Killing an ethos:

14 Responses to Killing an ethos:

1. MacDoctor says:

   August 9, 2015 at 07:09

   What they should be doing is tightening up the pre-march medical so that out-of-condition idiots who have fooled themselves into thinking they are fit get disqualified up front.

   But that would be confrontational and we can have confrontation in the army, can we?
   • mawm says:

     August 9, 2015 at 09:29

     In my limited experience of attending to the military (Recces and ‘Bats) those that suffered from heat exhaustion or heat stroke were odds on likely to have a coexisting viral illness but would not admit it beforehand as this was their chance to qualify. Same with those who had spent a year training for Comrades.

     OTOH some simply sadistic NCO’s pushed sick conscripts to the point of collapse. One camp was notorious for this and its CO eventually got posted to a backwater.
2. MacDoctor says:

   August 9, 2015 at 07:11

   Should be can’t have, of course.
   • KG says:

     August 9, 2015 at 07:26

     There’s a lot of internal politics at work also, MacD. There’s a strong faction which objects to so many Paras qualifying and that in turn leads to out-of-condition candidates being encouraged to attempt Selection.
     That said, it isn’t as though what’s required is a great secret – far from it – and anyone who falls short of the physical endurance and mental toughness needed would be a fool to try it.
     (The mental aspect is the most interesting.At what point does perseverance become stubborn stupidity, and how does a fatigued brain make that distinction?)
     Civilians, even grieving parents, should have no say whatsoever in the process, although in this instance the process does appear to have been badly botched.
3. Flashman says:

   August 9, 2015 at 07:35

   In peacetime the military will respond (albeit at what it deems a dignified and thus unhasty pace) when parents and a widow contact their their local MP, who then raises gnarly questions in the right quarters, and the media start poking around and running up a human tragedy…widow and orphan…story.

   Lessons will be learned, processes amended and protocols redrawn.
   • KG says:

     August 9, 2015 at 07:58

     And elf’n’safety dweebs will defeat the object of the exercise.
4. Darin says:

   August 9, 2015 at 09:59

   So when the war starts it will have to be fought in an air conditioned building?
   • KG says:

     August 9, 2015 at 12:30

     On a slope of no more than 1:19o
5. Darin says:

   August 9, 2015 at 15:04

   On a different note,what do you make of this?

   http://www.wsj.com/articles/australia-orders-more-foreign-homeowners-to-sell-1439024595
   • KG says:

     August 9, 2015 at 15:20

     I reckon it’s fair enough. This isn’t productive investment and it distorts the market, disadvantaging many Australians.
6. mara says:

   August 9, 2015 at 17:10

   I’m not so sure. The idea is to test them, not kill them. I don’t know enough to make an informed comment but agree with MacDoctor that pre -testing of suitability might need a shake up. Any females or transgenders marching yet? No? Won’t be long now.
   • KG says:

     August 9, 2015 at 17:24

     “The idea is to test them, not kill them.”
     It can be a very fine line, Mara. Better to lose some in qualification/training than lose vital team members later in the field.
     “Train hard, fight easy”.
     They’re all grown-ups, all volunteers.
7. Wombat says:

   August 9, 2015 at 23:35

   In response to the death of Ayrton Senna, Formula One Group has posted speed signs on all their race tracks.

   Stupid, right?

   So who’s to say that if the temperature is low enough the lunatics running their cotton socks off aren’t just going to die a little further along the way.
8. Darin says:

   August 10, 2015 at 05:02

   Recon Marine training,full pack march uphill through tear gas,not easy,not intended to be-

   https://youtu.be/4kTLbpafwHA