RE: Do you think American soldiers are put on too high of a pedestal
January 19, 2017 at 1:52 pm
(This post was last modified: January 19, 2017 at 2:01 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
International law, ROE and theater/unit specific restrictions handle what the military "should and shouldn't do". That's what might tell us, for example....that even though razing a building with some HE would handily solve the enemy combatant problem inside....we actually have to breach and clear with small arms. In practical effect, shooters don't see civilians, they see tactical obstacles, sympathizers, and my personal favorite.... "soft cover". "The most innocent people among us" probably doesn't have room to include warfighters. Not to say that soldiers, then and now, don't get the shitty end of a shitty stick (particularly when they aren't busily engaged in dishing out shit themselves)...but that can probably be established without resorting to absurd hyperbole. Innocence, if it was ever possessed, is lost the moment we pull a trigger. Naivety may remain, ofc, and often does. One is easily confused for the other.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
