“CASHIERING” THE WRONG PEOPLE
by OPOVV, ©2016
(Jan. 10, 2016) — “Okay, gentlemen, if you’ll indulge me for a minute. Listen up! Don’t mistake my lackadaisical method of command to lure you into a state of slovenly behavior, got it? I know I’m not your beloved squad leader, but we’ve got a job to do and we’ll do it, but under my direction, and if you do exactly what I say when I say it we’ll all get off this rock pile together, all in one piece and very much alive.
“Why we got assigned to be on this worthless pile of rocks in the middle of nowhere is your guess because I sure as heck don’t know, and if we could go back to the HQ I doubt if anybody back there could tell us any different. But we’re here so let’s keep alert.
“Now, we’re about to call in for a supply drop tomorrow. I want to go around in a circle here and you tell Lewis here what you’d like delivered, okay? Go ahead.”
“Water.”
“Water.”
“Okay, water it is. Lewis, make that call. Now does anybody believe that we’ll get any water? I see a hand. Okay, how much you figure? Ten gallons? Anybody else? Anyone want to put any money on it? No? All right, anybody else? No? Very well.
“Now pay attention: our orders are to stay put; no wandering around sightseeing, so this is how we’re going to do it. We’ll sleep all day and stay awake all night, because that’s our best chance of survival, got it? If you think you see something, call it in. Figure the heathens have night vision, just like we do. I want half of you to be on blinders, alright?”
“Do you believe this guy? Stay up all night and sleep all day?”
“What’s going on? We’re moving out, in the middle of the night?”
“That’s right: no noise. Follow me. Okay, this is it. No radio, no nothing. Let’s just sit back and watch the fireworks.”
“Wow! Look at that, right where we were an hour ago. Blown to smithereens, and that cannon that shot those rounds were taken out by that F-16. How in the heck do you think our new squad leader figured it out?”
“I don’t know, but he didn’t call it in that he was changing positions. They’ll probably court-martial him.”
And that’s just what the Army did to the Shavetail.
And the civilians wonder why our military is losing its edge.
We’re cashiering the very people we need to build our military up.