Sherridan said How if we can ever get those pesky merchant marines from stealing the good beer.... or do you folks on your side of the river not have this problem? I'm thinking, regardless of who's military, when it comes to being supplied there are those who take from them who live in the trenches.... on my side of the pond we call them REMF's
(rear echelon muther f**kers) so, what is your phrase for such types?



REMF>>>>>>Being a former Paratrooper you carried what you wanted for at least three days on your back. Often you would be resupplied by air so that was not a problem, it was just the weight of your pack that could be a killer. Also if it was not nailed down we would take any thing we needed

A soldier is someone who carries out his orders, the leadership depends on it.

Originally Posted by I3BrigPvSk

Hi m551sheridan,

If you go to Your UserCP (you will find it on the top right beneath your name here) When you are there scroll down to Edit Signature. There can you add One Flag --- One Heart --- One Nation if you like.

thank you for the info, much appreciated

I went to look where you directed me but found no *edit signature*... maybe I have to be around for a while before I am allowed to do that. Appreciate the info none-the-less.

Originally Posted by LeEnfield

Sherridan said How if we can ever get those pesky merchant marines from stealing the good beer.... or do you folks on your side of the river not have this problem? I'm thinking, regardless of who's military, when it comes to being supplied there are those who take from them who live in the trenches.... on my side of the pond we call them REMF's
(rear echelon muther f**kers) so, what is your phrase for such types?



REMF>>>>>>Being a former Paratrooper you carried what you wanted for at least three days on your back. Often you would be resupplied by air so that was not a problem, it was just the weight of your pack that could be a killer. Also if it was not nailed down we would take any thing we needed

when on the rare occasion we visited a major firebase for resupply our HQ would have a steak feed... and beer. It was always Falstaff... a nasty brew to be sure (but it was cold so who gave aschit) anyway... we always wondered who got the good stuff. Being good Cavalry types we found solace in blaming the Navy and or the Merchant Marine..... all that Budweiser, Millers and other choice brews must have gotten lost somewhere between the hold of the ship and the dock space... hmmmm, that leaves the crane operator... damn, all these years and I never guesed the obvious..... hate it when that happens.

I am not arguing against that unit cohesion plays a "critical" role (interpret as trust in your comrades), but it is not the sole reason that men fight. IMO men fight for a confluence of reasons, not just because their comrades are there next to them.

The soldier of today joins an army that could be deployed to any number of places in the world in the service of any number of causes. The causes we fight for today may not be the causes we fight for tomorrow... beyond generalities like "fighting for your country", western armies fight for whatever cause their government decides to send them to fight for, causes that may at sometimes be less than obvious or less than compelling to the individual soldier. This would have a fairly obvious impact on cause identification in a western army, it seems to me.

Unit cohesion is a key issue in motivating soldiers to fight. Soldiers are taught the safety of the group depends on him and he can prevent harm to his unit, therefore the same applies to others in the group and it creates the feeling that they are each other´s protector but surprisingly, many soldiers in Iraq were motivated by patriotic ideals. Liberating the people and bringing freedom were common themes in describing combat motivation. Notions of freedom, democracy, and liberty are also voiced by soldiers today as key factors in combat motivation and today's soldiers are sophisticated enough to grasp the moral concepts of war.

1.The conventional concept of a soldier is a person in uniform pledged to fight for his nation obeying orders of those set over him. In modern times often a soldier may not be in uniform and may not have taken any formal pledge. Warfare today is total involving everyone.

2. Many qualities / qualifications of a soldiers have been enumerated above, but the two most important are robustness of the mind and the body.

In one word Resourcefulness

For a Royal Marines Commando, their state of mind is the driving force. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

Originally Posted by 42RM

For a Royal Marines Commando, their state of mind is the driving force. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

Absolutely agreed on this statement. It is a lot like nursing. Keep repeating the correct things that needs to be done, then it will become habit. Not only that, what that needs to be done, also needs to be understood. This will enable the soldier to better understand the things he has to do and why he needs to do it in a certain manner...

Training + Discipline + Leadership.