Is it just me, or is there a pair of dogs attached to the ropes at the bottem of the picture?

Oh, by the way, that ain't no way for a soldier to die, no matter what contry he fights for.

Didn't even notice it until you pointed it out, and I agree on both counts.

Guess it's lucky for the crew all the ones cut loose died, because I suspect any survivors would have initiated a pretty severe ass kicking.

so they killed 8 men to save how many people on board?

Odd. It appears they weren't wearing red shirts after all.

It's sad, but the way I read it EVERYONE (people on board and those cut) probably would have died if they didn't cut the 8 loose.

Totalitarism at its finest I guess.

enkafan

Utilitarianism, you mean?

cant wait for the tv movie.


/very sad.

I don't get how everyone would've died. If the helicopter actually started to lose altitude, then everyone should just jump off when it is lower, right?

Oh please, everyone knows the equipment costs more than the people!

nytyper -

Oh, yeah, sorry I forgot about that.

Unless I'm reading it wrong, the choice was to either lose the 8 men, or lose the 8 men + the ones on the chopper.

Sucks either way.

coulnd't they have bothered the stabilize the copter maybe once it was closer to the water, so the the soldiers cut loose might stand a chance?

Died on impact after hitting the water? Damnit, movies told me you could drop 5000 feet into water and swim away!

/believes everything he sees from Hollywood

8 or 12... but I think I would have lowered the chopper a little... I know its unlikely, but maybe they could have survived the impact from a lower altitude.

Still... sucks big time.

And look closer at the picture... there are more than two dogs attached to the ropes...

/not that it matters

brutal.

Typical American response: Not Americans, not an issue.
Real world response: last time I checked, didn't the job description for soldiers include DEATH?

totallyfarkeddude

if they'd been american soldiers there would be like 100 posts by now and the word tragedy and prayers and families would be in about 80%

What about the dogs??????

So a 600 foot drop would kill someone on impact huh?? Even if you went in "pencil" style? Well now that I know I would die from that altitude if I am ever in that situation I would have to go out with the most massive belly flop ever.

"... Kopassus members have often been involved in serious human rights abuses..."

You don't say.

When you join the military to kill other people, don't act surprised when the military decides to kill you. They got what they deserved. Just wish the helicopter had crashed as well.

Did anyone read to the end?

"Kopassus members have often been involved in serious human rights abuses . . ."

Just desserts, maybe?

my prayers go out to the families of those americ....umm wait....indonesia....where the fark is that?



MEH....who cares....they got more right?

Uh, TotallyFarkedDude, maybe you didn't notice but almost all the posts so far have been about how this really sucks? I don't see anyone stating yet that this dosn't matter. And Louiedog, military training accidents happen a lot.. and that sort of response never happens. Way to bash without anything to back it up.

wish it had crashed on your house as well - with you in it, you dumb bastard.

Show some respect for those in any country who have the cajones to do what you are too cowardly to do yourself - no matter how you try to intellectualize your cowardice.

in that pic above, i count 4 people, at least 3 dogs, and i've found "NINA"

Cheshire_cat_sf, that was a stupd thing to say i wish you and your family were on that chopper. So that way your lineage would die out.

If these had been American troops they would never have cut the rope.

Still sad though

ReBurninator:

If the alternative is losing all the men and the chopper..

I find it hard to believe that they needed to cut these guys loose. You expect and plan for wind gusts when you fly, right? If they didn't have the means to cut the rope, what are the odds that they really would have crashed?


Reminds me of a story I heard back in high school. Egyptian jet fighter pilots were crashing a lot. They would lose control of their airplanes. Unable to regain control, they would eject. The air force command wanted to stop wasting a lot of expensive airplanes and ordered the ejection seats deactivated. Suddenly these uncontrollable airplanes became controllable and the accidents stopped.

If it isn't true, it ought to be.

Happened to a buddy of mine during combat in Panama. They had a newbie officer on board the chopper, they were repelling into jungle. The chopper comes under fire and the officer panics and orders the lines cut. 1 fell to his death, another had his femur broken and jammed into his own stomach. My buddy had a massive hernia that blew his intestines into his nutsack. His sack was the size of a cantalope when they got him to hospital 2 days later.

He was not happy.

/cringing

Actually, I remember that some time ago a Navy spy plane rolled off of an aircraft carrier and splashed down as it was trying to land. Because there were top secret materials on the plane, a rescue crew was not sent to rescue those aboard. They were left to die, which they did.

If these had been American troops they would never have cut the rope.

Right. Instead, american troops are treating like little more than game pieces by their apathic government, given sh*tty pay while their families are left at home with little support, and once they serve their purpose, the troops are casted aside like so many used condoms without any hope of a veteran fund.

I forgot to mention... This was the United States Navy... time period late 1980's - early 1990's I believe...

I agree with the "Americans wouldn't have cut the rope." That might be the rules, but I would bet American guys would have taken their chances and held out for the chopper to stabalize or gone down together.

Well, this just proves, once again, that every single government in the world sees its military men as disposable. From third-world upstarts like Indonesia and Iraq, to even the US, there's an openly callous attitude towards the people who volunteer to fight and die for the ideals that the country stands for. It's something that needs to change.

8 fewer terrorists in the world today!

Kopassus is nothing more than a collection of thugs who specialize in torture and terror, especially in East Timor. They shot 2 Americans in Sept 2002.

http://jakarta.indymedia.org/front.php3?article_id=373&group=webcast

Perhaps those of you who think "Americans wouldn't cut the rope" should read my above post.

Same buddy showed me a scar on his chest from pieces of a squadmate that were blow into him when his buddy tripped a anti-tank mine while walking point.

AHHHHH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAA!!!! So long, losers!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

And the US government is perfectly willing to sacrifice even the lives of thousands of innocent civilians if it serves their sinister alterior motives(9/11 anyone?). That's far more scarier than what happened to these soldiers.

In the military there are usually regulations for something like this. Something like if the craft can't be stabilized within so many feet off the ground they are to cut the lines and save a few people as opposed to leting everyone die. Anyone repelling knows they are subject to be cut off if the shiat gets too thick. But then who knows what those crazy Indonesians do.

Fark a Duckk

Emp-Jay- You obviously fail to realize how the public opinion sways our governments stance on troops. One of the main reasons we have not sent in the proper number of troops needed to do a successful peacekeeping mission is...SUPRISE...the military does not want to take losses, which would politically backfire. Obviously they are so apathetic that they have a whole department dedicated to casualties including officers who spend up to a year counciling and helping out the families of those who are KIA.

Different people place different value on human life, it's as simple as that. In the U.S.(and many other countries as well) they would not have cut the rope, troops live together, fight together, and die together. Who knows, maybe they have less funding in Indonesia so the equipment is valued more then the life of a soldier.

I hope you die Cheshire_cat_sf

Thanks Emperor-Jay. This thread needed a good laugh.

2003-10-05 05:09:13 PM Emperor-Jay

So you don't think soldiers get paid enough? I will go out on a limb and say that they do get paid enough because they signed up to do it. There isn't a person in the military that doesn't know what they are getting into when they sign up, and it is totally voluntary. If it didn't pay enough then these people wouldn't do it. They would do something else.

And if the military wanted soldiers to have families then they would have put one in their ditty-bags when they joined.

/puts on sunscreen

Venge

Can you please state some examples of the government showing concerned for our veterans? They still haven't built a WW2 memorial(at least I don't think they have).

Yes Emp, I do know how horribly the U.S. government has treated vet's in the past, and I am outraged that a WWII memorial has not been built; however, to the best of my knowledge one is in the making.

The GI Bill is a prime example of the government caring for vets. After WWII they have gotten much better in that field. The process for compensation for wounds suffered during service has also been streamlined after the case of the one soldier, who if I remember correctly, fell from a tower in Afghanistan, and had trouble recieving the proper care back Stateside. I am not sure of all the acts, but I do know that alot of progress has been made since the days of WWI when vets were only promised their old jobs at pre-war wages, if that.