4 ms·

I enjoyed the anecdotes, but the life lessons are mostly generic trash. Every story in the article ended up with a life lesson that was merely a solution to the

by rodly 14y ago

I enjoyed the anecdotes, but the life lessons are mostly generic trash. Every story in the article ended up with a life lesson that was merely a solution to the error in the story. example : 5. Don’t be a “grab-ass.” Story - guy hits another in line with his helmet (grab-ass), the DI saw this and made them continuously hit each other and it was a funny sight for the rest of the men. "Life Lesson" - Life lesson for today: Discern when to use humor on the job. Even if you’re just standing in line, apply yourself to the task and maintain your focus. Resolution : If you can get away with being humorous, do it. If you get caught, you didn't discern the right time to use humor on the job, and thus were being an unfocused grab-ass. --- I'd say a better life lesson here is to take responsibility for your actions and never act without understanding potential consequences. The soldier that originally started the helmet hitting should have taken the heat solely for starting the ordeal.

vinceguidry 14y ago
> The soldier that originally started the helmet hitting should have taken the heat solely for starting the ordeal. Not how it works. In battle, one man's screwup can get the whole team killed. So it's up to the whole team to stop that one man from screwing up. Everybody works as a unit. Another thing about the military that people don't understand is just how wide of backgrounds that recruits and conscripts come from. There's smart people in the military, and there's very very dumb ones. The military can't turn dumb soldiers into smart ones, but they can make procedures so simple that even the dumb ones can follow it. This combined with the first dynamic explains why the military seems as crappy and backwards in its training as it is.
- hmottestad 14y ago
  My primary school teacher told me to not call stupid people dumb. Since dumb means to not speak, and has only become a description of stupid people because of its use.

by rodly 14y ago

vinceguidry 14y ago

> The soldier that originally started the helmet hitting should have taken the heat solely for starting the ordeal. Not how it works. In battle, one man's screwup can get the whole team killed. So it's up to the whole team to stop that one man from screwing up. Everybody works as a unit. Another thing about the military that people don't understand is just how wide of backgrounds that recruits and conscripts come from. There's smart people in the military, and there's very very dumb ones. The military can't turn dumb soldiers into smart ones, but they can make procedures so simple that even the dumb ones can follow it. This combined with the first dynamic explains why the military seems as crappy and backwards in its training as it is.

hmottestad 14y ago
My primary school teacher told me to not call stupid people dumb. Since dumb means to not speak, and has only become a description of stupid people because of its use.