I know. I'd tell you, but I don't think you could handle the truth.

Now that I've beaten that joke to death ... um ... anyway, I was gonna say, where were the officers in the chain of command in all this, and why aren't they getting punished? Then I read: The Army identified the soldiers charged as 1st Lt. Daniel J. Schwartz, and realized that this was a start.

xanadian: Now that I've beaten that joke to death ... um ... anyway, I was gonna say, where were the officers in the chain of command in all this, and why aren't they getting punished? Then I read: The Army identified the soldiers charged as 1st Lt. Daniel J. Schwartz, and realized that this was a start.

My guess is that LT is up on charges not because he did any of the hazing, but because he was in charge when it happened. Which is as it should be. The officer sets the tone for what kind of unit he's going to run

On another note: what IS it about Stryker units in Afghanistan? Wasn't the guy who made necklaces out of fingers and hunted Afghan civilians for fun running a Stryker unit too?

I'm not sure what Mountain Dew has to do with this.

WTF?
new york city used to be a tough place.
The things they were doing sound a great deal like what I went through when I first joined the infantry.
roughhousing, throwing stuff at each other, being made to carry all the extra gear, charlie horses, searches for 'grid squares', aussie repel with a shot of whisky in yer mouth, short sheeting the bed, asking the platoon sgt for a PRC (pronounced prick) E7..
Heck, we accidentally broke my arm when they were trying to duct tape me.
yes sir, fell down the stairs.

Sorry mom, your kid ended his own life.
Nobody put the bullet in the chamber,
put it to his head,
and threatened him with silly antics until he pulled the trigger.
A child who pretended to be a man and thought being a soldier would make that happen instantly.
We're far better off that he made his choice.

Everything would have been okay if they had just used Nerf guns, dammit...

Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Etch-A-Sketch? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for Carmen Sandiego, and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. Sandiego's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't talk about at birthday parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that wall. We use words like honor, cooties, pinky swear. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the bankie of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went out for recess, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up an official Nerf N-Strike Barricade RV-10, and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what kind of milk and cookies you think you are entitled to.

/I swear this is the last time I post that paragraph...I swear...I pinky swear

Magorn: xanadian: Now that I've beaten that joke to death ... um ... anyway, I was gonna say, where were the officers in the chain of command in all this, and why aren't they getting punished? Then I read: The Army identified the soldiers charged as 1st Lt. Daniel J. Schwartz, and realized that this was a start.

My guess is that LT is up on charges not because he did any of the hazing, but because he was in charge when it happened.

That's what I had thought, too. The guy will be relieved for cause, at the very least. Not 100% sure he'll be court-martialed, but he could be...

Ain`Soph: mc_madness: You have to be mentally and physically tough to do what soldiers do.

Hazing builds friendship in the ranks. You can't be oversensitive.

No, being a friend builds friendships within the ranks. Any good person and leader would know this.

DIRECTED hazing is counterproductive. Now, stuff like the ceremony for crossing the Equator (damned if I can remember what it's called, exactly...jesus it's been FOREVER) is something were *everyone* participates, and nobody's singled out.

Well...if you have a good command, that is. My ship was pretty tight.

...

I miss that ship... :-/