F*** the Troops Update: "An army of criminals, addicts, and psychos."

Here's a first-class imbicile commenting on this New York Times article about bad recruiting practices:

so what do you do when you’re stuck waging war with an army no one wants to join? you command an army comprised of criminals, addicts and psychos – and ask them to stabilize a place like iraq.

Well, this numbskull's not fit to polish my soldiers' boots. What's sad is he doesn't even realize how ignorant he is. He's just tagged himself with one of Rumsfeld's "unknown unknowns:" that thing he does not even know he doesn't know:

The U.S. Army, right now, today, is ragged around the edges, the same way Ricky Henderson's uniform used to get dirty and torn when he was stealing 135 bases.

The U.S. Army, right now, today, is the best-equipped, best-educated, best-trained, and best led army in the history of the republic, and I'm damn proud to be associated with it. Only the Army that defeated Saddam in 1991 comes close (although that one was in decline).

(Obligatory disclaimer about me not being an official spokesperson for the U.S. Army here. I know regular readers are smart enough to figure that out. Bugbrain, however, might track back from his post and try to invent some Pentagon conspiracy, though.)

I am not as familiar with the other services, but I am confident that their experiences won't vary by much.

The troops in it know it already. That's why they are reenlisting at surprisingly high rates. (The bonuses are actually beginning to help us lure people back in who've ETS'd over the last year and who miss the Big Green Family. They know what Pudentella doesn't: The quality of the men and women who serve.

A dumbass like Pudentella wouldn't last a week in the company of my soldiers. Not if he wanted to remain as he is. But chances are he'd reform himself into something much wiser and better, just to keep up with them.

Splash, out

Jason