Posted on 02/20/2011 9:45:32 AM PST by GailA
During WWII, we fielded the M4 Sherman tank which was under-armored and under gunned leading to many unnecessary deaths. The American public, I suppose, "learned to live with it," but that doesn't mean that newer technology wasn't employed to enhance crew survivability.
We acquited ourselves quite well as a nation during WWII, but just because certain things were done a certain way due to the limitations of the era's technology doesn't mean we should continue on that path.
To follow your logic, one would have to concede that if it were possible for a WWII soldier to get a weekly or monthly phone call home without compromising their unit's mission, it would have somehow been wrong for them to do so.
Crane Interiors needs to hire some Columbia students.
Sure, but what does “stand in your steed” mean?
I wonder, could the company allow the phone call to be the start of her break ? is there a union contract involved ?
I have a strong feeling she’s already received hundreds of job offers, many paying more than what she’s earning now.
Well - MARS was cool back in the day, but when you can get a good satcom connection for under $3/min - then HF is out.
HF today makes for a better-than-nothing backup comms channel, but technology has really advanced.
Two satcom outfits offer service here, and for very good price points. If I still traveled in the Bush as before, I would carry one as well. Luckly, I’m past that.
Still, working DX is still a hoot.
Getting ready for the big rodeo up in Tucson?
Too late. It’s worthless back-pedaling now.
No. It’s not. They’ve learned their lesson, and we should be willing to forgive, even though they don’t owe US anything, because WE weren’t harmed by their actions.
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Good point on the forgiving.
Very mixed feelings here.
First, I have to say if I were in this woman’s place, I’d have done the same thing. I’m also glad the company is making changes to its policies to deal with the issue.
That said, I also can’t fault the company for their initial reaction.
-None of us here know what the work floor at Crane Interiors is like. If there is heavy machinery in use, then a distracted employee could present a threat not only to themselves, but to his or her co-workers as well. And an unattended stitching machine will not make a distinction between a call from a beloved son overseas and one that wasn’t really important.
-There’s also the possibility she could have made arrangements with the HR department before hand. I used to be an HR manager, and believe or not, we aren’t all Dilbert caricatures (grin). I worked for a company with a no cell policy for a number of years. One time, we had an employee whose mother was critically ill, and he needed to be “kept in the loop.” The employee came to me beforehand, and I was able to work out an arrangement with management. Had this employee been caught with the cell phone without letting us know, I likely would have had to terminate his employment at management’s behest.
No. It’s not. They’ve learned their lesson, and we should be willing to forgive, even though they don’t owe US anything, because WE weren’t harmed by their actions.
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“We” never said they owe ‘us’ anything, nor were ‘we’ harmed by their actions. I stated they did something stupid, and then when called on it in public, the company did the minimum it could to cover it’s rear.
It’s meanspirited and selfish for employees to expect a company to change their whole manfacturing process and safety rules for a phone call that could have been handled in an adult manner.
I’m not saying she shouldn’t have been allowed to recieve the call, but that call obviously wasn’t as important to her as we’ve been led to believe.
The mother knew the call was coming, she knew company rules prohibited her from accepting any calls, and chose to handle it as a child would. She excercised her freedom to chose the call over her job.
THEN, little whiner she is, she ran to the press and cried the cry of Liberals everywhere “It’s NOT fair”.
My cousin's son was stationed onboard the George Washington in the mid 2000's. He was able to use a satellite phone to call back here from the ship. Technology and times change. Today our armed forces are being asked to spend a lot more of their enlistment deployed overseas and in combat than even most persons during WW2.
I carry a cell myself these days when I leave home. It stays on till I get home. When I go into spaces that say turn them off I put it on silence and vibrate. Communication ability with my wife is a 100% must at all times. Last month I was admitted to the hospital for test. They don't even have you turn them off there anymore except in Nuclear testing or MRI enviroments. I was able to call her from the ER exam room and she was able to call ne anytime in my room after my admission. If I was still working I would still have the cell at all times.
you say “Assuming he was there for a year, that’s over three firefights a day, every day.
I don’t think any military unit in history has ever sustained that intensity of combat.”
Assumptions are like noses - evveryone’s got ‘em -
First if all, it was a 15 month deployment AND the most documented platoon of both theaters -
You can refer to the ABC documentary of Nov ‘07, or the mulitple Vanity Fair articles, or the NYTimes front cover feature - on & on .
Or you could GOOGLE RESTREPO and take your pick of hundreds of hits
One thing you’d find that his unit - the 173rd Aiborne is the most decorated in the history of the Army - and that they JUST recieved an additional Meritorious Unit Award - and that the first living soldier to recieve the Medal of Honor since Veit Nam, is from his platoon - and the documentary - like in totally DOCUMENTED - “Restrepo” is now up for an oscar.
It’s been shown several times on Nat Geo - shown in theaters across the country this summer and garnered many awards -
It’s availabe on DVD everywhere and on demand on line - there’s also out takes on the DVD -
It’s DOCUMENTED that they were in over 1,000 firefights during that deployment.
So the only correct assumption you can make is that your assumption is wrong - often the case when one relies only on their own ‘assumptions’ instead of facts.
Here - I’ll give you a start, if you’re concerned with facts first - over assumptions.
Say that to her son's face when he gets home. But bring an extra pair of underpants.
Wrong. This is a very good company to work for. I have seen them bend over backwards to try and make people happy, and accommodate their personal problems. Good management, friendly work environment, great people from the top on down. This person could have talked to management and made special arrangements, but chose not to and went the drama queen combative in your face route. I know, because I work there. Even after this stunt they will still try and keep her on, and make her happy when they could have just let her go. With the amount of unemployed people here it would take no time at all to fill her job. This is not what the company did. Jobs are scarce out here in the middle of nowhere, and there are many people that are happy to have one, and to work for Crane. (Including me) There is a very good reason for their cell phone policy. This is a manufacturing facility, and cell phones are a distraction to both attention and productivity. Someone really could get hurt. It only takes a second for a machine to punch a hole through your finger or to get run over by a tow motor.
My thanks to your son for his service.
Same at my company. Everybody from Team Leaders (line supervisors) on up is issued a Nextel. We used to use radios, but even with five frequencies not only were there jams and delays, but the whole plant could listen in on conversations; hence, 50% of the conversations consisted of, “Are you near a phone?” The cells have become a tremendous production asset.
I see you realize you've lost the logical, common sense argument, and have to resort to the emotional argument in hopes to regain footing.
You win the emotional argument, losing to logic, common sense, and ordinary decency.
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