Surge Report
Now, now, Skipper. You being a tad too harsh on officers. Not all of us are as worthless as you put it. Some of us had a good NCO type dad to raise us. I know that SNCOs are worth their weight in gold and then some.
Besides, why are you complaining? If I remember right, only the Air Force sends out officers to fight wars.
Some of us became officers only because that required to fly jets.
You’re right, Pontotoc Bill. Not all officers are as useless as tits on a boar hawg. Some of them even earn their pay once in a while. I have no idea why the military decided in the early days to only let officers drive the tanks and planes. Most of them failed Drivers Ed.
Then again, if some top brass type told a Senior Master Sergeant to steer his bomber into a cloud of flak three miles thick with bullets and shrapnel flying around the sky everywhere he would have promptly been told to “stick it.” Sometimes you just have to have people who are too dumb to know just how dangerous the mission really is. Harvard graduates fit that bill nicely in WWII so I guess it became a tradition.
I will withdraw my condemnation of all officers as long as they keep buying drinks for the house at the NCO Club every once in a while.
Senior officers only know what NCOs’ and junior officers let them know. If congress really wanted to know what is happening in Iraq, they would talk to NCOs’ and officers up through Major.
Reminds me of a joke:
The Joint Chiefs of Staff were sitting around discussing courage. Naturally, each flag officer thought his troops were the most courageous. General Smith, US Army, decided to prove to his fellow officers which military branch was most brave.
He called out to Private Jones. “Private Jones, you see that trench over there guarded by the machine gun bunker.”
Private Jones said, “Yes”.
“Private Jones, go take that trench!!”
“Sir, yes, Sir!”
General Tate, USMC, said, “Not bad, but watch this. Private Woods, do you see that tank company in attack formation?”
Private Woods answered in the affirmative.
“Private, go destroy all those tanks.”
“Sir, yes, Sir!”
Admiral Halsey said, “Not bad, for a Marine. You know, he really is Navy. Anyway, watch this. Seaman Green, do you see that battleship in the harbour?”
Seaman Green said he did.
“Seaman Green, go take that ship by yourself.”
“Sir, yes, Sir!”
General Mitchell, USAF, told his fellow officers, “Not to shabby. But you don’t know what real courage is. Watch this. Airman White, do you see that F-22 coming in for a landing?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Airman, go out to the runway and catch that aircraft as it lands.”
“Are you crazy? It’d kill me, you dumb SOB! I’m out of here!”
As Airman White walked away, General Mitchell turned to his fellow officers and said:
“You see? You have to be very brave to talk like that to a general.”
Hey, some of us officers started as as E-1’s.
I’m a graduate of the Ft. Polk School for Wayward Boys. Went through Infantry Basic Training there back in 1976. I’m a proud 11B10 and still have my blue “crapper cord” (it’s hanging from the rear-view mirror of my pickup).
My Company Commander and First Sergeant told me I wasn’t NCO material and sent me to OCS. I was always blessed with experienced NCO’s and I usually knew when to listen to them.
Posted by MAJ Mike
05/09/2007 at 07:27 PM
I LOVE IT!
YOU GUYS ARE MY KINDA GRUNTS!
Fort Polk , LOOZIEANER? God, I hated that place. I was USAF so never had to play there but I had to work a contract for the US Army as a contractor in 1998. The high point of the region is the Holiday Inn breakfast special. Forget the fraggin’ US Army base! ARRRGH!
Fort Puke, Louseyana. My first meeting with a fire ant mound.
My Drill Sergeant kept telling us to quit complaining. “You’re Infantry!! You’re only gonna die anyway!!! Quit yer bitchin!!”
Damn. That was so long ago.
Posted by MAJ Mike
05/09/2007 at 10:26 PM
