The twilight days of Pax Americana and its coming fall

#26
#26
Our military should concentrate on war fighting to the point we’re so intimidating nobody would **** with us and not on inclusion.
 
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#30
#30
Rasputin_Vol said:
You totally lost me with your response. WOW...
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Gandalf said:
Stop with your trying to twist my argument into some sort of anti gay thing - we get it, you like to ride the gay hobbie horse even if it runs off a cliff. If America were ancient Thebes then it would be better to have an army of paired gay lovers - but we aren't (not yet at least). And my original post isnt even really about gays in the military per se, its about elevating ANYTHING above military capability in the military.

I mean look at the lean hungry wolf like eyes of the Chinese and Russian videos, then see the doey eyed "ME ME ME, ITS ALL ABOUT ME AND MY JOURNEY" one that we put out. When real predators see weakness, they begin to salivate.
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I intentionally went way overboard to try to suss out what I felt was hidden dialogue. If there are specific groups who you feel shouldn't be in the military, just say it. Don't dance.
 
#31
#31
The ability to administer complete brutality to the enemy with a strong enough mind to turn it off and rejoin society when you're done should be the goal.
 
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#32
#32
tnmarktx said:
The ability to administer complete brutality to the enemy with a strong enough mind to turn it off and rejoin society when you're done should be the goal.
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Does our current military training include the right kind of mental conditioning for that end? Does that kind of conditioning even exist, and would it be ethical to subject a human to it?
 
#33
#33
AshG said:
Does our current military training include the right kind of mental conditioning for that end? Does that kind of conditioning even exist, and would it be ethical to subject a human to it?
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I think you're talking to a guy who wishes he was the protagonist in a Bourne movie.
 
#34
#34
AshG said:
Does our current military training include the right kind of mental conditioning for that end? Does that kind of conditioning even exist, and would it be ethical to subject a human to it?
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No they don't. The better question would be, is it unethical to require someone to reach that level of brutality and not help them deal with it?
 
#35
#35
Gandalf said:


This video says pretty much everything you need to know about America, China, and Russia. How they see their place in this world and how they are preparing to take it. Consider, these recruitment videos are not just what these militaries are telling the world about themselves, they are broadcasting how they see themselves and what they believe will be attractive to the potential recruits from the "best" and brightest of the type they want to join them.

You do not need to speak Russian or Chinese to understand the message each delivers. As a thought exercise, answer each question after watching:

How do the Chinese see themselves? What do they believe makes them strong? If you think to attack them, when you look into their eyes, do you have thought to reconsider?
How do the Russians see themselves? What do they believe makes them strong? If you think to attack them, when you look into their eyes, do you have thought to reconsider?
How do the Americans see themselves? What do they believe makes them strong? If you think to attack them, when you look into their eyes, do you have thought to reconsider?

From a discussion on the fall of Rome:
The decay of the army, according to the 5th-century Roman historian Vegetius, came from within the army itself. The army grew weak from a lack of wars and stopped wearing their protective armor. This made them vulnerable to enemy weapons and provided the temptation to flee from battle. Security may have led to the cessation of the rigorous drills. Vegetius said the leaders became incompetent and rewards were unfairly distributed. In addition, as time went on, Roman citizens, including soldiers and their families living outside of Italy, identified with Rome less and less compared to their Italian counterparts. They preferred to live as natives, even if this meant poverty, which, in turn, meant they turned to those who could help—Germans, brigands, Christians, and Vandals.

Now consider this from a recent piece in the American Conservative:
I repeat what one active-duty service member told me not long ago, paraphrased: “The Pentagon doesn’t know how to win a real war against America’s enemies, so it’s focusing on winning the culture war against conservatives in the ranks.”

Whether you believe American military leadership is purifying its ranks or not, what matters is that significant portions of the American public do believe that and will make decisions accordingly. If the American public no longer identifies as American but as "natives" of some other tribe, what will be the result?

Every great empire has fallen from within long before it falls to "invaders". Consider how much effect a cohesive culture has on a mere football team, irrespective of its talent or even coaching. What then lays in store for our own nation, when forces are hell-bent on obliterating it to such a degree that the traits of self-reliance, hard work, timeliness, and rational thinking are actually held up as symbols of oppression?
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America hasn’t had a viable military since WWII.
 
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#36
#36
hog88 said:
I do think the attitudes of most soldiers have changed since my time and few probably care what their fellow soldier, marine, sailor airman do in their off duty hours. It's the double standards and accommodations made for <pick a group> that rubs people the wrong way.
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There are obvious physical differences in the sexes, and I assume there are different physical standards as well. I would imagine that doesn’t play well in some areas of the military.

I’ve wondered though, is there any reason an all female compliment couldn’t crew a submarine? Are there any requirements of the officers or enlisted that require a measure of physical prowess?

(I know you weren’t in the Navy. It’s just an example)
 
#37
#37
The Roman Empire split between east and west. We at least have 2 if not 3 splits coming in the not too distant future.
 
#40
#40
85SugarVol said:
There are obvious physical differences in the sexes, and I assume there are different physical standards as well. I would imagine that doesn’t play well in some areas of the military.

I’ve wondered though, is there any reason an all female compliment couldn’t crew a submarine? Are there any requirements of the officers or enlisted that require a measure of physical prowess?

(I know you weren’t in the Navy. It’s just an example)
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Have you ever ridden with a female driver? I don’t think subs have vanity mirrors.
 
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#42
#42
TNVOLNAVY said:
America hasn’t had a viable military since WWII.
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Not even remotely accurate in terms of fighting ability, you cannot blame Vietnam, and Korea on the soldiers who fought there. Those two wars were the fault of politicians. The outcomes of both wars can be debated but US soldiers lost very few battles with the NVA/Vietcong. In Korea, the military was gutted following WW2 but once they got experienced troops into combat Korea fell quickly until the Chinese overwhelmed the US with sheer numbers. We can argue about the role of politics in the military but not the results when it has mattered. The same argument can be made about Afghanistan and Iraq today
 
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#43
#43
Is warfare so much about brutality? It seems like discipline and strategy have always been more important in warfare.
 
#45
#45
n_huffhines said:
The downfall of our empire will most likely be financial, so the military does get some blame here, but it mostly goes to our wasteful government and the people who refused to stop voting for officials spending beyond our means. Just like Rome

Inflation and the Fall of the Roman Empire | Joseph R. Peden
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What's your take on the public's perception of waste and spending in government? People don't know, don't care, don't think we can collapse?
 
#47
#47
McDad said:
What's your take on the public's perception of waste and spending in government? People don't know, don't care, don't think we can collapse?
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Most people still view America as the post WWII singular super power that solely defends the free world and defeated the Soviets in the Cold War. We haven’t been that country for a while if anybody takes a look under the hood at our financial health and in country manufacturing capacity.
 
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#49
#49
McDad said:
What's your take on the public's perception of waste and spending in government? People don't know, don't care, don't think we can collapse?
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Honestly, IDK who gets more blame, the people who can't be bothered with being informed enough, or the people who are well informed and go lesser of 2 evils. It's not for me to say, I just know they get blame. I think people like us (abstainers) get a little shred of blame too, because we were well aware and could have done more to affect change. Sins of omission are far less problematic than sins of commission.
 
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