Posted on 12/14/2005 2:41:02 PM PST by kellynla
HOLD THE PRESSES. I've discovered that the use of torture by the U.S. government is far more pervasive than previously believed. There are major facilities all over the country where thousands of men and women who have not committed any crime are held for prolonged periods while subjected to physical and psychological coercion that violates every tenet of the Geneva Convention.
They are routinely made to stand for long periods in uncomfortable positions. They are made to walk for hours while wearing heavy loads on their backs. They are bullied by martinets who get in their faces and yell insults at them. They are hit and often knocked down with clubs known as pugil sticks. They are denied sleep for more than a day at a time. They are forced to inhale tear gas. They are prevented from seeing friends or family. Some are traumatized by this treatment. Others are injured. A few even die.
Should Amnesty International or the International Committee of the Red Cross want to investigate these human-rights abuses, they could visit Parris Island, S.C., Camp Pendleton, Calif., Ft. Benning, Ga., Ft. Jackson, S.C., and other bases where the Army and Marines train recruits. It's worth keeping in mind how roughly the U.S. government treats its own defenders before we get too worked up over the treatment of captured terrorists.
With all the uproar over torture, you would think we handled prisoners the way Saddam Hussein did. The former dictator's trial has featured copious testimony on how his goons raped, mutilated, beat or murdered those who fell under suspicion of disloyalty. This type of treatment — fingernails pulled, electric shocks applied, sharp objects put where they don't belong — is what the word "torture" commonly connotes. That's not what American operatives are up to.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Ah. That would explain it. There was still a draft in '69.
In the Marine Corps- if a prive is 'stressed out' or 'overwhelmed', he gets a nice, relaxing 'pit call', or he goes to a wonderful vacation spot called 'The Classroom'.
Not only was there a draft,but there were plenty of "vacancies" in a land far away for the 11 Bravo (Army grunt).
OMG how adorable was it when they were discussing his iPod? xsgirls and i were just enthralled with that whole thing. he is such a sweetheart! Dan McLean's American Pie... : )
Dubya is anything but a slick speaker -- which is a breath of fresh air after the 1990s.
i wish he and laura could come over for dinner. they are so genuine. i bawled when he was talking about his faith.
The stress cards didn't last long.
Hey, he evaded capture; fair and square!
Just like if a downed pilot in WWII had gone and stolen a German citizen's clothing and papers, instead of hiding in the woods.
Some of the best hiding places are in plain sight.
What the heck are you smoking? SERE school is in the Pacific Northeast, for chrissakes!
Maine woods! Bahahahaha!
Well, there was this one time, at mixed gender boot camp, when two of the trainees took the CO's HMMWV up onto a hill, and they were making out in the cab, when there was a noise outside, and the dude went out to check, and he didn't come back for, like, 5 minutes, and then a dripping noise started on the roof of the hummer, which was like totally freaking the chick out, so she got out and looked, and there was her late boyfriend hung upside down headless from a tree branch over the car.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
So she pulled out her stress card.
Hey, if it weren't true, there wouldn't be so many stories about it, would there?
= )
One in the west, one in the east. East in feb SUX.
He won't. I don't need to ask anybody.
Your arguing with many people who've been through Basic Training and even a Drill Sergreant who worked in BCT was on board who have never heard of a 'stress card'.
Not to say I'm discounting you, just that calling a recruiter isn't exactly my cup of tea.
A word of advice: Don't believe everything your recruiter tells you. ;)
Looks like i got an old story mixed up with an urban legend. These things happen. Talked with him about it and he said that never happened with him (verified by your link), but thinks i got it confused with the Core Values card to go on the dog tags. I guess he's no a fan of that program.
As for the faulty memory, it happens. In the future i know where to go to find information.
I'm thinking the whole stress card rumor is actually purposely put out by the recruiters.
---Don't believe me? Call your local Army Recruiter and ask. Phone book, under "Recruiter".---
I was an Army Recruiter and if asked, i would probably reply that you'll have to ask your Drill Sergeant what the local policy is on that when you get to basic. Then I would ask my station commander, what the hell is a "stress card". :^)
If you're not stressed....they're not doing their job.
Just in the interest of clarity, I wasn't a Drill Sergeant. I was a company XO (previously known as Company Training Officer). After all the mess at Aberdeen, there was a big push to fill all the company-level XO slots as it was thought that having two officers in a company would make both officers more accountable.
One of the first things I did when I got there was to ask about the "stress card." I heard a different version of the story then, but even back then, no one had ever actually seen one -- but everyone "knew" someone who had.
It's kinda like the story about the guy who tries to kill himself by tying the floor buffer cord around his neck and throwing it off the 2nd floor balcony - only to find it has a 30 foot cord. After the buffer breaks, the kid ends up paying a statement of charges for the buffer.
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