Monday Musings...
I trust everyone got their clocks turned BACK an hour this weekend, because if NOT, you're about 60 minutes EARLY to everywhere today!
We're finally done with DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME...and it's not daylight "SAVINGS" time...ain't no one rushing to get to any bank to stash their cash! And what "exactly" DID we "save" during that time?
(altogether now......)......NOT ONE DAMN THING. Gee, Governor Mitch...that was one great idea...that went nowhere and did nothing. Maybe we'll go back to the way it was...again.
But I digress...

There was an interesting story in Sunday's rag about how military schools might be placing minorities in harm's way as cannon fodder. And after re-reading the article, it got me thinking...as in does someone want to clue these pacifists IN on the REAL story, and cut the crap?
Currently we have a couple hundred thousand "soldiers" in country, on the ground in harm's way across the globe (even I don't know the EXACT figure...lol). Let's say for argument's sake we have 200,000 (nice round figure). That's 200,000 troops, pilots, sailors, marines with weapons at the ready, in some combat zone in "wherever". What these pacifists in the article DO NOT realize is that for EVERY SINGLE combatant we have fighting, we have about TEN OTHER people in uniform (conservatively speaking) who are there in the capacity of SUPPORT for THAT one, single combatant.
That would be the guys and gals transporting ammo, food, water, medical supplies, tents, tires, fuel, sunblock, snowboots, hazmat gear, spare parts, mail, and about several thousand OTHER "items" that every single one of those combatants will require at one point or another during their tour of duty.
Then we have the people servicing and/or repairing the trucks, humvees, planes, boats, ships, electronic gear and just about every machination in those units.
We have those in T-COMMS, weather monitoring, ATC (air-traffic control), quartermaster, logistics, as well as engineers in a variety of construction as well as demolition roles.
We have people swabbing decks, cooking meals, pulling teeth, removing shrapnel, conducting mass and prayer services.
We have those behind larger desks making sure everything moves in the manner it was intended. In short...we have a LOT more NOT in combat than IN combat. And they come in ALL shapes, colors, religions, ethnicities, and nationalities by virtue of their lineage.

So where does this group come off saying that ANY ethnicity is cannon fodder? As is true in ANY war, conflict, police, or military action anywhere on the globe, people DO get injured...or killed. Many die in training accidents. That's one part of the equation we haven't quite figured out yet. Maybe someday we will, but for now, we just have to admit that this is a necessary evil (in order to halt a greater evil).
Every man or woman has the same "opportunity" when they enter military service to either be in "the thick of things" or not. Perhaps the path they choose will not lead them into the path of a bullet from an enemy's rifle.
Perhaps it might.
It could depend on the specialty they pursue in their branch of the military. If you choose to be in the GREEN BERET, RANGERS, SEALS, or even AFSOC, chances are you WILL get "up close and personal" with some very "un-friendlies". That's the of the beast, and what YOU chose to become.
Unlike in years past, the military is taking a much longer and harder look at personal APTITUDES....what are YOU best suited for that will make the branch of the military YOU are serving in BETTER for all? That's a large part of joining. It's no longer all about training to kill, grabbing a gun and going in country.
Then again, with an ALL-VOLUNTEER service, being "choosy" matters a lot more than a bunch of inductees that need to be whipped into shape ASAP, so they can replace those lost fighting "Charlie". And with the technologies available on the battlefield, specialty OPS is getting more and more JOB-1. The military is looking for the bright ones in the bunch to run all that sophisticated gear, as well as train those who will work with it later.
So don't tell me that every minority that signs up becomes cannon fodder....that dog just ain't gonna hunt. I will say that EVERYONE that does sign up "can" have the same chance of being placed in a "hot zone", depending on what abilities they demonstrate. Many more will only come close enough to real combat either in "BOOT" or in some simulator. And we won't even address the FORTY PERCENT of recruits who will wash out after signing up.

Let's tell the WHOLE story, people...and not some one-sided version of mistrust directed and the men and women or our Armed Services, who proudly serve this nation so that everyone ELSE can enjoy the freedoms and liberties these uber-pacifists (apparently) take for granted every single day.