Troop hate megathread: As far as accountability idk.

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > C-SPAM > Troop hate megathread: As far as accountability idk.

Biplane: Jul 18, 2005

mawarannahr posted:

I am idealistic but I'm also not dumb - I know bad things happened while we were in Iraq. But those bad things don't cancel out the good. We were given a mission and our Soldiers/Marines/Airmen/Sailors executed on that mission to the best of our ability. We removed a terrible man from power. We eradicated the country of countless terrorists and fear. We provided a sense of security in many areas of the country.

I am proud that when history looks back on our generation, I was one of many who answered the call. That is why I say to my fellow service members, do not apologize for what you did. Do not say, "I'm sorry." You did what was asked of you.

We have the luxury of hindsight today. We can look back on the last 20 years and critique decisions made. We should do that. We should study what happened and learn from those experiences. But I am not in the business of blaming others - you can take an extremely cynical approach and list out nefarious motivations for going into Iraq. Maybe some of that behavior did happen but I'll tell you where it did not happen. It did not happen at my level. It did not happen at the level of the vast majority of those who served in Iraq. For most, I am reminded of the words of Alfred Lord Tennyson,

That is a simplistic view of the military but at its core it is what we sign up for. I did not decide for my platoon to deploy to Iraq. I couldn't control our deployment schedule. What I could control was how we prepared, how we executed our missions, how I served my Soldiers, and how we carried ourselves as a unit. War is murky. Even in conflicts where the enemy was clear, decisions were marred by uncertainty in many instances. You can lose yourself trying to make sense of it all and I will speak for myself when I say I don't wish to carry that burden my entire life. Is that a cop out? Who's to say. I just want to continue my life and carry with me the pride I feel having served my Country.

Something else I will take with me is the perspective I gained from my year in Iraq. I can say honestly it shapes nearly every decision I make in my life now and affords me a level of happiness that I might otherwise struggle to obtain. That perspective makes me a better person.

Will history look kindly on our time in Iraq? Some will. Some won't. Some will be torn. I found out that regardless of how folks view my service there, I will never shake all of the emotions I carry with me. One thing is a certainty though - I am grateful. I am grateful that in 2003 when their Country called on them, rough men and women stood ready to charge forward. That can never be forgotten or taken away from any of us.

God Bless.

Lmfao. Infuriating.

# ? Mar 22, 2023 21:52

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# ? Jun 11, 2024 18:43

Johnny Five-Jaces: Jan 21, 2009

FacelessVoid posted:

https://twitter.com/battlementlk/status/1638297485293547525?s=46&t=KjgCk8AMcWdgl97WT6zMuA

KomradeX posted:

Dudes rock

# ? Mar 22, 2023 21:58

ELTON JOHN: Feb 17, 2014

FacelessVoid posted:

https://twitter.com/battlementlk/status/1638297485293547525?s=46&t=KjgCk8AMcWdgl97WT6zMuA

Read the whole thread if you can stomach it.

https://twitter.com/tonsmit/status/1638378697030868997

# ? Mar 22, 2023 22:02

Palladium: May 8, 2012; Very Good
✔️✔️✔️✔️

uh have you considered muuuh complete lack of personal agency in this all-volunteer military with a heinous track record because muuuuh college money

# ? Mar 22, 2023 22:05

Mad Doctor Cthulhu: Mar 3, 2008

mawarannahr posted:

I am idealistic but I'm also not dumb - I know bad things happened while we were in Iraq. But those bad things don't cancel out the good. We were given a mission and our Soldiers/Marines/Airmen/Sailors executed on that mission to the best of our ability. We removed a terrible man from power. We eradicated the country of countless terrorists and fear. We provided a sense of security in many areas of the country.

I am proud that when history looks back on our generation, I was one of many who answered the call. That is why I say to my fellow service members, do not apologize for what you did. Do not say, "I'm sorry." You did what was asked of you.

We have the luxury of hindsight today. We can look back on the last 20 years and critique decisions made. We should do that. We should study what happened and learn from those experiences. But I am not in the business of blaming others - you can take an extremely cynical approach and list out nefarious motivations for going into Iraq. Maybe some of that behavior did happen but I'll tell you where it did not happen. It did not happen at my level. It did not happen at the level of the vast majority of those who served in Iraq. For most, I am reminded of the words of Alfred Lord Tennyson,

That is a simplistic view of the military but at its core it is what we sign up for. I did not decide for my platoon to deploy to Iraq. I couldn't control our deployment schedule. What I could control was how we prepared, how we executed our missions, how I served my Soldiers, and how we carried ourselves as a unit. War is murky. Even in conflicts where the enemy was clear, decisions were marred by uncertainty in many instances. You can lose yourself trying to make sense of it all and I will speak for myself when I say I don't wish to carry that burden my entire life. Is that a cop out? Who's to say. I just want to continue my life and carry with me the pride I feel having served my Country.

Something else I will take with me is the perspective I gained from my year in Iraq. I can say honestly it shapes nearly every decision I make in my life now and affords me a level of happiness that I might otherwise struggle to obtain. That perspective makes me a better person.

Will history look kindly on our time in Iraq? Some will. Some won't. Some will be torn. I found out that regardless of how folks view my service there, I will never shake all of the emotions I carry with me. One thing is a certainty though - I am grateful. I am grateful that in 2003 when their Country called on them, rough men and women stood ready to charge forward. That can never be forgotten or taken away from any of us.

God Bless.

I'm proud of my time there! Also, war is murky and if bad things happens and it comes up I wasn't aware of it unless I was and if so I'll gloss over it because who cares about the people whose lands we invaded we were angry and deluded and this somehow justifies it and furthermore--

Those are the words of someone who has done and seen some poo poo they did not prevent and now are hoping nobody checks up upon.

# ? Mar 22, 2023 23:40

Remulak: Jun 8, 2001; I can't count to four.; Yams Fan

Palladium posted:

uh have you considered muuuh complete lack of personal agency in this all-volunteer military with a heinous track record because muuuuh college money

Lol at the odds of any of Are Troops using college money at someplace other than a for-profit ripoff 'school'.

# ? Mar 22, 2023 23:51

smug jeebus: Oct 26, 2008

At least they're honest enough to admit that they only provided a 'sense' of security, which I'm sure the Iraqis appreciated much more than the actual security they had prior to the war.

# ? Mar 23, 2023 00:27

mawarannahr: May 21, 2019

it's one of my fav things in this type of writing to see stuff like Country and Soldier capitalized

# ? Mar 23, 2023 00:29

fits my needs: Jan 1, 2011; Grimey Drawer

https://twitter.com/starsandstripes/status/1638676938850959362?s=20

# ? Mar 23, 2023 00:30

ContinuityNewTimes: Dec 30, 2010; Я выдуман напрочь

Are law enforcement death squads troops?
Watching the netflix Waco documentary and wow those ATF stormtroopers were very sad and scared when they killed all those kids

# ? Mar 23, 2023 00:42

indigi: Jul 20, 2004; ^{how can we not talk about family

when family's all that we got?}

# ? Mar 23, 2023 00:43

The Voice of Labor: Apr 8, 2020

the thin blue line between troops and cops cosplaying as troops

# ? Mar 23, 2023 01:28

Dixon Chisholm: Jan 2, 2020

FacelessVoid posted:

https://twitter.com/battlementlk/status/1638297485293547525?s=46&t=KjgCk8AMcWdgl97WT6zMuA

Read the whole thread if you can stomach it.

why the gently caress would i do that?

# ? Mar 23, 2023 02:03

Vomik: Jul 29, 2003; This post is dedicated to the brave Mujahideen fighters of Afghanistan

Dixon Chisholm posted:

why the gently caress would i do that?

https://www.military.com/daily-news/opinions/2021/01/04/president-trump-must-act-behalf-of-robert-bales-and-other-convicted-warfighters.html

check out this retired lt. colonel arguing that robert bales and other troops convicted of murder must be released because of anti malaria medicine

# ? Mar 23, 2023 02:07

ikanreed: Sep 25, 2009; I honestly I have no idea who cannibal[SIC] is and I do not know why I should know.

syq dude, just syq!

Support our troops' prosecutor

# ? Mar 23, 2023 02:20

Dixon Chisholm: Jan 2, 2020

Vomik posted:

https://www.military.com/daily-news/opinions/2021/01/04/president-trump-must-act-behalf-of-robert-bales-and-other-convicted-warfighters.html

check out this retired lt. colonel arguing that robert bales and other troops convicted of murder must be released because of anti malaria medicine

im too busy hating troops to do that

# ? Mar 23, 2023 02:26

yellowcar: Feb 14, 2010

https://twitter.com/aprilrainn_png/status/1637698916065103874

# ? Mar 23, 2023 02:38

Vomik: Jul 29, 2003; This post is dedicated to the brave Mujahideen fighters of Afghanistan

Dixon Chisholm posted:

im too busy hating troops to do that

i'll allow it

# ? Mar 23, 2023 02:40

NeatHeteroDude: Jan 15, 2017

the troops, the troops, the troops. they may not all be doing warcrimes, but if a silly guy from their unit did some they definitely wouldn't testify in non-military court to have him punished

if one of my coworkers savagely beat a child with a hammer, i'd be pretty okay with telling a jury that!

# ? Mar 23, 2023 02:52

Remulak: Jun 8, 2001; I can't count to four.; Yams Fan

NeatHeteroDude posted:

if one of my coworkers savagely beat a child with a hammer, i'd be pretty okay with telling a jury that!

I�m guessing you�re not a cop.

# ? Mar 23, 2023 02:54

Vladimir Poutine: Aug 13, 2012

Former SAS soldier arrested and charged in NSW for alleged war crime over killing of Afghan civilian

Oliver Schulz, 41, was arrested in the southern highlands of New South Wales by Australian federal police and NSW police

quote:

A former SAS soldier accused of killing an Afghan civilian during a mission in southern Afghanistan more than a decade ago has been arrested and charged with the war crime of murder.

Oliver Schulz, 41, was arrested in the southern highlands of New South Wales by Australian federal police and NSW police. He has been remanded in custody and is expected to appear at Sydney�s Downing Centre local court in May.

In a statement, the Australian federal police said: �It will be alleged he murdered an Afghan man while deployed to Afghanistan with the Australian defence force.

�The maximum penalty for a war crime � murder offence is life imprisonment.�

Footage broadcast by the ABC�s Four Corners program shows an Australian trooper, allegedly Schulz, shooting dead a prone Afghan man, who is lying with his hands up, in a wheat field in southern Afghanistan�s Uruzgan province.

Schulz was a trooper with the SAS�s 3 Squadron, serving in Rotation XVII, in 2012.

Schulz�s arrest is the first war crime charge of murder to be laid against a serving or former Australian Defence Force member under Australian law.

Schulz�s arrest follows a four-year investigation by the inspector general of the Australian defence force, Maj Gen Paul Brereton, which found �credible� evidence to support allegations that 39 Afghan civilians were unlawfully killed by Australian special forces soldiers.

The Office of the Special Investigator was especially established by government to investigate the Brereton report�s findings for criminal investigation.

The AFP said: �The Office of the Special Investigator and the AFP are working together to investigate allegations of criminal offences under Australian law related to breaches of the laws of armed conflict by Australian defence force personnel in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016.�

Last month, before parliament, the head of the OSI said the agency was investigating �between 40 and 50� alleged offences by Australian special forces soldiers in the Afghan conflict.

Martin Hamilton-Smith, former SAS officer and the national chairman of the SAS Association, said the organisation �welcomed the fact that this will now go to court�.

�We take the accusations very seriously and commend those who referred them, because they are members of our association as well,� he told The Guardian.

�But we make the point that the defendant has the right to the presumption of innocence, and to have these allegations tested before a properly constituted court, so that the truth can be established.�

Fiona Nelson, director of legal advocacy at the Australian Centre for International Justice, said the progression of investigations to an arrest being made was a significant step for public accountability.

�Victims of human rights violations across the conflict in Afghanistan have for decades been denied avenues for any accountability. Criminal proceedings in Australia have an important role to play in finally allowing for impunity to be challenged.

�Australia has a lot of work ahead to respond to the legacy of its military engagement in Afghanistan.�

# ? Mar 23, 2023 03:00

Palladium: May 8, 2012; Very Good
✔️✔️✔️✔️

yellowcar posted:

https://twitter.com/aprilrainn_png/status/1637698916065103874

is this a seeseepee election meddling conspiracy

# ? Mar 23, 2023 03:05

smug jeebus: Oct 26, 2008

yellowcar posted:

https://twitter.com/aprilrainn_png/status/1637698916065103874

They just love telling on themselves

# ? Mar 23, 2023 03:22

Blitz of 404 Error: Sep 19, 2007; Joe Biden is a top 15 president

Thats a psy op

# ? Mar 23, 2023 04:10

NeatHeteroDude: Jan 15, 2017

Blitz of 404 Error posted:

Thats a psy op

I could beat u up irl

# ? Mar 23, 2023 04:27

Turtle Watch: Jul 30, 2010; by Games Forum

Pictured: A dead United States military troop, artists interpretation, 2023
(x_x)
-|-
/ \

# ? Mar 23, 2023 07:11

paul_soccer12: Jan 5, 2020; by Fluffdaddy

Turtle Watch posted:

Pictured: A dead United States military troop, artists interpretation, 2023
(x_x)
-|-
/ \

# ? Mar 23, 2023 08:40

Weka: May 5, 2019; That child totally had it coming. Nobody should be able to be out at dusk except cars.

Blitz of 404 Error posted:

Thats a psy op

A recruitment psy op, informing people they can kill children in the USA's military, a thing virtually every American troop of the last 70 years has helped do.

# ? Mar 23, 2023 10:21