Fun Stuff > CHATTER
miscellaneous musings
Kugai:
I think the thing a lot of people tend to forget is the nature of Afghan society, especially in the outlying regions beyond the major towns - at least that may have been the case before everything went to shit after the Soviets invaded.
Muslim they may be, but Pashtun by nature they are. And with the Pashtuns, tribal affiliation is just as paramount as adherence to Islam. Indeed, in some locations that Tribalism may be more important than anything else.
But then, Afghanistan has always been a basket case. Even Rome learned that, and Alexander may have conquered the region, but just how long did that control last once he kicked the bucket.
Method of Madness:
Alexander's a bad example, did any of his empire last after he kicked the bucket?
GarandMarine:
Days? If that? The Mongols took and held Afghanistan, but they also invaded Russia in the wintertime and stomped balls.
Method of Madness:
Yeah, that was kind of my point.
Orkboy:
I have a basic training story.
So, the hats that Air Force Training Instructors (TIs) wear have this leather strap in the back that hangs down below the brim a bit, and generally makes the hat fit better. All the TIs get something tooled into the leather, usually their callsign. For example, in one squadron, there were two NCOs with the last name of Stone, one little guy and one huge guy, so their hats said Big Rock and Little Rock. My TI had a hat that said Master Jedi. Being such a Star Wars nerd, he had us march to the Imperial March, aka Darth Vader's theme music. But not on speakers or anything. We had to hum it, and he kept yelling at us to hum loud enough for everyone to keep step.
Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a straight face while furiously humming Star Wars music in unison with 50 guys?
The flight across the squad building had it worse, though. One of their trainees had the last name of, no shit, Batman. Pronounced Batman, spelled Batman, his name was fucking Batman. And one of the other trainees kinda looked like the Penguin as played by Danny Devito. Short, pale, roundish, bald, pointy nose. So, every time they were given the order to halt, the next order was always "Penguin, report!" And then this short little penguin-y guy runs out in front of the flight, shakes his fist angrily and yells "I'll get you next time, Batman!" then runs back to his spot. And god help you if you cracked up.
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