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Mr. Luddite

On 9/3/2014 6:26 PM, F*O*A*D wrote:
On 9/3/14 4:41 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/3/2014 4:24 PM, F*O*A*D wrote:
On 9/3/14 4:02 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/3/2014 3:29 PM, F*O*A*D wrote:
On 9/3/14 3:22 PM, Mr. Luddite wrote:
On 9/3/2014 3:11 PM, F*O*A*D wrote:
On 9/3/14 2:49 PM, KC wrote:
On 9/3/2014 12:57 PM, wrote:
On Wed, 03 Sep 2014 10:42:29 -0500, Califbill
wrote:

"Mr. Luddite" wrote:

It was a response to your "Well, that might be the answer you
mustered
out old military farts want,but it sure as hell hasn't worked so
far, has it?" comment.

Yes, it has worked. Our policies may be flawed but the military
has
done
everything asked of it and more.

Off the subject, but I often reflect on my military time and
compare it
to my career as a civilian. My experiences are somewhat
unique (I
think)
in the respect that I was military for the first 11 years of my
adult
life before ditching the uniform for a suit and tie in a
civilian
career
that eventually included owning and running a small company
consisting of about 100 people.

Contrary to what you may think, the US military is incredibly
efficient.
The schools, equipment and methodology used to train people
with no
previously acquired skills or formal education still amazes me.
Unlike
the civilian world there are no office politics, no special
privileges to
a select few. It is a true, equal opportunity employer with
"opportunity" underscored. I've said many times that I received
more in
knowledge, education and experience than I gave in return during
the 9
years of active duty and 2 years in the reserves.

Most of our failures regards the military and perceived failures
are
more
likely to be followed back to some liberal arts grad, who went
in to
politics. And told the military what to do do and micro managed
the
military. How many of LBJ and his advisors were not liberal arts
grads?

Yeah Harry loves those liberal arts majors, like Rumsfeld
(Princeton
BA PoliSci) Cheney (Univ Wyoming MA in PoliSci) Wolfowitz (Univ
Chicago BA PoliSci) GW Bush (Yale BA History) GHW Bush (Yale BA
economics)

Harry went to Yale with them and thinks he has come a lot further
and
touched more lives than any of them... kind of like the way he
bitches
about Steve Doocey, one of the most liked guys in TV...

The anti-intellectualism expressed here by you righties is just
frippin'
hilarious. Human intel gathering is best done by humans with liberal
arts educations. Of course, few of you even know what a liberal arts
education encompasses. Hell, most of you righties can't even
follow a
thread without drifting way off course.

I was discussing our failures in human intel, *not* waving the flag
for
the wonderful accomplishments of military personnel. Bilious Bill as
usual cannot follow any conversation without tripping over it.
Fretwell
throws in neocons and their college majors, and, of course, the
newsgroup psychotic is off in outer space, as usual.

I'm not talking about photo interpretation, or about figuring out
what
scientific data means...I'm talking about using knowledge of
language,
history, personality analysis, cultural differences...the tools a
field
agent uses to gather human intel. You know, the kind of stuff that
indicates where Osama might have been hiding, or what was on his
mind,
or who he spoke with, or who he slept with, or what he liked to eat
for
dinner, or who he trusted...the sort of info you get via human
interaction, the sort of info you do not get by waterboarding, the
sort
of data you do get via effective practice of tradecraft.

this is funny as hell.

Yeah, we know you're the official military flag waver, and I've read
how boot camp was a wonderful experience for all you mustered out
oldsters. Yahoo.

Don't get your underwear in a bunch. Not everyone is cut out for
military service.

BTW ... "Boot Camp" is a very small part of a typical four year
contract, but it's one of the parts you never really forget. Bit of a
"culture shock". In later years it's fun to share experiences with
others who experienced it.

It's entirely understandable that you have no respect for the
experiences of others. You didn't do it, therefore it should have no
value for anyone. Correct?

Oh, please. I have plenty of respect for many of the experiences of
others, no matter what their field of endeavor, especially if they have
excelled at it in some significant way.

A couple of army intel officers I knew in Kansas City tried to get me to
sign up for some OCS program available at the time, but I had no
interest in doing anything to further the slaughter of SE Asians, and I
was even less interested in "the military." This was in the mid-1960s.

Ergo your criticism of those who, by choice or not, answered the call
and served. Got it.

My disdain for several of those here who "served" has nothing to do with
their military service.

This discussion is going nowhere. It's like trying to swat a fly with a
tennis racket.