OT - US Soldier kills 16 Civilians in Afghanistan

[Medic]

TicToc, I tip my proverbial hat at you or rather outright salute you for the actual balls it takes to apologize on a public internet forum. I respect such an integrity and wish to return the apology on my behalf for any words of mine that could have been misunderstood.

The original topic of the thread is not a simple issue in any way - it is very complex. As said, very little is known of what actually happened and even though there are some people who most certainly know exactly what took place, most of us are left only to speculate from the little information we can find on various sources. Most of, if not all the information available comes from the press that, as I stated earlier, has the responsibility to provide the owners of their magazines with income by broadcasting news. Boring news don't sell well, which leads to the degrading of the journalistic ethics.

People are entitled to information about what their nation's and its servants' deeds both at home and abroad. However, the good deeds are far seldom reported than the bad, which creates both an inbalance of information and the problem of misinformation that springs from speculation. Of course, that is their right, guaranteed by the right of free speech, most nations respect nowadays. Free speech comes with the unfortunate aspect of people just saying what they think, true or false, right or wrong. Sometimes things are also understood, either by accident or deliberately.

While I'm far from being a moderator here, I wish we all can discuss even these difficult matters without causing any ill feelings between the fine members of this forum, even though I believe there will always be someone who will find some statement distasteful or annoying.

[TicToc]

So perhaps we can use this tragedy to brainstorm. What are some incidence that you can imagine happening in the T2K world and how do you see different parties reacting.

Idea 1:
Western soldiers making a living currently as laborers (guards, hiding, ect ect) in a small eastern European village. What is left of a Russian Infantry Battalion is in cantonment nearby. One day a small groups of liquored up rooskies get the idea to graft some goods from the locals. The the grizzled old Russian sergeant is shaking down the locals two younger troops wander off to look for valuables/women/booze. In their attempt to procure said loot a fight ensues. The two drunk soldiers win. Drunk and angry with the world they begin to move from house to house killing any villager they can find. The Russian sergeant and the rest of his men respond. When they arrive at the scene they forcibly stop the murderous individuals, dragging them off back to the cantonment area before more damage is caused. In their wake however there are 11 dead villages mostly women and children as well a a good number of killed livestock. As the characters and other men run in from working the fields, patrolling, ect ect they see what has happened.

What happens next? Where as a character do you go from there?

[Medic]

Originally Posted by TicToc

So perhaps we can use this tragedy to brainstorm. What are some incidence that you can imagine happening in the T2K world and how do you see different parties reacting.

I believe, this would be a good idea, but I suppose doing it in a new thread would be better - it would get more replies than the off-topic thread, I believe.

[TicToc]

Medic, Good point Ill re-post the question in a new tread.

[Webstral]

TicToc, I salute you for having the intestinal fortitude and integrity to apologize to perfect strangers. Well done.

[Cdnwolf]

(Sticking head up from foxhole)... Is it safe to come out???

[B.T.]

Wow, what a thread!

@ TicToc:
I think, it was a good thing to apologize. Well done!
So, welcome to the board!

@ all Vets:
In a way, I'm a vet myself. I was "only" a conscript and I have no combat experience. But I can understand the bad feelings towards people, who only criticize (and often in an unfair way!) the military, not seeing the good sides. This certainly sucks.
I had a lot of arguments with people, because I defended the military. Especially in the end of the cold war period, a lot of Germans forgot about the necessary of alert forces. The current situation in the U.S. seems to be similar.
But I think, we can assume, that the vast majority of the board-members have a more positive attitude towards the military in general.

@ those, who reacted to my last post:
Thanks, gents, for your encouragement and support. This means a lot to me!

@ CdnWolf:
I'm fine with that.
BTW: Did you ever read Medic's sig?