My thoughts on current events going on politically in the UK and world wide

[W8taminute]

I get where you're coming from TW and thank you for that post. 

Unfortunately the way I see things playing out is that the 'bad guys' are going to be free to continue their atrocities because the 'good guys' are not willing or not able to combat this evil properly.  It will get to the point where there will be all out war the way you mention but it will be forced upon us and not by our terms but theirs. 

Meanwhile CNN et al continue to report on the 'selfies of the week' and what the Kardashians are wearing these days.   

[MikeGER]

Unfortunately the way I see things playing out is that the 'bad guys' are going to be free to continue their atrocities because the 'good guys' are not willing or not able to combat this evil properly.  It will get to the point where there will be all out war the way you mention but it will be forced upon us and not by our terms but theirs. 

Meanwhile CNN et al continue to report on the 'selfies of the week' and what the Kardashians are wearing these days.   

The problem is the cancer of so called "Political Correctness" that the Greenish/Left had forced into the western world

We live in a time were the life of a Taliban/IS-fighter has a higher value then the life of the soldier we send out to get arrest or better only talk it out him to win his heart and mind, where our guys have to take the risk with downright ridiculous ROEs
America was willing to sacrifice 100 000 civilians in one Tokyo fire bombing night raid (not to speak about some German cities) to weaken the Japanese military and industry assets, and the public saw its as 'good progress'

Nowadays if a small Hellfire warhead takes out a single hut with a Taliban leader gathering with his lieutenants and a couple of relatives, who idiotically sit a the same campfire get caught in the blast... then half the  public and 90% of the media go apeshit
Some media even cry out its not a fair fight because no pilot was send into harms way and it was done with only a remote plane... well, war is like the Olympics sport event right,? No it isn't! its WAR   

72 years ago a 36-plane group formation of B17s would have obliterated the whole village to get that hut with a 30% likelihood the leader had already moved on, killing everything including poor goats, dogs and cattle... and the public opinion would have been 'In your face suckers ...911 never forget'             
 
the actual war get lost at the home front! 

[TacticalWargames]

@MikeGer...exactly what I was getting at when I said governments where to scared of public opinion. Blimey the UK lost around 400 soldiers over god knows how many years in Afgan and it was seen as horrific. I see it like this. If your not willing to go into combat and possibly die then don't sign up. Simple. People's reactions just confused meat the time. It's like these where civilians who didn't know what could happen to them and they'd been forced to fight and die. 400 KIA is extremely light casualty figure for that period of time in combat. So yes the pacifist movement is nullifying what we can do and in the long run detrimental.

@W8minute..I agree with you too.

[Boggit]

@MikeGer...exactly what I was getting at when I said governments where to scared of public opinion. Blimey the UK lost around 400 soldiers over god knows how many years in Afgan and it was seen as horrific. I see it like this. If your not willing to go into combat and possibly die then don't sign up. Simple. People's reactions just confused meat the time. It's like these where civilians who didn't know what could happen to them and they'd been forced to fight and die. 400 KIA is extremely light casualty figure for that period of time in combat. So yes the pacifist movement is nullifying what we can do and in the long run detrimental.

@W8minute..I agree with you too.

You're right. And you're right to that in the wider context of history 400 KIA, is  a very low loss rate especially for modern warfare. If you go to war you should do it properly to achieve a win, not by airstrikes only. It needs boots on the ground and an ROE that allows troops to have every chance on the battlefield. I do truly feel for innocent civilians caught in the crossfire, but that is war, and the sooner you can get it over with the better. Better to go in hard and win by doing whatever you have to do to destroy your enemy, than have a smouldering indecisive war that drags on forever, with no future for the civilians who have no stake in it.

[TacticalWargames]

Exactly. Soldiers in the UK forces are not conscripts, they choose to do that job. IF your not willing to put your life in danger then don't join up. If someone does join up and they are killed in the line of duty they where doing the job that they are paid to do. No one forced them and the general public need to except that a soldiers duty may end with their death and that's what they are paid and trained for. If no one is willing to except that then what's the point of having an Army\Navy\Airforce in the first place. Honestly the  reaction to what was an extremely light casualty figure really did baffle me. I also think it had an effect on how effective our forces where in Afgan.

[Gusington]

It's easy to say 'don't join up' but when I joined the state guard, one of the attractive features was 'no deployment outside of New York.' Three years ago that had me feel safer, as well as being part of a strictly humanitarian, disaster relief centered unit.

But for the last few months I have pulled a lot of guard/traffic duty, out in the public eye, and in light of recent events the battlefield is everywhere. Me going out there with a radio only for protection makes me a little uneasy on post.

Permission to be armed while in uniform and on duty would go a long way in easing nerves, for my unit and organization anyway.

Right now I feel a bit like a sitting duck. But it's in the hands of politicians, once again.

[MikeGER]

But it's in the hands of politicians, once again.

No its in the hand of the citizens and the NG members to fight for it and force the politicians by public opinion and polls,
when a large group of NG members, better the whole unit or even serveral units say: "Either we can carry a M9 sidearm if offical terror threat warning level in area of operation is i above number x, or we all quit" and start a campaign in the media it should work out.
     

[Gusington]

I wish t were that cut and dry and not so strangled by red tape.

[Centurion40]

I wish t were that cut and dry and not so strangled by red tape.

This would be one (out of thousands) of examples where a union mindset could be helpful.  Refuse work based on the employer not providing the required equipment to conduct duties as safely as possible.  I know, it is far from being that cut & dry; but the right chat with the right reporter could bring the issue to the public's attention- which could bring the issue to the Governor's attention.

[Gusington]

Well technically we are volunteers until we are deployed so I am not sure how that would work either.

[Boggit]

It's easy to say 'don't join up' but when I joined the state guard, one of the attractive features was 'no deployment outside of New York.' Three years ago that had me feel safer, as well as being part of a strictly humanitarian, disaster relief centered unit.

But for the last few months I have pulled a lot of guard/traffic duty, out in the public eye, and in light of recent events the battlefield is everywhere. Me going out there with a radio only for protection makes me a little uneasy on post.

Permission to be armed while in uniform and on duty would go a long way in easing nerves, for my unit and organization anyway.

Right now I feel a bit like a sitting duck. But it's in the hands of politicians, once again.

I totally agree. If you're on active duty, and there is a chance you "could" be targeted (which these days could be anywhere - remember Drummer Rigsby in the UK, killed in the street), you should at least be allowed your side arms as a matter of security. It seems obvious to me, but perhaps the government want to have a death to point to before they make sensible decisions. It's not as though you're irresponsible, or an untrained firearms handler.