posted
Wow I just saw a new "Army Strong" Commercial
"There is no force greater on this green Earth then the US Army"
I got chills, made me want to rush out and see a recruiter again. I will look for a link to it for you but if you have seen it you know what I am talking about. Awesome!
"Gain the strength not just to get yourself over, but to get over yourself."
Army Strong (edit) I showed this to my wife and she actually got so emotional she cried...
Posts: 475 | Registered: Aug 2006
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"Webster defines strong as having great physical power... The US Army defines strong as killing every last person who lives in a country that our President doesn't like.
Hey Webster, you got any tanks in that book? No, then shut the hell up."
Posts: 3950 | Registered: Mar 2006
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"There is no force greater on this green earth then the Mongol hordes!"
"Gain the strength no just to get yourself over the great wall, but to get over the Rhine!"
Dislike America all you like, but perhaps its just the ocean stopping us, we have not been as empire based in our goals since we got power.
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quote:"There is no force greater on this green Earth then the US Army"
How do you measure greatness?
In terms of raw energy produced, I'd argue that the atmosphere is significantly more powerful than the US Army. *Yawn* Wake me up when the Army spawns a hurricane.
In terms of power to affect people, I'd probably make the same argument.
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As an American, I prefer we have the strongest military on the earth to someone else having it. It's a self-preservation thing. Posts: 4655 | Registered: Jan 2002
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Will, when you're 18, fresh out of high school, and dazzled by commercials like that, you're still a kid.
Not all the soldiers in the US Army fit that description, but I do feel bad for the ones who do. And not that they stay that way for long.
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quote:Originally posted by General Sax: Who else would you trust with so much power?
I trust the US Army as far as I can throw them.
I mean, I'm glad they're on our side, and individually there are a lot of fine people, but the US War Machine is pretty freaky.
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Who do you want to give the power to? It is a simple question, the UN? China? Canada? France? The EU? Who should have command of this power? (if not us)
Wanting to be part of something magnificent is the dream of youth. I think the children of other countries look with envy on the opportunity our youth has to become American Soldiers, I know that when we offer to let them join the ratio of recruits to slots available is over 300 to 1, yes they get to be American Citizens as well, a privilege they believe is more then worth fighting for, unlike many Americans.
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The next Superpower will be the Mulim nations, probably Iran. Because of the West's innactions, I predict they will make the Soviet Union look like a simple bully.
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See how I even let it pass without comment, I am aloof. But tell me mr head, didn't the commercial give you chills?
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That terrified me. Even though I'm American. I can't really put into words why it made me terrified...it just did.
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I certainly don't trust a nation that glorifies it, boasts of it, says "we should have it because we're the best."
I have such a hard time reconciling commercials like those with Americans I know personally. People on Hatrack especially, who are generally sensible, level-headed, and not megalomaniacal. How the heck do you manage to produce commercials like that?
I just don't understand the disconnect between individual people, even individual soldiers, and the groupthink that the US Armed Forces generates. And it scares the crap out of me.
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Sax, I doubt it did. But then, I wouldn't blame him. Anyway, Command of power is one thing. Knowing what to do with it is another. Bush is far from the first to be accused of any of this. An' he sure as heck isn't going to be the last. In fact, most people in general are guilty of it from time to time.
I will say this much: Some people need it, what the military can do for them that is. There are a lot of people that could use the structure and discipline that the army, and marines can offer.
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I'm in their target market (16, soon enough to be seventeen for it to count) and I do have to admit, the commercial is pretty dang powerful to me.
That's not to say I want to join the army from it, I just like the commercial. (Good music.) It's really kinda artistic.
Why go to the military when I can watch such a nifty commercial? More incentive to stay then go for me...
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From what I understand, the other forces look down on the Army. But then again, I hear from a Navy LTCDR that the Air Force is somewhat laughed at, so maybe it's just rivalry.
quote: Will, when you're 18, fresh out of high school, and dazzled by commercials like that, you're still a kid.
I'd say the first two bits make you a kid. The last, not so much.
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We look down on the Army because of the way they're treated by the Army. We're looked down on because the majority of our jobs are done from chairs.
Yes. Chairs. Someone say it.
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quote:Originally posted by airmanfour: We look down on the Army because of the way they're treated by the Army. We're looked down on because the majority of our jobs are done from chairs.
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Ok, I just watched it and I didn't find it nearly as effective as most of the Armed Forces commercials. The wording crossed over the line from powerful into cheesy several times and the images didn't seem to go with what they were saying. They also crossed back and forth from grandiose to colloquial several times in a way that was really jarring.
Am I the only person who thinks it was badly done?
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quote:Originally posted by airmanfour: We look down on the Army because of the way they're treated by the Army. We're looked down on because the majority of our jobs are done from chairs.
Yes. Chairs. Someone say it.
I'll bite the bait. Chair Force! Posts: 2208 | Registered: Feb 2004
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quote:Anyway, Command of power is one thing. Knowing what to do with it is another.
Understanding this truism, I think, is the first step in building a dignified society.
It's shocking how many people live and die and never undertake this issue. It's frightening how many politicians live from election to election and never think about this. It's astounding how many parents produce kids and never think about this. And this is the first step. And the problem, of course, is that if you spend all of your time with a rapacious appetite for amassing power, it's quite possible that you will not alot the required energy to figuring out what to do with it.
quote: I certainly don't trust a nation that glorifies it, boasts of it, says "we should have it because we're the best."
We are the best because we have it, being the best nation gives us the resources to build the best Army. What young people get when they look at this commercial is a picture of what has been done for them, the young men and women of today are the ones that the soldiers of WW I, WW II, Korea, Viet Nam, Desert Storm, and OEF fought for. You are the future that was secured, now will you do less then they did?
For those that are not part of our nation, well if you get cracking now you can catch up in a century or so, but there are no shortcuts, give our tools to your soldiers and they will be sharply dressed, but no match for a century of continuous experience.
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quote:being the best nation gives us the resources to build the best Army.
That's an interesting argument. Would you agree, then, that since the Imperial German Army was clearly the best fighting force in the world during the Great War, they also had the best country? And, man for man, the Wehrmacht was a damn sight better than any of the Allied forces. Same question.
quote:but no match for a century of continuous experience.
quote:Originally posted by Stan the man: I'll bite the bait. Chair Force!
Yeah, I fly my chair in circles around the office. I'm very glad not to have do deal with the stick actuators though. When things really get exciting, I get to ride the porcelain express.
I wonder if it makes me naive that I'd never heard of Chair Force before today. Posts: 1069 | Registered: Feb 2005
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No, Sax, the ones on the tv make me laugh out loud, not just roll my eyes.
The one for the air force with the kid on the street fixing someone's laptop, that was my favourite for a long time.
I also got a kick out of it when I saw a US Army commercial at the theatre. I mean... why would you even bother paying to have those silly things in a foreign country's movie theatres?
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quote:Originally posted by Eaquae Legit: I mean... why would you even bother paying to have those silly things in a foreign country's movie theatres?
Because US citizens aren't the only ones who join the US military? True. I went through basic with a guy from Brazil. On the west coast you will find a lot of Filipinos in the service. If there is a market they will try and tap it.
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The German war machine WW II was the best man for man on paper that we ever beat. But they were beaten by a quality that must not be on the paper.
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The German war machine wasn't beaten by Americans. It was beaten by Great Britian, Canada, Russia, and a whole bunch of others. One member of that group was the US. And we managed for several years before America showed up.
Now, my country's military is somewhat of a joke right now. But I won't have our past successes written off.
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quote:Originally posted by General Sax: The German war machine WW II was the best man for man on paper that we ever beat. But they were beaten by a quality that must not be on the paper.
Yep. It's what they call in technical, mil'try language "sheer numbers".
Also, there ain't nothing "on paper" about the statement that the Wehrmacht was better, man for man, than any Allied force; it's shown by them being outnumbered several times over and still managing to inflict rather more than equal casualties.
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quote:The US Army defines strong as killing every last person who lives in a country that our President doesn't like.
Congrats. That's the most deliberately false statement I've heard all day.
How much more hyperbolic is it than the ad itself?
Having not seen it, I cannot say.
But I do know that your statment was deliberately false. I can't imagine what could have been in the Army's ad that would justify that.
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Please take a minute and watch it, that is the point of the post, while I know you are a concientious poster, why on Earth would you join the discussion without doing the minimum to inform yourself? (Hint: there is a link)
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The first point of the thread is to comment on the commercial, not to comment on the comments on the commercial, derailing a threat in the first fifteen posts seems less then thoughtful, call me sensitive.
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get used to it. It happens more often than not (sad but true). Heck, even I didn't make a comment on the video. I've just made comments to other posts.
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quote:Originally posted by blacwolve: Ok, I just watched it and I didn't find it nearly as effective as most of the Armed Forces commercials. The wording crossed over the line from powerful into cheesy several times and the images didn't seem to go with what they were saying. They also crossed back and forth from grandiose to colloquial several times in a way that was really jarring.
Am I the only person who thinks it was badly done?
Nope. And I usually like the US Armed Forces ads. This one was both jarring and chilling.
I did not like a lot of the linking/comparing bits. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers followed by a rampaging tank? Ugh.
And all the female soldiers were either:
sitting and listening (immediately followed by male soldiers doing something brawny and physical)
quote:Originally posted by General Sax: The first point of the thread is to comment on the commercial, not to comment on the comments on the commercial, derailing a threat in the first fifteen posts seems less then thoughtful, call me sensitive.
Not according to local custom. Welcome to Hatrack! Posts: 32919 | Registered: Mar 2003
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quote:Originally posted by Occasional: The next Superpower will be the Mulim nations, probably Iran. Because of the West's innactions, I predict they will make the Soviet Union look like a simple bully.
Aw, are you telling a joke?
You think Iran can build a SUPERPOWER military with just oil revenues? From the RUSSIANS?
Bwahaha!
Oh that's funny. Whew. Need to catch my breath.
Anyway, as to the actual slogan.
"on this green earth."
Apparently no one in the army publicity department has opened their eyes and taken a deep breath lately. Ain't much green left.
And I don't see a problem with ads for the US army in foreign countries. It's publicity. It'd be different if it were the French Foreign Legion actively recruiting. Those guys scare the hell out of me.
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quote:Originally posted by General Sax: The first point of the thread is to comment on the commercial, not to comment on the comments on the commercial, derailing a threat in the first fifteen posts seems less then thoughtful, call me sensitive.
Not according to local custom. Welcome to Hatrack!
Isn't there some law of Hatrack which says that the harder you try to keep a thread from derailing, the more it will derail?
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quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: Originally posted by MightyCow: Having not seen it, I cannot say.
But I do know that your statment was deliberately false. I can't imagine what could have been in the Army's ad that would justify that.
Tough to accurately critique my response when you don't know what I'm responding to.
Actually, I do feel that the US Military recruitment campaign is high propaganda. The US leadership does things like throw the military into a war that it's not prepared to safely get out of, it sends in troops under protected, it puts them in deadly situations which are poorly managed, and the troops have to try and survive in these seemingly hellish conditions, and lots of troops die.
Then it makes recruitment commercials that make it seem like being in the US Army is all about courage and honor and hugs and winning and GOD BLESS AMERICA, LAND THAT I LOVE!!!
People get up in arms because supposedly cigarette companies target the youth of America. The military does the same thing, but wrap it in an American flag and call it patriotism.
I support our troops. I'm glad that I live where I do, and that I have all the rights and freedoms and safety that our troops fight for. I don't think it's right that the US Government gets our troops into a messed up war, and since it can't get out, keeps trying to recruit more troops to feed the machine, by painting a picture of honor and freedom and growth and being a good person.
They need more troops because the ones we have keep getting killed and there's no end in sight.
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More likely it's not because of them dying, but because the war is causing so many to not want to reenlist.
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