Another reason why the 21st century is worst century

[Tied]

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33833155

[Walter_Sobchak]

The fact that three recruits died as a result of this test indicates to me that some safeguards should probably be put in place. I would think there are ways to test metal and physical stamina without actually marching people to death.  

[Collimatrix]

The fact that three recruits died as a result of this test indicates to me that some safeguards should probably be put in place. I would think there are ways to test metal and physical stamina without actually marching people to death.  

 

See, that's just the sort of attitude that would have held you back in the Imperial Japanese Army.

[Tied]

The fact that three recruits died as a result of this test indicates to me that some safeguards should probably be put in place. I would think there are ways to test metal and physical stamina without actually marching people to death.  

I dont mind them changing the training, I just dont get why the recruitment end of it has to be altered 

[Walter_Sobchak]

Media critic and left wing icon Noam Chomsky has a saying that you should always read the last paragraph of a news article first, because that's were hte important information is.  In this case, the last sentence is:

 

Professor George Havenith, a specialist in environmental physiology and ergonomics who gave evidence at the inquest, told the BBC the special forces needed a "culture change" so existing rules were followed, rather than new guidelines.

 

So while the entire article is framed around the notion of changing standards, the real issue is that the standards that already exist were not being followed.  

[Sturgeon]

Also that egghead academics want to stick their fingers in SF culture.

[Walter_Sobchak]

Also that egghead academics want to stick their fingers in SF culture.

I'm sure the SF guys don't much care for anyone telling them how they should conduct their business, particularly civilians.  

[Toxn]

Also that egghead academics want to stick their fingers in SF culture.

 

Eh.

Army culture, left to its own devices, produces things like the myth of the cavalry charge.

Someone with actual scientific training poking around would scarcely be a sign of the end times.

[Collimatrix]

Eh.

Army culture, left to its own devices, produces things like the myth of the cavalry charge.

Someone with actual scientific training poking around would scarcely be a sign of the end times.

 

That wasn't (just) a bunch of inbred aristocratic cavalry officers convinced of the eternal power of mounted warriors; a few fluke occurrences such as Von Bredow's Death Ride, where cavalry proved both successful and decisive, and the lack of major European conflicts between 1871-1914 made it seem plausible that cavalry would remain important.

[Donward]

Hell, cavalry remained important throughout the 1920s and 1930s in the wars in Eastern Europe post-WW1, the Russian Revolution and in the Far East and into World War 2.

I think the a Myth of the Cavalry Charge bit might be a bit overplayed itself.

[Toxn]

I'm actually on the 'cavalry still useful' side of the fence, but as dragoons. In any case, the argument is that military culture is inherently insular and driven from the top down. So it is prone to the cult of whatever worked in the general's youth.

To take another example: imagine the response if you were to ask stock brokers from, say, 1990 what the future held for their profession. I doubt that being replaced by computers and the need for tighter regulation of the derivatives market would come up.

Leaving military affairs solely to the military is a recipe for warrior culture malarky.

[Sturgeon]

No, Tox is right here. However, I think SF culture is a little different than military culture in total.

[Priory_of_Sion]

SF culture has evolved pretty rapidly as of late. You weren't suppose to know what shadowy forces that the US had looked like, what they had, or what they did. 

 

Today we know of DELTA and DEVGRU and they are popular characters in movies, TV, and video games. We know all their toys, even the police look like SF guys now in some localities. We know a lot of their missions and some we make into high profile incidents. We even know whom some of them are thanks to them becoming media darlings and giving their opinions on a wide range of topics. 

 

Special Forces is too mainstream today, they sold out. 

[LoooSeR]

Not totally - i yet to see a single picture of Zaslon team :-D And there is 0 information about SSO actions in Eastern Ukraine, even if during one report a western journalist was filming a checkpoint arguing that it was guarded by Russian SFs. Of course, being a journalist this idiot focused on checkpoint and not on a quickly moving BTR near it, with very interesting group of people on top of it.