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Angry Staff Officer

@pptsapper

18 Dec

There's a special type of rage that exists when you go to leave in the morning and find that the snow plow has made yet *another* pass and left a berm of hard-packed snow blocking the driveway

I know they don't mean to do it but

They totally do

You see, winter is a campaign. And you have to fight it as such, using combined arms operations to survive. It is a months-long combined arms breach. First you create a lane in your driveway. Then you improve the lane. Then you breach footpaths for your dismounts

You also have to create sustainment lanes - for your CL III and your CL I/VI. Your enemy, the snow, only cares about countermobility. It will sometimes work in concert with the snow plow to repair a breach if you don't provide overwatch, forcing a hasty breach IOT get to work

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Angry Staff Officer

@pptsapper

19 Nov

How the HELL had I never heard of August Bondi, "Enthusiastic Jew & lover of humanity," Austrian, part of the failed '48 revolt in Vienna, settled in Kansas, become a Free Soiler, ran Underground RR, fought slavers alongside John Brown, & was WIA as 1SG of Co K, 5th Kansas Cav?

This dude wrote an autobiography

Well there's me for the afternoon

Holy crap, it is GOOD: "my parents always impressed upon their children that Jews or Christians, high or low, all are children of a common Father. These principles affected my conduct all through life"

Reading his accounts of the students forming a national guard in Vienne in 1848, organized by colleges of study is just WILD. He joined the 5th Company of the Battalion of the Philosophy Faculty

That is just begging for satire...

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Angry Staff Officer

@pptsapper

19 Nov

CBS is airing the results of its year and a half long investigation into the US military's broken sexual harassment and assault prevention system, I wanted to relay a few thoughts:

1) they're absolutely right. It's broken

2)most male servicemembers have no idea how broken it is

TW: sexual assault/harassment

A little while back, I was an investigating officer on a case of sexual harassment/assault. I can't share any specifics on it. But I wanted to share observations that might be helpful for people who think "it doesn't happen in my unit"

1) commanders are often oblivious but think they know everything going on in the unit
2) Sr unit members say things like "that's just the way x is, he wouldn't actually do anything"
3) victims are usually jr (E4-O1)
4) assaulters hide behind reputation of "being really competent"

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Angry Staff Officer

@pptsapper

18 Nov

Been feeling out of sorts, lately. Frustrated at the lack of decency often seen in the world. The lying. The disingenuous words flying about.

Then I recalled an incident that made me remember that there have been true leaders out there. Like Lucian Truscott.

Truscott isn't one who comes up in the pantheon of popular WWII generals. He didn't seem the limelight. He wasn't a military academy grad. He started out as a poor schoolteacher before wrangling a commission as a cavalry officer

By WWII, he was leading troops in North Africa

@3rd_Infantry

Truscott was a good combat leader. Tough. Dependable. Not flashy. Willing to speak his mind. He fought through North Africa, Sicily, and Italy, leading @3rd_Infantry, before taking control of the disastrous beachhead at Anzio. He would fight in Italy all through the war till 1945

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Angry Staff Officer

@pptsapper

11 Nov

Yo yo yo yo

Yooooooooooooo

So, I've had 2 French 75s and I have some STORIES to tell

So gather round, ye rapscallions of the internets for a special edition of #drunjhistory

It took me wayyyyyy to long to type that so you KNOW it gon be good

IT'S QUASI WAR TIME, Y'ALL

Once upon a a time etc etc it was 1778 and The US an France were bestest frennnnnns. They had this whole treaty of alliance and crap. Cause France agreed to fight till we got Independence and we agreed to fight until

Hold up

We interrupt this for a damn adorable cat message

Anyways uhhhh we agreed to keep fighting until such time as the French got their war aims and the French said they'd keep fighting as long as Spain got Gibraltar back or whatever and let's be honest, no one believes that would happen but hey, it's all about good feelings, right?

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Angry Staff Officer

@pptsapper

10 Nov

Hey, just wanted to wish a happy belated 222d birthday to the US Marine Corps - forgot to give them my best wishes back in July

And don't feel bad about taking that 15 year break between 1783-1798 - just like at Belleau Wood, the Army covered down for you while you took a knee

Look, it's a long and proud tradition for the services to snark at each other. In particular, the Army has a tradition of snarking at their Marine Corps cousins - yes the Army recognizes only the Navy as its sibling - the USMC and Air Force are cousins

And fine, if you don't want to believe me, here, have this officer snark from a major in the 9th Infantry in World War I:

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