Pros and Cons of military training for preppers

[bigpaul]

I think post shtf there will be a lot of people, both ex-mil and civvy, who will say they have a god given right to lead, because they were an officer, or they were a company director, or a shop steward or whatever, anyone says that to me-and I am heading for the hills!

[Midnitemo]

here's a famous quote that comes to mind BP “Whoever lays his hand on me to govern me is a usurper and a tyrant: I declare him my enemy.” Proudhon he was a bit of an anarchit though.

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and a another...“the government can do nothing for you. But you can do everything for yourselves”

[Highlander]

Neither military personal, or bushcraft people are prepers, prepers are a bred to themselves, and are often a hybred of the two.

I would say that a military person brings a lot to being a preper, not just in what he is trained to do, but because he has a completely different attitude to a civy

I would most certainly want to be with a military person after an event than I would be with a civilian, he thinks entirely differently when in the field to what a civy would think

We can learn bush craft from books, but what a military man learns he learns over time, often many years

...but I still think a prepper is completely different person from a military man and a bush craft expert

[I-K-E]

military or civvy prepper it's not about what you did in the past it's what you can bring to the party once an event happens

so the military can add certain skills but some civvies' have other skills that will be just as valuable

[River Song]

Plus side to ex-mil -- Used to thinking laterally - at least the more modern intelligent ones.
Used to problem solving - used to structural solutions.

Minus side - can be pig headed and think they know it all.

Is the person used to being 'under authority'? - if so, that person can be used. Thats got nothing to with
me wanting to have authority OVER, but more the case the person can be more useful.
(I need to work this through a little more....)

Finally, .... give me a man in uniform darlin' ................

[Jonas]

(2 September 2013, 19:26)River Song Wrote: Plus side to ex-mil -- Used to thinking laterally - at least the more modern intelligent ones.
Used to problem solving - used to structural solutions.

Lots of training time is spent teaching members of the military to "think outside the box".

Quote:Minus side - can be pig headed and think they know it all.

The few that I knew with this attitude generally didn't last very long!

Quote:Is the person used to being 'under authority'? - if so, that person can be used. Thats got nothing to with me wanting to have authority OVER, but more the case the person can be more useful.
(I need to work this through a little more....)

You have to learn to take orders before you'll be able to give them effectively. Actually, "orders" are not the preferred means of management... usually just outlining the task at hand and asking for suggestions on how to complete it works best as a management style, although there are times when a sharp order in your best "command voice" is most effective (ask Grumpy Grandpa).

Quote:Finally, .... give me a man in uniform darlin' ................

And I got out in 1996! Darn!

[Skean Dhude]

Personally,i think the exmilitary will have many advantages in a SHTF scenario. Their sills and experience are more aligned with that scenario. Civilians, like me, have to do it ourselves and we can't practise as much as we need to because we don't have the time nor have the trainers.

They have experience of working in teams that we don't have after all we can't exactly build team work up with our families. Of course they don't have that experience either but when working with other soldiers they can integrate better thn civilians.

Plus military staff have picked up several valuable skill sets, medical being just one of them. Civilians have a much more limited subset but they can take it much much further becoming experts in areas that we need.

Military will be better placed to handle an event but non military will be better when society starts to return.

[Timelord]

A lone military man in hostile terrain, say like a downed flight crew in 1941 France would not likely be able to use his vast superior skill set for the situation, compared to say a local civilian or resistance contact. Do not think that institutionalised confidence and military skills are always going to be the solution. Those skills only apply in certain situations and with certain equipment. Change the scenario and the odds can be very different. An examination of resistance movements and their operations would be very educational in respect to some types of militarised activities.

[Midnitemo]

Thats what is driving me to become an all rounder, i know my stengths and will play to them as best i can but sometimes you're going to be out of your comfort zone and thats why i'm here , to glean as much of what i consider important information , i'm not great with technology and i know precious little about horticulture or rearing livestock but i aim to learn these skills asap , what you say about the downed airman , he has to use skills to stay at large until he can make contact , the resistance is a network , all about cells working together in close harmony sharing resources , one man or even a small aircrew can't hope to have that local knowledge and support system to fall back on.the airman and the resistance network to very different animals with different raison d'etre.

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The military man is going to come to the fore in the early stages of an event because of that training , it may be found lacking in the fullness of time though.

[Timelord]

I agree. The military training puts an individual far and above the skill level of 98% of Civvies for the situations where it is appropriate and I think that PSHTF then those military skills may be called upon sooner rather than later. The other 2% of civvies may be quite a surprise to some and should not be underestimated. This is where the military preconditioned mindset can come unstuck if suddenly coming up against an asymmetric unconventional opposition. The chances of this scenario are probably low but an awareness of its possibility and that there will be some few civvies out there who may be an immense asset to any PSHTF group is a wise consideration. The ability to look at situations through non state military tempered eyes can be a valuable "contribution" to a jointly successful path through the mire.
Overall, a broader skill set than just the military route is desirable, although it is unlikely one person can attain enough skills for the longer run.