Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn, but they certainly take their toll!

[Legbreaker]

I'm laying in hospital after work reconstructing my ankle after a motorcycle accident four years ago, and got to thinking about how our bodies in normal, everyday life tend to wear out.
Soldiers, especially infantry and to a lesser extent armour crew, artillery and the other direct combat troops, pick up injuries on an almost weekly basis. In my old units, if you were still injury free (as in nothing lasting) at 30, you were either extremely lucky, or hadn't been working hard enough.

Old soldiers often suffer pretty badly after they discharge too as many of us here know personally. I myself picked up a pair of dodgy knees and (fortunately temporary) deep depression which almost led to suicide. There are many worse off them me though with permanent mental illnesses, lost limbs, spinal injuries, etc.

The more you think about it, the more you realise your own mortality...

Anyway, with Anzac day here in Australia only about a month away, I thought I'd like to share my thoughts, and pay a little homage to those who fought, died and suffered before us.

[dragoon500ly]

Speaking for the treadheads, we had our fair share of cuts, sprains and bruises; "tanker candy" was a constant friend.

And as the various memorial days came by, and I walk down the long lines of white headstones and see so many men and women, most of whom never lived to see their 25th birthday.

Dear God we have lost so many of our best and brightest, who paid the highest price.

May we who survive, never forget.

[95th Rifleman]

If only politicians would learn the lessons taught to us by those who died for us.

[Targan]

If only politicians would learn the lessons taught to us by those who died for us.

If only we would learn the lessons taught and have politicians die for us. :cool:

[95th Rifleman]

If only we would learn the lessons taught and have politicians die for us. :cool:

I'll drink to that!

[HorseSoldier]

Yeah, that would be a nice bit of advancement.

[mikeo80]

If only politicians would learn the lessons taught to us by those who died for us.

Unfortunately, most American Politicians have NOT served in the US Muilitary. They have no clue what they ask of our brave men and women.

If you listen to some of these politicians, a military person is some kind of uniformed troll.

But this attitude is not unique. Read Rudyard Kipling.

[95th Rifleman]

Unfortunately, most American Politicians have NOT served in the US Muilitary. They have no clue what they ask of our brave men and women.

If you listen to some of these politicians, a military person is some kind of uniformed troll.

But this attitude is not unique. Read Rudyard Kipling.

No kidding.

British forces are currently engaged in another conflict and in the middle of a bloody defense cut!

We don't even have a carrier anymore and not likely to see one for nearly a decade. The only CAS aircraft we had, the Harrier, has been scrapped and the army is being shaved down to the bone. But never mind that, start a war!

As much as a dislike autocratic regimes, sometimes I really wonder if we got the better deal with a democracy.

[dragoon500ly]

Isn't that the way of a democracy?

Billions wasted on everything from studing the sex life of a turtle, to getting a six-lane highway built in the middle of nowhere...but hay! Your elected representative sure did bring home some of the bacon for the people who voted the idiot into office!

But when it comes time for someone to step forward and put their life on the line to stop some tinpot jackass from killing his own people.

Then its Tommy this and Tommy that and Tommy is such a hero!

With a tip o'beret to Mr. Kipling.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

Ultimately though, we keep letting the politicians get away with it.
Say what you like about the French but when they get the shits on with a politician or a stupid government decision, they let their 'elected representatives' know that the people are not happy and if that means blockading the parliament building with trucks then that's what they'll do.
They still try to practise democracy whereas the governments of most other Western nations aren't really democratic, they're capitalist.

[dragoon500ly]

Well, there was a joke that ran through US Army Europe for a while.

What do you call nuking Washington D.C.?

Pest Control...

[Fusilier]

Billions wasted on everything from studing the sex life of a turtle

Don't knock science man.

[dragoon500ly]

Don't knock science man.

But its so much fun!!!

:D

It's not so much the fault of the scientists, as it is the elected chowder heads that infest Congress and the White House. The Federal government has simply gotten so bloated that it cannot function. And our government exits only to waste the taxpayer's money.

They don't care were the money is spent, they don't care how much is spent and for what reason, but as long as the money is spent in their district so that they can claim that they are "providing jobs" then its all right!

These are the people that have turned the US into a debtor nation with most of our debt owed to Red China....so what happens when that bill has come due?

[Targan]

Billions wasted on everything from studing the sex life of a turtle...

When I was a kid I lived on a desert island for a year and I saw sea turtles having sex in the ocean...

Just thought I'd mention it.

[simonmark6]

So you can answer the riddle, "What's the sound of two turtles F***ing?"

[dragoon500ly]

When I was a kid I lived on a desert island for a year and I saw sea turtles having sex in the ocean...

Just thought I'd mention it.

For those who have been at the NTC at Fort Irwin....remember, this?

There is a desert turtle that lives in the American Southwest, the Great Spotted Dying Of Thirst Turtle if I remember it's name correctly. The Army got hit with a enviro group protest/law suit concerned that having all of those evil tankers driving those horrid tanks would go out of their way just to run over these helpless turtles (well, we would, WHAT, you expect a bunch of 19-20 years old to behave?!?!?).

Soooo, some minor Major, deep in the bowels of the Pentagon, came up with this great idea. All of the GIs had to go out into the desert and drag the helpless, screaming turtles until HMMWVs and subject them to high speed runs to this wired enclosure, where dedicated turtle keepers could care for this endangered species...here they live out their lives, eating, drinking, shiting....and screwing.

Yup! The world's largest turtle boredello is located on the grounds of the NTC!

And teams of GIs (the dirty bunch of pervs!), go there and sip tepid water and watch live sex acts performed by the turtles for hours....

And thus the Fort Irwin Joke-of-all-Jokes was born.

A GI watched a male turtle mount a female turtle and calls out "IN!"

His partner watches for a few moments, looks at his watch, admires a passing cloud in the sky and then calls "OUT!"

The first GI relaces his boots, takes a quick whiz behind a cactus and walks back and calls "IN!"

I've have seen this damned series go on for most of a day....

And for the protesters? Well, they had to go find a new cause and somebody else to annoy...it seems that the turtles enjoy their "Love Shack" so much that they have pulled themsleves (no pun intended) right off the endangered species list!

[Targan]

There is a desert turtle that lives in the American Southwest, the Great Spotted Dying Of Thirst Turtle if I remember it's name correctly.
I'm guessing if it lives in a desert its actually a tortoise?

[Legbreaker]

Getting back to the serious nature of the thread....

I know we all like to have experienced PCs, but with that experience comes age, and with that age, especially for a combat type, comes lasting and probably permanent injury. How much do we all think this should be reflected in RPing the said expert PCs?

As an example of injury, here in Australia we have a Clearance Diver who was previously in the infantry. Although serving in an active combat zone, he escaped serious injury until a training exercise (actually he was acting as a target during the testing of devices to detect surface swimmers approaching ships) when he was mauled by a shark. He lost a leg and arm.

Even so, he's still on the staff and physically puts to shame many of the more able bodied.

[Legbreaker]

It takes a day like Anzac day to really drive home the sacrifices our servicemen and women make every day just to keep the rest of us safe. Personally it's been very emotional to remember that individuals fought and died, sometimes knowing full well that to go over the top almost guaranteed death within seconds - but they still went...

Even right this very moment we have soldiers overseas doing their duty, facing death or injury far from those they love. Perhaps the chance of dying is somewhat less than the trenches of WWI, but, as many of those who have been to Iraq or Afghanistan in recent times can attest, it only takes a moment for a roadside bomb, or a stray bullet...

Regardless of what anyone believes personally about the justification of having armed troops in foreign countries, we MUST support the troops. Any disagreements we may have will policy should be directed at those making the decisions - the politicians, many of whom haven't so much as seen a rifle, let alone served in the military.

My thoughts are with the soldiers. May every last one of them come home safely.