Things Every Joe Should Know

Sometimes the stuff that people try to pass off as knowledge completely baffles me. I guess in all of my CQB training ninja knife fighting has never come up.

Put this down as something every joe should know. Don't spend your hard earned money on gucci pieces of kit that you really don't need, ie: knives headlamps, watches and other things gear queers claim you MUST have. The best kit you can buy often comes from Wal-Mart in the form of a gerber, an energizer headlamp and a casio g-shock. Those things will never give you problems and will save you money that you can later spend hanging out with your brothers. And if the time ever comes for you to slit some communists throat, your gerber has the proper accessories for that.
 
This thread is epic! I think everyone has covered anything I could come up with and then some, however I have four main rules for success and happiness

These are my secrets of personal success, wealth and the ability to understand humanity.

On the house, free one time to you now;
  1. The one eyed man is King in the land of the blind (yes, only that much smarter)
  2. Always have high hopes and very low expectations (your expectations will be achieved every fucking time)
  3. You can't stop stupid (I don't give a rats ass what training you do, lectures or preventive measures are taken stupid trumps all)
  4. When in doubt shut your mouth (look around, understand your audience, more than likely no one cares what you say. Unless asked shut up, less is always more. If you talk too much then the assumptions the listener is making are quickly dispelled by additional words and more information. You are now invalidating your point and bringing into question the entire premise of your objectives. This is absolutely a 100% CONCRETE rule when dealing with commissioned officers. They begin to see liability, assumption of risk and doubt your ability to carry it out. They now see their career in jeopardy. Don't scare the kids. SHUT THE FUCK UP! )
One other thing, if a senior NCO is having an adult conversation with superiors leave the area, now! They don't want, need and or desire your input... I know that kind of goes with rule number 4 but it bares repeating.

With deepest respect
 
Just because you talk loudly doesn't really mean you know things others don't know or know them better than everyone else.

It's OK if you don't know something, ask. No one knows it all so don't be embarrassed. Lives depend on you knowing certain things, remember that.
 
I once listened to an old Team Sergeant recite his personal rules of combat. He swore every time he’d violated one of the rules he’s been shot in Vietnam. His story told of NVA trackers running thru his patrol base, an unsuccessful prisoner snatch, being caught in a firefight between his patrol and the NVA and a close combat encounter with his weapon’s safety selector engaged. His story was absolutely hilarious which is why I remember what he taught me many years ago. Over the years, I realized his parable had important lessons hidden within his long ago war stories. There came a time when I adapted his lessons to my new and sadder reality as a staff officer.

1. Never chase someone who just stole your machinegun. Don’t be in a rush to over commit yourself as in haste makes waste. Always have a plan don’t make a bad situation worse by rushing into something before you think it through. Your plan should be organized in the manner of PACE. (Primary, Alternate, Contingency and Emergency)
2. Never take a knife to a gunfight (I know we’ve all heard this one but did you know it was based on a true story) Be prepared and ready to fight before you step on the battlefield or conference room. Do detailed METT research so you know what the operating and threats conditions are.
3. Never initiate your ambush while standing in your own kill zone. Check yourself before you discipline or call someone else out. Exceed the standard before you denigrate someone for not meeting the standard.
4. Never dry fire in a firefight. Never take anything for granted. Always inspect what you expect. If you deem something important or mission essential, it is worthy of double checking and ensuring you have redundancy whenever possible.
 
This has to be the most enlightening and entertaining thread yet. However my life would and could have been so much easier knowing and accepting these pearls of wisdom about 30 years ago. Being hard ain't easy, but being hard headed hurts worse...
 
Always remember there will always be someone who has been there and done that before you. Take advantage by listening to and watching them. It is free experience...
 
Marauder06 said:
I was in a situation recently where a couple of people made some rookie mistakes that made me want to throat chop them. It occurred to me that they most likely "just didn't know;" I wondered what else is out there that experienced people understand and newbies just don't get. Please add your thoughts to the list:

-if you're in line for an MRE, just reach in the box, take the first one on top and move out. Rummaging through MREs (or any chow for that matter) is called "rat fucking" and is usually second only to being a chow thief in terms of food-related things that piss people off and are likely to get your ass beat. No one cares you don't like carrots, or that you want the one with the jalapeno cheese. It's inconsiderate to the people behind you to take the good stuff and make the people in line behind you to wait for you to get your fat ass out of the way. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

It has been a long time since I have been in the field. Every case of MRE's was the same, it sounds like they've improved things quite a bit. I did quickly memorize the numbers I liked and would trade. It was actually a lot of fun at times. We used to open the case of MRE's upside down so nobody could Rat Fuck and just had to grab and go. Then the bitching and moaning began. We always broke ours down so they were lighter and so we could get rid of stuff we did not want or need and so the trading could begin.

I've not seen or heard of the Phantom Shitter since my Jr. year at Norwich! I don't freaking miss that dude!
 

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