Question about having an interest and passion in Military History?
Alright, this is out of left field but I was talking to a buddy about it earlier.
I’ve always had a thing for military tactics, operations and the history behind them. From the great wars wayyy back (like Punic) to the more modern wars (Revolutionary, Civil, ops in the Middle East, etc). The tactics behind the battles, the officers that lead the men in, to the weaponry that is/was deployed. I love it all. I don’t like the idea of going out to kill another human being on the grounds of disagreements but there are times where war is necessary for survival of a population.
Now… I love the history and tactics, like I said. I know how to operate and maintain all sorts of firearms and weapon platforms, from AKs and M16s to M252s and AT4s. I have a passion for getting field manuals and reading them cover to cover, absorbing every bit of knowledge the pages have to offer. The odd thing about all this is the fact that I’ve never been in the military and have no urge to join. Like I said, I feel that killing people to push forward a political agenda is wrong and I want no part in it. But of course, if it was to protect my family, loved ones and/or my homeland, I wouldn’t think twice. Is this weird?
I’ve got a ton of buddies that are currently in service or are retired/done with their contracts. I enjoy sitting down with them and just talking about whatever comes up. They have some really interesting stories to tell when you sit down and want to listen. I’ve got a friend that was in ‘nam and was a FAC (Forward Air Controller, in short, they guide friendly aircraft safely on to enemy targets). His stories are spectacular. Some of it of course, he doesn’t want to talk about and I’d never pry to get anything out of him, and some of it is "confidential"… so he can’t say when/where/exactly what happened. But it’s still neat nonetheless.
Other friends are quite a bit younger and are avid gamers. For the most part, they are alright with playing "modern" war games like ARMA II, MW2, BFBC, etc. But I have a few that are too traumatized to touch a controller, let alone talk about what happened… which is *completely* understandable. The one’s that are cool with it, though, are amazed at how much I understand when it comes to weapon systems and tactics.
For example, my friend Aaron and I were playing ARMA II for the first time together, just a few months ago. He said that he was amazed of how well I understood how things are supposed to go together in a battle. From going room to room in a CQB battle to helicopter insertions/extractions, navigation (using just a map and a compass, in both the real world and in ARMA) all the way to correctly using cover/concealment and identifying/locating/communicating enemy locations by sight and sound. We had an instance where we were ambushed on a "routine patrol", unmounted, and we both reacted to fire the way he was trained to do. He never had to say a word. This alone, according to him, "blew his mind". He’s told me that maybe joining the military would be a good choice for me since I’m still relatively young (I’m 25) and that I could easily become an officer if I really wanted to. I’ve given this some thought, but the idea of fighting "under contract" seems a bit weird to me.
I eat, live and breathe the stuff, though. I can tell you the difference between an M-16 and AK-47 firing a few hundred meters away, just by hearing the sound of the report. Or the differences between a Cobra and Apache gunship by the sound of the rotors (being a private pilot helps somewhat, here). I can coordinate an entire battalion for an assault or lead a small fire team into an engagment with little effort or thought (whether in BCT Commander/ARMA or in painball/airsoft).
Now what I want to know… is this weird? It doesn’t seem (in my mind) that a civvie should have as much of an interest in the military as I do. So basically, that’s what I want to know.
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