jhungary
MILITARY PROFESSIONAL
- Joined
- Oct 24, 2012
- Messages
- 19,295
- Reaction score
- 387
- Country
- Location
The great general once said “You tell your men you are soldiers and that’s your flag. You tell them nobody take our flag. And you raise that flag so it flies high where everyone can see it”
That’s summed it up pretty good on the situation, but ironically this speech is not really coming from any famous general, instead it’s a line coming from Robert Redford character in the Last Castle.
So, why we fight? Different people usually have different answer for it, some join up to have three squares a day, some because the court told them to or they are going to jail, some think being a soldier is a duty for your country. Well, I bet you ask 1000 soldier why they join up and fight; you will have 1,000 different reasons.
Being a soldier is not just be the looky part, yeah you have a smart uniform, and you have 3 meals a day and a roof (Almost always) over your head. That’s not why we fight, well, as least that’s what I used to think.
Before I signed up, I asked myself, is America really what I would put my life down to protect, remember that was before 9/11 and there are no patriotic BS like revenge the Twin Tower and stuff like that. I sign up because the Army gives me an opportunity; they give me what I think the most important thing in the world, a purpose in life.
Still, before even going to war, I always ask myself why I am still here, the training is tough, the people are cruel (well, there are no other way to describe the DS) and the pay is crap (I know, we’ve been on that road before) Then come the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Well, when I first got the notice that I am heading over there, along with 43 of my men under my command. This is the first time I feel the responsibility, the burden of command if you would like to put it. It’s when you are in a position that 43 men and their live depend on you, depend on how you make your decision. You started to realize, crap, that’s a lot to take, I don’t even know if I am going to survive this tour, how am I going to look after the 43 men under my command??
What very strange is, my first tour is Iraq in 2003, when the media had debate the *** out of the reason why we were send over there, whether or not Saddam Hussein have WMD and how it related to 9/11. Almost everyone in the country have a different say, some say this is just, some say this is not and we should not be there. Well, since there are TV in barrack, and what I can see my people can see too. So I booked a rec room and have a pre-deployment pep talk to them.
So, we all sit in a circle, well, two circle to be exact, with me and my platoon sergeant sitting and standing in front. I ask them to open up about the upcoming deployment. Well, 43 people have 43 different voice, although I encourage them to talk freely, I still think they did zipped their mouth for some issue. So, 43 people, not all of them think we should be there. Of course some of them are very keen on going over there and kick some ***. But even with only 43 people, the view is disputed and we still have all sort of voice regarding the war.
I don’t really know why it struck me where it struck me, at that precise moment when everybody opened up. The Speech Robert Redford make during the movie come to my mind. Then I said: “Take a look at each other, what do you see in common - The flag and the uniform. The guy next to you maybe black, and you maybe white and I maybe Hispanic or Chinese. You may vote for republican and I may vote for democrats, he may be from the south; you may be from the west. Other than the flag and the uniform, we have nothing in common.”
In war, you may not agree on many things, but the fact that you were the same uniform under the same flag is what united us here. You may not like where this country is going, or you may not think what we are doing is just, put it aside for the next election. When we are going over there, I don’t care what you think you like it or not, I just ask you to be there to back up your buddy.
Many people confused about the idea, that’s fighting for a country is the same as fighting for the government. That’s no way near the truth. I have my allegiance pledged to my country, not to the government, you do your job so people back home can be safe. You don’t fight for any government, you don’t fight for money, you fight for the trust from your people and the trust that people under your command/
Back in the 60s, my dad got drafted to the Military. He is dead set against killing, but he did not abandon his country and burn draft card or went to Canada like everybody else. He said, if my country need me, I will be there, it’s a fact I don’t like killing, but that does not stop me from serving my country. That’s how he ended up being 1F and a conscious objector and a Corpsman.
He came back to the States in the 70s, after a tour in Vietnam and patch up as many sailors, marine and soldier as he can. You know what is the first thing the Sergeant in Edward AFB said when he and a bunch of DEROS that touched down? “You may want to ditch your uniform” My dad told me that he was so pissed at the Sergeant and almost hit him in the jaw. But when he exit the base via the back gate, these hippies protestor just waiting for them and hurl whatever there is at their hand on anyone wearing the uniform.
My dad did not tell me much else, other than this “People who never served never ever gonna understand what we have gone thru, and you know the ironic part is? We do it for them.”
Let’s fast forward to 2005, there is a sergeant whom was with me when we first deployed to Iraq back in 2003; he wanted to rejoin the unit and deploy to Afghanistan. When I look at his 201, what I saw is his 3 years service record was all deployed overseas to either Iraq or Afghanistan. I look at him and say “Wow, you like it over there? Why would you go back” He could have a nice training tour In one of the Infantry school and he could have any other duty he wanted. He got enough point for that, But instead he come back and ask to transfer to my unit and went to Afghanistan. You want to know what he said.
“I signed up, so there is a place for me over there, and if I don’t go and somebody go in my place, and if that person died, it would be on me.”
So in Iraq, the first thing I do is to pull the platoon together and have a pep talk. I said
“You are soldiers and that’s your flag (Point to the flag on the soldier’s right sleeve), you tell your man nobody is taking that flag, and you want to follow it whenever you go” This flag, represent the brotherhood we share and the shit we are about to go thru. And you will not abandon your flag or your brother when things get tough. That’s why we fight.
@Neptune @WebMaster @jaibi @Slav Defence @Alpha1 @Joe Shearer @AUSTERLITZ
That’s summed it up pretty good on the situation, but ironically this speech is not really coming from any famous general, instead it’s a line coming from Robert Redford character in the Last Castle.
So, why we fight? Different people usually have different answer for it, some join up to have three squares a day, some because the court told them to or they are going to jail, some think being a soldier is a duty for your country. Well, I bet you ask 1000 soldier why they join up and fight; you will have 1,000 different reasons.
Being a soldier is not just be the looky part, yeah you have a smart uniform, and you have 3 meals a day and a roof (Almost always) over your head. That’s not why we fight, well, as least that’s what I used to think.
Before I signed up, I asked myself, is America really what I would put my life down to protect, remember that was before 9/11 and there are no patriotic BS like revenge the Twin Tower and stuff like that. I sign up because the Army gives me an opportunity; they give me what I think the most important thing in the world, a purpose in life.
Still, before even going to war, I always ask myself why I am still here, the training is tough, the people are cruel (well, there are no other way to describe the DS) and the pay is crap (I know, we’ve been on that road before) Then come the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Well, when I first got the notice that I am heading over there, along with 43 of my men under my command. This is the first time I feel the responsibility, the burden of command if you would like to put it. It’s when you are in a position that 43 men and their live depend on you, depend on how you make your decision. You started to realize, crap, that’s a lot to take, I don’t even know if I am going to survive this tour, how am I going to look after the 43 men under my command??
What very strange is, my first tour is Iraq in 2003, when the media had debate the *** out of the reason why we were send over there, whether or not Saddam Hussein have WMD and how it related to 9/11. Almost everyone in the country have a different say, some say this is just, some say this is not and we should not be there. Well, since there are TV in barrack, and what I can see my people can see too. So I booked a rec room and have a pre-deployment pep talk to them.
So, we all sit in a circle, well, two circle to be exact, with me and my platoon sergeant sitting and standing in front. I ask them to open up about the upcoming deployment. Well, 43 people have 43 different voice, although I encourage them to talk freely, I still think they did zipped their mouth for some issue. So, 43 people, not all of them think we should be there. Of course some of them are very keen on going over there and kick some ***. But even with only 43 people, the view is disputed and we still have all sort of voice regarding the war.
I don’t really know why it struck me where it struck me, at that precise moment when everybody opened up. The Speech Robert Redford make during the movie come to my mind. Then I said: “Take a look at each other, what do you see in common - The flag and the uniform. The guy next to you maybe black, and you maybe white and I maybe Hispanic or Chinese. You may vote for republican and I may vote for democrats, he may be from the south; you may be from the west. Other than the flag and the uniform, we have nothing in common.”
In war, you may not agree on many things, but the fact that you were the same uniform under the same flag is what united us here. You may not like where this country is going, or you may not think what we are doing is just, put it aside for the next election. When we are going over there, I don’t care what you think you like it or not, I just ask you to be there to back up your buddy.
Many people confused about the idea, that’s fighting for a country is the same as fighting for the government. That’s no way near the truth. I have my allegiance pledged to my country, not to the government, you do your job so people back home can be safe. You don’t fight for any government, you don’t fight for money, you fight for the trust from your people and the trust that people under your command/
Back in the 60s, my dad got drafted to the Military. He is dead set against killing, but he did not abandon his country and burn draft card or went to Canada like everybody else. He said, if my country need me, I will be there, it’s a fact I don’t like killing, but that does not stop me from serving my country. That’s how he ended up being 1F and a conscious objector and a Corpsman.
He came back to the States in the 70s, after a tour in Vietnam and patch up as many sailors, marine and soldier as he can. You know what is the first thing the Sergeant in Edward AFB said when he and a bunch of DEROS that touched down? “You may want to ditch your uniform” My dad told me that he was so pissed at the Sergeant and almost hit him in the jaw. But when he exit the base via the back gate, these hippies protestor just waiting for them and hurl whatever there is at their hand on anyone wearing the uniform.
My dad did not tell me much else, other than this “People who never served never ever gonna understand what we have gone thru, and you know the ironic part is? We do it for them.”
Let’s fast forward to 2005, there is a sergeant whom was with me when we first deployed to Iraq back in 2003; he wanted to rejoin the unit and deploy to Afghanistan. When I look at his 201, what I saw is his 3 years service record was all deployed overseas to either Iraq or Afghanistan. I look at him and say “Wow, you like it over there? Why would you go back” He could have a nice training tour In one of the Infantry school and he could have any other duty he wanted. He got enough point for that, But instead he come back and ask to transfer to my unit and went to Afghanistan. You want to know what he said.
“I signed up, so there is a place for me over there, and if I don’t go and somebody go in my place, and if that person died, it would be on me.”
So in Iraq, the first thing I do is to pull the platoon together and have a pep talk. I said
“You are soldiers and that’s your flag (Point to the flag on the soldier’s right sleeve), you tell your man nobody is taking that flag, and you want to follow it whenever you go” This flag, represent the brotherhood we share and the shit we are about to go thru. And you will not abandon your flag or your brother when things get tough. That’s why we fight.
@Neptune @WebMaster @jaibi @Slav Defence @Alpha1 @Joe Shearer @AUSTERLITZ
Last edited:
