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Quote:

Originally Posted by DonDavis (Post 3745481)

I also think suicides are increasing due to a speading belief that it's "ok" to do it.
When I was a teenager, suicide was dumb.

Here's a question for the over 40 crowd. How much more often do you hear people say "I'll go out on MY terms. It's my life."? That mindset is quite often. Hunter Dumbass Thompson did it and people all over regarded him as a "hero". What a joke. IMO, he was weak and a quitter. Life got to be an "S" sandwich and he quit. It's the ultimate act of selfishness. Puts everyone close in a state of anguish and heartache.

I would guess that far more people doing it have less to do with war and more to do with "life is tough, I can't take it". Just look at the "mortgage thread". They get in an ARM and cry foul when it bites 'em in the ass. They signed paperwork telling 'em it could happen!

Oh, another thing, all those idiots doing ecstacy in the mid-late 90's are susceptible to severe depression. That drug screwed up their brain chemistry and now they don't feel emotions correctly. How many of our veterans did that prior to service?

Ugh. NOTHING is worth killing yourself.

What about the role TV has played in our children's upbrainging...something that was unavailable or minimal back then....??? hmmmm

Quote:

Originally Posted by fintstone (Post 3745546)

Personally, I take most things reportedly said by psychologists with a grain of salt. They spend all day talking to nuts....or worse...other psychologists. When you take everything I say about military subjects as indisputable fact...I will do the same for your area of expertise.

If we can discount bias, then perhaps. But I'll keep my large salt like handy. In an ideal world, psychologists are rigorously trained to be as objective as possible and don't have a particular dog in the fight of any discussion. They are taught to question everything. But military training is kind of the antithesis of that, no?

Of course we don't live in a perfect world.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nostatic (Post 3745601)

I hope the work you are engaged in makes a difference...the problem is real.
Concerning military training, depending on the skill set desired, we question everything since that is the only way we survive. No organization is more relentless in questioning methods and results.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cool_chick (Post 3745555)

Yeah man, thats it man. And wow man, it's 1968...whoa, where's the acid?

:confused:

Question everything but orders though, right? I'm not trying to be argumentative...this actually is an area of interest and some expertise to me (although I defer to my colleagues). We design training systems for the military, and lately we have been focusing on things like cultural sensitivity, negotiation, etc. But it seems that the core value that is still instilled from day one is that you are not an individual, but rather part of a team. And you follow orders. My take is that the training is incredibly effective for certain tasks. But for others less so.

It is interesting because while I find that there are those that question methods and desire metrics, there are others that really don't want to hear the answer if it flies in the face of their particular pet project/topic/etc. Human nature is a pita sometimes. But we always say that the US Army is the most effective training organization in the world.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nostatic (Post 3745601)

..They are taught to question everything. But military training is kind of the antithesis of that, no?...

On the contrary...military are taught to think and question..when it is appropriate to do so...Post by myself, Seahawk and others should ...if anything...show we have the ability to think for ourselves. Military members are taught to follow lawful orders...they are never trained to not think...and are generally better educated and more engaged with current events than their contemporaries in other professions.

Seahawk's yes. Yours, not so much ;)

I run across very bright people in the military. Same with intelligence agencies. But they also tend to have a certain lens through which they view the world. That being said, so do many academics. We're just a tad less predictable. Well, some are at least.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nostatic (Post 3745644)

I'd like to talk to you about training since what I do (unmanned air systems) is such a new area. I worked in training systems many years ago and feel we have much ground to make up where UAS's are concerned. Your last paragraph resonates. I'll PM you.

Again, depending on the skill set (platoon level training is different than the training the platoon leader gets, etc.) we are always taught to question, for the good of the unit, as an individual.

No issues with your take on what we do. It is better that way.

Edit: The kids need the help in what you are doing...I have said this before but it bears repeating: I have been fired on, have been engaged. The moment of engagement is always easier than the anticipation. Guys and Gals going back for a third or fourth stint have much to anticipate.

I would love to spin up a project on UASs, as I used to fly radio control aircraft back in the day and I'm looking for new areas for work. Some of our technologies could be very applicable to the UAS challenges. PM me and we can talk further about it.

Pm sent...Huxley was right.

Tobra, sorry for the hijack, important issue.

There has been a disturbing surge in the use of the word surge in this society recently, from the mediots on down. I remember years ago when the word 'incursion' became popular, which turned out to be a bad omen.