RANGER AGAINST WAR: Soldier's Handbook, Continued <

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Soldier's Handbook, Continued


Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier

--Colin Powell,

p. 1-20 Soldier's Handbook

_________________

On page 6-49 the pamphlet calls the M240B a machine gun, but on page 6-19 the M249 is called an automatic rifle, which is not correct.

If one is a machine gun,then both are MG's. Ditto the rifle appelation. A rifle generally doesn't fire from the open bolt nor is it belt-fed.

The BAR was called a rifle but was magazine-fed, though it did fire through the open bolt. The Bren gun skirted this issue by being called a
gun. Both were squad automatic weapons, as is the M249B. The M249 is hardly a rifle.

That such a distinction exists in a Department of the Army pamphlet is confusing to an old soldier, and would clearly confuse a new soldier.


Page 6-37 - Riot Control, Hand Grenades CS are shown but no where is the soldier told that this item is outlawed under current Chemical Weapons protocols. Why is the U.S. Army still using this item?


Page 1-17, under (3a)
Courtesies says:

[1] When talking to an officer, stand at attention unless given the order, "At ease." When you are dismissed, or when the officer departs, come to attention and salute.


If a soldier is at attention, how can he talk or respond in any way? When at attention, the soldier is not communicating.


Page 1-21 brings The Declaration of Independence, The Star-Spangled Banner and The Constitution, which are followed in short order (page 1-23) by "Soldier and Family Benefits" and "Tricare" with no segue, as though what preceded logically related to medical benefits.


This struck Ranger as a strange linkage.

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5 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ranger, I think you would find this thread interesting regarding this memorial day. Talk about admins shoving their rightwing biases down others throats

http://www.socnet.com/showthread.php?t=95107

Monday, May 31, 2010 at 2:19:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

Anon,
Thanks for the link.
I have a real problem with C in C's that never served , but yet feel they can tell us about patriotism and duty.
We vets lived those words, and if you notice I wrote nothing on Memorial Day b/c i prefer to remain silent than mouth platitudes or spill vitriol.The socnet stuff is somewhere in between those extremes.
I won't cmt on their thread since i'm not one of their little Ranger buddies, but i will say that the President has no requirement to lay wreaths on dead soldiers graves.
However the C in C function should require this as a must do.
This is something minimal that a leader should instinctively realize.
If i wrote a Memorial Day article it would be-WISH YOU WERE HERE.
As Pink Floyd said- have you traded your heroes for ghosts.?
My sympathy goes out to those so seriously wounded that they'll never have any quality of life-it's a falsehood to believe that death is the worst thing that a soldier faces.
Death is the easy part.
You get my drift.
Thanks for being a part of Ranger.
jim

Monday, May 31, 2010 at 10:32:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Choloazul said...

Can't say that I find anything untoward about wreathes being laid at other than Arlington.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010 at 7:54:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

Cholo,
I don't know what is toward or untoward anymore.
jim

Tuesday, June 1, 2010 at 10:05:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the comment ranger.

Friday, June 4, 2010 at 12:22:00 AM GMT-5  

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