I was watching the Discovery Times channel today and saw an ad for the Army Special Forces division.
I find the ad annoying.
The basic premise of the ad is that there’s a challenge out there – you are conducing surveillance of the nation’s enemy-deep inside their territory. The visuals at this point are in a desert and there are Arab-looking men doing something with a truck.
Meanwhile you are there, doing the work and you have supplies for five days- and the camera swings around and focuses in on the Special Forces hard at work camouflaged in the hills above the truck.
What makes it annoying? Certainly the implicit assumption that our enemies are in a desert and Arab is foolish, but what is annoying is that our poor guys in the Special Forces have been out conducting surveillance for 12 days!
Yes – 12 days!
Somebody needs to explain to me what kind of bungling idiotic policy result in our soldiers being sent out into enemy territory with supplies for 5 days but ending up staying at least 12 days. All I can think is that the Commander-In-Chief is a miserable failure at policy.
Not trying to defend them, but in real life this is more common than one might think.
Though I think the idea of the commercial is to show how tough these special ops guys are. Hell, they can’t be too tough, I was one of ’em. Remember that little camping trip I have made vague references to? 😉 I never want to see what I saw there again, EVER!
Sadly, this commercial will be effective. It is likely geared towards those listless 18-24 year olds that think that real military life is like the movies. All I have to say is, if you have the chance to do it, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! When I signed up I knew pretty much what I was getting into since I know how to read a contract, most 18-24 year olds do not.