tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381917167978264683.post8550038336929592082..comments2023-10-30T06:31:05.501-07:00Comments on MilPub: Uselessly useless.FDChiefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10607785969510234092noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381917167978264683.post-87195012013390903092014-05-01T20:44:55.080-07:002014-05-01T20:44:55.080-07:00Yahoos? Yahoos? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381917167978264683.post-43048640341831873512013-12-19T07:19:19.436-08:002013-12-19T07:19:19.436-08:00I have a lot more respect for those 3rd Infantry I...I have a lot more respect for those 3rd Infantry Infantryman than those fake Soldiers in the Old Guard.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381917167978264683.post-15187610176764763072012-03-16T08:58:25.679-07:002012-03-16T08:58:25.679-07:00As a former army cook its great seeing an NCO act ...As a former army cook its great seeing an NCO act like a little school girl and pick out MOS's to pick on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381917167978264683.post-21981323041257257402010-05-13T16:33:03.904-07:002010-05-13T16:33:03.904-07:00Finally got around to watching the full video. Th...Finally got around to watching the full video. The Russians do know how to put on a good parade. Reminded me of plenty of GDR parades back in the bad ole days . . . watching the equipment especially - "yes that is an upgrade of the RM-70!"<br /><br />Thanks for this Chief. Yes, we did look really bad, even the full version cut us off quick . . . maybe if the odd US line unit tries real hard they might look as good as the French, with a bit of work. The Poles? Forget it.<br /><br />Yes, 3rd Infantry and designate one platoon for this parade as "Berlin Brigade" . . . they march by wearing that patch . . . the Russians would pick up on that . . .seydlitz89https://www.blogger.com/profile/15431952900333460640noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381917167978264683.post-29284464173079723442010-05-13T15:05:47.253-07:002010-05-13T15:05:47.253-07:00Chief,
Thanks for the promotion, but I'm an N...Chief,<br /><br />Thanks for the promotion, but I'm an NCO too. I did marry an officer, so I do have some insight into how they think! I do think big-picture mainly because that's a big part of my job, but perhaps cavorting with the enemy has affected my judgment. ;)<br /><br />I do understand what you're saying and I have my own set of NCO peeves. I think ten years ago this would have been one of them. The more I think about it, though, the more I agree with your point - these guys represent the US and perceptions matter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381917167978264683.post-14459426086767987502010-05-13T13:18:29.534-07:002010-05-13T13:18:29.534-07:00Al: True. But I would argue that the British Guar...Al: True. But I would argue that the British Guards are a very unusual critter. Their definition of parade "sharp" is an order of magnitude higher than anything we have outside of Ft. Myer. And I'm not trying to slag off on the guys from 2/18; for a bunch of U.S. line dogs they would have been just fine for 95% of ceremonial occasions. But this was a fancy-dress party, and we have a bunch of guys who do just this, and we didn't send them. What, was the social calendar at Arlington specially full that week?<br /><br />Andy: True, but that's because you're an officer and are paid to think about the Big Picture. I'm and NCO and thus spend my little life nagging people about petty, idiotic bullshit. While I try and transcend it, every so often the NCO genes throw out a nasty mutation and I revert to type. This event just happened to be one of them.FDChiefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10607785969510234092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381917167978264683.post-49648789867866098312010-05-12T06:51:34.122-07:002010-05-12T06:51:34.122-07:00Often events have no deeper meaning. A parade is ...Often events have no deeper meaning. A parade is just a parade. That the US was invited is, at most, a sign of somewhat better relations between the US and Russia - nothing more. I could care less how well they marched or what STAVKA or anyone else thought them. I doubt most anyone else cares either and this parade will be largely forgotten in a week or so.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381917167978264683.post-14808882018643438452010-05-11T22:52:01.011-07:002010-05-11T22:52:01.011-07:00Chief-
The Welsh Guards are not strictly a ceremo...Chief-<br /><br />The Welsh Guards are not strictly a ceremonial unit. As with all the Royal Guards Regiments, they serve fully in the missions and deployments of the British Army, to include Iraq and Afghanistan. It is possible to be sharp and fight.Aviator47https://www.blogger.com/profile/05585964386930142907noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381917167978264683.post-74648711564998214622010-05-11T16:59:41.268-07:002010-05-11T16:59:41.268-07:00I was particularly impressed by the aviation asset...I was particularly impressed by the aviation assets that flew the number "65" over the viewing stand. Very strack.Jasonhttp://armchairgeneralist.typepad.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381917167978264683.post-69968841932406484182010-05-11T15:40:07.578-07:002010-05-11T15:40:07.578-07:00"The Sov's parades were not intended to i...<i>"The Sov's parades were not intended to impress the Afghans, they were intended to impress us. And they did!"</i><br /><br />Mmmm....well, they certainly impressed the "Team B" types like Cheney and the Kagans. Not so sure if it was the parades or just the overall size of the Soviet military. A big portion of our defense leadership certainly did buy into their propaganda. Again, not sure if it was as much the trooping through Red Square or the much larger muscle offstage.<br /><br />But your point is well taken - the people these shows definately WERE intended to impress were the Russian (and the subject people's) civilians (and they seem to have done that), and the corrolary to that is that the U.S. Army may well have decided that this would be a total non-event for the U.S. public so who gives a shit?<br /><br />Not a decision that, to me, reflects well on the shrewdness of the Army staff, but, oh well...FDChiefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10607785969510234092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381917167978264683.post-85192431291832093842010-05-11T14:56:48.860-07:002010-05-11T14:56:48.860-07:00The Sov's parades were not intended to impress...The Sov's parades were not intended to impress the Afghans, they were intended to impress us. <br /><br />And they did! Mission accomplished, especially when you compare GDPs of Nato vs Warsaw Pact.<br /><br />A military has to prioritize all the missions it is assigned. I'm guessing that whoever made the decision to send the 2/18 figured that it was a second rate parade and that the USA didn't need to send their best because nobody who counted would care.Aelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788190394672505925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381917167978264683.post-37064314161574281802010-05-11T10:55:38.556-07:002010-05-11T10:55:38.556-07:00Ael: Enh...I'm not so sure. The Sovs had lovel...Ael: Enh...I'm not so sure. The Sovs had lovely parades and they didn't impress the Afghan muj a hell of a lot. The Israelis are famous for their scruffy appearance and until the intifada they had no problem mopping the Levant with their Arab foes. Polished marching meant something in the time of Fredrick the Great. Now? Not so much.<br /><br />I agree with you that the attention to detail it takes to get things right for one of these public shows in the final turn-out of the troop unit. The thing is that the skill set to look pretty on parade is very different from the one that makes you dangerous in combat. And, like getting good at fighting, it takes a long time and a lot of practise to get there. It looks to me like C/2/18th didn't put in the woodshedding it would have taken to match the prettiness of the Welsh Guard or the Russian parade units or (I suspect) whoever the hell the French and Poles sent. Not that they should have had to; we alredy have a march unit that does that, and how much more difficult would it have been to fly a company of the 3USI to Moscow that it was to railhead the 2/18th?<br /><br />And if I had been on the reviewing stand for STAVKA I'll bet I'd have been thinking; <i>"You bastards try and act like you're so bad-ass...what a fucking clusterfuck. You can't even whip the same goatrapers we couldn't beat. You pussies. We should have gone for you back when we had the chance..."</i><br /><br />Hey, it all goes for twenty, right?FDChiefhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10607785969510234092noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-381917167978264683.post-11760277357621562652010-05-11T08:35:47.778-07:002010-05-11T08:35:47.778-07:00It isn't at all useless. This is one of the s...It isn't at all useless. This is one of the standard ways to impress your friends and intimidate your enemies. Sharp looking uniforms are *much* cheaper than carrier groups <br /><br />As your analysis indicates, putting on a dog and pony show involves countless decisions (both big and small). These decisions all roll up together into what you actually see.<br />An experienced eye can gain insight into these thought processes when they watch a parade.<br /><br />Take your comment about the dapper British, it simply assumes a quiet professionalism.<br /><br />I wonder what the Russian General Staff thought of the Americans on parade.Aelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10788190394672505925noreply@blogger.com