Rear D
This is military speak for Rear Detachment. These are the people who stay behind at military instillations while a unit is deployed overseas. They are the people that deal with issues regarding deployed servicemen's families. It is thankless job that required them to handle angry and frustrated wives' phone calls, while also maintaining the facilities and left behind equipment while soldiers are fighting overseas. Many of them also serve as a casualty officer. That is the grim task of personally informing people of their loved ones death. There are a lot of great guys who get assigned this duty who would gladly volunteer to be fighting overseas.
That being said, there are unfortunately some less that stellar warriors who try and worm their way onto this duty. These people list a variety of reasons for volunteering for this, but, in the end the people that volunteer to stay are afraid. Afraid of doing the job they volunteered for. As a result, the "Rear D" soldier is the military equivalent of the kid not picked in kick ball.
Further poor allusions are due to the age old vision of men not going off to fight providing "comfort" to lonely wives. There is a mythical name for this person. He is called Jody. What is nice is that Jody is a unisex name, so it can now apply to both fighting men and women. When a soldier deploys "downrange" (could be for a training exercise, could be war…I should create a glossary someday to help), Jody impregnates the wife, steals the car, and basically becomes a Kato Kaelin like figure in the house. This is why marching or cadence calls are sometimes called "Jodies." They are meant for Jody to run off because the soldiers are returning.
Looking back at history, one realizes that there always was a "Rear D" or Jody for everyone that went in harms way. These are the men who decided or were not able to head out into the great unknown. Think of the colonization of America. Trading companies offered new lives and riches. All that was needed was a bit of stake money, and a lot of bravery. As news reached Europe of religious freedom, ample farmland, and escape from a plebian lifestyle, more and more people seeking fortune decided it was worth the risk. Sure Indians chopped up babies and raped women, and entire colonies died from disease and hunger, but who wanted to sit through what meager offerings there were in Bonn, Bath, and Beyond?
I will tell you who. Most of the ancestors of the population of Europe. Think of it. Their ancestors were daunted and afraid of venturing to this new world. With the exception of descendants of the bloated European aristocracy, the rest were content in their meager jobs, with their meager stations in life, and were happy to work with no possibility of improving themselves. Sure they were able to comfort Johann, Nigel and Jacques's wife in their absence, but that is it. Generation after Generation sat in pubs and cafes with no hope of anything else. No wonder they began to philosophize of God's demise. Hell. Their lives were one big wait for Godot…Besides meaningless plays, some food, paintings and sexual inventions (let's be frank (NPI) ménage a trios ain't in English people…), what has Europe really given us?
So, here is Olde Europe 2004. No aspirations. No hope. One Euro Disney. Lots of Porn. The only thing they worry about is their lives ending. Self preservation is the only worry. So why would we think these people who are the "Rear D" of the world would ever want to stand a post on the FEF.
I am not going to debate nature vs. nurture right now, but let's think of the United States. Everyone here wanted more. Yes, even the Indians didn't start here (can you say land bridge…). So generation after generation wanted something better for themselves. More riches, more freedom, super size this, McMansion me that. Instead of being embarrassed about it, embrace it. We are descendants of frontiersmen. We are generations of people that are not content of the status quo. We should not forget that. Many people who have been here a bit too long seem to want to turn this into Europe. Michael Moore (notice I did not do the Michael Moores of the world thing…I am trying to help out) and others wish we could turn into a content little society is not competitive and is not striving for something more. We must resist this. We must continue to be restless. We do not want another continent of Jodies running around. We have Freedom to defend. I am going to move right now...
I've made this argument myself many times. I think that one of the reasons America is so unique in the world is that many of the most ambitious people from all cultures and ethnic backgrounds have gravitated here. I myself am the product of two Europeans who moved here because they couldn't make a decent life for themselves in the type of sclerotic and authoritarian societies that dominate Europe.
It is a gross generalization, of course, and there are plenty of exceptions. Though increasingly more of those exceptions overseas are coming here. And not every American embraces the local zeitgeist. One of these is named Michael Moore.
Posted by: inkling | July 17, 2004 at 17:30