it is pretty disturbing that recruits nowadays cannot seem to
tahan the slightest discomfort. i guess we are all equally guilty -
of listening to the complaints and acting on them, thus creating
this environment and changing the culture.
being objective-oriented during training is good - training is
focused, no time and resources are wasted. however, the larger and
more amorphous goals that cannot be objectively measured and thus
"trained" hence get lost - those of mental strength, camaraderie,
etc. i think that is where we are headed - soldiers who are
technically and clinically proficient, and task-oriented, but not
necessarily tough as what our collective mental images of soldiers
should be. perhaps that mental image itself needs upgrading, and we
are all behind time. mabbe gu niangs can be soldiers nowadays
because everything else that he gets and has make it up for his
gu-niang ness. you know, how wars become more stand-off, like
computer games.
just my rant, and it is certainly not directed at anyone in
particular. jus expressing my heartfelt thoughts. as i told my
friend once, we have and are developing alot of excellent planners,
but we not necessarily have the best executers. and that is a shame
isnt it?
in a war zone, the enemy is not going to know and care about what
kind of training we went through. so if we faint at the slightest
insult, then the only way to defeat them really is for them to
laugh to their deaths. the japanese respected the chinese as worthy
adversaries even though they of course defeated the chinese. will
our soldiers ever be considered as such in a real war?
