If there is one thing Chicken Hawks absolutely adore more than anything in the world, it’s praise for all military servicemembers, even National Guard soldiers.
This was illustrated the past June with the South Dakota National Guard’s 152nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion return ceremony. You can view the video on the South Dakota National Guard Facebook Page.
Before you go on, please understand that this article is not to detract from the importance of what this unit, or any other non-combat unit, did or accomplished. The problem with a lot of Guard, Reserve, and non-combat arms units is they inflate who they are and what they do.
There is no reason for this, and as long as it is allowed, the near-unquestioned support of the military will exist.
Video and Audio Quality
The first thing about this video one notices is its quality. As you watch the video, you’ll hear the endless, ramped up praise for the soldiers of the 152nd Combat Sustainment Support Battalion. However, the livestream doesn’t show the same support.
Its resolution is only 360p. The speakers aren’t properly microphoned. I plugged in noise canceling headphones and turn up the volume to the max. It was still somewhat hard to hear.
With how much praise they were giving the 152nd National Guard Soldiers, you would think they’d try harder to provide a worthy stream.
Endless Praise for Perfect National Guard Soldiers?
There were three speakers for the 152nd’s return ceremony. Each of them had extreme praise for the soldiers. Here are some quotes from their speeches:
Major General Jeff Marlette
“They’re part of a great team”
“You are the elite”
“You are the 1% of America that raises their hand”
“You absolutely blew the doors off your mission”
“And the way you over come it, just like you did in this deployment”
“We’re extremely proud of you”
“I can’t tell you how many times as I traveled in my job I heard great things about this unit”
Governor Kristi Noem
“We are just so proud of you”
“We thought about you every day”
“We prayed for you every day”
“We are so eternally grateful that God brought you home safe and sound”
“The night that those rockets were falling on you was the longest night of my life.”
“We know you were protected. You made wise decisions”
“You exemplified strength”
“In times of pressure, you did your job in a way that was a testimony to the culture and the people of South Dakota. Thank you so much for that”
“Freedom. Justice. Honor. Duty. Mercy. Hope. When you were gone, you exemplified each of those words…it was a testimony for the entire world”
“We will be here for you because you have been there for us each and every time with excellence”
LTC Dave Moore
“The same 69 [soldiers] are back” As of September 13th, 2020, 8 U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq
“We had rocket attacks….we had more rocket attacks….we had more big rocket attacks”
“These 152(nd) soldiers never, ever waivered in their commitment to their duty”
“They did their job with the strength it a grace that was truly an honor both to be a part of and to witness”
“They never failed to complete their tasks”
“That was an incredibly selfless act and a great act of humanity (for giving some cash a soldier could find in his office and giving it to local employees)”
“Selfless act (about 2 soldiers who left cover during a rocket attack to find another soldier)”
“Without hesitation, these 3 soldiers…went to the troop medical clinic and provided lifesaving skills to several soldiers” (after a call was put out for medics to help the wounded after a rocket attack – 12 personnel were wounded and 3 personnel were killed after 18 rockets landed)
“They were, without a doubt, the most professional, bravest, strongest people”
“I want to thank you for your service, your dedication, and your sacrifice for the past year”
“It is my greatest honor to lead you and to learn from you”
It sounds like the 69 soldiers of the 152nd CSSB are superhuman. If they truly were the best of the best, why didn’t they accomplish more? If these part time soldiers are “elite,” why aren’t the full time soldiers getting 10x the work done? Why aren’t they all part of any Ranger or Special Operations units?
Integrity is hard to find in the Army.
Why did they spend their free time participating in fun activities?
It Wasn’t Nearly All Dangerous for the National Guard Soldiers
So many non-combat arms units are guilty of blowing smoke when it comes to their deployments. Even combat arms soldiers do it, which is sad.
Everyone wants to bring home numerous stories of valor, heroism, and sacrifice. In reality, for the vast majority of soldiers, this isn’t possible unless stories are inflated.
Take a look at some of the posts the 152nd’s Facebook Page made while in country:
*Some National Guard soldiers had the time to take a leadership course
*A majority of the 152nd participated in a 100 mile walk, run, or hike competition
*One soldier organized an HIIT competition
*Two soldiers competed in weight lifting competitions
*Ran numerous 5k’s for fun
*They had a gingerbread house competition
*Made a compiled “about me” video featuring 4 soldiers from the 152nd
The posts stopped after the largest rocket attack they had. It possibly could’ve been the 18 rockets fired on the base in mid-March.
With so much downtime, who has time for danger though?
On August 23rd, 2020, it is reported that the U.S. has pulled out of Camp Taji (Camp Cooke).
It’s a Little Personal
I have had two deployments to the Middle East. The first was with 2nd ID, 3rd IN to Mosul, Iraq from 2003-2004. The second was with the 100th/442d in Kuwait/Southern Iraq.
These two deployments were extremely different. One was with the Regular Army and was actually dangerous. One was with the Army Reserve and was a piece of cake.
I’ve seen the difference between combat arms/non-combat arms soldiers and full time/part time soldiers. Combat arms soldiers can be bigger liars than the non-combat arms soldiers as well. It’s universal in the military.
The endless praise soldiers get for doing non-heroic tasks is kind of sad. As stated at the beginning, I’m not demeaning what non-combat arms units do. I just don’t see the point of inflating what they do or over-stating what they do.
In my first deployment, many soldiers would lie about what we were doing when I thought what we were doing was pretty intense and important. There was no need to lie or stretch the truth.
The biggest questions though – Why did the 152nd have to go to Iraq? What was in it for them? Why didn’t the Chicken Hawks go?
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