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Always this want to introduce weapons "intelligence" into these threads, but at least in this case not to pretend any great intelligence goes with the assembly and/or disassembly of whatever the weapon of choice. Refreshing...
Maybe not another thread down that drain, but instead some insight into what makes for a "good soldier." Of course there are lots of attributes that make for an above average soldier, a qualified officer, and needless to say, intelligence helps more than hurts.
Thing is, however, for most any job or profession that involves higher levels of thinking ability, an intelligent person will generally do better as a rule. Also true with most professions, much of what makes for truly effective people does not always get easily measured by way of a test. Question one might ask, perhaps, to consider the case of a soldier more deeply, is how the attributes or requirements to be a "good soldier" are more challenging or rare as compared to other jobs/careers. Many military types have difficulty with civilian jobs/careers/life. Others become U.S. Senators. Go figure.
Interesting to consider in any case...
For me, three things make a great soldier...mental toughness first above all else. Mental toughness trumps super intelligence every time.
Second, good teammate! Gotta be a people person. People think military leadership is all about being a hardass, but no one really likes a guy who's a hardass just for the sake of it. Troops rarely respect a guy like that. The best leaders are respected AND beloved by their underlings. You don't have to do much to be respected and loved by your troops. Just show a little damn empathy and let them know that you've been where they are now. It's that easy. They appreciate that.
Lastly, be respectful of authority but NEVER be fearful of it. I hated NCO's and officers that trembled in front of their superiors. Those guys won't go to bat for you when it matters. They'll let the command steamroll their guys with crappy details and arbitrary nonsense. And leaders that are cowards AND careerists simultaneously are the absolute worst. Can't stand 'em.
San Diego is called "America's finest city" and for good reason. Incredible neighborhoods that are a hundred times then many of gentrified areas in Democratic, liberal bastions, clean, orderly and friendly.
Yet, San Diego remains relatively affordable on rents compared to other cities in the state like San Francisco and Los Angeles.
They do have homelessness in San Diego but it is nothing like most other big cities.
Homicide rate of 3 per 100,000 people which is 1/10th of the rate of cities like Detroit, Baltimore and 1/8th of the rate of Chicago and Milwaukee.
Ultra-low poverty rates and most importantly a very small number of children in poverty compared to many other big cities.
55,000 children in poverty in San Diego compared to 132,000 in Phoenix and 131,000 in Philadelphia which are of a similar population class.
San Diego has been a fine city for a long time, and in the past 16 years they have had 3 Repub mayors and 4 Dem ones, so does it make sense to credit the present mayor just because he is Repub?
San Jose has a lower violent crime rate than San Diego. Lincoln, Nebraska has a lower violent crime rate than San Diego. Both cities have Democratic mayors. Lincoln has fewer issues with violent crime than Omaha, which is run by a Republican. Omaha has one of the poorest Black populations in the USA.
Oklahoma City,OK is run by a Republican and is one of the most conservative cities in the USA. Has a violent crime rate twice as high as San Diego. Has a high rate of rape too.
The entire state of CA is one of the least affordable places to live. That's more of a fault of the liberal state than it is a single city.
A 5 star hotel is not affordable accommodations either. People are simply willing to pay more to live there. Ya see this is where I part ways with conservatives and Republicans who are apparently still clueless about how economics actually works. You think perfect weather and sunshine is going to be as cheap as Fort Wayne Indiana?
For me, three things make a great soldier...mental toughness first above all else. Mental toughness trumps super intelligence every time.
Second, good teammate! Gotta be a people person. People think military leadership is all about being a hardass, but no one really likes a guy who's a hardass just for the sake of it. Troops rarely respect a guy like that. The best leaders are respected AND beloved by their underlings. You don't have to do much to be respected and loved by your troops. Just show a little damn empathy and let them know that you've been where they are now. It's that easy. They appreciate that.
Lastly, be respectful of authority but NEVER be fearful of it. I hated NCO's and officers that trembled in front of their superiors. Those guys won't go to bat for you when it matters. They'll let the command steamroll their guys with crappy details and arbitrary nonsense. And leaders that are cowards AND careerists simultaneously are the absolute worst. Can't stand 'em.
Here's what the army thinks...
The seven values of the U.S. Army are loyalty, duty, respect, selfless services, honor, integrity and personal courage. Together, they all form the acronym LDRSHIP.
I'm not sure about the value of "mental toughness" over "super intelligence" or which might be more valuable than the other given certain circumstances, but no doubt a good balance of toughness and intelligence is optimal. I've met many who are probably "mentally tough" but unfortunately not all that sharp when it comes to how and when to apply that toughness. Men who can do with that good leadership you expand upon.
As usual with so many things, "balance is key."
Probably takes more intelligence than toughness to recognize this as well...
How many federal dollars roll into DC? They're ranked last by almost every metric. Federal dollars aren't everything.
Federal dollars roll in with INCOME- and purchases from those people who work on and off the base - and all that support the base-Think just 10,000 troops alone, you need housing- food, roads, electricity and so forth - it rolls! and in DC it also rolls- but maybe the bases, have more personnel-- haven't checked- the numbers.
It has more to do with demographics than politics. San Diego has a very small black population. That explains a lot of it. The city has had Democratic mayors in the past, and the index of social problems has been the same. Also, the city of San Diego has a lot more registered Democrats than Republicans. Even the county as a whole has slightly more registered Democrats than Republicans, last time I checked.
Much later I got stationed in Norfolk, Virginia which has a smaller population than Milwaukee and Norfolk has the largest military naval base on all of planet Earth. Still, plenty of poor people in Norfolk and no where near as rich a city.
After MCRD while going through the School of Infantry at Camp Pendleton, I traveled to San Diego while on libo. Never have I seen so many limos in a downtown in my life.
San Diego is one of the United States greatest cities. That may or may not have anything to do with Republicans.
LA is a trash can of a city populated by urban hillbillies. They are the urban equivalents of rural Appalachia. Elitest Democrats, walking around like they're the Queens and Kings of England, with their over priced sunglasses, dismiss the homeless as well as the poor raised in broken, dysfunctional homes as "hood rats," all the while the black Democrats work with the CIA to spread the Crips gang and gospel of salvation through murder and mayhem, around the rest of the black diaspora. One day the CIA will come to black Democrats and persuade them send black Crips into up and coming black African countries on a "cultural exchange program."
Last edited by CaseyB; 01-03-2017 at 02:27 PM..
Reason: language
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