Mark,
Thanks for your service. What is your branch and M.O.S.? Are you in braces for mobility? Do you have P.T.S.D.? Oh wait, you are cured......so you were cured of a mental disease that there is no cure for.....only denial. I have been dealing with it since 94 so don't tell me. Anyway, there is no x-marine unless it was adishonorable. Funny, In Hati etc. we went in lit the place up and secured the area so the members of the Army could set up tents and serve chow. The problem with us strong willed military folk is that we just have to be right. I was that way until I left the Marines 12 yrs. ago and see how the P.T.S.D. wards and prostethics units are filled with the Marines who were fired upon. Combat is indeed ugly, I know I have that t-shirt plus some. I was the N.C.O. that got the letters from mom saying "Keep Johnny Safe." Yep my attitude on mental toughness is more "Survival" than "Hard Core". But I digress, I am not going to have a pee up the tree contest with you. I just know that living through a helicopter crash and being one of the only survivors after being shot down in africa is a big deal.
Matt,
Thank you for your service and your sacrifice. No matter what else transpires in this conversation between you and I, know that I consider you to be one of my brothers, like anyone else that has ever worn the uniform.
I am Staff Sergeant(P) in the Army. Nowadays I work in M.I., during my first two deployments I was a 19D, cav scout. I don't have braces, although I do have a pin in my knee(Track roll over), and a plate in my skull(IED, I got to be unconsious for three weeks from that one), and I took a bullet through the right side of my chest. I still suffer with PTSD. I simply took control of my eating habits. It was difficult, but I was able to do so. The compulsive eating was symptomatic of the problem, it was how I, as the weak willed piece of crap that I was being at the time, coped. I decided to stop being a slave. I had a rude wake up call, I got to see exactly how out of shape I had become. It was a galvanizing moment for me. It isn't denial...so , to paraphrase you, I've been living with this since 2003, so don't tell me.
Am I in denial, no. I still have a few other associated problems with the PTSD that I struggle to work through, I have a damn good handle on this particular problem though. But maybe I don't, after all since according to most of the upset people in this thread force of will and self-discipline don't have any bearing on our habits I must still be compulsively eating. Its good to know that all of the work I out into changing this problem is moot.
We are not automotons, all of our actions are controled by choice, therefore our will and self-control determine what we do.
Wait, of course that can't be the case. Somene else was holding me down and forcing me to eat cheeseburgers. Man, I'm going find that guy and have a talk with him.
I was in Fallujah in 2004 when we turned the AO over to the Marines. Funny that, for all of the bravado of the USMC, most of the heavy lifting has been born by us.Nice dig with the Haiti reference.
I didn't imply that your service, and the helicopter crash wasn't a big deal. Before you mentioned them, I didn't know about them. Hell, I didn't even know that you had been a marine untill this conversation. That's the point, though. You and I don't know each other. The fact that you elected to fire off a condescending, "Some of us served our country, went to combat, and seen things you couldn't possibly fathom", comment, given my service pissed me off so I fired back. The arrogance in your attitude was stunning, yet you have the gall to chastise me for having a "superiority complex".
Pot, meet kettle.
Also spare me the lost land mines, bombs, etc in the middle east. Their is more unaccounted for in Bosnia, Albania, Kosovo than anywhere else in the world. It was true then and it is true now.
Not sure what this has to do with anything, but in couterpoint, Iraq has more IED attacks and direct fire casualties than anywhere in the world. For someone that didn't want to get in a pee up the tree contest, you seemd to fire of a really interesting factoid. You've been to Bosnia, yes?
Holding people accountable for their own physical fitness isnt your job, you thinking so makes you a jackass. So tell me man, what's your b.m.i.?
Actually, for a platoon of 22 people that I serve as the platoon sergeant for, holding people accountable for their physical fitness(to include meeting height/weight standards) is part of my job.Thanks for letting me off the hook for that, though. I'll call up my First Sergeant and let him know I can't pt my soldiers because matt.s, says it isn't my job.
It is also to a lesser extent, part of my job for the students I teach shotokan to, what with martial arts being a physical endevor and all. I know its heretical around these parts to think that a martial arts teacher should be in shape and expect his students to be so, but I tend to that.
Now, other than those people, I agree with you. I couldn't care less what people do to themselves. As I've said many times already in this thread I don't go up to random fat people and launch into tirades about how they are harming themselves with their habits. I leave drunks alone unless they are posing an immediate danger to themselves or others(i.e. I won't let one drive, for example) but I've put more than one of my soldiers into the Army Substance Abuse Program due to problem drinking. I leave drug addicts alone, unless they are posing a danger to me or others. The only time I express my opinion to these sorts of ppeople are when I am asked for input and assistance. See, I think the best way to help someone isn't to sugar coat the facts of what they are doing. Making them accountale for their actions is, while not pleasent, an absolute requisite for them to affect the changes that they are looking to facilitate.
If this means I'm a jackass, the so be it.
My B.M.I. is 13%. I was at 24% a year ago. I want to hit 10% Whats yours?
Ya know, unless you are an olympic champion or Mr. Olympia, world champion of something you have no room to talk.
Sure I do. I have lots of room to talk, I was one of the fat, slovenly out of shape tubs that took positive control of his diet and exercise habits and was was acordingly able to affect significant change in my fitness and health. The mindset of needing to be at the pinacle of performance in a field inorder to be able to offer critique, advice, and example is asanine.
Let me ask you, you were a judo player, right. Were you an olympian? Was your coach? Maybe, but if not does your lack of olympian or world champion status mean that you are not qualified to teach osoto-gari? How about offer training tips? Or tell a less experienced judo player when they are making errors?
As an aside if the requirements to be able to criticize behavior in others is peak performance, what are your qualifications for critiquing my viewpoint?
I was a member of the Marine Judo and Wrestling teams, I decided to try and help not shun others. This is what I think you were doing.
Impressive. I've won several Army combative tournaments, and two Golden Gloves titles in my youth, so you know what that means?
Absolutely nothing in refrence to our discussion.
For someone that is dead set against a pissing contest you seem to wanna pull out our tool an awfull lot. Simple fact of the matter is this, I don't see things in the way you. I think that people are capable of controling themselve and are not slaves to their problems. You sure don't seem to think that way. It has nothing to do with shunning people, I am willing to do whatever I can to help people that ask for it, I just don't think that the best way is patting them on the back and saying "There, there, your problems are not your responsibility. Someone else did all this to you. Maybe we can find a way to help you that doesn't involve you being accountable for your actions."
That is your superiority complex coming out.
I seem to be in good company.
Mark
