This post was thumped by the Stick of Off-Topic Thumping.
Stay on topic, please.
This post was thumped by the Stick of Off-Topic Thumping.
Stay on topic, please.
This post was thumped by the Stick of Off-Topic Thumping.
Stay on topic, please.
This post was thumped by the Stick of Off-Topic Thumping.
Stay on topic, please.
This post was thumped by the Stick of Off-Topic Thumping.
Stay on topic, please.
This post was thumped by the Stick of Off-Topic Thumping.
Stay on topic, please.
Yeah, I guess they'd lack speed and strength... but they make up for it in stamina, being smaller targets, and being able to hide in more places, yes?
'''YOU SEE THIS DOG I'M PETTING? THAT WAS COURAGE WOLF.Cute, isn't he?
Is there such a thing as solo infiltrators, Metal Gear Solid style? Would specially-trained teenagers be fitting for such a role?
Seriously, can teenagers actually be efficient soldiers, on par or better than adults, depending on the action?
Also, anyone played Darfur Is Dying? I got raped and killed more times than in any Rape Simulator!
edited 6th Jan '11 10:44:51 AM by RawPower
'''YOU SEE THIS DOG I'M PETTING? THAT WAS COURAGE WOLF.Cute, isn't he?That last digression would have been perfectly ON-topic in The Military Thread.
Take it there and it won't get thumped. Continue it here and I will continue to thump it until I get fed up and lock the thread.
edited 6th Jan '11 10:41:19 AM by Madrugada
Darfuris Dying was not supposed to be pleasant. Not sure if you can even win that game, given how horrbily lopsided the odds are, but I think that was the whole point.
From a purely pragmatic standpoint, using children as soldiers makes little sense to me. Their brains aren't finished developing, so they might be prone to errors of judgement more often than not. Since they're not fully physically matured, either, their ability to carry a load isn't as great, although they'll heal up well from injuries, faster than an adult would. And, as already mentioned, the psycological damage to their not-fully-formed minds is well... messed up. I know that partisan soldiers in WWII used them sometimes, and even Germany ended up grabbing teens for last-ditch defense. Desperate measures, I guess. Good hint that your side of the battle is NOT going well, is when you seriously start to consider handing guns and weapons to children, even if you're not intending to use them as suicide bombers. Examples in media I can think of is in Downfall and Lord of the Rings, during the Helms Deep thing.
So yeah, I guess it does depend on context. Still, life truly and verily doth sucketh if you're having to use children.
edited 6th Jan '11 11:29:09 AM by pvtnum11
Happiness is zero-gee with a sinus cold.Also, damaging that trust can be problematic when soldiers return to Real Life (metaphorically speaking): a veteran being jumpy and paranoid around adults is acceptable, but doing the same around children, especially if it leads to violent reactions, isn't, more so if they only react that way around children of some specific races.
'''YOU SEE THIS DOG I'M PETTING? THAT WAS COURAGE WOLF.Cute, isn't he?Salad, yes.
But at what cost to their emotional development? I guess I fall into the 'shield them from the horros of our reality until they're ready for it' camp - but I'm probably biased now, as I'm a parent. There's crap I don't want my child to know about yet, as she can barely manage to dress herself properly.
Happiness is zero-gee with a sinus cold.You think they'd be overwhelmed by TMI, especially of the gory cynical sort? You mean soldiers always start as idealists and become pragmatic empty shells as they advance? Doesn't the opposite happen? That a soldier starts as a selfish sociopathic asshole and grows into a an of pride and honour?
'''YOU SEE THIS DOG I'M PETTING? THAT WAS COURAGE WOLF.Cute, isn't he?It could go either way, honestly. You coule end up rising up to the challenge and horrors of war and distinguishing yourself, or you could become a total dirtbag and commit atrocities. It's hard to say what you'll do until you get there. I'm untested in combat, so I have no idea how I'd turn out. I'd like to think I'd do well, but i just don't know. Part of me is thankful I did time without having to discharge my weapon in combat.
Happiness is zero-gee with a sinus cold.Kids don't know better though. If you grew up from the age of five stoned and shooting people you don't have a good frame of reference for why that is horrible, it's just how life is for them.
Is using "Julian Assange is a Hillary butt plug" an acceptable signature quote?You mean Rap Music instead of Classic Poetry
(which worked pretty much the exact same way, except nowadays government officials and corporations don't pay rappers to sing about how awesome they are, and rappers don't turn those songs into "The Villain Sucks" Song if you neglect to pay them properly: also, classic poetry was designed to be viral, especially the satiric sort: people would start repeating it over and over again).
edited 7th Jan '11 2:15:45 PM by RawPower
'''YOU SEE THIS DOG I'M PETTING? THAT WAS COURAGE WOLF.Cute, isn't he?

'''YOU SEE THIS DOG I'M PETTING? THAT WAS COURAGE WOLF.Cute, isn't he?This post was thumped by the Stick of Off-Topic Thumping.
Stay on topic, please.