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Generation WTF

th3midnighter

Shared on Tue, 07/29/2008 - 10:39

Ok, so I love love love this show Generation Kill and well, I was a huge fan of the Wire so I knew this show would be well written, well acted but I'm confused about something. Are real military leaders this retarded? Actually, I’m insulting all Down syndrome and autistic people by comparing them to the military leaders on this show. I know the show is based on the real life experience of a reporter who was embedded with a recon Marine Battalion but I'm not sure if they are embellishing the stupidity of the military leaders for entertainment value or whether this is how it is in the real world as well. Since I'm Canadian, my experience with military life consists of choosing the right perk in COD4 so when I see some crazy decisions made by company commanders like dropping a bomb 200 yards from Marines or leaving a fully stocked military vehicle behind, I scratch my head. I'm amazed the marines haven’t turned the gun on their superiors yet. So far, they’ve been made to run a gauntlet through a small town without air cover or artillery, they’ve been told to eat 1 ration a day, leave behind a supply truck only to see it blown up, and on top of all that, they have maybe the most retarded leader I've ever seen in TV or movies in Encino Man. That dude might be mildly comatose. The show is excellent but all I keep thinking is, when are they gonna mutiny? Anyways, it’s on HBO on sunday nights so watch the show if you can. You won't be sorry. So ex military guys and gals, is this how it actually is?

 

Comments

DreadPirate75's picture
Submitted by DreadPirate75 on Tue, 07/29/2008 - 11:00
Im going on 15 years in the Marine Corps infantry, have done 3 combat tours (Somalia and 2 in Iraq) and have seen some crazy shit. The HMMWV would have been fragged with an incindiary if they had to leave it behind, and there are times when ordnance gets dropped 200m from your position. We call that a "danger close" mission. Usually only if everyone is under good cover and everyone is alerted with enough time to scramble for some. In regards to air cover or artillery, it is rare to get any when you are operating in a populated area. The risk of collateral damage is to great. Precision strikes are always possible with helo's and if the need is mission priority you can get approval for 500lb bombs from the fast movers on a precise target. 1 military MRE (ration) contains enough calories and nutrients for a whole daily allowance. So you only need to eat one a day. It's just part of military life. It certainly isnt a self-serving profession. Don't believe everything you see on TV/movies. As with the majority of military movies, they are produced for entertainment value...not reality. Most of them disgust me.
Automan21k's picture
Submitted by Automan21k on Tue, 07/29/2008 - 11:12
And don't forget the bias presented by the news. Great points DreadP. God bless you and all those who serve.
SoupNazzi's picture
Submitted by SoupNazzi on Tue, 07/29/2008 - 11:32
Yeah, some military leaders are just plain stupid / crazy. Great / Good military leaders in peace doesn't always equal great / good leaders in war. And yeah, some of it is embellishment. In my limited experience, almost any officer can make Captain in the military. After that, it gets really hard to get promoted. As for the SgtMajor who's batshit? Yeah, they exist. The Grooming Standard? Jeesh. The kevalar helmet last night? The way the SgtMajor reacted didn't surprise me. And, to an extent, he was right. The Marine was an idiot for not using the chin strap. Going without a chin-strap is considered doing a "John Wayne", and isn't tolerated in the USMC.
Sladrian's picture
Submitted by Sladrian on Thu, 08/21/2008 - 11:57
I was in the Army not the Marines but just a quick stupid officer story. Back in '92 in the first Gulf War we had a couple of soldiers that had to be Medivac'd. The 2 soldiers were loaded into the Blackhawk and out of nowhere comes our platoon leader a 2nd Lieutenant at the time I believe and he yells hey wait he forgot his Kevlar and instead of walking up to the chopper and handing the soldier his Kevlar he stops 20 feet or so from the blackhawk and proceeds to throw the kevlar to the soldier. Well can you guess what happened? Yep the rotors sucked that Kevlar straight up into them grounding the chopper for the next 3 days as they waited on new blades to be flown in from God knows where. And all the soldiers in his platoon had the privilege of pulling guard duty on that grounded chopper for those 3 days. So yea long story short, some officers are just that stupid. But yea I really enjoy Generation Kill I think it is one of the most realistic war shows I have seen on TV. Dread if you haven't seen it you should watch it. In the making of pieces I watched on HBO demand they even admit that while yes some of the things have been dramatized for TV they have tried to keep it as real as possible. A few of the key actors are real Marines one of which was with this reporter that wrote the book I guess. Check out the about the series link at http://www.hbo.com/generationkill/ for more info on the real life marines that were in the show.

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