Weekend Open Thread
Many among the left believe that they have a grasp on reality, truth, wisdom, etc. There are those who believe that the media provides “reality”. Videos have emerged on social media of leftists complaining about us and demanding that we “wake up.” However, the reality is that the left in the West is repeating a pattern that had played out in other countries… For example, Venezuela. They believe that the Democratic Party wants to preserve democracy. What the Democrats, their Republican allies, and others are really doing is building their own version of the Tower of Babel. Enjoy your weekend!
Category: Open thread
Oh wise and all knowing Magic 8- Ball, will the outdated and overpriced Red Hat Software and the fact that Hack Stone is 6795 miles away and 13 hours into the future allow him to be unburdened and regain his proper place by posting first comment in order to make This Ain’t Hell deplorable again, or will the vast Buffalo Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dressing be successful in their nefarious schemes to deprive Hack Stone’s faithful followers from enjoying the largess King Hack’s kind and benevolent dictatorship? Magic 8-Ball says…
All hail Emperor Hack Stone, a kind and benevolent leader of the Deplorable Garbage.
The Post Comment button was missing!!! 😭
Hack is back on top!!!
Top 30.
Complete lack of paying attention on what day of the week it is and what time it is. 😜
Present and accounted for, Sirs.
“NO KINGS!!! “
Fuck you, Lars
I would fucking pay big money I would lose my shit. I would vote 1000 times for this. I want DJ T to dress up like this this weekend and maybe all the way into next week just to absolutely fuck everybody in the ass.
Saw a “no kings (protest)” today and had to laugh. We are getting very much needed rain, and the corner they were “protesting ” on has a drain that drains notoriously slow. I was so ready to dowse the assholes, but the pickup in front of me got to them first, and I caught a red light. They were very much dripping wet, some of us made eye contact. I saw wet, miserable individuals, and they saw a driver with a huge grin on his face. My only regret is the first driver couldn’t see the misery he/she inflicted. Even better was the temps. Yesterday, mid to upper 80s, today, about 66 at the time of the incident. Cold AND wet makes for a great combo if it isn’t you who is cold and wet.
Phuck em.
Rats Of The Cong Hack, Fell asleep on the recliner and didn’t have a chance to consult my brand spanking new Amazon
Magic 8-Ball for todays WOT. As the old saying goes,
Any Bird Can Build A Nest But Not Everyone Can Lay An Egg.
The heads of most of them would absolutely explode!
Dang it second!
Back of the line!
I’ll save you a seat, third.
The secret is to spend thousands of dollars traveling overseas so that you keep refreshing the home page between 03:00 and 04:00 local time.
This is the second time that Hack Stone scored the highly coveted and rarely rewarded title of First Commenter by posting from a foreign country, the first being just over a year ago from the vicinity Molesworth UK.
AHA! We have a “mole” in our midst!
DAMMIT. A worthy second.
Present and unaccountable!
Have a great weekend! (Ammo is pretty cheap right now, jussayn)
Present!
Well, dang. I’ve been dethroned. I acquiesce my throne to you, Hack. Rule justly and honorably. Though one thing. I came down with Smallpox, so you’re gonna need to wipe the big chair down with Lysol. Only, wait. The writing on the Lysol container is in Polish. But I’ve never been to Poland! Where did I get this??? Ah, well. Rats of the Cong to you, Hack!!!
Smallpox?!?! What the heck autocorrect?!?!?! Common Cold!!!
Also, the Royal Liquor Cabinet has been fully restocked with Mike’s Hard (Don’t judge me!)
Are you sleeping under an Indian blanket?
Speaking of thrones, the hotel toilets have the option of “power washing” down under when you get done making a Phil Monkress. For the economically challenged Vice Presidents of proud but humble woman owned businesses, they are also a suitable substitute for a Water Pick.
As a fan of Contemporary Japanese culture, I am well aware 😉
A bidet?
Haahh, that’s something ballet dancers do…
I thought it was a time period. You know, you sleep by night, and work by day…
Living 13 hours into the future, Hack Stone can reassure that Daniel Bernath is still in a holding pattern at -6 feet altitude; not a Navy SEAL Phil Monkress is still working balls; and Psul of The Ballsack still owes his last landlord over $18,000 in back rent. Tune in later this weekend for the final scores in the NFL games.
When asked if I voted for this…
Who says the trash won’t take it self out? When I see the Pentagon Press Corps walking out, I ask for a prayer from…
I stocked up for this weekend’s Gay Pride Parade 2.0 because there is going to be all sorts of retards flapping their gums. I might need the whole bottle…
Nope…you just need a twelver of Vitamin Y…🍺
Dems are trying to oust him from the Senate.
In a perfect world, the Dems primary him, he decides to run as an independent, that splits the left-leaning vote and a Republican becomes Senator.
I like him, which is rare for me to say of a dim.
One day, while out on a stroll along a lonely road, I noticed the ground beneath me was rather hard. I brushed away the weeds and grass and noticed there was a sidewalk beneath my feet. Further investigation revealed WPA 1930-something carved into the concrete. It was thus revealed to me that only a demonratic administration would build a sidewalk where there were no pedestrians.
Looks like those No Kings rallies are finally having some impact. Remember back in the 1990’s when Lyndon LaRouche said that the British Royal Family had ties to international sex trafficking organizations? What a conspiracy nut.
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Culture/prince-andrew-gives-up-royal-titles/story?id=126625470&utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
Virginis Giuffre’s memoir is out:
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/celebrity/articles/virginia-giuffre-posthumous-memoir-makes-115813168.html
LaRouche was a psychopath and his followers were/are idiots but a stopped clock is right twice a day. However, considering all of the inbreeding among the various royal families, it would be a no-brainer to predict other types of sexual deviancy. ANYONE with half a brain, ie, a typical LaRouchie could make that connection. Fuck all people named Lyndon sideways.
Yeah, I remember Lundon “LaDouche”, he and his idiot minions were screeching that Queen Elizabeth was an Israeli Agent among other idiocy!
Peace in the Middle East? Not just yet:
https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2025/10/17/quelle-surprise-hamas-re-occupies-gaza-city-hospital-to-fight-rivals-n3807949
All we are saying is give Pete a chance.
Meanwhile, the most famous thing to come out of Sweden since ABBA is complaining about the treatment she received while in custody of the Israeli Defense Force.
“She was blindfolded, and put in a freezing cold cell inside a car alongside other prisoners as they were driven to a prison.”
“You felt that you couldn’t ‘afford’ to cry because you were so dehydrated,” she said. “It was so hot, like 40 degrees [104°F]. We begged the whole time: ‘Can we have water? Can we have water?’ In the end, we screamed. The guards walked in front of the bars the whole time, laughing and holding up their water bottles. They threw the bottles with water in them into the trash cans in front of us.”
Well, she’s ready for a husband. First she is too cold, then she is too hot. Make up your mind, bitch
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/no-empathy-humanity-greta-thunberg-142904261.html?.tsrc=fp_deeplink
I don’t believe a word of it.
Pics, or it didn’t happen
I have no doubt that the IDF has every second of her “captivity” on video.
She needs to meet Ludacris:
https://youtu.be/dPN5lEIWyVw?si=n1KhGBSJZKxDP0Op
It got even riskier today, when one Hamas politburo member publicly declared that they would not disarm. Instead, they are now demanding a five-year breather and control of reconstruction aid coming into Gaza.
Hack Stone called it two years ago. Hamas knew that Israel would go medieval on their ass like crackheads with blowtorches and pliers, and as a result, hundreds of billions of dollars would flow in to rebuild. Then all that money would go to Hamas leadership living it up in Qatar.
The Hamastani Palinazis have just signed their death warrants. Git her done Bibi!
Greta whines:
https://www.ladbible.com/news/world-news/greta-thunberg-israel-alleged-mistreatment-speaks-out-409460-20251015
To paraphrase Henry II:
Will no one rid me of this meddlesome child?
Yes, begone evil young’un troll! Haha!
‘It’s easier to fight the whole world than to fight yourself’: Why transgender swimmer Lia Thomas wouldn’t change a thing
Hack Stone was going to post that stunning and brave transgender swimmer Lia Thomas actually did change a thing, but then remembered that Lia still has his thing and just says that he is a woman.
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/10/17/sport/swimming-lia-thomas-interview-intl
Kick Thomas in the groin between the legs with steel toed work boots so hard that his twig will break, and then it will HAVE to be surgically removed.
Sam Houston, whilst still a member, IIRC, of the U.S. House of Representatives, had a disagreement with a colleague once outside the halls of the House.
After Sam knocked him down & dizzy, he held one of his legs up and proceeded to wale him in the groin with Sam’s walking stick, sending him to the hospital.
He received a reprimand from the House, but the other guy thought twice before slandering General Sam again.
Top thirty, present and unaccountable as I award myself yet another Honorary First.
((((OVER))))
Phildo still works balls, I hear.
Anyone heard from Commissioner Wretched?
He’s at Sephora buying up all of the red lipstick for the No Kings rally this weekend.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vCv9x8cXQuE
Jen was trolling you, dude.
D’oh! Hack Stone thought that you were asking about Lars/Commissar. In Hack Stone’s feeble defense, it was about 04:00 Japan time. It is with great shame that Hack brought upon the blog, and effective Friday October 24, 2025 when the next Weekend Open Thread drops, Hack Stone will relinquish his reign over the Deplorable Garbage. This resignation has nothing to do with Hack Stone’s name appearing in the Epstein Files, it’s just that he will be somewhere over the Pacific then.
I was wondering the exact same thing? Hope he’s ok.
Still amongst the living! Trivia as soon as I get out of the hospital. Being treated for pneumonia and congestive heart failure.
Great to hear from you, CW! Hope your stint at the hospital is short and your back to doing trivia for the WOT.
Thankful to hear that CW. Obey your doctors, kiss your nurses.
And if they’re pretty and female, wink at them too. (smile)
For those participating in the No Kings rallies this weekend (we’re looking at you, Lars), be sure to show your school spirit by wearing red lipstick. His friend Jen reached Troll Level IV by convincing “The Master” that he should wear red lipstick. 80 plus years of historians meticulously researching everything that Adolph Hitler ever said or did, and Jen tells us that he did not like red lipstick.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/vCv9x8cXQuE
You go, Antifa(rts)!
Can we have a No Communists, No Idiots, and No Degenerates Day, please? 🙏
That’d help.
Just heard via FOX News the organization sponsoring the “No Kings” event nationwide is CPUSA… as in Communist Party USA. I’m sure Lars is in attendance.
In real.life, making the famed Disney film where the lemmings jump off the cliff, the lemmings actually had the sense to not cross an ocean and refused to go so the Disney crew threw them into the water.
I honestly thought those were Capybaras.
Here you go:
https://youtu.be/8Pj-YEQbojk?si=pdmcazQveQ1nD-FB
A song with one word lyrics that’s a bop.
Large gerbils really…
Or hamsters…
But Democrats are totally the lemming myth anyway:
https://x.com/jeffhunt/status/1979554731782729920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1979554731782729920%7Ctwgr%5Eadcc1a464fd674391d8ab3cca0125a3f4937609c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitchy.com%2Fbrettt%2F2025%2F10%2F18%2Feleven-second-interview-catches-the-spirit-of-the-no-kings-protests-in-hilarious-fashion-n2420532
Yes, I heard the film crew got in a line and herded them off the cliff. What a few hundred drowned lemmings for good TV/movie production? But were they mostly D-rats/progs? Asking for a friend who wants to join the party.
Now, Disney is embarrassing Snoop Dog (celebrity spokesperson for Girls Gone Wild) about lesbianism in their movies when he’s seeing them with his grandkids.
Fire Department Chronicles:
Ok, yes!!! Figured out how to expand shorts here. Now, I’m fairly certain one of you fine gents (I don’t remember who) may have shown me how to do this when I was first getting started here on TAH. But I have goldfish memory and was too proud (stupid) to ask for help again, so what was left was trial and error. Sorry.
But, hey, figured it out!! 😁
Part 2 (slight NSFW):
Part 3 (NSFW and don’t watch while eating food):
Those guys are funny as he’ll, and good people too… sad thing is, I’ve seen most of this shit as well.. it’s too true..
There’s a reason that EMTs, ER nurses, medics, et al have a certain type of humor.
You gotta laugh to keep sane.
I do try to keep my filter in place among “normal” people though.
Some people call 911 when their bushes rustle. Or they find Improvised Explosive Coconuts in their driveway.
Or screws mysteriously appearing in their driveway as well?
Or airplane fuel tanks siphoned off by mysterious folks.
Welp, Wednesday night in my backyard, I saw my first bear ever in person that I can recall other than the bears in the Tehran Zoo in the 70s. It was an adult black bear feeding on the bowls of peanuts & cashews I set out for the forest puppies (raccoons). It panicked when I opened the door to the backyard and jumped the 6 feet high wooden fence. The bear broke off a 3-inch chunk of the top of the fence getting away. That mofo was huge – shocked the piss out of me. Yeah, there has been complaints in the neighborhood of bears rummaging through trash bins. Hopefully it has moved on.
Not if (s)he can still get into trash bins. Once they learn about the easy pickin’s you got a hard time getting rid of them.
How would you rate the bear’s intelligence? Was he smarter than, dumber than or intellectually equal to the average bear?
Have any pic-a-nic baskets mysteriously disappeared as well?
Yep. “Some people”…
Two questions for Kamala Harris. First question is “Are these “people” here in the room with you now?” and second question, “What color is the sky in your world?’
Qualified?!? Well, er, um . . . all I can say is
Finally got around to viewing the SECWAR’s (I think that sounds cooler than SECDEF) meeting with the Flag Officers of the Branches of the Armed Forces and, I gotta a say, I 1000% do NOT regret voting for Trump:
For this WOT, I also want to share some excellent cross examinations from various lawyer movies, starting with My Cousin, Vinny:
Legally Blonde Part 1:
Legally Blonde Part 2:
Pretty well done, except in the real world of trials, the lawers don’t get to make speeches in the middle of the examination (questioning) of a witness.
Yeah, I know. Just wanted to share a few scenes from my favorite lawyer movies 😁
But you can always tell the ones who are representing themselves have watched those shows and believed them.
And it would be 1000% a sin to leave out this gem if I’m doing this thread, A Few Good men:
How about this clip?
This clip has a lot more meat on the bone.
Lol I want that lawyer on retainer!
One of the beauty parts of Strange Brew is that it was based on Hamlet. ‘cept for the flying dog; I don’t know where Dave Thomas got that idea, maybe from Wonderdog.
The Commissioner Wretched Tribute Band presents an array of trivia while the maestro heals up! Hats off to Hack Stone for the 1st place finish today.
Did You Know?
…it’s British Surrender Day? On this day (10/17) in 1777, General John Burgoyne surrendered his army to the Continental Army under General Horatio Gates after the Battle of Saratoga. The general was nicknamed Gentleman Johnny for his fashionably tailored uniforms and lavish spending. (You would think he was with the Pentagon) Saratoga was the greatest American victory up to that point, but it was topped on 10/17/1781 when Gen. Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, the decisive victory of the Revolutionary War. As the fledgling USA was allied with France, it made for an especially gaulling defeat. (If only the UK OFCOM had dropped its suit against 4chan today, we could have gone for three)
…fantasy author Robert Jordan was born on this day in 1948? Aside from being famous for his bestselling Wheel of Time series, Robert Jordan served with distinction in the Viet of the Nam, being awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross and Bronze Star with V for his service as a helicopter door gunner. Unlike other fantasy authors I could name, he made sure to pick a successor to finish his series before he died, having kept writing “until they nailed shut his coffin” like his book jacket bio promised. (Sadly, the TV adaptation was produced by veterans of the battle between the sexes instead.)
…this is a bureaucratic birthday? Sadly, today in 1979 the Departments of Education and Health & Human Services were founded, thanks to Congress and everyone’s least favorite peanut farmer. “Surprisingly,” education has not improved in all the time I’ve been alive. GOP presidents keep promising to kill off the department, but it seems come back like a government Jason. (Maybe this time…)
CONT.
…there was a beer flood in London? This day in 1814, a wooden vat gave way & unleashed a torrent of stout on the poor neighborhoods around the brewery, killing 8 people including two little kids. The brewery responsible got away without punishment. (Talk about too much of a good thing…)
…supernova explosions are ridiculously bright? On this day in 1604, genius astronomer Johannes Kepler began observing a supernova using his Mk 1 human eyeball. This exploding star 20,000 light years away was visible during the day for weeks, and was the brightest star in the night sky for months. Back in 1987, people could see a supernova in another galaxy without a telescope – anyone here remember that? (I was probably too busy playing with my GI Joes at the time) Speaking of naked eyes, if you watched a supernova go off from as far as Earth is from the Sun, it would be brighter than having a H-Bomb detonate right on your eyeball.
Now… You Know!
Hey, that’s not too bad! Thanks for the pickup!
Get well soon!
Thanks for this, Omega!
The brightness would not last long as the star expands well past Earth’s orbit. Probably wouldn’t even feel the heat.
Would be another sense to “bringing the heat”
Present & unaccountable as ever.
All quiet in the AO now.
God bless you all – especially you in the sick bay.
Don’t bother the nurse if she says “No!” They can make you miserable if they get upset.
Specially this one:
I always thought that she was HOT in The Sopranos!
Not waiting for IDC SARC, I’d hit that.
Y’all keep bringing up movies I’ve never even heard of, much less never seen.
Mrs. GB and I would rather go camping than to a movie.
I haven’t been camping in years! Wish to change that if I become middle class.
Plenty of good, old movies out there, Gray. One of my favorites is the black and white film 12 Angry Men with Henry Fonda. That’s definitely worth a 1st gander.
Hack Stone is excited to announce that the proud but humble woman owned business working out of the trunk of 1980’s vintage Jaguar has expanded operations and have now going international, and we now are selling Red Hats in the Yokohama area of Japan. Reach out to our Far East Sales representative. Wisconsin Ex-Pat, to place your order, and get registered to be placed on Y3K Software wait list. Don’t get left behind, only 975 years to prepare.
House released Epstein flight logs and Acosta testimony. Trump was not on any flight and Acosta said Trump was not involved. No idea how Commissar is taking the news.
Candid photo of our soyboy learning the news:
That’s awesome!!!😂😂😂
He’s busy prepping for the No Kings march today. You know, that Soros-funded farce of a protest.
Hope he remembered his pink pussy hat:
I bet he’s sitting in a corner hyperventilating into a paper bag!
I thought Trump hitched a few rides to Florida on Epstein’s plane before Trump 86’d him from Mira Lago and long before Epstein’s Florida conviction.
Approaching 36 hours since the weekend Open Thread dropped, and the Deplorable Garbage are waiting for the official declaration that is published each. In order to be more inclusive for our non English reading audience now that Hack Stone has opened This Ain’t Hell to a Far east audience, let it be known:
フィル・モンクレスはボールを扱います。
Firu Monkuresu wa booru o atsukaimasu.
Translation: Phil Monkless handles the ball
Advertisement: This translation was brought to you by HK-47. If you need meatbags blasted, I’m your droid.
.
Comment #100———-BOO-YA
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
MAGA counter protest.
On brand.
https://www.reddit.com/r/MarchAgainstNazis/s/9hSVom7ski
You look stunning with that red lipstick. It really brings out the Commie in you.
Just like the “MAGAs’ wearing khakis and carrying tiki torches that that the “Progressives” send to events.
https://nypost.com/2021/10/29/glenn-youngkin-aide-accuses-terry-mcauliffe-team-of-fake-white-supremacist-stunt/
Yeahhhh there’s nothing more that us conservatives love more than putting on a mask and carrying a combo Nazi/confederate flag at a liberal communist rally. C’mon Lars, you can do better than this. How can we ever take you seriously if you continue to use Reddit as a reference?
You’re a fraud, supporting a fraudulent protest.
But he looks good in that ugly Trump mask wearing red lipstick. Sorta like putting lipstick on a pig.
The entire premise of “No Kings” makes literally no sense. Trump was democratically elected and the actions he’s taken since inauguration are from the same powers your boy auto-pen…er I mean Joe Biden had the last administration. Your side’s actions to undermine this administration, to hurt/kill political opponents or guys who are just talking, and doing whatever is necessary to make the American people lose so you can blame Trump, take power again, and continue to grind this country into dust is the epitome of PURE EVIL!!!
Now, go and enjoy your stupid “No Kings” Protest, where your Confederates are dressed in ridiculous animal costumes. In fact, I got an animal costume picked out for you. You will definitely rock this one out because it’s how you look on the inside:
https://twitchy.com/brettt/2025/10/18/times-square-no-kings-protest-oddly-breaks-up-at-exactly-1-pm-n2420530
Someone only paid for 1130- 1300:
The NK protest in my AO had oddly staggered times, it’s almost like there was time factored in so participants could cycle from one protest to the next.
https://twitchy.com/dougp/2025/10/18/bill-nye-the-not-a-science-guy-says-trump-doesnt-tolerate-dissent-all-while-nobody-tries-to-stop-him-n2420523
Astroturfed. Just like the FBI and Antifa at the Jan 6 event.
Lars – you continue to underwhelm us with your lack of brilliance.
Here you go, Lars:
.
Plus…
Laughed at this:
The WOT’s been open for a short time now, and my 60-hour work week is over, so why not rant for a few (acronym heavy, but I’ll avoid my usual Army Writing Style for a change, so feel free to look them up if needed) … Changes Coming to NCO Professional Military Education | AUSA It seems that the NCOES is “refined” every few years, from the courses’ structures to the criteria for graduation and promotion. When I enlisted, you had to be a graduate of the requisite course to get promoted–e.g., PLDC for promotion to SGT. Earlier courses like PNCOC had come and gone, and I recall some of my NCOs stating that they were promoted as they graduated in the ’90s. I went through the newly minted WLC at Fort Knox in 2006, having pinned SGT 18 months earlier. A year later, I was at BNCOC, when it had Phase 1 (Common Core) and Phase 2 (MOS-specific). Both phases were at the Henry Caro NCOA at Benning, and the females and other non-11 series MOS’ we had during the first two weeks disappeared as we moved across the barracks complex and started Phase 2. Little did I know at the time, but it would be right at 10 years after BNCOC graduation before I attended M-ANCOC (pronounced MAN-COCK), by then known as SLC. When I was recruiting out of the mall, the Army came out with SSD levels 1-4. ALC Common Core took the place of SSD Level 2, but levels 1, 3, and 4 were online. The intent was to have a true continuing education system for NCOs, with SSD-1 being for junior enlisted and required prior to WLC attendance, SSD-3 for SSGs to take between ALC and SLC, and SSD-4 taken after SLC. The 1SG Course was still around (redesignated the CDR/1SG Course at some point) but wasn’t officially part of NCOES. Around 2010, I took all three levels of SSD. SSD-1 was buggy and took me about two weeks to complete, SSD-3 maybe a week, and SSD-4 was crammed into one office day, with me… Read more »
So, most of my NCOES was completed in under four years, from WLC in 2006 to BNCOC a year later, and then all three levels of SSD 2-3 years after that. SSD-1 wasn’t a requirement for me, but I wanted to take it to get an idea of what future subordinates had to do. In the interim between my BNCOC completion and SLC completion, there were NCOs who’d enlisted and by then outranked me. Even in the seven years between SSD-4 completion and SLC, there were NCOs who had moved from junior enlisted to being my peers. It’s plausible that some of the “kids” my Recruiter peers had enlisted were in my SLC class.
Meanwhile, other NCOs sat idle. As the Brigade Schools NCO, I recall one SGT who was on the hit list for WLC attendance. He’d pinned SGT a year before I had, and by that time I’d been a SSG for over five years. Others refused to do SSD, while for me my SSD-4 (which had been changed to require SLC graduation before enrollment) was still effective when I finally graduated SLC seven years after SSD-4.
Okay, enough confusing talk about my own NCOES experience. The system is far from perfect, and I doubt it will get much better over time. Increasing the length of BLC (formerly WLC, PLDC, PNCOC, etc.) is a decent start, but decreasing the lengths of ALC and SLC is a step backwards, in my opinion. I’d say that a majority of NCOs don’t even make it to MLC–so many of us retire as SSGs and SFCs–but the extra week probably won’t hurt E-8s and E-9s. I do think that reducing the length of the SMC is good, though. There are plenty of sub-20-year E-8s selected for the course, but by that point in one’s career, 18+ months is a lot of time to spend in a school.
Hmmm, interesting. I don’t know what all those initials stand for, but I can tell you that I went from PV1 to SFC (which included two complete breaks in service) in 13 years without ever attending my ultimate ending MOS producing school.
Of course, I’m a dinosaur of the old Army ways. //s
NCOES (Non-Commissioned Officer Education System) isn’t MOS producing, but after the first level (Warrior/Basic Leader) and Common Core it is MOS-specific.
Recruiting seemed to stall the careers of more than a few Infantry SSGs. By the time I got to Sand Hill in 2016, there were dozens of Drill Sergeants sporting Recruiter Badges; most of us grizzled SSGs who got promoted after a year on the Trail. After my not-so-stellar recruiting time, I’d gotten roped into S3 and had various health issues (not to mention being a devout follower of the Cult of Alcohol), so I understood why I was pushing 10 years in grade, but there were some studs who should have been getting looked at for E-8, not E-7. One of my Drill Sergeant classmates was a squad mate from the Invasion 13 years earlier. It was cool seeing a guy I’d served alongside in combat. We had the full connection: Iron Rakkasans, Choppin’ Charlie, Regulators platoon, Lost Boys squad. Of course, I was never one to hang out, so even then we’d see each other during class but that was about it.
Anyway, on with my weekend. I need to work up the motivation to finish preparing for the big yard sale next week. There’s a lot of downsizing to be done around here.
I was special. SP5.
Me too. I was a SP5 twice.
Rambling about over…
Make BLC the defining course for NCOs, since it’s the entry-level NCOES. If someone wants the stripes, they need to earn them and epitomize the now discarded “Be, Know, Do” principles from years ago. An E-4 should emerge from that course armed with the knowledge to stand in front of the platoon if needed (PSG position–two levels up). ALC should see SGTs who can stand in front of the company (1SG). So long as promotion points are met, each graduate should be promoted the month following graduation. Make SLC the last really substantive NCOES, with graduates able to fill in as CSMs at the battalion level. The SMA itself should be reserved for post-battalion CSMs. Keep both it and the MLC requirements for promotion to E-9 and E-8, respectively, but make them more like enhancement courses building on what was learned in SLC and earlier courses. Whatever is done, they need to change the SMA to where it’s not a running joke. I used to always hear that each E-8 was given a bullet point to focus on while at the SMA, which would define their times as SGMs and CSMs. You know, “hands in the pockets”, “CSM’s grass”, “uniforms”, etc.
As for the unofficial NCOES, keep the Drill Sergeant Academy as it is, and keep ending the careers of those who fail it. Hell, make Recruiter School more like the Drill Sergeant Academy while we’re at it. Maybe even the Instructor Schools and so on. Then, have each NCO pick or get picked for a “special duty”. I saw and heard entirely too much bitching during my time in Schools, and a lot of NCOs shirked those duties with the aid of their 1SGs and CSMs.
Why in the fuck is AUSA even remotely involved in any NCOES course development? Will we be getting input from CFC, AER, and the American Red Cross next?
I think the article is about what the SMA stated during the conference. I never made it to the AUSA conference (got a couple of their coins by proxy, though), but the Infantry Warfighter’s Conference had a bunch of speakers. I was in BNCOC and had to attend that in 2007, but while my classmates were attending the events that were made mandatory, I was skipping them and scoring free t-shirts, hats, water bottles, and other gear from the booths.
Just to give all you old 11Chucks out there a woodie, here’s your NSN’s for the week:
2350-00-076-9002 Carrier, Mortar,107mm, M106A1
1015-00-840-1838 Mortar, 107mm (4.2 inch), M30
And for you younger 11C’s:
1015-01-292-3801 Mortar, 120mm, M121