Ike on war...

[The Grand Nudger]

Good god Brian, don't run away from a girl. Hit her with a brick! Or whatever else might be laying around.

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Or...even better.....

1. THE SPIRIT OF THE BAYONET The will to meet and destroy the enemy in hand-to-hand combat is the spirit of the bayonet. It springs from the fighter's confidence, courage, and grim determination, and is the result of vigorous training. Through training, the fighting instinct of the individual soldier is developed to the highest point. The will to use the bayonet first appears in the trainee when he begins to handle it with facility, and increases as his confidence grows. The full development of his physical prowess and complete confidence in his weapon culminates in the final expression of the spirit of the bayonet—fierce and relentless destruction of the enemy. For the enemy, demoralizing fear of the bayonet is added to the destructive power of every bomb, shell, bullet, and grenade which supports and precedes the bayonet attack.

[Brian37]

Good god Brian, don't run away from a girl.  Hit her with a brick!  Or whatever else might be laying around.

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Or...even better.....

1. THE SPIRIT OF THE BAYONET The will to meet and destroy the enemy in hand-to-hand combat is the spirit of the bayonet. It springs from the fighter's confidence, courage, and grim determination, and is the result of vigorous training. Through training, the fighting instinct of the individual soldier is developed to the highest point. The will to use the bayonet first appears in the trainee when he begins to handle it with facility, and increases as his confidence grows. The full development of his physical prowess and complete confidence in his weapon culminates in the final expression of the spirit of the bayonet—fierce and relentless destruction of the enemy. For the enemy, demoralizing fear of the bayonet is added to the destructive power of every bomb, shell, bullet, and grenade which supports and precedes the bayonet attack.

What the fuck are you talking about.

There is no shame from running from assault. male or female. I didn't start it, but I damned sure am not going to be ashamed from avoiding it.

[The Grand Nudger]

OFC not..I was just ribbing you. You -always- re-position on first contact...to rob the enemy of initiative and the benefits of planning.

Keep running until the enemy is winded, then turn around and attack him with your hatchet.

[Brian37]

OFC not..I was just ribbing you.  You -always- re-position on first contact...to rob the enemy of initiative and the benefits of planning.

Keep running until the enemy is winded, then turn around and attack him with your hatchet.

HEY somewhere along the line you forgot I was an ABBA fan.

I have ribs, I have eaten ribs, and barbecued ribs, and watched videos of horror movies of characters playing xylophones on special effects of bones.

I am Buffalo Bill, "It rubs the sarcasm on its post or else it gets a response."

You are lucky last night was Halloween.

[Brian37]

Life and people are weird.

Yes we are.

But as divided an tribal as what dominates us most of the time, I, still would like to believe that humans, when we choose can find overlap.

[The Grand Nudger]

Theres alot of that in the service too, another reason why a person who isn't exactly on board with war might stay in it. The lack of cohesion in the real world is jarring, and can take a long time to get used to again.

It even influences the way I parent (for better or for worse)..with collective punishments and rewards and chores. All in, all together, or not at all - is what I've conditioned them to say, lol. OFC, units and tight knit siblings are tribes unto themselves. The trick appears to be in understanding how and when to extend the umbrella of the tribe outward, or pull it back in.

[EgoDeath]

In the world we live in, war is sometimes necessary. However, Ive always found it strange when people feel this overwhelming sense of pride for being American, or french, or Japanese, or anything else. I dont feel proud to be American any more than I feel proud to have blue eyes. Its simply not a feeling I understand.

No combat veteran I know is like that. Theyre all disillusioned about the govt and the military and many regret the years theyve served.

America is a great country to live in, but I dont have any plans to stay here permanently. The world is vast and fascinating - no matter where youre born, why would you want to live in one place your whole life?

Even if you just travel, but choose to live in one place permanently, there is so much to see out there and so many interesting cultures to learn about.

[The Grand Nudger]

Travel is yet another reason to serve. Patriotism is a strange feeling, rising up from nowhere, even under the weight of metric shitloads of disillusionment about our government. Thankfully, America is not it's government.

I can understand why a person wouldn't feel that way...but there's not much I can do about feeling that way. It's involuntary. I tear up a little when the anthem plays, lol.

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Travel is yet another reason to serve.  Patriotism is a strange feeling, rising up from nowhere, even under the weight of metric shitloads of disillusionment about our government. Thankfully, America is not it's government.  

I can understand why a person wouldn't feel that way...but there's not much I can do about feeling that way.  It's involuntary.  I tear up a little when the anthem plays, lol.

I consider myself reasonably patriotic, but I have to say that all three national anthems that apply to me are utter crap.  'God Save The Queen' needs to add the line 'Because no one else will'.  'God Defend New Zealand' is just a prayer set to music.  'A Soldier's Song' has lyrics that sound like they were written by a 12 year old boy who just got his first set of tin soldiers.

Maybe countries should change their anthems every ten years or so, to keep them fresh. Either hold a song-writing contest for the general public or turn it over to professionals (I'll wager that Elton John could come up with a smashing anthem).

Boru

[The Grand Nudger]

Yeah, lol..I don't know that ours is technically or artistically brilliant either.