Military Training..

[Luci_ferson]

(6 March 2013, 22:19)Highlander Wrote:

(6 March 2013, 00:03)Luci_ferson Wrote: on the subject of the the armed forces and soldiers etc.

the only problem with them is that they are made up of humans and as such just like any other group of humans you will get a few psychotic killers, rapists, pedophiles etc.
But you get that in all groups from the catholic church to muslims
however you group humans together under whatever name they always remain human, and therefore the group will contain both good and bad.
the larger the group the more likely you will have one of the more extremes of human nature amongst you.
Its not that theres anything wrong with the group, its just that the few bad ones always make the rest look bad.

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on a personal level, I couldnt point a gun or any other weapon at another human because of the order of someone else unless I was fully aware of the reasons.
an order would not be enough.

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only other thing I see wrong in the armed services is the people who organise its funds and the people who give out the orders, and thats hardly the soldiers faults.

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The only difference I see between soldiers and other groups, is the fact their armed

Spoken like a true civilian,... meant in the best of taste,.. but I still have to answer this.

Ok I except that the military probably does have it fair share of nutters, but you are referring to major psychotic criminals,..I am not saying the army doesn't have them I didn't meet everyone,.. but I am saying that in all my years in the forces, I never met one,...if the statement came from reports of cruelty against prisoners on the telly for instance, then many of those library shots are of proper interrogation tactics, i.e. shouting and putting people into stress positions,.. this is not the work of bad apples

You say now that you couldn't use a weapon against anyone without an explanation,.. if you were a soldier you could and would almost without thinking, otherwise your delayed reaction my well put other lives at risk

Military training changes you, you no longer think like a civilian, you both think as an individual and as a group, you are linked to that group, and your lives rely on that group, and in some situations you may well be glad that the killer next to you is on your side

If your post has come about because of recent issues in Afghanistan, .... I am not going to defend anyone, some of what went on was not at all the way of soldiers,... but much of what we see on the telly is simply rough treatment, it is done to demoralize the prisoner so as to limit his response against you,... but because it looks rough, its portrait as cruelty and screened in the wrong context

nah dude, none of that, i was trying to explain that the only thing wrong with soldiers is that they are normal people too, in the sense of.
Of course your gonna get the odd one that shows a bit of extreme behavour. but you get it just the same in drs , nurses poloticians , catholics, muslims , people on the dole. it dont matter what group it is , youl always find one. just dont tar them all with same brush because of something youve read or heard.

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if you re-read it you will also see i sypathise with the soldier in regards as it isnt their fault what they are ordered to do.
and yep an order is an order when everyman in the platoon depends on you doing it.
which is why I put the personal bit about me personally not being able to take an order that I didnt understand.
others can but I am unable. I would make a very poor soldier.

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even proffessional athletes comit attrocities. but we cant ban sports

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afternote on my point about only diffference i see between a soldier and a civilian is theyre armed.

I am a civilian , and if a 12 year old ran out at me in a war situation holding a gun , theres a 90% chance im gonna shoot him before I look twice to make sure its a toy.
so when you read about a soldier doing it, dont be surprised, just imagine being there when it could have had a bomb strapped to him too.
I know for a fact id have shot as quickly as I could. not stopped to see if i could ask him to hand in his gun and accept an asbo.

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and that would have been even if id been previously ordered not to fire.