Thread: CPT Ivan Castro
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Old 01-02-2010, 10:34   #52
NousDefionsDoc
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: LA
Posts: 1,653
"The regs!" "The regs!"

Units are commanded by men, not manuals. Or should be and in this case were.

"If him why not all?" Because he is not "all" and at last a case was decided on the merits and not because of "all". Captain Castro is obviously an exception.

The COMMANDERS made the decision based on the individual and the merits. The way things should be. They didn't default back to a manual written by a nameless faceless group of desk jockeys for "all". The COMMANDERS decided that Captain Castro could contribute. They led their unit. My God that we had more of them that thought this way instead of teeth-gnashing over "THE REGS!"

The claim that EVERY other was medically discharged is apparently not true:
Quote:
Only two other blind officers serve in the active-duty Army: one a captain studying to be an instructor at West Point, the other an instructor at the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan.
It would appear there are two more. And that is just from this war.

The biggest problems with soldiers stem from a lack of combat mindset. Captain Castro has demonstrated that in spades. When we find it, we have to use it as a model for the younger troops.

You think we never did little things to keep Old Warriors in the fight? You think things weren't "compensated for" in the past? Then you know nothing of the Regiment and nothing about SF soldiers.

Being an SF soldier is about over-coming seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve The Mission. I would say Captain Castro has demonstrated that ability more than most and is therefore the epitome of an SF soldier. He has been given a new Mission. He is driving on. And there are those that whine about "The Regs!" "The Regs!"

He is without sight, not mind. And the mind is the deadliest weapon, all else is secondary.
__________________
Somewhere a True Believer is training to kill you. He is training with minimal food or water, in austere conditions, training day and night. The only thing clean on him is his weapon and he made his web gear. He doesn't worry about what workout to do - his ruck weighs what it weighs, his runs end when the enemy stops chasing him. This True Believer is not concerned about 'how hard it is;' he knows either he wins or dies. He doesn't go home at 17:00, he is home.
He knows only The Cause.

Still want to quit?
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