Just been watching a couple of episodes of PBS's "Carrier" a program about life in the navy. Glad I didn't join.

[BoomerD]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvS90hMtRVk

 

[*kjm]

What if you looked at it like this?.

I joined the Navy at 18 and did my 20 years. Now I go home (paid off) to my loving wife and my 3 kids. I make enough in retirement that I decided to go to college and use my GI bill money. I?ll graduate at 44 and maybe get a job? if I want to

 

[alien42]

Originally posted by: waggy
well to be fair it is PBS. Often the articles/shows have anti-military anti-US slant.

there is nothing anti-US about PBS

 

[gamepad]

There's the military, and there's the Air Force. Air Force Enlisted personnel have a lot of respect and freedom, not to mention a more luxurious lifestyle than in other branches.

 

[DanTMWTMP]

My cousin was in the Navy and he said his experience there was invaluable. He's a minority ethnicity-wise, and said it wasn't really a problem.

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: alien42

Originally posted by: waggy
well to be fair it is PBS. Often the articles/shows have anti-military anti-US slant.

there is nothing anti-US about PBS

ZOMG! The librul left-wing media! :roll:

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: Megatomic

Originally posted by: Marlin1975

Originally posted by: Megatomic

Originally posted by: steppinthrax

Originally posted by: heinz256
So what kind of discouraging things does the show talk about?

1. A lot of racism exist. A large majority of people in the military happen to be "good old boys" they speak racial slurs etc... Carrier indicates they are handled very seriouslly (i.e. 3 strikes your out). But this is on TV.

2. Very very different social structure that puts you on the lowest form of life for a long time. I guess it's understandable that you have ranking systems. But If you have a medical problem and an officer has a medical problem. The Officer is always in front of you in every way. They showed an example of a girl who had a tooth ache and pain and an officer who was going for a regular checkup. Both appeared the same time at the medical recepcinist. However, the E-2 happened to pop at the table first to talk to the medical staff about her problem. The officer came around her and simply said excuse me. Cut off the conversation about a potential medical problem and immediatley said "I'm comming in for my checkup uhhh with dr. xx". The medical staff immeditalty started helping him instead. Then when they were finished with the officer they went on with her. Afterwards they both sat down in waiting. The officer was picked first to go for his cleaning. While she waited for them to finish on him.

3. When I hear a lot of the E-1 to E-3 people talk. Their logic and intellegence is just lacking. I mean they make a lot of poor decisions that gets them in trouble. Constant fights, rude, etc.... These are the people you will live around under a ship for a long time.

4. You spend most of your time idle doing notthing. Or really doing notthing meaningfull. You spend time cleaning, cleaning and cleaning.

This is all bullshit. I was in the Navy and served on a nuclear aircraft carrier during Desert Storm. We did alot of meaningful things all day, every day. My work days were at least 18 hours long. When I wasn't operating the nuclear reactor I was doing maintenance on the instrumentation and controls involved in operating the nuclear reactor. And when I wasn't doing maintenance I was training or being trained.

Try to avoid overgeneralizing in the future. mmkay?

Pot kettle, kettle pot...

You complain that the military is ok because of your ONE person view of it.

He says the military is not for him because he sees ONE view of it.

"overgeneralizing" FTL

 

[OutHouse]

so OP, you worked the mens dept of old navy instead?

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Originally posted by: gamepad
There's the military, and there's the Air Force. Air Force Enlisted personnel have a lot of respect and freedom, not to mention a more luxurious lifestyle than in other branches.

Rules of Combat
USMC

1. Bring a weapon. Preferably, bring at least two. Bring all of your friends who have weapons. Bring their friends who have weapons.
2. Anything worth shooting is worth shooting twice. Ammo is cheap. Life is expensive.
3. Only hits count. Close doesn't count. The only thing worse than a miss is a slow miss.
4. If your shooting stance is good, you're probably not moving fast enough, nor using cover correctly.
5. Move away from your attacker. Distance is your friend. (Lateral and diagonal movement are preferred.)
6. If you can choose what to bring to a gunfight, bring a big weaponand a friend with a big weapon.
7. In ten years nobody will remember the details of caliber, stance, or tactics. They will only remember who lived and who didn't.
8. If you are not shooting, you should be communicating, reloading, and running.
9. Accuracy is relative: most combat shooting is more dependent on "pucker factor" than the inherent accuracy of the weapon.
10. Use a weaponthat works EVERY TIME. "All skill is in vain when an Angel pisses in the flintlock of your musket."
11. Someday someone may kill you with your own weapon, but they should have to beat you to death with it because it is empty.
12. In combat, there are no rules, always cheat; always win. The only unfair fight is the one you lose.
13. Have a plan.
14. Have a back-up plan, because the first one won't work.
15. Use cover or concealment as much as possible. The visible target should be in FRONT of YOUR weapon.
16. Flank your adversary when possible. Protect yours.
17. Don't drop your guard.
18. Always tactical load and threat scan 360 degrees.
19. Watch their hands. Hands kill. (In God we trust. Everyone else, keep your hands where I can see them).
20. Decide to be aggressive ENOUGH, quickly ENOUGH.
21. The faster you finish the fight, the less shot you will get.
22. Be courteous to everyone, friendly to no one.
23. Be polite. Be professional. But have a plan to kill everyone you meet.
24. Your number one Option for Personal Security is a lifelong commitment to avoidance, deterrence, and de-escalation.
25. Do not attend a gunfight with a handgun, the caliber of which does not start with a ".4."

Army

1. See USMC Rules for combat
2. Add 60 to 90 days
3. Hope the Marines already destroyed all meaningful resistance

Navy

1. Spend three weeks getting somewhere
2. Adopt an aggressive offshore posture
3. Send in the Marines
4. Drink Coffee
5. Bring back the Marines

Air Force

1. Kiss the spouse good-bye
2. Drive to the flight line
3. Fly to target area, drop bombs, fly back.
4. Pop in at the club for a couple with the guys
5. Go home, BBQ some burgers and drink some more beer

 

[*kjm]

"2. Add 60 to 90 days
3. Hope the Marines already destroyed all meaningful resistance "

Someone forgot to tell my Ranger buds that.

 

[BoomerD]

Rather than quote all of Demon-Zanth's post...I'll just add a few to it:

Simple yet eloquent statements:

"AIM TOWARDS THE ENEMY."
-Instruction printed on US Rocket Launcher

"WHEN THE PIN IS PULLED, MR. GRENADE IS NOT OUR FRIEND."
-US Marine Corps

"CLUSTER BOMBING FROM B-52s IS VERY, VERY ACCURATE. THE BOMBS ARE
GUARANTEED TO ALWAYS HIT THE GROUND."
-U.S.A.F. Ammo Troop

"IF THE ENEMY IS IN RANGE, SO ARE YOU."
-Infantry Journal

"A SLIPPING GEAR COULD LET YOUR M203 GRENADE LAUNCHER FIRE WHEN YOU LEAST EXPECT IT. THAT WOULD MAKE YOU QUITE UNPOPULAR IN WHAT'S LEFT OF YOUR UNIT."
-Army's magazine of prevention maintenance

"IT IS GENERALLY INADVISABLE TO EJECT DIRECTLY OVER THE AREA YOU JUST
BOMBED."
US. Air Force manual

"TRY TO LOOK UNIMPORTANT; THE ENEMY MAY BE LOW ON AMMO."
Infantry Journal

"TRACERS WORK BOTH WAYS."
U.S. Army Ordnance

"FIVE-SECOND FUSES ONLY LAST THREE SECONDS."
-Infantry Journal

"BRAVERY IS BEING THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS YOU'RE AFRAID."
-David Hackworth

"IF YOUR ATTACK IS GOING TOO WELL, YOU'RE WALKING INTO AN AMBUSH."
Infantry Journal

"NO COMBAT-READY UNIT HAS EVER PASSED INSPECTION."
-Joe Gay

"ANY SHIP CAN BE A MINESWEEPER....ONCE."
-Anon

"NEVER TELL THE PLATOON SERGEANT YOU HAVE NOTHING TO DO."
-Unknown Marine Recruit

"DON'T DRAW FIRE; IT IRRITATES THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU."
-Infantry Journal

"IF YOU SEE A BOMB TECHNICIAN RUNNING, TRY TO KEEP UP WITH HIM."
-U.S.A.F. Ammo Troop

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Along those lines...
http://skippyslist.com/list/

 

[Megatomic]

Originally posted by: Marlin1975You complain that the military is ok because of your ONE person view of it.

He says the military is not for him because he sees ONE view of it.

"overgeneralizing" FTL[/i]

Well, you are right. But, my experience was similar to that of guys I knew in other divisions and departments. Especially while we were deployed during Desert Storm. The ship was a flurry of activity. I certainly can't speak for every serviceperson in the US Armed Forces, but my guess is that the OP's perception is probably not accurate overall.

 

[PrinceofWands]

I did enjoy quite a bit about the Navy...especially boot camp. Thought it was a blast. However they taught me nothing, except things that were morally reprehensible and just plain wrong. They did nothing important, in fact with most of what I had to do the important part was to refuse to be a part of it in order to make a ideological stand against what was going on. I did get to do good things outside of the Navy by being in it...like help out during natural disasters and that sort of stuff.

I agree with a lot of what the OP described, though not all. I didn't find those things the focal point of my problems with the military however...except maybe the part about everyone being dumb as a rock, which was generally true. Then again that was good preparation for entering the workforce.

I would do it again if I were living my life over, but I wouldn't sing any praises about it really.

 

[Bateluer]

Originally posted by: Ramma2

Originally posted by: steppinthrax

Originally posted by: heinz256
So what kind of discouraging things does the show talk about?

4. You spend most of your time idle doing notthing. Or really doing notthing meaningfull. You spend time cleaning, cleaning and cleaning.

A clean ship is a ship in fighting shape!

I wouldn't trade my time in the military for anything. It shaped me into a better person and put me on the path to success.

I am 29, have a house, a wife, 2 kids, a degree in IT and a great IT job.

Thank you Army!
(Not in the Army any more)

Even though I recently separated from the Air Force, I wouldn't trade my enlisted experience either.

 

[Minjin]

Sounds like a reality show to me. And isn't the goal of reality shows to be entertaining and therefore they'll pick the most extreme and unusual footage?

<-former carrier sailor

 

[TehMac]

Originally posted by: Eeezee

Originally posted by: waggy
well to be fair it is PBS. Often the articles/shows have anti-military anti-US slant.

I've never seen a anti-military or anti-US slant on PBS. It's run by the government!

~_~

 

[bctbct]

Seemed to me lke the guy that was busted for the racial comments was gaming the navy so he could get out.
Good show imo.

 

[ultimatebob]

There are too many whiny enlisted people on this ship! They need some Marines to kick their asses

 

[bctbct]

They just tried landing on a pitching deck...1-17 landings because they kept waving them off or missing the wire. The wing commander nailed it the first try

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: waggy
well to be fair it is PBS. Often the articles/shows have anti-military anti-US slant.

utter BS! PBS puts out some of the most unbiased documentaries out there.

 

[abracadabra1]

Originally posted by: steppinthrax

Originally posted by: heinz256
So what kind of discouraging things does the show talk about?

1. A lot of racism exist. A large majority of people in the military happen to be "good old boys" they speak racial slurs etc... Carrier indicates they are handled very seriouslly (i.e. 3 strikes your out). But this is on TV.

2. Very very different social structure that puts you on the lowest form of life for a long time. I guess it's understandable that you have ranking systems. But If you have a medical problem and an officer has a medical problem. The Officer is always in front of you in every way. They showed an example of a girl who had a tooth ache and pain and an officer who was going for a regular checkup. Both appeared the same time at the medical recepcinist. However, the E-2 happened to pop at the table first to talk to the medical staff about her problem. The officer came around her and simply said excuse me. Cut off the conversation about a potential medical problem and immediatley said "I'm comming in for my checkup uhhh with dr. xx". The medical staff immeditalty started helping him instead. Then when they were finished with the officer they went on with her. Afterwards they both sat down in waiting. The officer was picked first to go for his cleaning. While she waited for them to finish on him.

3. When I hear a lot of the E-1 to E-3 people talk. Their logic and intellegence is just lacking. I mean they make a lot of poor decisions that gets them in trouble. Constant fights, rude, etc.... These are the people you will live around under a ship for a long time.

4. You spend most of your time idle doing notthing. Or really doing notthing meaningfull. You spend time cleaning, cleaning and cleaning.

Your ignorance is evident in your post. I suggest that you refrain from posting about anything related to the Navy - especially when your opinion is framed from a television show.

How is it a surprise that 18-19 year-olds make poor decisions at times? What you should be surprised by is how those very same people work 16+ hour days for 6 months without seeing any family and few avenues for relaxation.

 

[fatpat268]

I just got done watching the first two hours (off my tivo), and it seems to be well made. Seems more like a recruiting video in a way, but it's good to see all aspects of what's going on.

I don't see any obvious bias going on... and if there is any, is largely unintentional.

 

[Ticky]

Just got done watching a couple episodes. Seems unbiased. Makes me realize I would never survive. I'd been thrown out in the first week of boot camp for insubordination... I'd also probably throttle one of the idiots I was forced to work with. (I have a bit of a problem, where anyone who's not in, say, the top 3% of the population I consider an idiot....)

 

[ultimatebob]

One thing that I noticed was that it was usually the enlisted folks who were constantly whining about shipboard life to the camera, while the officers were smart enough to stick to the "I'm proud to do my duty and serve my country" company line. My hunch is that the ones who mouthed off during filming are going to doing a lot more deck swabbing and bathroom cleaning for the rest of their enlistment period.

One other thing that I noticed is how disorganized the carrier was during that "Tiger Cruise" at the end of the deployment. Let's hope that no Chinese sub commanders watched this thing, because now they know when the ship is vulnerable!