Vietnam Era To Present US Soldiers Are Pu$$ies!!!

[Jericho941]

Of the "excess" population we have, most are "unemployable."

Which is the political term for: "cannot read a clock, functionally illiterate, cannot multiply or divide, cannot show up on time, can vote and have a high school degree."

Sounds like conscript material. Y'know, like there was in WW2.

[Aglifter]

Probably was. And, probably, why the members of my family who served in that era, aside from our religious objections to it, hated the idea of conscription.

Not the kind of folks you can rely on to mop a floor, properly.

And, I don't know if they were that degraded in the WWII era.

[Termite]

Which is the political term for: "cannot read a clock, functionally illiterate, cannot multiply or divide, cannot show up on time, can vote and have a high school degree."

The Depression-era folks valued formal education, even if they didn't have a good one themselves.

My grandfather was a prime example. Raised dirt poor in north Louisiana. Left HS in the 9th grade to go to work because his father died, and he had 4 younger siblings. Worked a couple of odd jobs until he lied about his age and managed to get hired to work in the oil fields around Smackover, AR, in the 1920s. It was hard and dangerous work, but paid better than many manual labor jobs.
He built and sold something like 3 businesses during his lifetime. Despite his limited formal education, he sat on the advisory board of a local bank.

IIRC, he voted for every property tax that was submitted if it was for eduction; this despite his having a fair sized amount of land that would be subject to the tax.

I don't know so much about the comparisons of "toughness" regarding veterans, but my grandfather's generation were a lot less self-centered, and did not believe the world revolved around them. They knew life could be tough, and they had better be tough too if they were going to be successful.

[skb12172]

He built and sold something like 3 businesses during his lifetime. Despite his limited formal education, he sat on the advisory board of a local bank.

With Motivation, Life is the best Teacher...

[doc Russia]

I think there's a few factors here.
Success on the battlefield requires different skill sets for our technology and we are fighting wars differently.
Things have changed.
I don't know about this vet, but my hunch is that he was probably not the most squared away sailor in the fleet, and it's plenty easy to say that current military are weak when he doesn't have to make the cut anymore.

[Termite]

Success on the battlefield requires different skill sets for our technology and we are fighting wars differently. Things have changed.

True enough. However, Life is STILL a bitch. Shit still happens. Acknowledge it, and move on. Adapt, improvise, and overcome.

[Langenator]

TMK, no one's survived death marches, worried about running out of food, cut off from supplies for a long term, or had to face an opponent with better weaponry, and more experience/training since WWII.

The guys who were at Chosin Resevior will be happy to know that...and you forgot outnumbered.

[blackeagle603]

yeah and considering most/many of the guys at Chosin were reservists who hadn't had a proper boot camp. Most only had 4 weeks and off to war.

Which says a _whole_ lot about the quality of their lifer NCO's.