And we take these countries seriously ??
Mar 29, 2013 08:09:46 #
Mar 29, 2013 08:12:42 #
Mar 29, 2013 08:19:11 #
FredB
Loc: A little below the Mason-Dixon line.
It's a tourist show. Don't forget, these are parts of the same people who kicked the Brit's ass three times in 80 years, and also humiliated the Red army with little more than muzzle loading muskets, 1903 Enfields, and a couple hundred Stingers.
How do you think they view people dressing up like Mickey Mouse and Goofy at Disneyland?...
How do you think they view people dressing up like Mickey Mouse and Goofy at Disneyland?...
Mar 29, 2013 10:11:13 #
That's just about the coolest military ceremony I've ever seen! Usually I find military ceremonies yawnfully boring, but this one rocks!
Mar 29, 2013 12:06:25 #
Mar 29, 2013 12:41:09 #
Those mustaches look like something out of a Peter Sellers movie.
Mar 30, 2013 06:50:00 #
I would fear battle with an army of brainwashed people who could be convinced to behave in such a silly way....
Mar 30, 2013 07:09:38 #
Mar 30, 2013 08:18:46 #
gruntled
Loc: Cambridgeshire, England
SB wrote : I would fear battle with an army of brainwashed people who could be convinced to behave in such a silly way....
well maybe for some, these US troops too, are acting in a silly way....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61EX4AC-L1k
this one is 15 minutes worth
who, in military service spins their rifles around like drum sticks? However, there is a serious side to this. Its the precision, the timing, the difficulty. And showing the public what you can do.
I have not bothered to Google it, but there will be some precedent, some history, for any of these styles of military display.
The initial question was : Can we take these people seriously.
Well, lets look at the Greeks, kind of a cradle of civilisation. Can we take them seriously on a military front
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkLBjZ2eqEc
I love the fact that all three of these services do it with style and passion. There are many other honour guards, the Kremlin comes to mind.
It gave me no thought that they are brainwashed or mindless. Tradition in the military service is a time honoured subject, and long may it continue.
well maybe for some, these US troops too, are acting in a silly way....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61EX4AC-L1k
this one is 15 minutes worth
who, in military service spins their rifles around like drum sticks? However, there is a serious side to this. Its the precision, the timing, the difficulty. And showing the public what you can do.
I have not bothered to Google it, but there will be some precedent, some history, for any of these styles of military display.
The initial question was : Can we take these people seriously.
Well, lets look at the Greeks, kind of a cradle of civilisation. Can we take them seriously on a military front
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zkLBjZ2eqEc
I love the fact that all three of these services do it with style and passion. There are many other honour guards, the Kremlin comes to mind.
It gave me no thought that they are brainwashed or mindless. Tradition in the military service is a time honoured subject, and long may it continue.
Mar 30, 2013 08:29:26 #
donrent wrote:
.....................................................................
You hint at an exquisitely xenophobic idea; dismissing two entire cultures on the basis of their military pageantry, even though military pageantry is a nearly universal human trait. Perhaps you should consider changing your name here to Don Rant.
Mar 30, 2013 08:57:31 #
gruntled wrote:
SB wrote : I would fear battle with an army of br... (show quote)
You forgot the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. I thought the video in the OP was fascinating to say the least. Normally the guys that perform in these pagents are the elite and spend enormous amounts of time preparing their uniforms and practicing their moves.
What these guys do is no indication of how they perform on the battlefield.
Mar 30, 2013 09:22:23 #
We might laugh - but the handshake at the end shows respect for each other. It maybe a 'peacock' show but it is a damn sight better than trying to beat the crap out of one another.
Mar 30, 2013 09:29:28 #
I seem to remember seeing something like this at Arlington and they do it every couple of hours Most of this stuff has meaning to those that participate. I can remember struting around like I owned the world after we mastered marching in boot camp. All services have drill teams for show. None of it has a thing to do with being "battle ready"
Mar 30, 2013 09:35:48 #
donrent wrote:
It looks more like Eric Idle John Cleese Monty Python.
Mar 30, 2013 10:12:39 #
whiteeagle2173 wrote:
It looks more like Eric Idle John Cleese Monty Python.
I was going to say that, darn, you beat me to it.
I do agree with a lot of the respondents though that to our tastes it does seem a tadbit over the top but at the same time shows a lot of dedicated precision and discipline.
Still, John Cleese and the writers at Monty Python could have had a heyday with it.
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