Never Been In Combat? Quit LARP’ing
BY Herschel Smith
2 years, 6 months ago
I’ll let you watch the video to see what Tim says, and I agree with them all.
But I’ll also tell you very quickly what I think.
Tim Kennedy’s remarks were stupid. These remarks were stupid. Dakota Meyer’s remarks were stupid. And by the way, when I pass by a fat guy in the gym, I don’t think a single bad thought about him. I give him an approving nod, and under my breath I’ll say, “You keep it up, you’ll get there if you persist.” If he looks like he wants to talk, I’ll say something encouraging. For all the overweight men in the gym, I take the position that “At least you’re there and trying.”
No one is experienced with warfare until warfare happens, and besides, a man may have body armor because his plan to defend his home includes sending his wife into a closet wearing body armor with the children and a shotgun, while he goes to confront the intruder.
So for all you detractors, shut up about LARP’ing. It’s none of your business.
On May 27, 2022 at 9:31 am, Furminator said:
So the new rule is only Nascar drivers can buy Camaros.
On May 27, 2022 at 11:05 am, Paul B said:
Train, train, and train some more. If nothing else you will be in better shape than most other slobs.
When things go pear shaped it will always be a surprise and most likely something you have not expected.
As long as you don’t lock up and freeze you will survive.
On May 27, 2022 at 12:34 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:
Every institution – including the various branches of the U.S. military – and every profession – including the profession of arms – was at some point in the past created according to first principles. In other words, every long-established activity had to start somewhere and with someone.
Decades of propaganda and PR have shaped the public perception to believe that those in the military are somehow special, members of an elite, a breed apart. This is sometimes perhaps even often true, but just as often it is not. Meaning that members of the military put their pants on one leg at a time, just like everyone else.
A mark upon the record of the professionals, one they’d rather the public forgot about, is how often the “pros” need to help of citizen-soldiers, a.k.a. “amateurs” to get themselves out of trouble.
On May 27, 2022 at 12:35 pm, Drake said:
Most of my old military field uniforms are in a seabag in my garage in case I need them again some day… I’d feel silly walking around in public in that stuff unless I was on my way to go hunting.
The camouflage I wear in the civilian world – pants with deep pockets, a tee-shit or polo that isn’t flashy, a loose sweater, jacket, or sweatshirt when the weather is cooler. Nobody gives me a second look or knows what I’m carrying.
On May 27, 2022 at 12:49 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:
@ Herschel
Those of us old-enough to remember the Vietnam War first-hand, may recall the manner in which professional military men like U.S. Army General William Westmoreland and his staff looked down upon our adversaries there. On more than one occasion, the U.S. military establishment characterized the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army as “peasants in black pajamas,” yet those “peasants” ultimately humbled a super-power.
The Vietminh had likewise humbled the French in a similar manner. The French high command sited their base at Dien Bien Phu in far-northwest French Indochina, hard by the Laotian border.
Warned that the fortification was vulnerable to artillery fire from the surrounding mountains, the French command dismissed the threat by stating that the Vietminh had no means of getting heavy artillery into position that high up.
Imagine their surprise, then, when the battle was joined in March, 1954, when the Vietminh began shelling the fire-base with heavy artillery. The Vietminh had overcome the artillery transport problem by breaking down each artillery piece into its parts, each of which was carried by hand, or on a bicycle or ox-drawn cart, into its final firing position and painstakingly reassembled.
Once again, the “amateurs” had bested the professionals. The embattled French garrison was forced to surrender after a protracted siege and battle, on 7 May 1954.
On May 27, 2022 at 1:01 pm, Red Man said:
Once again, the arrogant Kennedy sticks his D*ck in his mouth. Awhile ago he bashed terribly disabled vets for taking advantage of the opportunities provided by wonderful charities free of charge. Got to the point when he was in the UFC cage, I got to hoping he got his mouth punched in.
On May 27, 2022 at 3:48 pm, Old Bill in TN said:
Hear, hear!
2x combat vet here, this sort of talk is retarded “I’m special” talk. Pride never results in Godliness.
On May 27, 2022 at 3:57 pm, Georgiaboy61 said:
It bears remembering, too, that much of what makes U.S. military personnel effective and “special” has to do with the logistical and other resources which follow the individual serviceman into the field. I am not up on the current ratio, but at one time, the tooth-to-tail ratio was on the order of 20:1 – in other words, twenty service & support personnel behind each trigger-puller. That vast logistical machine behind the man in the field is what helps get the job done, because no matter how capable he may be as an individual, that man’s effectiveness is reduced by orders of magnitude if he loses his base of service & supply.
As the old saying goes: amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics….
On May 27, 2022 at 4:21 pm, MTHead said:
After visiting “The Patrol Base blog”, and seeing what can become a Ranger Capt……
I don’t feel so bad about being a larp’er.
And then my favorite Vietnam joke. How many Vietnam vets does it take to change a lightbulb?….YOU WEREN’T THERE, MAN!