The Very-Many-Questions-Not-Worth-Their-Own-Thread Thread XLII

[Synobun]

In the army, who's job is it to read manuals, like the "Land Operations Manual"?

From the beeb report on the state lying about rubber bullets, they say:

Documents uncovered during the inquest revealed that in 1971 the Army's own Land Operations Manual stated baton rounds should not be used against children.​

But this instruction was never passed on to soldiers.​

I had always assumed that when one hears of an army manual these where documents written to be read by soldiers. This would appear not, so who is supposed to be reading these documents?

I was hired some years ago to convert a written manual for US pilots downed behind enemy lines to digital. The only reason it happened is because the original author paid for it out of pocket, and the only distribution was to his in-person contacts on his local base. The air force itself had no interest in updating their documentation or investing in widespread distribution. I would hazard a guess that most manuals never see the light of day in any official capacity, or if they do, it's in a stack of unread files in some CO's office.

(Worry not, the manual was considered unclassified. )

 

[The_J]

In the army, who's job is it to read manuals, like the "Land Operations Manual"?

From the beeb report on the state lying about rubber bullets, they say:

Documents uncovered during the inquest revealed that in 1971 the Army's own Land Operations Manual stated baton rounds should not be used against children.​

But this instruction was never passed on to soldiers.​

I had always assumed that when one hears of an army manual these where documents written to be read by soldiers. This would appear not, so who is supposed to be reading these documents?

I wonder if this report is related to this: https://www.euronews.com/2023/03/14...rnational-report-on-use-of-non-lethal-weapons

 

[Kyriakos]

stacks of Doom ... add 100 units of offence and protect them with a few really good defensive units . Your invading army is undefeatable . In Civ I and ı think in II , your 100 units would die at once if your top defender lost . City spam means you should have lots and lots of cities to have those 100s of units and science and happiness at the same time .

Yes, in civII all units in a square die if the defending unit dies. It cost me much strife in Squonk's excellent Fading Lights scenario.
It also meant that you have to divide your units in different adjacent to the city squares, and hope enough survive for the attacking turn.
Btw, the ai always knew where your best attacking unit was, and tried to take out that stack first. I guess it had great scouting

 

[Cutlass]

In the army, who's job is it to read manuals, like the "Land Operations Manual"?

From the beeb report on the state lying about rubber bullets, they say:

Documents uncovered during the inquest revealed that in 1971 the Army's own Land Operations Manual stated baton rounds should not be used against children.​

But this instruction was never passed on to soldiers.​

I had always assumed that when one hears of an army manual these where documents written to be read by soldiers. This would appear not, so who is supposed to be reading these documents?

In theory, officers making plans and training and deploying troops.

 

[Cutlass]

Why does the body armor police in the US wear have such limited area coverage?

 

[r16]

military vests have started to cover much ?

 

[Takhisis]

Why does the body armor police in the US wear have such limited area coverage?

With the myriad police departments that you people have I'd have to check one by one, but I suppose that the mobility of the wearer and also the financial cost of making them should be the two main factors.

 

[Kyriakos]

Why does the body armor police in the US wear have such limited area coverage?

Compared to London? ^^

 

[Cutlass]

Compared to London? ^^
View attachment 657071View attachment 657072

It's generally more or less the same.

Not cops do have special combat squads, who wear more armor. But the stock one is really just the upper torso. Say belt to neck. And many of them don't even really come up to the neck.


Thing is, there's a lot of places to take a fatal bullet that that armor doesn't do jack horsehocky to protect against.

 

[EgonSpengler]

Why does the body armor police in the US wear have such limited area coverage?

With the myriad police departments that you people have I'd have to check one by one, but I suppose that the mobility of the wearer and also the financial cost of making them should be the two main factors.

I also wonder how hot those vests get. I'd guess there are a lot of US cities that have N days a year of 80F/27C and hotter. Average Summer temps in London are something like 72F/22C. Last Summer's London heatwave (82-90F/28-32C) is typical Summer weather in huge portions of the US, and there are lots of American cities where 82F/28C in the Summer is a nice, cool day.

 

[Cutlass]

I also wonder how hot those vests get. I'd guess there are a lot of US cities that have N days a year of 80F/27C and hotter. Average Summer temps in London are something like 72F/22C. Last Summer's London heatwave (82-90F/28-32C) is typical Summer weather in huge portions of the US, and there are lots of American cities where 82F/28C in the Summer is a nice, cool day.

I forget exactly what he said, but guy I work with wore the complete body armor in Iraq. Now that's gotta be hot.

 

[Takhisis]

Yes, but that's hot also in terms of what ordnance is in use.

 

[Takhisis]

Another problem is that body armour can be terribly restrictive. I'm reading right now about women deployed into Iraq for the US army and sent wearing ill-fitting gear and being unable to pull their guns out in combat.

 

[Cutlass]

If a person has a lobotomy, whether the no longer used medical procedure, or an accidental injury, is their cognitive ability destroyed, or are they "locked in"?

Locked-In Syndrome

Locked-in syndrome is a rare disorder of the nervous system. People with locked-in syndrome are paralyzed except for the muscles that control eye movement. They are conscious (aware) and can think and reason, but cannot speak or move; although they may be able to communicate with blinking eye...

www.ninds.nih.gov

 

[Kyriakos]

If a person has a lobotomy, whether the no longer used medical procedure, or an accidental injury, is their cognitive ability destroyed, or are they "locked in"?

Locked-In Syndrome

Locked-in syndrome is a rare disorder of the nervous system. People with locked-in syndrome are paralyzed except for the muscles that control eye movement. They are conscious (aware) and can think and reason, but cannot speak or move; although they may be able to communicate with blinking eye...

www.ninds.nih.gov

Iirc all higher intellect is lost. The person is effectively a zombie, but can feel in some capacity.
I think that neuroscience started from examining cases of people who lost cognitive ability in accidents, eg with Broca's work.

 

[Takhisis]

I thought that a lobotomy prevented you from using your psychic powers?

 

[9gkj548hkm20vk79dj689bnj4]

Would Achilles getting an arrow shot in his heel during Trojan War be considered the first epic fail?

 

[Sarin]

Would Achilles getting an arrow shot in his heel during Trojan War be considered the first epic fail?

Epic fail, yes, but not the first. Even if one only considers Greek mythology, Trojan War and the Odyssey take place toward the end of Age of Heroes, and almost whole Greek mythology chronologically precedes them. The birth of the gods, Heracleidae, Argonautica, Theban Cycle with its vast amount of accidental cannibalism, incest, fratricides and patricides and other stories offer epic fails aplenty.

 

[Gori the Grey]

Would Achilles getting an arrow shot in his heel during Trojan War be considered the first epic fail?

Isn't actually narrated within the scope of the Iliad, so no.

I think it would be that guy who Diomedes bamboozles into swapping him his better armor.

Possibly Homer admitting that he couldn't narrate the epic without the help of the Muses, i.e. the whole epic is a fail.

 

[Arakhor]

The arrow that Paris shot into Achilles' heel was guided by Apollo himself. If you want an "epic fail" from Achilles, try his awful behaviour with dragging Hector's corpse around the city of Troy for hours.