The Real Kurt: Freddo and Gavin, Freddo is more right than not. This book does not outright condemn the politicians (from memory, it’s been about 25 years since I read it), but it is a blistering attack on the lack of preparedness of the US military at the time, and it prefigures a lot of the criticism that was justifiably leveled at US conduct of the Vietnam war only a few years later.
Harry Jones: Some armchair quarterbacking here: what if he had allowed the peasants to cross without their luggage? My thinking: you can do concealed carry with small arms, but not with serious weaponry. Any disguised enemy combatants would come over either unarmed or inadequately armed. Oh, and… frisk them afterwards.
Freddo: My reading of these quotes is more “this is what will happen when you send green troops into combat with insufficient equipment, supplies and support: largely ineffective with occasional stories of bravery and success when a veteran soldier/officer manages to hold things together; and bravery not preventing you from being overrun and killed by a superior enemy”. Amazing how quickly the institutional experience from WWII was either forgotten or ignored at the highest level of civilian...
Gavin Longmuir: Real Kurt: “TKOW is one of the most important books of 20th Century history, a deep meditation on the role of the military in an open society.” Thanks, Real Kurt. That is useful! A genuine review of the book would be helpful to those of us who are not familiar with it. On the other hand, repeatedly printing selective quotes which show no deep meditation, only criticisms of the American soldiers who were put ill-prepared into an impossible situation? That sounds more like...
The Real Kurt: Gavin Longmuir, While I don’t know where he got the impetus to post these excerpts, I am pleased. TKOW is one of the most important books of 20th Century history, a deep meditation on the role of the military in an open society. At the very least, consider that it’s on the required or recommended reading lists for each of the major branches of the US military.
Gavin Longmuir: RLVC: “Obviously, someone else is doing something else.” So, RLVC, you really don’t have any clue about who is doing what to whom & why. Such a pity — because it is always useful to see well-expressed intelligent assessments, whether we agree with them or not. Empty words, on the other hand, are a waste of everyone’s time.
Gavin Longmuir: Why not simply post a review of Fehrenbach’s book? It is not clear what is gained from all these derogatory extracts. After all, the American soldier who got his ass kicked by the mighty North Koreans turned around and beat those same powerful North Koreans all the way back to the Yalu River. Or was that later success entirely due to contributions from socialist European countries to the the UN command? It would be possible to write a book about the debacle US forces experienced at...
RLVC: 0:00-0:09 You’ll have to do better than that.
Gavin Longmuir: RLVC: “Simple” Try harder! You can’t get a passing grade for that. Why are you so reluctant to share your assessment?
Harry Jones: Mike, a good boss is an ally. But not all bosses are good bosses. When I was young, the conventional wisdom was you get an education and a gray flannel suit and then get a job as an employee at some company with health insurance and a 401-K and that’s it. This is what they tell you. That’s the blue pill. Be a good boy and everything will be fine. Then your first place of employment gets shut down, and you start to think you’ve been sold a bill of goods. Then you notice that...
Mike in Boston: If you have a “boss” you have already lost the game. I have a boss. He’s better at bringing in clients than I am. He puts in more hours writing bids than I do. He puts me to work for his clients when I don’t have enough work of my own, which is often. When I help keep his clients happy, he is happy. I am not as natural as this particular game as he is, but for as long as I keep trying to improve at it, I am confident that he’ll help me learn to play it better. Of course,...
Jim: If you have a “boss” you have already lost the game. Try owning your own sales process. That’s a good start. Or be owned by another man. Whatever, it’s your life. Namaste.
Bob Sykes: In 1963, the UK, US, and USSR signed the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited atmospheric, outer space and underwater testing of nuclear devices. Below ground tests were permitted. The reason for the treaty was the widespread contamination of the atmosphere and ground surface, including crops and farm animals. Think Chernobyl. Other nuclear powers like China, France, India, Israel, and Pakistan have also abided by the treaty.
Wang Wei Lin: I’m nothing special as a precision machine maintenance person, but I’m known to be reliable and ‘expert’ at least compared to the average folks. Keeping that reputation means something to me personally. My advice to the younger is to become an expert at something in your field through knowledge and willingness to learn. I give this advice to apprentices or to those heading into the military. Be known for something so that your name is associated with getting the job...
Harry Jones: I’ve done grunt work. It didn’t pay off for me this way. I’ve also done high paying work, and got stuck with the blame for decisions made by others. That’s how you make others look good, and it sucks. What matters more than credit or the work is having a boss who won’t screw you over. That’s the right lesson to take from this. Cherish the good bosses. By the way, isn’t Ryan Holiday self employed? As a kind of spin doctor? Oh, wait. He’s an...
Harry Jones: Duly noted, Sam. Of course I don’t believe what people say to me. I outgrew that years ago. However, I take what people do to heart. When those in a position to know aren’t acting scared, I figure the danger is either greatly overrated… Or they could be fatalists. Fatalism is more a cultural than an individual trait. It comes built into certain belief systems.
Sam J.: Harry Jones says,”I’m not inclined to second guess those who should know better, as it occurs to me they may in fact know better… than I do.” These days those that know better than you are most likely lying to you so if their story doesn’t make sense then you shouldn’t believe them at all. Many people don’t understand this yet.
Gavin Longmuir: RLVC: “Obviously, someone else is doing something else.” Don’t be shy, RLVC. Name names! Point fingers! Give us your best guess at who is doing what to whom, and why.
Jim: Does anyone know why there has been no aboveground nuclear testing in recent times? Do people just not think that it would be incredibly wicked to see a mushroom cloud, filmed by iPhone(tm), brought to you by Twitter(tm), or what… Come on, military bros, bring back the cool. Let’s go back to the future.