Do US Army uniforms remind you more and more of the USSR?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

Poll question: Do US Army uniforms remind you more and more of the USSR?

It used to be a running joke in Europe, especially Eastern Europe, about how a plane carrying Soviet military officers would tilt to the left because they always wore their full chest of pretty ribbons, medals, Red Stars and gold.

Now, it seems as though US generals are approaching soviet levels of self-promotion, at least in terms of wearing their salads on their chests. Given the upcoming war with Iran, given the abject failures in Iraq, and given the administration's desperate efforts to hide the bad news and

Frankly, I think they risk being treated just like the soviet military brass. I would be far more impressed by a guy or gal wearing fatigues, and talking straight. These new crop of Rummie appointed and approved generals are too much the politician, too little the leader of a military at war. I suspect that this medal show became popular under that great patriot and scumbag Oliver North. Of course, like more and more officers on TV, his clothes were tailored, and not fresh off a military hanger.

So the question is, do the US army general uniforms we see every day on TV remind you more and more of the USSR?

[lvx35]

1. Haven't noticed that, but its a damn worthy question...

because I HAVE noticed the US becoming USSR like in many other ways. The biggest is the advent of the non-reality based language. I read the at the fall of Russia was largely caused by a bullshit-word culture where nothing actually meant what it meant because you had to lie or risk the wrath of the Apparat...So "fantastic crop yield" meant bad crop yield, but "excellent crop yield" meant good...

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. I've noticed the same developments.

a good portion of my clients come from eastern europe. They are saying more and more that the burro-cratic fuckups, the growing officiousness and the stronger push for internal scrutiny, domestic surveillance and police power "in the name of our security" is getting close to what the Soviet Union was like.

the first time I heard that observation it rattled me. Now, everywhere I look, I see signs that they are right.

[lvx35]

5. Same here, but with China.

I've heard him compared to Mao in similar circumstances I've been in.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

7. yuk. Poor Mao, being insulted after death.

[CrazyOrangeCat]

2. To those who said, "They earned them . . ."

How can you be sure of that anymore?

[ChairmanAgnostic]

4. and how . . . by agreeing with Rummie?

if so, those medals are pretty damned tarnished.

[Hangingon]

6. I agree

It would be a good idea for all the paperwork on military commendations and awards were subject to FOIA. The military is working on unifying the criteria for awards. This has been a subject/problem for decades. I think it was Admiral Jeremy M. Boorda, CNO back in '96 who committed suicide because he was accused of wearing a V device when it was not authorized. The review of the citation was ambiguous. This is a celebrated case, but is indicative of problems down through the ranks.

[Geoff R. Casavant]

8. Your memory is correct, it was Boorda

I was on active duty then, and I can still recall where I was when I heard the news.

I'm pretty sure, however, that there was no ambugiuity over whether the "V" device was authorized. Usually the citation for the award would show at the beginning what devices were authorized, and Boorda's citations did not. The citation may have mentioned the word "valor," and he may have thought that entitled him to the device, but that's a misinterpretation, not an ambiguity in my opinion.

[Hangingon]

13. Your memory is probably better than mine...

I remember Zumwalt saying something to the effect that he had no problem with his wearing the device. I think DOD has a group working on interservice consistency on things like this.

[Selatius]

9. Those medals mean shit when your son is six feet under.

There is no coming back from death, and no amount of pomp or pageantry will cover over the shame of destroying human life for a cause no better than greed.

[onethatcares]

10. police uniforms in the U.S

remeind me more of the USSR than the military uniforms. Especially the masks and hoods.

[RamboLiberal]

11. I think there is an overload of fruit salad

[ChairmanAgnostic]

12. wow. great shots.

a future president
and
a rummie athletic supporter