In This Mans Army
Contents:
In case you ever have the good fortune on eavesdropping on one of these colourful conversations, here's a sanitised breakdown of what some of the slang means. Some of it I still use, and some see No. Bone is a favourite Army term for something pointless. Pretty much anything can be bone, from waiting for a bus to writing another risk assessment — especially if it comes from the mouth and brain of a senior.
I always thought ironing combats was one of the most bone things I had to do. My Colour Sargent at Sandhurst would probably disagree. Life in the Forces is very regimented, as this instructional poster for trainee Marines shows. It should come a no surprise that a culture so obsessed with spit, polish and shine uses "gleaming" to describe something as good, desirable or brilliant.
A particular favourite of Guards, who enjoy their shiny boots and buttons more than most. Rarely applied when doing something you enjoy, it could be seen as gentle encouragement but is most often met with resentment and annoyance — especially when the person saying it isn't chipping in! A special term of contempt reserved for those who are looking out for themselves and not their mates.
This Man's Army
Kept in reserve in case the stores run out though you have to wonder if the store would have run out if the kit was in it in the first place. The kit carried by a close-support sapper in the Royal Engineers while on tour of Helmland Province in For those of you who didn't do quite so well, Bloody Well Done Anyway! Communication over the radio comes with all manner of unique turns of phrase designed to keep communication short and understandable. A quote from General MacArthur. You probably won't hear it verbatim in its full glory, but the sentiment is shared by most of the Army and it crops up in various different linguistic forms.
It's used as a reminder that something that seems so obvious to the soldier is not a view held by all. Asia, I knew that after John F.
phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at
Kennedy's assassination, incoming President Lyndon B. This endeavor he labeled his "More Flags Program. Searching on the Internet, I discovered Stan Sutherland's gem, and was able to contact him. He sent me a complementary copy to read, and after devouring his stimulating book, I lamented how there was no vendor that carried this, conversely there existed no venue to review it. After many Transatlantic e mails, I convinced Stan to have more copies of his book printed for American distribution, using "iUniverse" as his publisher.
It is truly my sincere hope that this continent will eagerly scoop up this amazing story, seeing Vietnam through a "Digger's eyes". It is interesting to note that I found many interesting juxtapositions written by Sutherland comparing the Australian and American military. In terms of stealth, Stan found the "grunt" to be noisy and careless about his movements and volume in the bush, while the professional "digger" paid close attention to being quiet and incognito, especially in the jungle.
In terms of resting at a defensive night position D. The more quiet you are the better your chances.
This Man's Army by Andrew Exum
He also closely compared Aussie verses American food rations, with interesting conclusions. In that regard, Sutherland wrote: The Americans stack plenty of food into their packs and they have a number of delicacies like canned peaches, fruit salad and pound cake. You won't go hungry on American rations but the downside is no tea bags and poor quality instant coffee". For digger rations, Sutherland asserted: But they are short on niceties.
Apart from the fruit tingles and the high energy chocolate,there are no other frills.
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- This man's army, this man's town - phrase meaning and origin;
There is one aspect , however, in which they're good, and that is the sachets of tea and sugar". Sutherland concluded that by having access to both U. Sutherland also compared the alertness of the Australian soldier compared to his American counterpart, particularly when it came to manning one's own weapon in dangerous enemy territory. Sutherland's conclusions are noteworthy: Each man carries his rifle in the ready position all the time. There was no exception to this.
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Your ability to bring your rifle into action immediately is the difference between life and death in a lot of instances. This contrasts starkly with our American allies. They carry their rifles or machine guns on the shoulder, behind the neck across their shoulders and in any other manner that strikes their fancy.
The South Vietnamese soldiers also carry their weapons any way they like. It looks and is extremely unprofessional, slack as hell and really serves to highlight the difference in standards between the Australians and everyone else". There are more comparisons, less overtly expressed. With racial tensions, discipline, drug problems, fragging and other rivalries between U.
Sutherland surely must have noticed this during his tour, and without pointing the finger directly at American disunity, he wrote the following about digger solidarity in his memoir: The camaraderie and mateship is particularly strong. This is true of the whole Australian army, but those of us in infantry see ourselves in the aura of a special light. Together, and at the same time, we get soaked to the skin, covered in leeches, get boils, foot rot, fungicidal crotch, stink to high heaven, get hungry, thirsty and get shot for good measure".
Sutherland also made an interesting observation about U. To this, he asserted as follows: The American drivers in the convoy are mostly African American and without exception, as far as I can see, the fuel tankers are all driven by African Americans. They hurdle along flat out. Nobody can keep up with them and, as a general rule, we position ourselves at strategic points along the road. Read enough books of grunts in the bush coming back to "the world" and you will come across accounts of veterans shredding off their military uniforms at airport terminals.
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Fearing being accosted by hippies, war protesters or Vietnam Vets against the war, there are anecdotes of Vietnam Veterans fresh out of Vietnam being spit on, called "baby killers, druggie homicidal killers and lackeys" for an unappreciative government. Rarely would a Vet brag that he had just returned from a tour of Vietnam in the U. However, Sutherland wrote a totally different account when he came back to Australia after his first tour. Returning by boat, Sutherland wrote the following: Sailing into Fremantle, the Battalion lined the decks-it was a magnificent sight and the men, seeing the first Australians waiting at the wharf, waving their Aussie flags to welcome us home, felt a deep sense of pride.
Sutherland wrote about diggers voting out in the jungles of Vietnam and the feeling they had about choosing their Australian candidates. This was a time where many U. I might add that Nixon later was the only U.
His vice president, Spiro T. Agnew, was caught in an investigation that had uncovered a kickback scheme that he'd been profiting from while he had been Governor of Maryland, and was continuing to profit from while serving as Vice President, but for which he had not been paying any Income Tax. He also later pleaded no contest to one charge of income tax evasion and resigned as Vice President, in exchange for the government not seeking any criminal charges against him. With this in mind, Sutherland remarked: The reason why we had to make sure we arrived in time was to vote in the federal elections.
Not long after we arrived the re-supply choppers came in carrying ballot boxes as well.
Vietnamese village people live a life of hardship that we can scarcely imagine. Along the way X provides an often perceptive, informed look at what it's like to be in today's military, as well as the experience of combat in southwest Asia. One day it's the stretcher, the next it's a lantern, the next a box of C-rations. As an example, he talks about a pacifist friend of his, and their disagreements with each other. Discover what to read next. Nov 08, Greynomad rated it really liked it.
All the diggers were given voting papers to complete and place in the boxes. After I'd voted I lay back against a tree and thought to myself, what a great country Australia is, democracy at it's best. Here we are, fighting a war out in the jungle somewhere in a foreign land, and the system gives us an opportunity to vote. Sutherland wrote of a Platoon Commander that had been killed with a hand grenade placed on his mosquito net while he slept.
In This Man's Army
Called "fragging" by Americans, Sutherland had the following to say about this incident: Ultimately, Stan Sutherland realized that regardless of Australian pride and digger unity, the Vietnam War was an exercise in futility for all involved. After witnessing a U. B air strike and thinking he was going to find countless dead enemy soldiers, Mr. Sutherland came to a strikingly different conclusion.
To that, he wrote: The depth of the crater seemed to be approximately 20 feet and it strikes me that you could easily lower a house of average suburban size into the hole and the top of the roof will still be below ground level. We clambered over the jungle debris and found another crater and then another, and so on. The bombs have peeled back the jungle from around each crater and stacked it up in tight circular walls, making movement through the area difficult. We patrolled the area for 3 days and found nothing with the exception of a couple of contacts with the enemy, resulting in 2 enemy dead and another wounded.
The whole exercise has just been one great expensive waste of time and effort. The cost of the B strike alone must have been enormous.
This man's army, this man's town - the meaning and origin of this phrase. Very rare is it that I come across a memoir that I mourned finishing. I simply wanted more! Stan Sutherland's "In This Man's Army" is exactly what I am referring to.
Sutherland wrote a small story where his platoon had to search the entire Vietnamese town of "Cape St.