[Newsbot]

Title: Wounded soldier Trevor Greene marches forth
Category: Military
Posted By: Guy_Fawkes
Date: 2012-03-16 09:23:47
Canadian

[Guy_Fawkes]

Now someone in the comments section of the story called Greene a hero. I disagree. While he is an inspiration for human determination and a solider's ability to carry on through adversity. Taking an axe to the brain does not make one a hero.

[andyt]

Tough crowd. His struggle to get better is certainly heroic in the sense it's used these days. And he took his helmet off, exposing himself to danger trying to make peace with some Afghans. I agree with you that we over use the word hero these days, but I still respect this guy a lot.

[Canadian_Mind]

I agree with Guy Fawkes. I have no intention of taking any of the spotlight off him by saying this. The appropriate word to describe what he is doing is inspirational, not heroic. Inspirational people show others what truely can be done to better ourselves in the face of adversity. Exactly what he is doing. Frankly I'd rather be known as inspirational rather than heroic.

[andyt]

I don't know - I think anybody that volunteers to go to Afghanistan is a bit of a hero. I many not agree with them being there, but in their mind they're putting their life on the line for their country. I don't agree with the idea that their opinion on the war carries more weight than mine, but I still respect them for the risk they take.

[Guy_Fawkes]

andyt andyt:

I don't know - I think anybody that volunteers to go to Afghanistan is a bit of a hero. I many not agree with them being there, but in their mind they're putting their life on the line for their country. I don't agree with the idea that their opinion on the war carries more weight than mine, but I still respect them for the risk they take.

So the servers at Tim Hortons are heroic?

[andyt]

I guess, if the motivation is to make the soldier's lives a bit easier over there, rather than just the money. I'm guessing it's mostly about the money. Also I don't think a clerk in Kandahar is being as heroic as the front line people, but again, s/he's helping the effort and at some risk, so there's some heroism involved. I wouldn't call any of them a hero. But I see this guy that got axed as more of a hero for what he was trying to do, than some guy that's taking chances in a fire fight because he wants to "kill scumbags." It's all about the motivation.

[Canadian_Mind]

People have a tendancy to overstate things. Deploying to Afghanistan was not heroic, it's just a part of the job. The fact that some of us enlisted specifically to go over there and try to make a difference is no more significant than those who've been in for 20 years and went over again. If anything it was naivity on my part, not heroism. I don't like being called a hero just because I'm in uniform. I don't deserve the moniker, I've done nothing heroic. It should be a special term for a select group of special people who commit extraordanary feats of what could be construed as heroism.

I personally never witnessed any heroism overseas. It was pretty run-of the mill for me and the squadron. In only one major incident would the actions committed by one of the soldiers involved in that incident be construed as heroic in my book, but I didn't see it. I only got to hear some of the stories, and the details are still fuzzy for me. Either way, that'd be 1 guy out of over 100 people who deployed in my unit. A very select few.

If anything, the real heroes were the blackhawk crews who risked their lives daily over there trying to save people they had no personal connections too. Often under fire, often in weather and conditions no aircraft should be flying in, 24/7.

There already is a word for people like us who are willing to go and do the bidding of our government: Soldiers. Let's keep it that way, and leave the special words for special people. In this case, the inspirational Capt. Green.

[andyt]

Well, I don't agree with you on most things, so i guess I'll disagree with you on this too. I don't think of you as a hero, but I do think it's kind of heroic for you to go. Or courageous if that suits you better.

But as I said earlier - we do way overuse the word hero. Everybody seems to have their 15 minutes of being a hero these days.

[PublicAnimalNo9]

Canadian_Mind Canadian_Mind:

If anything it was naivity on my part, not heroism.

I like that. That is actually very similar to what others from previous generations of veterans have said. Some looked at it as an adventure, others as a way to maybe do some good in the world, none of them had a clue what kind of hell they were in for.
Although, I still think the men and women that did more than one tour could be called heroic.
Kind'a like jumping from a plane. It ain't the first time that's the scariest.

Although I did hear one old vet say, "The only heroes in the army were the medics."

[2Cdo]

PublicAnimalNo9 PublicAnimalNo9:

Although I did hear one old vet say, "The only heroes in the army were the medics."

As an infantry soldier we often referred to medics as "pecker checkers" and tended to look down our nose at them. After my first tour of Afghanistan I hold our medics up as some of the bravest men and women I have ever served with!

But I'll still refer to them as pecker checkers if we're having a few brown pops!

[PublicAnimalNo9]

2Cdo 2Cdo:

PublicAnimalNo9 PublicAnimalNo9:

Although I did hear one old vet say, "The only heroes in the army were the medics."

As an infantry soldier we often referred to medics as "pecker checkers" and tended to look down our nose at them. After my first tour of Afghanistan I hold our medics up as some of the bravest men and women I have ever served with!

But I'll still refer to them as pecker checkers if we're having a few brown pops!

Yeah, but pecker checker is now a term of endearment ain't it

[DrCaleb]

I recall that story too. It's good to hear he is recovering, albeit slowly.

And I hope the elders in that villiage earn a special place in infamy for their act of cowardice.

[Guy_Fawkes]

andyt andyt:

I guess, if the motivation is to make the soldier's lives a bit easier over there, rather than just the money. I'm guessing it's mostly about the money. Also I don't think a clerk in Kandahar is being as heroic as the front line people, but again, s/he's helping the effort and at some risk, so there's some heroism involved. I wouldn't call any of them a hero. But I see this guy that got axed as more of a hero for what he was trying to do, than some guy that's taking chances in a fire fight because he wants to "kill scumbags." It's all about the motivation.

I dont see levels to heroism, I see that word as something special that should just be given out. When you put the hero label on any person who goes over seas or throws on a uniform you degrade the power of the word.

Also by saying things like "Clerks are not as heroic," labels them as less than something. You start putting other people in special classes: Infantry > Engineers, Engineers > Mechanics, Mechanics > MPs ect. I know that is not your intention but that is how these perceptions are started.

If we reserve the word heroic for true acts of heroism, "A soldier rushes to a burning vehicle to pull someone out of it."

[Guy_Fawkes]

DrCaleb DrCaleb:

I recall that story too. It's good to hear he is recovering, albeit slowly.

And I hope the elders in that villiage earn a special place in infamy for their act of cowardice.

From what I remember it was only one radical in the group.

There were many things that should have been done differently that day.