Skip to comments.
Why We Lost Afghanistan: West Point cadets are ditching bed-making with this elaborate hack
Triangle News Hub ^
| 23 August 2021
| Sarah Sicard
Posted on 08/23/2021 5:56:03 PM PDT by Apparatchik
click here to read article
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-40, 41-60, 61-80, 81-95 next last
If you want to understand why we failed in Afghanistan, look no further than West Point - a corrupt institution that has taught generations of cadets to lie and cheat to get ahead. These same cadets are now the generals charged with building security in Afghanistan The Academy takes a simple task to reinforce concepts of self-discipline and responsibility—making your bed every day—and imposes a zero-defects standard that drives cadets to create a fake display model that they can’t even sleep in. And the really twisted thing here is that such cheating is actually
celebrated.
That institution has produced liars and cheats like Dempsey, Petraeus, McChrystal, and—most recently—Miller, who for years kept telling our leadership that everything was going swimmingly in Afghanistan, that the Afghan military was both willing and able to defend their country. And now we find out that, despite appearances, it was all just held together with blousing cord and duct tape.
To: Apparatchik
I guess they must not have linen exchange weekly? Seems the supply folks would have noticed this.
2
posted on
08/23/2021 5:59:20 PM PDT
by
damper99
To: Apparatchik
Poor little Leila.
She’s receiving an ALL expenses paid 4 year college education and the guarantee of well paid employment through her commissioning commitment.
Suck it up, buttercup!
3
posted on
08/23/2021 6:01:55 PM PDT
by
lightman
(I am a binary Trinitarian. Deal with it!)
To: Apparatchik
When I was in boot camp, I slept on the top of my sheets because I didn't want to have to spend time making up the bed precisely.
What I found out, was as I went along in Basic Training, I could easily make up my bunk in about 60 seconds. Forget sleeping on top wearing only my Army sweat clothes...I could curl up in my comfy trundle bundle and get a good eight hours (err, "allegedly") sleep a night (when I wasn't pulling fire guard).
4
posted on
08/23/2021 6:02:56 PM PDT
by
MuttTheHoople
(The best slaves put their own chains on )
To: Apparatchik
5
posted on
08/23/2021 6:03:17 PM PDT
by
Reily
To: Apparatchik
“We don’t actually sleep in our sheets,” Hurst noted.That is really sad
6
posted on
08/23/2021 6:03:26 PM PDT
by
FatherofFive
(We support Trump. Not the GOP)
To: Reily
Miller ??
General Austin “Scott” Miller, last commander of US and NATO troops in the Resolute Support Mission.
7
posted on
08/23/2021 6:08:38 PM PDT
by
Apparatchik
(If you find yourself in a confusing situation, simply laugh knowingly and walk away - Jim Ignatowski)
To: Apparatchik
I got no problem with the cadets looking for shortcuts and trying to find loopholes. In the real world that's what makes the difference between the quick and the dead, and bringing men home alive or writing letters to their next of kin.
The problem is the upperclassmen and cadre allowing known shortcuts to persist and propogate. The moment the "hack" was found out, all beds should have been tossed every night for a week. That isn't ingenuity, that's laziness and corruption.
8
posted on
08/23/2021 6:08:47 PM PDT
by
jz638
To: Apparatchik
9
posted on
08/23/2021 6:09:11 PM PDT
by
Reily
To: jz638
100% agree - don’t blame the troop, blame their leaders.
10
posted on
08/23/2021 6:11:36 PM PDT
by
Apparatchik
(If you find yourself in a confusing situation, simply laugh knowingly and walk away - Jim Ignatowski)
To: All
Heck, I did that 55 years ago at the Academy... With the boot blousing bands... Not Duct Tape, which would have been TOO obvious.
At least we didn't have anyone like this:
If we discovered anyone with that attitude they would have gotten a good 'blanket party' for an attitude adjustment, and if that failed, they would have been forced to resign.
To: Apparatchik
Future leaders who will duct tape problems under the rug until we cease to exist as a Country. They’re doing it now. All the way to the frickin top
12
posted on
08/23/2021 6:12:55 PM PDT
by
smvoice
(I WILL NOT WEAR THE RIBBON. OR THE MASK)
To: damper99
Common dodge is to have extra sheets permanently set on bed - and just swap out the sheets from the week before, having stashed them somewhere. Sleeping on top with a poncho liner or cheap comforter was norm where I was.
This practice is a symptom of the problem of image over substance.
13
posted on
08/23/2021 6:14:18 PM PDT
by
larrytown
(A Cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do. Then they graduate...)
To: MuttTheHoople
Re: 4 - We were, uh, “discouraged” from sleeping on top of the blanket. Several profanity laced tirades awaited several people that did that the first week or so of Basic. And frankly too itchy for me. Hated those damn blankets.
14
posted on
08/23/2021 6:14:51 PM PDT
by
Fury
To: Apparatchik
This bed trick is older than dirt, and nothing new. At the Naval Academy, same bed-making rules rules applied. Most mids even a half-century ago slept on top of their bedspread rather than under the sheets. Except on "hotel night", which was the night before you had to strip the bed the next day for laundry, and so didn't have to worry about having it made in the a.m.. of course, if you'd short-sheeted the bed, you were out of luck on hotel night.
Trying to say Afghanistan bears any relevance to a time-saving trick is ridiculous.
To: damper99
I guess they must not have linen exchange weekly? Seems the supply folks would have noticed this. We did the same thing at Fort Knox in '69. We slept on top of our blanket...made it easier to get our rack ready for inspection in the morning.
We were 19...and didn't need a 219 year old educational institution to figure it out.
To: Apparatchik
Dude.
We all slept on the floor in our sleeping beds.
In basic training.
So we didn’t have to make our perfect bed.
17
posted on
08/23/2021 6:17:49 PM PDT
by
2banana
(Common ground with islamic terrorists-they want to die for allah and we want to arrange the meeting)
To: lightman
Exactly.
There should not be any females in West Point either.
18
posted on
08/23/2021 6:19:53 PM PDT
by
Bigg Red
(Trump will be sworn in under a shower of confetti made from the tattered remains of the Rat Party.)
To: Bruce Campbells Chin
Trying to say Afghanistan bears any relevance to a time-saving trick is ridiculous.
***************
I think the issue is about discipline...or the lack there of. If you cheat in the small things or don't think they're important you'll cheat later.
19
posted on
08/23/2021 6:19:59 PM PDT
by
ealgeone
To: smvoice
Oh please. The goal is to accomplish "the mission", which in this case was having a made bed every morning. People who blindly follow procedures and can't think creatively make terrible officers.
Hell, we were actually encouraged albeit incorrectly, to occasionally break rulesto do thinks like steal a cannon at night and put it in the office of your company officer. If you got caught,you.got hammered. But if you pulled it off, you were rewarded. As it should be.
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-40, 41-60, 61-80, 81-95 next last
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson