So a couple of people took offense at a image I posted earlier today. It is my personal belief that these people are uneducated and that is why they found it offensive.

So in order for me to be able to post funny military related images without having people complain that they are offensive and to come home to my thread being yanked I will educate you first on the matter.

It all begins with the passing of legislation creating a separate department of the Air Force. On a mild fall day on Capitol Hill law makers, after seeing the incredible value of air power at the close of WW2, decided that it was wholly justifiable to have a separate service for aviators and their crews.

At the time the Army Air Corps was amongst the best and brightest the Army had to offer. Thus the creation of a separate service lowered the overall IQ of the Army by a full 60 points! Then the rivalry heated up even more during the Vietnam era.

In perhaps one of the most explosive three-ways in history was the contest between the Navy (Marines), Army, and the Air Force for federal funding. The name of the game was to kill as many people as you could, because the service with the most kills would essentially be offered the largest cash reward.

Thats when it started, The army was jealous of the Air Forces ability to kill more people in a single bombing run than the entire army could kill in a month. So the army began calling the Air Force things like "pussies" and "wusses" because they refused to fight on the ground because of it's lack of practicality. The Air Force retaliated by labeling the Army as "Mentally Retarded" because they would charge into battle to take over a hill and lose 50% of the regiment in the process when the Air Force could have just dropped a bomb.

So now years later in a "Purple Force" (Joint Operations) where we must all work together to achieve an objective with minimal casualties the name calling and insults of each others mother still continues. It happens from all sides, each getting in their fair share of hard knocks. This is just an example of being able to take the player out of the game, but never being able to take the game out of the player.

Cross service rivalry is healthy, it motivates everyone to be harder and better than ever before and this rivalry has contributed to the overall effectiveness of our military. For example, the Air Force basic training used to be 6 and a half weeks, however after much joking from the Army it is now equal to that of Army boot camp. Trainees carry rifles, spend weeks in the field and even have more stringent physical fitness requirements than the Army. And we are smart too.

The Army has not taken the treatment well however. In the time that this rivalry has been going on the Army has suffered recruitment problems and recently dropped the mandatory ASVAB score yet again in order to get more people. Hence the stupid jokes are completely called for.

If you didn't know before and haven't figured it out yet, I am in the Air Force and I reserve the right to pick on my Army brethren as often and as harshly as I so choose, because god knows I get it back. So if you don't like it, tough, because I am going to do it anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by speed:
that balance doesn't exist as of now.
Read my post in War and Terrorism.

And it never really has, save for the Cold War. Even during the Renaissance when the concept was originated, there was still heavy warfare (Thirty Years War, etc.) between the Hapsburgs/Holy Roman Empire and other states. Even when five considerably powerful states emerged (Prussia, Austria, Russia, England, and France), there was still warfare (Prussia and England against Austria, Russia, and France, 7 Years War.) We've seen a continual fight since between many states. The Cold War however, was different. The USSR and the US (The Two Superpowers at the time), we're duking it out politically, but avoided all out open warfare in most theaters (Save for covert stuff; such as feeding the Afghan troops during the USSR's invasion.)

So, yes, we don't live in a balance of power right now; that's the ideal though. A good analogy would be Anarchy: Ideally in Anarchy, you're attempting to strive to build a Utopia. Realistically, you aren't actually going to build this Utopia, so the idea is, you work constantly towards it.

that balance doesn't exist as of now.
Read my post in War and Terrorism.

quote:

Oh, I thought that the mere fact of wanting to kill others made you all equally stupid.

in awnser to that:
"peaceful people can sleep easy at night because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf"

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your probably one of the few people that sees virtue in sniping people between the eyeballs

Nah you want to aim for severing the spinal chord not just blowing ot the brains, sides the forhead is thick a notable for messing up rounds (mainly in smaller calibers mind, if you hit something with a 50.cal round it won't be getting up again.

quote:

Peace through superior firepower, if you will.

Amen chaos

quote:

Originally posted by speed:
In a world where peace is often professed to be the maximum aspiration of all governments, why is there a need for a continously growing military expediture?

The military is meant to preserve an overall peace. If I rememeber right, the idea stems from the concept of "Balance of Power". No one power has enough ability to destroy all the other powers, so they remain at peace. Like Mutually Assured Destruction; both sides are too afraid to wage an all out war.

Peace through superior firepower, if you will.

I'm starting a new topic on this matter, as I think it is very interesting.

In a world where peace is often professed to be the maximum aspiration of all governments, why is there a need for a continously growing military expediture?

Speed, you're oversimplifying things. Very few people "want to kill others." You're obviously intelligent so I know I'll be pointing out the obvious, but when there's groups out there who want to do us harm it's a damn good thing we have people smart enough and brave enough to master effective combat techniques. It's about defense, not bloodlust. Of course, I think it would be entirely fair to say certain prominent U.S. politicians have been abusing military power over the last few years, but that doesn't reflect poorly on the military itself.

quote:

Let me explain, one does not get into a position to snipe someone from over 500 yards off square between the eyeballs by being "stupid".

Do I need to restate my point?
Don't think it is necessary, your probably one of the few people that sees virtue in sniping people between the eyeballs

quote:

Originally posted by speed:
Oh, I thought that the mere fact of wanting to kill others made you all equally stupid.

See thats where you kill the mood, it was all fun and games, but you have to actually be serious in pronouncing the military as being stupid.

Let me explain, one does not get into a position to snipe someone from over 500 yards off square between the eyeballs by being "stupid".

Oh, I thought that the mere fact of wanting to kill others made you all equally stupid.

I guy from the military called me once, he was recruiting. I said, "Oh, you are from the Army, right?" And he was so insulted, it was a bit funny. It turns out he was from the Marines. He spent some time explaining to me the great differences between them and how according to him the Marines are so much superior than the Army. I can't remember his reasons though, that was some time ago.

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I ask for my doctors to sacrifice something for the common good of the people.

They do sacrifce, they give 12 years of their lives to learn how to take care of just about every ail the human body can have and many more spend even more time at school and go work on firguring out how to fix the stuff that goes wrong with the human body that we can't deal with (examples: AIDs, Ebola, Cancer and so forth)

and for all of that effort they are well compensated (as well they should be, you don't want "ted" who once took a first aid course and happens to have a pocket knife doing you appendectomy do you?)

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there is no government allocation on how many transplants can be done.

there's a goverment allocation of how many operations of type X can be done. transplants were just a easy to use example

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Pilot: What the (censor) is that eh? *Presses button* Oh well.

well it's ashes now

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Nope just ask england and their severe shortage of docs

DOES CANADA LOOK LIKE ENGLAND...
Wait... Shut up and don't answer that...

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and talk to folks considering med school about it. If you have to go through 12 years of hard schooling to do a career with a set paycheck from the goverment no matter how hard the operations you perform and when you could be making a ton more in a field that's easier to get in to would you go to med school?

That's not a downfall of socialized medicine, that's a downfall of being greedy.
I ask for my doctors to sacrifice something for the common good of the people.
In turn, I provide for them whenever I can.

quote:

also if the state has allowed for 30 kidney transplants this year put yourself in the shoes of number thirty-one on the list, now how do you feel about socialized medicine?

And this is different about any other healthcare system? If there are only 30 kidneys, then there are only thirty kidneys.
Now, if I remember right, there is no government allocation on how many transplants can be done.

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for what? I've yet to find a use for it other then bombing practice for the canadian airforce (specially if you lot buy one of those nifty B-2s er... CB-3s)

Some random french guy: Oh my, vat a vonderful black seagull! I shall eat it!
Pilot: What the (censor) is that eh? *Presses button* Oh well.

quote:

Socialized medicine? I'd say thats a good thing.

Nope just ask england and their severe shortage of docs

and talk to folks considering med school about it. If you have to go through 12 years of hard schooling to do a career with a set paycheck from the goverment no matter how hard the operations you perform and when you could be making a ton more in a field that's easier to get in to would you go to med school?

also if the state has allowed for 30 kidney transplants this year put yourself in the shoes of number thirty-one on the list, now how do you feel about socialized medicine?

quote:

AND take Quebec.

for what? I've yet to find a use for it other then bombing practice for the canadian airforce (specially if you lot buy one of those nifty B-2s er... CB-3s)

Socialized medicine? I'd say thats a good thing. AND take Quebec. Chaos. I'm from BC too

52nd-60th no one wants quebec not even the french and Puerto Rico has dibs on 51

gonna have to make a shitload of new flags though

and you have to admit Canada and the US merging would get rid of the nasty socialized medicine problem you have up there and would hopefully kill off some of the drug restrictions down here (finally Arkansas can actually report it's largest cash crop)

quote:

Originally posted by ChaosSplintered:
Do you take monopoly money?

Why not just cut out the middle man and become the 51st through 61st states? Or maybe only the 60th, you guys can finally get rid of Quebec.

Do you take monopoly money?

quote:

By the way, we could really use one of those shiny B-2s. We'll call it the CB-2... No... The CB-3. No one will ever know...

sure thing, got 800 Billion lying around?

quote:

Originally posted by Trisscar:
ChaosSplintered Yeah for another Canadain on the boards!! What province are you from?

Born and bred in BC.
Forcefully detached to the US a while ago.
Going back sometime.

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Well I hear you guys are flying Alpha Jets now at least... and I also heard something about you guys getting your own transport fleet so you could stop leasing ours :P

Hey! We're doing pretty well, thank you very much.
I mean, we have the C7, a beautiful rip off of the M16A2.
And then the C8, a rip off of the M4.
And then of course, the lovely CF-18. Oh. That's a rip off of the F-18.
And the CC-130 Hercules... Yeah. We stole that too...

Thanks you guys!
By the way, we could really use one of those shiny B-2s. We'll call it the CB-2... No... The CB-3. No one will ever know...
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