Quote:
Originally Posted by Checkman
Ugh. In 1998 I was in the U.S. Army. My ETS was 02/14/2000 (Valentine's Day). I was stationed at Ft. Drum, New York. My unit was A Company, 110th Military Intelligence Battalion, 10th Mountain Division. The 10th Mountain Division was part of the 18th Airborne Corp which meant it was one of the Rapid Deployment divisions. Something about going anywhere in the world within 72 hours I believe was the standard. Of course it was the late nineties and everybody figured it would be somewhere in the Middle East. We just never counted on a 9/11 as the precipitating event. Anyway.
As a result we were one of the first units in the Army to get the then brand new M4 carbine. At the time we were told all about the modular concept with flashlights and optical scopes etc. It was very impressive sounding.
Of course the only soldiers who were getting all the gee whiz stuff at that time were the airborne infantry boys in the Division's recon element known as L.R.S.D. (Long Range Surveillence Detachment). That too was S.O.P. back then.
We were expected to make do with the low tech iron sights. But it was an interesting concept. Now twelve years later it's staggering to see the what has happened.You've got regular line troops and support troops using equipment that was strictly Special Forces territory twelve and fifteen years ago. And I'm talking about everything from rifles to boots and ways to carry personal equipment. It really took off after 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Which isn't suprising. Historically wars have a way of accelerating things in Armies. Just look at what happened between 1939 and 1945.
Technology helps to improve performance. Tools. Nothing wrong with that. I for one think MRI technology and GPS (for example) are great. But what also happens is people become enamored with the latest and greatest and you end up with "improvements" when it might not really be necessary. Things get gooped up because it's trendy. I guess what happens is our consumer oriented economy (which I am not against by the way) become all about the trees and loses sight of the forest.
Like that revolver. Ugh.
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That cool, but...how does all that relate to the funny Mall Ninja revolver above?
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"There's a fine line between not listening and not caring...I like to think I walk that line everyday of my life."
Blessed be the LORD, my rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle
Psalm 144:1
“It is always wrong to use force, unless it is more wrong not to.”
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