In the previous post regarding “Army Ranger/Special Forces” Jessie MacBeth, Casey submits this, as if it matters:
Oh, for crying out loud! When will people learn how to read!? I'm tired of entering the same blasted comment on every excitable blog on the planet.Casey, you are correct in your discernment that I did not read the Just Citizens post closely enough to discover that the Army representative who responded did not disclose whether one Jessie MacBeth served in the Army in any capacity. I thank you for pointing out my error via your most-polite correction.If you to back and read the original post from JustCitizens, you'll notice that the Army rep say ONLY that MacBeth has no record of having served in the Rangers or Special Forces. What he did NOT say is that MacBeth had no record of service of any kind.
Who here does not understand this? I'm not saying this proves MacB was in the service; I'm just saying too many people are distorting the facts as stated.
Does Mr. MacBeth have a military record that is less impressive than the one he made up? Maybe, and that’s no sin. I have a less-than impressive service record as well. Though I did achieve many things in my career as a USAF/USAFR member, I did not reach the rank which I should have from the length of my service (some due to supervisor inaction; some to personal failings). As a matter of fact, I bailed out because I wasn’t willing to do what I had to do to get promoted. I had done my time--from the age of nineteen--and wanted to see what this other world was like.
Did Jessie MacBeth have these same inklings? Maybe. Maybe he didn’t like his Army service as a cook (handy people), as an admin troop (very handy people), as a logistics sort (even more handy people) or as an infantryman (the ultimate in handy people).*
Maybe he did his Army/Navy/Air Force/Marine/Coast Guard tour in one of these fields or another uncelebrated field and separated with a great deal of disillusionment. Maybe he wanted to change the past.
Well, Jessie can join the flockin' club. However, he needs to be reminded that his wishes to change the life before only make his future even worse—especially in the information age. His parents changed his name when he was too young to have a say. Perhaps they were trying to hide something for some unknown reason and Jessie is only carrying on in the manner of his upbringing. But check this out: Jessie is an adult and his sins are now his own. It’s up to him to make a break with that heritage and stand on his own two feet and be up-front about his wrong-doings and carry on from there. And Jessie needs no one like Casey to hinder his entrance into the adult world of lessening his resposiblity for his shortcomings--better yet, Jessie's sins.
By the way, Casey, there’s still no proof that young Mr. MacBeth ever served in the United States Army; just so we know that you’re reading correctly. Anyone can look at a photo of an Army Ranger, walk into an Army Surplus store, make purchases and still be straight-up ignorant of how important detail is to all military members—which is a manifest and undeniable symptom of never having been in any US military service. Just sayin’.
*The reason that I mention these military career fields is due the fact that those who occupy them are considered low on the totem poll. But here’s something that many of us other service members often forget: without a great deal of smart, creative, competent and dedicated folks in these areas, the Greatest Military in the World would have fallen by the wayside long ago. True dat.
Supply folks, cooks, admin types and grunts: at least one of your comrades has made my service better via excellence in their professional capacities. So I know your invaluable worth and I salute you and what you do.
