Category: Military
Officer Class
To Americans, who unlike the Brits are self-consciously class-indifferent, this piece might be a load of old nonsense, but here we are:
When your job involves abseiling out of helicopters, kicking down doors and taking out the bad guys, you might be forgiven for thinking that it doesn’t really matter what school you went to.
But the SAS is getting worried that not enough posh officers are applying to command its high-stakes operations.
The elite regiment has typically been led by former public schoolboys whose privileged education is said to instil the leadership skills and poise required.
‘The typical SAS officer is confident, relaxed, bright and unflappable,’ said one of the regiment’s warrant officers. ‘Many of the most successful officers have been to the top public schools, but recently we have seen a number of guys coming forward who just don’t cut it. It’s a shame, but they are just not posh enough. The bottom line is that the officers shouldn’t be speaking like soldiers. We don’t want officers who are shouters or know-it-alls.’
…Former officers of the SAS include General Mark Carleton-Smith, the head of the Army, and Major Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, a former Private Secretary to Princes William and Harry, who one source described as ‘the archetypal SAS officer’. Both were educated at Eton, while other recent commanding officers attended Winchester and Harrow.
Over There, the term “officer and a gentleman” used to be something of a redundancy — one could only become an officer if one was of the privileged class — but it seems like it has been somewhat undermined, and not to everyone’s liking, either. Imagine taking orders from this guy…
Round about now, Mr. Free Market (who was an officer in the Paras under the old regime) is chuckling into his whisky.
Anytime You Like, Sweetheart
SGT Cindy Bronson has a message for her fellow Americans in case martial law is declared: “Understand that if active duty military actually get deployed within the United States, that weapon is not just going to be pointed at other people, other countries, it’s pointed at you.”
…and here’s what I’ll be pointing at you:
Anyway, challenge accepted.
That’s Not The Point
At Breitbart News, Paul Bois talks about whether the foul Taliban will be able to use all the weaponry and materiel left behind by our incompetent military.
Frankly, that’s not the point. Nobody cares if the Turbans can use the stuff, what’s really worth discussing is why the military didn’t destroy all of it before they left?
I mean, we’re all chuckling ho ho ho as we watch videos of the Taliban trying to fly a chopper and not being able to get it off the ground; what’s not so funny is that the Iranians, Chinese and all the other assholes of the world are probably lining up to buy it all so that they can hack into the high-tech stuff, where that knowledge can be used against us in the future.
It is a monumental fuck-up, and every senior officer who allowed the equipment to be just left behind without destroying it should be court-martialed. Ditto their superiors who made no provision for doing so in their evacuation orders. But they were probably too busy making plans for Covid vaccinations of the troops and scheduling CRT lectures to bother, is my guess.
I have to quit now because blood pressure.
Some Kind Of Solution
Here’s the incomparable Jordan Peterson, talking about a frightening statistic. I urge you to watch it first before continuing to read this post. Read more
Helping Hands
From his island lair somewhere in the Caribbean, Longtime Friend Knal N. Domp writes (with my response underneath):
I think the preference of the Afghan Muzzies for the AK demonstrates that it’s the choice of insurgents all over the world — mostly because it’s easy to operate, reliable and needs little maintenance. (Pretty much the same reasons that I like them, incidentally.)
Not that I’m an insurgent, or anything.