The Military Thread

While I was in Japan, I noticed an all-branch SDF recruitment poster at a train station. I asked one of the Japanese students accompanying me about how does a person enlist in SDF when I never actually saw any recruitment centers during my entire time in Japan.

He actually had to ask around among his friends about how exactly ''does'' a person join the SDF. The only real answer he could provide is that he knows that there's a JMSDF recruiting office in Yokohama but he was at loss for all the other branches.

This is Japan, you're talking about. There will be at least three routes:

1) The obvious, direct one that's unlikely to win you any social prizes and will either reflect very well on you, or really poorly — this being dependant on why you're taking initiative like this (should you manage to track down the equivalent of the recruiting office yourself, that is: this is a test).

2) The vanilla one: school. You make noises about it at school-level and the school pulls whatever strings it has to get you to the point where somebody who matters actually gets hold of your CV; you're mostly boned if it has few ties due to not being a practiced feeder school.

3) Always the most prized: family ties. When your school is just unnecessary (or simply icing on the cake), because you are related to somebody who knows somebody who is friends with somebody. You're stuck with the less glamorous #1 or #2 if it doesn't — or if most of your family is against you joining.

Edited by Euodiachloris on Oct 7th 2019 at 12:07:11 PM

Considering that the first non-UN PKO the JGSDF is participating is in the Sinai, well that's what Abe has in mind.

"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"

Members of the JSDF are also screwed on the perk front. As "special civil servants" they're not entitled to many benefits (like housing).

Si Vis Pacem, Para Perkele

Despite much of his own party being in an uproar, Trump is apparently giving Turkey the green light to crush the YPG.

Poor Kurds.

Edited by TheWildWestPyro on Oct 7th 2019 at 5:22:05 AM

The Kurds have traditionally been the mercenaries of the Middle East. No power wants to coexist with an indenpendent Kurdish state because regions with Kurds make up large amounts of territory in multiple countries, but everyone wants to have the Kurds fighting on their side to open a second front against whomever they're fighting against.

Trevor Noah has that covered:

"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"

And the Kurds get fucked again.

Who watches the watchmen?

Just when we kicked Erdogan out of the F-35 program, the Orange One fucks up.

All night at the computer, cuz people ain't that great. I keep to myself so I won't be on The First 48

"•••And the Kurds get fucked again."

Dont worry about the Kurds, they're used to this. No way they didn't see this coming, at least as a possibility.

"We learn from history that we do not learn from history."

Seeing something coming and surviving it are not necessarily the same thing, though.

Welcome to Estalia, gentlemen.

Even if most of them survive, that wouldn't change that some died. Saying "It's not bad because most of them survived" is...not a relief

Watch me destroying my country

Maybe, but that's the Middle East. They've survived worse than this. And dont assume the Turks are going to have it easy, either.

"We learn from history that we do not learn from history."

If nothing else, we can hope that Turkey pays for every inch it takes. Might cause public unrest back home.

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The US will likely be exiting the Open Skies treaty, which allows signatories to conduct recon flights over each other's airspace.

https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/08/politics/trump-open-skies-treaty-exit/index.html

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.

Frustrated, the Kurds confirm that they will go to war with Turkey once Erdogan's boys enter northeastern Syria. They won't have the heavy support, so it's unlikely they'll be able to hold out for too long, but they probably have enough plans to conduct an insurgency once Turkey occupies most of Syria.

Meanwhile the American command is deeply confused from conflicting orders coming from Trump, the Pentagon and Trump's administration.

Edited by TheWildWestPyro on Oct 8th 2019 at 7:32:32 AM

Um. Isn't there provision in doctrine for when your commander turns into an ass and a fool by ordering you to do something detrimental to corps strategy and safety to... just ignore the freaking eedjit by acting in ways you deem more suitable? (I know the UK does.)

Sure, this is the President busy being a jackass with his pack of yes-men, but... doesn't the principle stand?

You don't leave strategic allies high and dry. If the Pentagon has ideas how to work towards that... Well, that's their music to face. It's also their pay grade.

Everybody can apologise to Congress later for not wanting to understand the bilge the Complainer-in-Chief and his White House say were orders. Also... impeach, already. Bullshit orders are insane bullshit.

Edited by Euodiachloris on Oct 8th 2019 at 3:50:35 PM

Soldiers are legally required to obey lawful orders, no matter how stupid they may be. I’m not aware of any military where this isn’t the case.

As it’s often said, if you don’t follow orders people die. Loyalty to the hierarchy is very important for an organization expected to go into combat.

Edited by archonspeaks on Oct 8th 2019 at 8:06:58 AM

They should have sent a poet.

Oh yes. In African and Asian cultures, loyalty to orders as a soldier is extremely important.

Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! really doesn't work in militaries in general, and is grounds for court-martial and dishonorable discharge.

Edited by TheWildWestPyro on Oct 8th 2019 at 8:50:38 AM

The caveat being that in most places if you receive an illegal order you don’t have to obey it, and in some cases are actually legally required to disobey it.

If you’re ordered to run towards gunfire, you have to do that even at your own risk. If you’re ordered to torture someone, that you can refuse.

They should have sent a poet.

@Open Skies - really not much of a loss. The Russians love to skirt treaties anyways and China was never on board. Treaties didn't keep the Ruskies on the other side of the Fulda Gap - US forces and US nukes did.

@Trump being a dick - what else is new? Clinton, Bush and Obama made several boners while in office. We may not like Trump's "policy" but it's not illegal.

The best way to fix Trump is with the ballot box.

If the Democrats were smart ( ) they would RUN on Trump's policy blunders, the Kurds being stabbed in the back and the damage done by his tariffs.

Oh and that Trump still hasn't fixed the US pilot shortage from the Bush and Obama years.

Edited by TairaMai on Oct 9th 2019 at 12:44:32 AM

All night at the computer, cuz people ain't that great. I keep to myself so I won't be on The First 48

Maybe the new Top Gun movie will help.

Speaking in a strictly hypothetical context, of course (I don't comment on the wisdom of current members of my own chain of command), US military personnel are required to obey all lawful orders, and to disobey unlawful ones. This brings with it the acknowledged caveat that there will probably be some very unpleasant short-term consequences to disobeying an unlawful order, especially if not everyone on the ground agrees that those orders are unlawful.

Recommended hedges include asking for clarification (implying that you simply misunderstood the orders, and giving the higher-up the chance to backspace), requesting the orders in writing (forcing them to put their name to the order and creating a paper trail, also giving them the chance to backspace), and finally, as one Chief Master Sergeant told me many years ago: "Sometimes you just gotta go to jail."

Yeah there’s always the old “Hey what you’re ordering looks illegal to me boss, now obviously you wouldn’t give an illegal order, so can you forward be the advise from legal where they state that this order is total okay and not illegal” message.

I expect that troops may take a few days to ‘clarify’ their orders, during which time they may have some equipment fall off the back of their trucks.

Edited by Silasw on Oct 9th 2019 at 7:41:08 PM

"And the Bunny nails it!" ~ Gabrael "If the UN can get through a day without everyone strangling everyone else so can we." ~ Cyran

And now the Kurds are bracing for war.

BBC hosted a Q&A article regarding the Turkish offensive:

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-50004203

"Exit muna si Polgas. Ang kailangan dito ay si Dobermaxx!"