Shadow's taxicab reports. A blast from the past and the beauty of war.

[shadowknows69]

Call me Driver Confessor. Why do I seem to be a magnet for soldiers sharing with me stories of their kills? Are they dumping some emotional baggage upon me and if so, can't they find a more worthy or wise recipient of it like perhaps a priest or a licensed therapist? Conversely what if they are simply proud of their deeds in which case shouldn't I try to extract such customers from my cab at the earliest and most urgent convenience?

As if I haven't heard enough recent tales of the latest venture of the military industrial complex the other day I had a Navy combat medic from Operation Desert Storm talking my ear off. He was on a carrier near the Middle East when the shit started in January of ’91 and he rode with a SEAL team or in helicopter search and rescue missions early in the conflict. I’m not familiar with SEAL operations so maybe someone can debunk this but he told me that often a Navy medic is the ranking officer of a SEAL group a lot of times and technically in the lead, the logic being that the medic is primarily responsible for the well being of the team so they should have tactical command.

He also made it very clear that although he had commanded some SEAL teams that you don’t really do much as far as giving orders because they are such a well oiled machine and that the missions are usually so well planned that they just deploy, do their thing and extract. This is where I started to suspect that this veteran, who works at a consumer electronics store near you, might be a little too enamored of and nostalgic for his days in combat.

He started talking in depth about the SEAL teams he worked with and the fluidity of their movements and how beautiful it was. He likened the way they move when approaching a target to a well choreographed dance. He went on to describe one operation he was on where they cleared a building of 15 or so combatants in like a minute. He started talking about the “beauty of war”, how he used to love watching the battleships bombarding the Iraqi positions in Kuwait early in the war. He seemed particularly taken with the oil fields burning as well. On a positive note I got a fascinating narrative on how our navy goes about “mothballing” ships and the important role of the big guns in Desert Storm.

It was in our conversation about SEALs that I opened myself up to the latest nightmare I’ve gained learning about the Bush wars. When he mentioned that medics were often the commanding officer I queried whether he thought that was ever a hindrance because he might hesitate to send his men into more dangerous situations. He quickly countered that it was no hindrance at all and he would never hesitate. “In fact I once had a 12 year old boy approach me holding an AK-47 and I put four rounds into his chest without a second thought. It was him or me.”

The ride ends. Thank the Gods. Always tip your cabbie.
Shadow out.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. Years ago, I heard the "beauty of war" attitude expressed, and it

started me on the path I'm now on, which is almost absolute pacifism.

One of my fellow students had a high school friend who was stationed at the Groton, Connecticut naval base, home of the Trident submarine. He came to campus to visit, and during lunch, he started rhapsodizing (there's no better word) about what a beautiful and elegant machine the Trident was. He rattled off its technical specs like a lover enumerating his beloved's attractive qualities, all the time with an enraptured look on his face.

And all I could think of was, "You're talking about a machine for destroying several cities at once. You're talking about a machine for vaporizing millions of people." :scared:

[Karenina]

9. I once played a party for

the rollout of a weapons system. Watching the festivites, the pianist and I with mouths agape observed that they were all creaming in their pants about KILLING PEOPLE...

[bluerum]

2. So - the big man with the gun asked the boy - "Hey kid, how old are you?"

Kid replies, "Me twelve big man with a gun."

Big man with a gun says - "Ok - see ya." (Puts four rounds into 12 year old chest without a second thought.)

So now we are all supposed to feel safer from terra-ists because a twelve year boy died needlessly in the desert.

[StellaBlue]

3. I wonder how many women see "the beauty of war"?

Just a thought.

I have never understood, throughout history, the urge of young men to rush to a war, any war, and to glorify war. Are they stupid?

Methinks, yes.

[tech3149]

4. Thanks for the post

It's great to get some insight of those that have been there and done that. I wish that medic well and hope he has a long and satisfying life. But I have to wonder, would he have been so eager to pull the trigger had he seen the face of his own son in the sights?

[shadowknows69]

5. I don't begrudge any soldier for defending themselves

I'm just not sure why they feel like I need to know about it.

[shadowknows69]

6. One kick before she sinks mateys

Arrrrghh!

[Suich]

7. Maybe deep down they feel guilty.

Maybe they've never vocalized their actions before and by doing so, possibly it doesn't sound as bad as it actually was. You're also a safe, non-judgmental person to talk to...a total stranger.

I can't even imagine how most of the returning military manage to live with what they were involved in.

:cry:

[shadowknows69]

8. One more kick for friday

just because this sunk like a brick yesterday.