DickHardman

interesting movie about the new generation of american soldiers, their cultrure, and its impact on the battlefield. not trying to push any kind of agenda, just an interesting video, take what you want from it.

YouTube - Generation Kill - Iraq

kingoftheforest

No difference in this generation that I can see as with cowboys and Indians or kill a commie for mommie.

It just depends on what group of people you want dead and how to make them an enemy to your populace. I am sure since the advent of the Walkman people have had music in battle.

Hell drummers and trumpeters were found in the Wars long before electricity and automatic weapons were around.

Now you can desensitize the kiddies with Playstation a lot earlier and faster.

The people who joined in the crusades were fooled into thinking that Muslims or Moors worked for the Devil. Whatever propaganda gets results I guess.

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Knuckles&Knees

Dick H.,

I read that book - well... most of it I never did get a chance to finish it - "Generation Kill" written by that author from Rolling Stones.

Good book. Though the author traveled with Battalion Recon, and though I was in what's considered "not the real Marine Corps" (barracks duty), the book seemed real to life when it came to the culture of the Marine Corps or military life I knew.

In the movie "Black Hawk Down" (I never read the book) the Army Rangers are portrayed as very idealistic and very Leave-it-to-Beaverish in my opinion. I can't say if most in the Rangers are like that but from what I have experienced of the U.S. military (early 90s) I would suspect not.

The young Marines in that book came from homes that are not uncommon in contemporary America e.g. crack homes, violence, despair.

The book was called "Generation Kill" because one Marine officer pointed out to the Rolling Stones guy, after his Marine wasted no hesitation in mowing down some vehicles with of course drivers in them, and I paraphrase, "See, this generation of Marines don't mind killing."

That officer went on to point out that according to statistics it took young Marines in WII much longer to fire their weapons at the enemy (many froze). In Vietnam this became less so with young Marines and desertion was less a problem than it was in WII. But in this newest generation of Marines, according to what this book says the Marine officer said, young guys fire their weapons (and to kill) far quicker (really with little to no hesitation) than young Marines did in Nam or WWII.

Mike Brewer

As a brief sidebar, I haven't watched anything yet, but you mentioned Blackhawk Down. I actually got attached to the 2/22 of the 10th Mountain Division. That was one of the units commanded in Mogadishu by then-Captain Steele. While it wasn't the same guys, it has been my experience that units and their cultures do not change a whole lot. There were a ton of Rangers in that platoon, and I was attached to the Scouts. The one thing that was a consistent, common thread in every exercise I ran with them was that they were hard-core, hard charging infantrymen. Kick in doors, shoot what moves, hog tie what doesn't. Absolutely awesome soldiers, and kick-ass professional soldiers. Not much for finesse or rapport, but as someone in a movie once said - it's a broadsword, not a scalpel. I found it tough to work with from time to time because my job was to get information and build rapport and their aggressive audacity almost never sat well with villagers. All things considered, though, I didn't botch because I never once felt like security was too lax.

They were and still are to this day one of my very favorite units in the entire Army, both for their ability to overwhelm and succeed against a superior force and for their astonishing focus on the mission at hand. Tenacious, tenacious motherfuckers.

Knuckles&Knees

Well, U.S. Army Rangers are regarded as one of the best, if not the best, light infantry in world.

Isn't the 10th Mountain Division fairly renowned as well? (not to the point of the Rangers of course)

I never read any of Tom Clancy's books but isn't one of his main young characters a Latino guy in the Army 10th Mountain Division? Some how that rings a bell.

Mike Brewer

The 10th Mountain is one of the Army's best and most elite infantry units. Thair training is top-end, and they are staffed almost entirely with Rangers. They aren't a Ranger company, but they draw heavily from the Rangers and most of their guys have either been through Ranger school or have served at Ranger Bat. They're one of the quickest, most agile forces we have in our Army, and can deploy as an entire division in a matter of four days. That's an amazing response time for a Division and all its assets, logistics, support - everything. I believe they have one or two Brigades that are set to go anywhere with all their assets within 24 hours. You're talking about several hundred guys, vehicles (Bradley Fighting Vehicles, helicopters, etc.), fuel trucks, food, commo - everything anywhere in the world in 24 hours. They're trained to conduct any mission in the Military scope from Humanitarian Relief to Foreign Internal Defense (usually the realm of Special Forces). Here's a link with some great information about their capabilities and service. The story about their battle in the North Apennine Mountains of Italy will give you an idea for how they earned their reputation. Enjoy!

10th Mountain Division