4 ms·

I've never been in the military, but my understanding is that you don't get deployed without knowing better. I'll take Bergdahl at his word with regards to his

by Falcon9 11y ago

I've never been in the military, but my understanding is that you don't get deployed without knowing better. I'll take Bergdahl at his word with regards to his intentions, but it's still an incredible reckless and irresponsible thing to do. He's lucky to be alive.

EliRivers 11y ago
From my own military experiences, I would not be at all surprised to find people deployed with deficiencies in equipment, training and oversight.
- BryantD 11y ago
  Some reporting indicates that Bergdahl's unit was riddled with this kind of problem: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/americas-last-prisoner-of-war-20120607 http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/americas-last-pris...
  - stvswn 11y ago
    Nothing there surprises me -- some of it is just the kind of bitching soldiers do (like complaining that everyone has to stop what they're doing to look for a rifle, or complaining that NTC was hot, or that the 1SG is nuts and mean and yells a lot, or that you had to guard a broken down vehicle for 5 days... ). Some of it showed a lack of discipline in the unit (NCOs allowing Soldiers to wear baseball caps) -- but Bowe seems to feel like those relaxed NCOs were the "good guys" that got replaced. The Rolling Stone article tries to act like Bowe snapped under stress, which is not at all what he's saying in Serial. He'd only been in Afghanistan for 3 months, and the Serial podcast said that he hadn't seen any real action yet (Rolling Stone talks about combat he was in). The vast majority of his complaints are par for the course in the Army -- mass punishment and the constant feeling like the higher command is stringing you along. It's, like, what the Army's all about. As you gain in rank and your perspective widens, you end up being the person who makes some PFC spend 5 days guarding an MRAP, and you just shift your hatred to the next level up the chain. Bitching about the higher headquarters that is just one level above your visibility is what people do in the Army.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]

by Falcon9 11y ago

EliRivers 11y ago

From my own military experiences, I would not be at all surprised to find people deployed with deficiencies in equipment, training and oversight.

BryantD 11y ago
Some reporting indicates that Bergdahl's unit was riddled with this kind of problem: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/americas-last-prisoner-of-war-20120607 http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/americas-last-pris...
- stvswn 11y ago
  Nothing there surprises me -- some of it is just the kind of bitching soldiers do (like complaining that everyone has to stop what they're doing to look for a rifle, or complaining that NTC was hot, or that the 1SG is nuts and mean and yells a lot, or that you had to guard a broken down vehicle for 5 days... ). Some of it showed a lack of discipline in the unit (NCOs allowing Soldiers to wear baseball caps) -- but Bowe seems to feel like those relaxed NCOs were the "good guys" that got replaced. The Rolling Stone article tries to act like Bowe snapped under stress, which is not at all what he's saying in Serial. He'd only been in Afghanistan for 3 months, and the Serial podcast said that he hadn't seen any real action yet (Rolling Stone talks about combat he was in). The vast majority of his complaints are par for the course in the Army -- mass punishment and the constant feeling like the higher command is stringing you along. It's, like, what the Army's all about. As you gain in rank and your perspective widens, you end up being the person who makes some PFC spend 5 days guarding an MRAP, and you just shift your hatred to the next level up the chain. Bitching about the higher headquarters that is just one level above your visibility is what people do in the Army.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]