
A reality show on the frontline of the German army's battle for public support - rumcajz
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/dec/27/die-rekruten-the-reality-show-on-the-frontline-of-the-german-armys-battle-for-public-support
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a_bonobo
Could it be that Germany's army is so unpopular as a job because of its good
social security system? It seems the US has so many soldiers not because of
patriotism, but because of job security and good health coverage, which is
already mostly a given in Germany.

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arekkas
No, it's so unpopular because with the last "great military" we started a war
that killed 50 million people, and exterminated 13 million people (civilians)
in concentration camps. Definitely nothing to do with welfare.

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VeejayRampay
As a German-friendly Euro-enthusiast, I hope that we all get to build an
awesome European military in the future. That will remove the stigma for
German people maybe. Cause to be honest we need German forces, manufacturing
and engineering if we want to be able to be a force that counts
internationally.

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bobthechef
Sorry to break it to you, but the idea of a European military is pure fantasy.
The dream of a federalist Europe was dashed beyond repair in 2008 when the
bizarre twilight zone of 1990-2008 ended and geopolitical realities shattered
any illusion of the "end of history". Without a federal Europe, you have no
chance of a federal military. We can perhaps have coalitions and military
alliances like NATO, perhaps a European military forum, but nothing more. Even
Germany wouldn't allow for it unless it was ultimately in line with German
interests.

FWIW, while Germany should be meeting its NATO quota (it isn't), a Germany
that is too militarily powerful could be a concern (same goes for Russia).
Historically, it has been bad for Europe (and don't give me the "different
times" spiel). It's bad enough that Germany is the economic and political
hegemon of Europe, engaging in neocolonial activity to its east (territories
Piketty calls "foreign-owned countries") and ordering the continent into an
ersatz unity i.e. a unity of soft German domination. The Prussian unification
of Germany was a mistake, a European unification under German rule is an even
worse mistake. It won't happen because the rest of Europe isn't exactly keen
on playing the role of de facto vassals.

It's high time that the stragglers finally noticed that while an EU based on
free trade and sensible cooperation and discussion is useful, it will never
approach anything resembling a federation. It is a silly, unproductive
sentiment that is at worst a distraction.

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VeejayRampay
You had me at "sorry to break to you". You're a Euro-sceptic, good on you, but
please spare me the condescension, it has no place in public discourse and I
personally don't care for it.

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sandworm101
1) Canada went through a similar series of scandals in the 90s. With public
opinion of the military at an all time low, with some soldiers being attacked
in public, the order went out to not wear uniforms in public. A generation of
soldiers drove to work in civilian clothing to then don uniforms once out of
public gaze. That time is over but many still feel uncomfortable in public.

2) Enough with the reality TV look at boot camps. Basic training is like 1% of
the military. It's a bit of a joke, something that everyone has to do but
nobody takes too seriously once over with. You have to pass, but much like
highschool, once you graduate nobody really cares whether you did well or
barely squeaked through. Trade training is what counts.

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toomanybeersies
Interestingly enough, Australian Defence Force personnel are not allowed to
wear their uniform in public unless performing official duties. The reason for
this though is terrorism concerns, as wearing the uniform could make them a
target.

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rdtsc
> The reason for this though is terrorism concerns, as wearing the uniform
> could make them a target.

Curious, what is the background of that. Basically who would be attacking them
and for what reason? I can't think of as Australia as an overly aggressive
military power. Does it have to do with the treatment of Aboriginal
Australians somehow?

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cyberferret
Australian armed forces have a presence in the Middle East and in Afghanistan
etc. We have troops on the ground in firefights, and F/A-18s from our air
force conducting missions dropping lethal munitions.

Our forces have fought alongside US and other allies in nearly every major
conflict, so our flag and slouch hat regalia would be well known to most on
the 'other side'.

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lostlogin
That applies to a fair few other countries with far more interfering
governments, yet they don’t have laws like this that I am aware of.

Do the rules even apply on home turf?

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michaelt
It doesn't have to be a law - just a line in a dress manual, or 'advice' given
to personnel. Next to the rules on haircuts and fingernail length.

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kachurovskiy
As a side note, I'm often amazed at the presence US Army has in Germany with >
30,000 military personell and 36 military installations.

It's been on a steady decline in the past decades though.

For comparison, German Army has 178,304 soldiers.

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slededit
Does anyone know how to see them with English subtitles? YouTube's auto
translate is producing gibberish.

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mtmail
There's a possible translation error: The documentary follows sailors through
boot camp, not marines. (German Navy is called "Marine").

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sfifs
The more years pass, the closer to reality Snow Crash and Neuromancer and
Rainbows End appear. In Snow Crash, the central intelligence agency has become
a commercial entity that produces a aynducated reality show by putting cameras
on their spies.

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kencausey
Perhaps you aren't aware that the CIA sponsored some authors of fiction and
this was known, at least in part, well before these books were written.

[http://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/18/books/how-the-cia-
played-d...](http://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/18/books/how-the-cia-played-dirty-
tricks-with-culture.html)

