Two of you served quite a while, are you as offended by Beetle Bailey as this local letter writer is?
Beetle Bailey not accurate on military
As a retired member of the U.S. military I am concerned about the impression left by the cartoon Beetle Bailey carried by your paper. Readers of the cartoon could possibly get the impression from the cartoon that it is acceptable for a senior noncommissioned officer (as depicted by Sarge) to physically assault a junior enlisted man.
It seems that quite often the story line of the cartoon depicts Sarge brutalizing or threatening to brutalize Beetle. I am aware that the cartoon has been around for quite some time and it was based on the U.S. Army during the time frame of around the Second World War, but even then, it was something not sanctioned or tolerated by the military. If any concerned family members were to take the actions depicted in these supposedly funny frames as the norm in the U.S. military, then the Walker family is doing a disservice to our military members.
I certainly wouldnt encourage any son or daughter of mine to become a member of such an organization. The truth of the matter is that any officer or noncommissioned officer found to be physically abusive to a junior enlisted man would be up on charges and, at a minimum, demoted if not removed from the service. I am sure that there have been instances of abuse at times in the military service, but the habitual abuse depicted in the cartoon would not have been tolerated. When Gen. George Patton slapped an enlisted man back in World War II it caused an outrage that almost ended his career.
If the Walkers cant find a different story line for their cartoon, maybe they should end it. In my years in the military I never met a senior staff NCO or an officer who didnt treat junior enlisted men with anything but care and concern. Even when trying to push men to test their ability to withstand pressure that nowhere near replicated combat, which included plenty of pressure and loud voices, it never included the kind of beatings that are commonplace in the cartoon Beetle Bailey. Hopefully readers recognize this as fiction.
Anthony W. Gensic
Calvin said
11:48 AM, 09/25/15
Tom & Jerry, Martin & Lewis, the Three Stooges, Foghorn Leghorn & the Dog or the Chickenhawk, Buggsbunny & Elmer Fudd, Roadrunner & Coyote"..............
pluheeeeeeeeeeeeese
Cy Valley said
12:53 PM, 09/25/15
Wonder if he remembers Sgt. Bilko. Gomer Pyle. F Troop.
Calvin said
1:17 PM, 09/25/15
Well, gggooooooooolllllllllyyyy, seargent carter. Hooty hoot, hooTy hoot. Is ms bunny on the rag?
HO Ho Pauncho,.....Ho HO Cisco!
Here comes Mr Greenjeans!
How bout Crazy Guggenhime...eyyeyeyeyyyeyeyyeyeyeyyey
Why isn't Wally helpin the Beaver?
oh WIIILLLLLLLLBBUUUUUURRRRR a horse is a horse of course of course
To the Moon Alice!
wes said
1:19 PM, 09/25/15
Spent two years in the Army. Most of it in the 82d Airborne Div. Didn't know any such Sarges, but there were plenty of us Beatles. I was one of these 'til they stuck me in Company HQ.
Good life, good food, not much pay back in 1961.
Wes................................
Buckethead said
10:04 PM, 09/25/15
Phil Silvers!
Uke said
10:55 AM, 09/26/15
Buckethead wrote:
Phil Silvers!
Oh shit! Did he die?
Buckethead said
11:55 AM, 09/26/15
Uke wrote:
Buckethead wrote:
Phil Silvers!
Oh shit! Did he die?
Yea. About 30 years ago. About the same time they put a warrant out for your arrest in Ritzville.
Uke said
1:14 PM, 09/26/15
Buckethead wrote:
Uke wrote:
Buckethead wrote:
Phil Silvers!
Oh shit! Did he die?
Yea. About 30 years ago. About the same time they put a warrant out for your arrest in Ritzville.
The incident in question (Ritzville) actually occurred in 2005. P.S. Fuck Ritzville!
Freddie Krueger said
5:52 AM, 09/27/15
Nah, the comic never bothered me....
There are only tu things that fall out of the sky...... Birdshot and Airborne!!!
Cy Valley said
6:43 AM, 09/27/15
The guy is, ah, sensitive. If he's who I think he is, his son was classmates with my daughter and then was appointed to the Air Force Academy. He was also a pole vaulter with national standing.
Thought it was funny that his letter made a national journalism social criticism website, too. Second tweet down, but that'll probably change:
There are only tu things that fall out of the sky...... Birdshot and Airborne!!!
Same here. After three years active, and three reserve years... Met loads of assholes at all levels. The biggest asshole NCOs (Cpls, Sgts, etc.) were dopes! They couldn't do shit outside the Army, and they just hid from civilian life. A few actually resembled Sarge in odd ways.
Beetle, met a few as well, all the way from basic training, to the rest. When it all ended, it was a surprise to meet 'em again everywhere! Dickhead bosses, and jerks who weren't going anywhere else.
The comic is timeless, and ageless. Why it's still around, nobody really knows, or can explain.
Two of you served quite a while, are you as offended by Beetle Bailey as this local letter writer is?
As a retired member of the U.S. military I am concerned about the impression left by the cartoon Beetle Bailey carried by your paper. Readers of the cartoon could possibly get the impression from the cartoon that it is acceptable for a senior noncommissioned officer (as depicted by Sarge) to physically assault a junior enlisted man.
I certainly wouldnt encourage any son or daughter of mine to become a member of such an organization. The truth of the matter is that any officer or noncommissioned officer found to be physically abusive to a junior enlisted man would be up on charges and, at a minimum, demoted if not removed from the service. I am sure that there have been instances of abuse at times in the military service, but the habitual abuse depicted in the cartoon would not have been tolerated. When Gen. George Patton slapped an enlisted man back in World War II it caused an outrage that almost ended his career.
Anthony W. Gensic
Tom & Jerry, Martin & Lewis, the Three Stooges, Foghorn Leghorn & the Dog or the Chickenhawk, Buggsbunny & Elmer Fudd, Roadrunner & Coyote"..............
pluheeeeeeeeeeeeese
Well, gggooooooooolllllllllyyyy, seargent carter. Hooty hoot, hooTy hoot. Is ms bunny on the rag?
HO Ho Pauncho,.....Ho HO Cisco!
Here comes Mr Greenjeans!
How bout Crazy Guggenhime...eyyeyeyeyyyeyeyyeyeyeyyey
Why isn't Wally helpin the Beaver?
oh WIIILLLLLLLLBBUUUUUURRRRR a horse is a horse of course of course
To the Moon Alice!
Spent two years in the Army. Most of it in the 82d Airborne Div. Didn't know any such Sarges, but there were plenty of us Beatles. I was one of these 'til they stuck me in Company HQ.
Good life, good food, not much pay back in 1961.
Wes................................
Oh shit! Did he die?
Yea. About 30 years ago. About the same time they put a warrant out for your arrest in Ritzville.
The incident in question (Ritzville) actually occurred in 2005. P.S. Fuck Ritzville!
There are only tu things that fall out of the sky...... Birdshot and Airborne!!!
The guy is, ah, sensitive. If he's who I think he is, his son was classmates with my daughter and then was appointed to the Air Force Academy. He was also a pole vaulter with national standing.
Thought it was funny that his letter made a national journalism social criticism website, too. Second tweet down, but that'll probably change:
http://jimromenesko.com/
Same here. After three years active, and three reserve years... Met loads of assholes at all levels. The biggest asshole NCOs (Cpls, Sgts, etc.) were dopes! They couldn't do shit outside the Army, and they just hid from civilian life. A few actually resembled Sarge in odd ways.
Beetle, met a few as well, all the way from basic training, to the rest. When it all ended, it was a surprise to meet 'em again everywhere! Dickhead bosses, and jerks who weren't going anywhere else.
The comic is timeless, and ageless. Why it's still around, nobody really knows, or can explain.