4 ms·

They don't do anything without $40 billion of air assets circling their position providing cover and get pissy when you tell them they have to shave and can't p

They don't do anything without $40 billion of air assets circling their position providing cover and get pissy when you tell them they have to shave and can't paint their weapons arbitrary colors. Also they're all on drugs and will kill you if you report them for embezzling unit funds.

TheCondor 2y ago
They take PEDs or street drugs?
- mrslave 2y ago
  PEDs. See the Kyle Mullen death during the SEAL entry testing[0] and subsequent policy to test for PEDs[1]. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32656856 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32656856 [1] https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/10/20/navy-seals-start-performance-enhancing-drug-tests-next-month-legal-challenges-are-likely-follow.html https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/10/20/navy-seals-st...
no_exit 2y ago
> they're all on drugs To be fair to the SEALs, this is every US SF unit.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
maybelsyrup 2y ago
> Also they're all on drugs and will kill you if you report them for embezzling unit funds. This is maybe not too related to the brain damage stuff (or maybe it is?), but I don't think the wider public knows nearly enough about the frankly shocking kinds and amounts of criminality in the various US special forces units. OP is not kidding about these people operating as gangs (but worse, because they're sanctioned killers). A smattering of such behavior: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/07/internal-study-defense-special-operations-forces-485825 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/07/internal-study-defe... https://news.usni.org/2021/01/24/seal-sentenced-to-10-years-in-death-of-green-beret-logan-melgar https://news.usni.org/2021/01/24/seal-sentenced-to-10-years-... https://abc7chicago.com/us-navy-seals-seal-training-drugs-investigation/12184034/ https://abc7chicago.com/us-navy-seals-seal-training-drugs-in... The journalist (and Army vet, iirc) Seth Harp does yeoman's work on this topic, and is a good Twitter follow. He's got several excellent long-form investigative articles, often for Rolling Stone. Here's one on the rampant murders (ongoing!) at Fort Bragg that the Army won't talk about: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/fort-bragg-murders-1153405/ https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/fort-b... And another one about rampant drug deaths at ... also Fort Bragg: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/inside-the-overdose-crisis-sweeping-fort-bragg-1396298/ https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/inside... I think it's time to have a big cultural conversation about how much our current era of spec ops worship is worth all the war crimes and other less-than-normative behavior.
- lazide 2y ago
  It isn’t just in SPECOPS. A lot of the current mess going on in society with politics is about ‘as long as they do what we need them to do, crimes don’t matter’ too.
- throwup238 2y ago
  > In late May, a 21-year-old enlisted man from California was killed — beheaded, in fact — while on a camping trip with six of his fellow paratroopers; once again, no arrests have been made in the case. What the flying fuck!?
  - Forbo 2y ago
    I only lightly skimmed that article, but holy shit. I couldn't take much before I had to bail.
- bruce511 2y ago
  Every time I bring up the military, I get down voted. That's because (I believe) suggesting anything is wrong with military spending, military behaviour, or foreign adventures, is simply off limits. Discussing or criticizing anything military related us seen as disrespectful to troops, and Killing the argument there kills more problematic questions (like 'was the invasion of Iraq a symptom of a larger problem like a too-bloated budget?') One can appreciate those choices served, and support their assimilation into society, while at the same time questioning military ideals, spending levels, and behaviors. And yes, training people to function well in situations that are borderline suicidal, training them to follow orders that put them in harms way, is going to have psychological effects on at least some of them. When you train people to behave abnormally you shouldn't be terribly surprised at abnormal behaviour patterns. I say this as an ex military person myself. There are a lot of questions worth asking, but unfortunately society would prefer to remain ignorant. It's easier to live guilt free if "we didn't know".
  - kiba 2y ago
    With the war in Ukraine, I have a newfound appreciation for defense spending and intelligence gathering(We know Russia was going to invade), while at the same time I am able to view Afghanistan and Iraq as disastrous and unnecessary as well questioning indiscriminate surveillance and other immoral activities done under our name. I don't know exactly what our military budget should be. It is probably undoubtedly bloated and perhaps full of white elephants, while we're underspending in some area. It seems that the peace dividend is over.
dansult 2y ago
Different roles. Everyone has a part to play but SF relies upon relative superiority. Assets and ignoring military customs which do not increase effectiveness and lethality are requirements to get the job done. An infantry company is more able to defend its position than a troop of SF without heavy weapons if bogged down. Camouflage works and when you're rolling multicam with a black gun it reduces its effectiveness. I sense a lot of bitterness.
- dralley 2y ago
  I doubt there would be as much bitterness if the "silent professionals" didn't write so many books about what incredible badasses they are.
  - Log_out_ 2y ago
    Are they? a farmer shoots one of them in the leg and they nuke a town? there is a reason that medals for bravery don't goto SF but to forgotten army guards who die defending little hinterland hillforts against insurgency. sf era is closing rapidly with flying ieds getting everywhere..
throwaway2037 2y ago
> they're all on drugs Steriods? I have heard similar.

TheCondor 2y ago

They take PEDs or street drugs?

mrslave 2y ago
PEDs. See the Kyle Mullen death during the SEAL entry testing[0] and subsequent policy to test for PEDs[1]. [0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32656856 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32656856 [1] https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/10/20/navy-seals-start-performance-enhancing-drug-tests-next-month-legal-challenges-are-likely-follow.html https://www.military.com/daily-news/2023/10/20/navy-seals-st...

no_exit 2y ago

> they're all on drugs To be fair to the SEALs, this is every US SF unit.

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]

maybelsyrup 2y ago

> Also they're all on drugs and will kill you if you report them for embezzling unit funds. This is maybe not too related to the brain damage stuff (or maybe it is?), but I don't think the wider public knows nearly enough about the frankly shocking kinds and amounts of criminality in the various US special forces units. OP is not kidding about these people operating as gangs (but worse, because they're sanctioned killers). A smattering of such behavior: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/07/internal-study-defense-special-operations-forces-485825 https://www.politico.com/news/2021/05/07/internal-study-defe... https://news.usni.org/2021/01/24/seal-sentenced-to-10-years-in-death-of-green-beret-logan-melgar https://news.usni.org/2021/01/24/seal-sentenced-to-10-years-... https://abc7chicago.com/us-navy-seals-seal-training-drugs-investigation/12184034/ https://abc7chicago.com/us-navy-seals-seal-training-drugs-in... The journalist (and Army vet, iirc) Seth Harp does yeoman's work on this topic, and is a good Twitter follow. He's got several excellent long-form investigative articles, often for Rolling Stone. Here's one on the rampant murders (ongoing!) at Fort Bragg that the Army won't talk about: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/fort-bragg-murders-1153405/ https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/fort-b... And another one about rampant drug deaths at ... also Fort Bragg: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/inside-the-overdose-crisis-sweeping-fort-bragg-1396298/ https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/inside... I think it's time to have a big cultural conversation about how much our current era of spec ops worship is worth all the war crimes and other less-than-normative behavior.

lazide 2y ago
It isn’t just in SPECOPS. A lot of the current mess going on in society with politics is about ‘as long as they do what we need them to do, crimes don’t matter’ too.
throwup238 2y ago
> In late May, a 21-year-old enlisted man from California was killed — beheaded, in fact — while on a camping trip with six of his fellow paratroopers; once again, no arrests have been made in the case. What the flying fuck!?
- Forbo 2y ago
  I only lightly skimmed that article, but holy shit. I couldn't take much before I had to bail.
bruce511 2y ago
Every time I bring up the military, I get down voted. That's because (I believe) suggesting anything is wrong with military spending, military behaviour, or foreign adventures, is simply off limits. Discussing or criticizing anything military related us seen as disrespectful to troops, and Killing the argument there kills more problematic questions (like 'was the invasion of Iraq a symptom of a larger problem like a too-bloated budget?') One can appreciate those choices served, and support their assimilation into society, while at the same time questioning military ideals, spending levels, and behaviors. And yes, training people to function well in situations that are borderline suicidal, training them to follow orders that put them in harms way, is going to have psychological effects on at least some of them. When you train people to behave abnormally you shouldn't be terribly surprised at abnormal behaviour patterns. I say this as an ex military person myself. There are a lot of questions worth asking, but unfortunately society would prefer to remain ignorant. It's easier to live guilt free if "we didn't know".
- kiba 2y ago
  With the war in Ukraine, I have a newfound appreciation for defense spending and intelligence gathering(We know Russia was going to invade), while at the same time I am able to view Afghanistan and Iraq as disastrous and unnecessary as well questioning indiscriminate surveillance and other immoral activities done under our name. I don't know exactly what our military budget should be. It is probably undoubtedly bloated and perhaps full of white elephants, while we're underspending in some area. It seems that the peace dividend is over.

dansult 2y ago

Different roles. Everyone has a part to play but SF relies upon relative superiority. Assets and ignoring military customs which do not increase effectiveness and lethality are requirements to get the job done. An infantry company is more able to defend its position than a troop of SF without heavy weapons if bogged down. Camouflage works and when you're rolling multicam with a black gun it reduces its effectiveness. I sense a lot of bitterness.

dralley 2y ago
I doubt there would be as much bitterness if the "silent professionals" didn't write so many books about what incredible badasses they are.
- Log_out_ 2y ago
  Are they? a farmer shoots one of them in the leg and they nuke a town? there is a reason that medals for bravery don't goto SF but to forgotten army guards who die defending little hinterland hillforts against insurgency. sf era is closing rapidly with flying ieds getting everywhere..

throwaway2037 2y ago

> they're all on drugs Steriods? I have heard similar.