual triggers that lead to tragedy.
That's what I'm waiting for - proof that someone up high isn't just helping people become aware of the demons - I want to see someone up high actually helping Soldiers FIGHT the demons.

Until then, cynicism just intensifies.
Just my two cents - i could be wrong.

[PRB]

What is that weird badge under his CIB.....

Who cares about a frisbee get together... I don't know the guy and ain't gonna disparage him over that event.

The School House is a tough seat...no matter what you do a great deal of folks won't like it and those folks have no idea what the particulars were that lead that 'guy' to his decision.

[JimP]

Box is - once again - 100% spot on. I was in TN last weekend for a reunion with some incredible folks who went into Afg early on. One of the more senior guys had gotten out, and finally dealt with his demons and gone back to school to get his MSW and assist other vets with PTSD. He and I were talking and he asked: "Where's "X", I haven't heard from him or you in a while, I was wondering how he was?"
I told him: "X" killed himself. The war killed him, he just didn't know it at the time."

This is an all too often repeated story. We've all got post traumatic stress....every single one of us. It's normal. The issue is: to what extent does it become a "disorder", if at all?

I would posit the militant adventurism engaged in by our Country around the world by the Clintons and that half-bright fool Madelain Albright, started the insanity; that, coupled with the Clinton's crushing the military with the drawdown. It created a zero-defects military from where all our current senior leaders originated. That's all they've known: something happened..?? Someone has to be blamed, certainly not "them." Remember, this all occurred late in the 90's. They were all coming into position then, the die was cast.

Then, launch a two front war wherein we achieved out strategic goals within three weeks. That just wouldn't work for the MIC. We have to continue and extend this MF'er. So, year, after year, after year, we ran around the world "Freedoming" fuckers who didn't want to be freedomed. All the while, the fifth columnists snuck in our back door and took over our country.

The guys got back from their 9th, 10th, 15th deployment and their kids had nose rings and face tats, their marriages were done, the schools were encouraging kids to pretend they're cats, or furries; our politicians called them a danger to democracy and violent, extremists (returning white vets from the wars - look it up).

And we fucking wonder why 22 vets kill themselves...each and every day...?? Hell, there's probably not a day that goes by that I don't wish for the comet to just fucking hit us already and wipe this insanity out; or get the civil war going whilst I can still shoot and move. I think we're all just tired of being drained of our life's blood and told that WE are the problem. Fuck me...let's just get it on already.

[Joker]

44. The real number being accepted, without the BS DoD & VA "filters," is 44 a day.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by PRB

What is that weird badge under his CIB...

Space Operations badge. He must have completed the Functional Area 40 Space Operations Course before taking the DCG spot at US Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

[PRB]

Originally Posted by Razor

Space Operations badge. He must have completed the Functional Area 40 Space Operations Course before taking the DCG spot at US Army Space and Missile Defense Command.

I find that badge 'ranking' improper....