Paladin

[Serious Paul]

Are you enlisted or an officer?

[paladin2019]

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Seriously, mustang.

[Serious Paul]

Just curious was all, 3278 and I were looking at your picture and wondering.

[Bonefish]

On a side note, what the fuck do you do, Paladin?

[Jeff Hauze]

I'm pretty sure I remember him saying that he's the guy who rides in on top of the bomb, yelling "YEE-HAW!"

[paladin2019]

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That's me

[Bonefish]

Goddammit, seriously. Do you fly Hi-los or do you drive hogs? Or do you just look like you're an astronaut? C'mon man, I'm curious.

[paladin2019]

I plot, engage in and resource the overthrow and occupation of small nations.

[Bonefish]

I guess I'm not going to get a straight answer huh?

[Serious Paul]

Well do you blame him Flayed? He is bound by the UCMJ; and in a hostile country fighting a war. Not to mention we are kind of complete fucking strangers.

[Bonefish]

I'm a bit confused here: Am I somehow asking him a question that will endanger the life of he and his men, or is otherwise illegal? If so I'm sorry, and I can understand the obfuscating, but I would have understood it even better if he said: "I'm not at liberty to say, that, blahdiblahdiblah".

I'm not asking this question so I can call Paladin a knuckle-dragging, crusading, baby-murdering savage. I'm asking this question because I'm honestly intrigued by the military in all it's functions, and I like occasionally asking questions of military men, so I can apply it to the fictional stories and worlds I create. It's also a way of me offering praise and thanks, even if it's not evident. If I talk to you about what you do, it's because I consider it interesting and an important endeavor.

Also, as far as us being strangers, sure, we're strangers. But isn't the point of a message board, especially one such as this, to create a sense of community and familiarity with the people we engage in conversations with? I can understand not sharing the really personal stuff, but I don't see how telling me something like: "I'm the commander of a Platoon of infantry, or I fly helicopters, or I drive a tank, or whatever" is something that is going to endanger his life. I mean, he's already taking a certain step in that direction by posting a picture of himself in uniform, and answering your question, right?

I mean, if I had to make a guess, it would be that Andy is in a command position, probably of a platoon, but possibly a company. Why would I say this? He's mentioned the heavy gear load-outs and the resulting bad-back and possibly bad-knees before, but that he also loves his job, and he's mentioned hostiles shooting at him. Knowing that he's an officer now, and a Mustang at that, I'm willing to imagine that he's an Infantry Leader, which is quite possibly one of the most honorable posts, at least in my opinion.

Particularly because I try to write the occasional bit of military fiction, and I play role playing games that often have military actions as a central pillar of the story, I'm very interesting in picking the brain of such a man. Of learning more about his occupation/profession, I'm of course going to become more familiar with the man, but is that a problem?

Edit: And if I'm being a dick here, I apologize.

[Serious Paul]

I don't think you're being a dick, but each of us have a different expectation of privacy, and what we're willing to share with the general public.

[Bonefish]

I don't think you're being a dick, but each of us have a different expectation of privacy, and what we're willing to share with the general public.

And I can live with that, hell, I can't even feel wronged about it. But it would be nice for someone who doesn't want to share something to let me know that: "hey, this is a private issue, and I don't wanna talk about it", rather than obfuscate it with silly comments that make it feel like I'm just getting fucked with.

And I'm not taking a dig at Andy. A significant portion of this is me being overly sensitive and bitchy. And dense, I don't take hints well at all, in general.

[paladin2019]

I was being fairly serious. Strip away all the jargon and that's basically what I do. If you have any specific questions, ask away, I'll tell you if I can't answer.

As far as being in a sand box, I got back in June 2008, got some good Army schoolin' and came to my new unit.

I'm in command of a multifunctional logistics company in a habitual relationship with a combat battalion. I was a cavalryman for a long time before crosing over to the log side.

[Bonefish]

Ah-hah. See, that explains alot more. Cool. Uh, I'll probably get around to asking those questions when I start working on a more modern RPG or story, for now, if you have any good front-line experience as a Roman Soldier, let me know.

[3278]

Any time there's a substantial amount of obfuscation in response to simple and direct questions, I become immediately suspicious.

[paladin2019]

Ah, so you understand OPSEC.

[FlameBlade]

Ah, so you understand OPSEC.

for the layperson, that's Operationals Security. Seriously, look it up.

[Jeff Hauze]

for the layperson, that's Operationals Security. Seriously, look it up.

Or anybody who's never seen a military movie in their entire life that was made after 1990. Or TV show. Or read a comic.