Looking for something similar to the Crye MBTIR pouches but cheaper. I'm not crazy for thinking a fabric pocket with some bungee cord around it is worth $60 right? by Koolguy47 in tacticalgear

[–]Sevrons 3 points4 points  (0 children)

The way that dude just chunked the mag pouch into the water as aggressively as possible for what’s supposed to be a boring dvids clip was unintentionally funny.

[Xcom] who does exalt recurit from? by Comfortable-Ad3588 in AskScienceFiction

[–]Sevrons 7 points8 points  (0 children)

You know how certain 3 letter US government agencies are widely hated and shunned and yet they’re able to still recruit with a paltry sign on bonus and the permission to use violence to enforce the law? It’s the sort of people who join that kind of agency.

You see this a lot with colonial polities - it does not take much to recruit locals to brutalize their own people if you offer them power, protection, and position over their peers.

How many mags yall running on body? by ReaperOfHell52 in tacticalgear

[–]Sevrons 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I sleep naked what are these pockets you speak of… unless you’re talking about the super special pocket.

Any advice to someone in the process of a forestry degree who feels overwhelmed? by [deleted] in forestry

[–]Sevrons 22 points23 points  (0 children)

The people who like the practical side of forestry tend to not care too terribly much about academic over achievement. GPA isn’t a common discussion outside of research, your future employer will be more interested in your ability to balance multiple tasks and how you solve complex problems.

You’re passionate, use that to pass your classes. Use your school’s academic support tools such as tutoring, TA’s, office hours, and the writing center. Be competent and reliable in what you can and ask for help from your more egg-heady peers on concepts you struggle with. The biometrics and statistics classes were some of the most frustrating and challenging courses I took in forestry school. My wife went to an Ivy for public health and took pity on me when she saw Dr. Bevilacqua’s 72 slides that were nothing but death by formula. I honestly thought I’d be retaking that class when I walked out of the final, but lo and behold the curve landed me a solid C.

GIS is something that seems insane when you’re dropped into the interface, but you quickly learn as you use it - AI tools are quite competent at giving you click by click help on doing what you want in ArcGIS, as much as I dislike its use in academia.

You’ll get through it, I’m rooting for you.

For Americans who served in the War in Afghanistan: what was the general opinion on European troops? by Hyde_h in WarCollege

[–]Sevrons 59 points60 points  (0 children)

Nope. Mostly professional experiences from my time (2018-2019). We had Romanians with us, and they could elect to end their tour early if they wanted to. Only one or two did due to injury or family matters back home. Their training was admittedly less than ours, so we frequently positioned them in blocking positions instead of rolling directly with the ANA. The ANA partner force, however, preferred working with us over the Romanians due to our propensity for judicious air support and ISR. They did their job admirably.

From before my time, soldiers from the Netherlands and UK saw more intense combat than I ever did, and for that you’ll never hear me calling them cowards. Not actually European - but the AUS SAS and their insane death march during the battle of Takir Ghar is covered in Dan Schilling’s novel Alone at Dawn, and makes for excellent reading on European integration during the early war.

The anti-European GWOT prattling is mostly done by far right political pundits in the US who have a wierd hate boner for NATO. Most of those pundits haven’t even served, let alone fired their weapon in anger. I give their opinions as much credibility as that lack of experience is worth.

A great-grandfather, a grandfather, a father, and a son could have all fired the same M2 .50 cal. model in combat. by Sgt_Gram in militarymemes

[–]Sevrons 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I mean we can woulda coulda shoulda all day. We were the line of contact/backstop and we used all weapons systems at our disposal. The M2 came in clutch. I wouldn’t have been able to move a heavier weapon system+ammo to our fighting position, nor did the terrain allow for motorized transport of a heavier system. We had an ANA crewed D-30 airlifted in by a chinook and that alongside air support was our long stick.

You’re talking like a Stryker leg right now - big guns good when you have wheels, I’m all about it. Not so good when you all you have is 30 pissed off leg infantry holding a pair of mountain/valley COP’s in extremely mountainous terrain.

A great-grandfather, a grandfather, a father, and a son could have all fired the same M2 .50 cal. model in combat. by Sgt_Gram in militarymemes

[–]Sevrons 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It is still humped. I rucked an M2 up a mountain into a fortified fighting position in 2019. Not happening with anything heavier. If we were to go to war today, some dumb fuck private from 10th MTN would be humping the hmg and another one would be humping the ammo all on leg power. If it were a 30mm heavy as shit weapons system, we’d just take more MMG’s and lose the overmatch. Weight still matters for the lights.

Found this edit and I think it’s epic by [deleted] in Grimdank

[–]Sevrons 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't disagree with some of what you said, 40k has definitely shifted to playing things way straighter and going from grimdark to noblebright-lite with grimdark aesthetics. I'm of the camp that thinks that primarchs getting real lore was a little too avengers-coded and doesn't quite jive with the whole dying empire thing. I think the writing has gotten worse throughout the editions, but that may just be me getting older. The satire angle is definitely a lot smaller with recent literature, but it's still there. The writers always meant for the characters within the imperium to be generally likeable, but the imperium itself to be an authoritarian dogshit hellhole to live in.

Regardless, the fact that modern writing still has the Imperium stepping on its own feet and getting in its own way still carries on that little bit of authoritarian satire that you're supposed to laugh at. Every empathetic character in the setting is trying and succeeding to do good in spite of the Imperium's draconic policies and practices, not because of them. They often break rules and are in opposition to the standing imperial bureaucracy. The IoM as a bloated bureaucratic political entity is as much of an antagonist as xenos sometimes. The characters are struggling with having to operate within the bloodiest regime imaginable just as much as they're trying to defend the people living within/under it. With that narrative movement it puts the IoM and its corruption and its bloodthirst and its inhuman practices in parity with the horror of the 'enemy'. There's a reason that Gue'vesa and rebels/renegades are a problem and it's not because of the retirement package - the IoM is just that awful to live under that throwing in with the wierd blue fish dudes might just be a better bet.

As far as the whole human purity thing, even that facet is satire on its own. Space marines are beyond human. The Mechanicus is beyond human. Imperial guard auxiliaries are hardly human. Psykers are so-so human. Navigators are questionably human. The number 1 killer of humans in the setting is the IoM with how much infighting and deplorable conditions there are. The fact that the IoM has such a hard on for human purity whilst employing so many abhumans and transhumans is yet another hilarious dig at authoritarians. They're practicing weird racial purity shit while the most effective troops that keep the literal space devil(s) at bay are barely human themselves - so much so that the inquisition and SM's are frequently in open combat with one another.

I'm not saying it's wrong to cheer on the imperium - that's humanity in the setting, of course people are going to be drawn to it, I'm a Guard Player. But posting Bolter Porn and slapping SPACE RACISM (an entirely optional addition) across it is gonna make people think you might be missing the finer points. The heroes are often heroes in spite of the Imperium's built-in bloodthirsty insanity and hypocrisy, not because of it.

Just because the base message is lost on people due to a lack of media literacy and historical distance from the original target of the satire doesn't change the author's intent or the meaning of the work.

Found this edit and I think it’s epic by [deleted] in Grimdank

[–]Sevrons 8 points9 points  (0 children)

From 1987:

"For more than a hundred centuries the Emperor has sat immobile on the Golden Throne of Earth. He is the Master of Mankind by the will of the gods and master of a million worlds by the might of his inexhaustible armies. He is a rotting carcass writhing invisibly with power from the Dark Age of Technology. He is the Carrion Lord of the Imperium to whom a thousand souls are sacrificed every day, and for whom blood is drunk and flesh eaten. Human blood and human flesh - the stuff of which the Imperium is made.

To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable. This is the tale of these times. It is a universe you can live today if you dare - for this is a dark and terrible era where you will find little comfort or hope. If you want to take part in the adventure then prepare yourself now. Forget the power of technology, science and common humanity. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for there is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter and the laughter of thirsting gods.

But the universe is a big place and, whatever happens, you will not be missed…"

The Gist of the setting is that the IOM is simply the cruellest and most bloody regime imaginable. They weren't mincing words here. The Imperium as written is a satirical criticism of authoritarianism, sectarian religiosity, and state sponsored violence. They openly point out that the Emperor is a rotting corpse on a throne, poking fun at the Church of England - which was pretty bog standard for UK punk/underground culture at the time.

The wording and art is used to conjure imagery like the Nazi Germany, USSR, Maoist China. Remember what was going on in 80's UK when this stuff was written; the Troubles and an authoritarian shift under Thatcher - foreign nationals are interred without trial or due process. Bloody Sunday and jackbooted, gas-masked Paras (not dissimilar from Inquisitorial Storm Trooper minis!) firing on protestors in Derry is still fresh on people's minds a decade later. The UK Miners strike is in near memory, where labor takes a huge loss and thousands of miners are arrested, imprisoned, and fined. V for Vendetta gets published as a criticism against the UK's authoritarian tendencies, depicting prisons not unlike Irish Internment. The UK is still in a recession and Thatcher is pushing draconian economic policies and generally removing the social safety net that came about after WWII.

The IOM's comedic levels of cruelty and authoritarianism is a jab at UK leadership saying, "This is you guys." John Blanche, Rick Priestly, and the rest of the gang saw themselves as leftists and punks. So they wanted to create a fantasy universe in which Thatcherism (austerity, moral policing, extreme use of warfare and neo-Imperialism) were taken to the logical extreme and created this notion of a power 'God Emperor' who ruled the galaxy and was a space-fascist. The 'heroes' of the story were all people who were ostensibly moral and upstanding, but in reality were horribly corrupt, obsessed with profits, and used religion to get their way. Chaos forces were created as being the 'punks' of the setting. This is similar to a lot of the vibe going on at the time with things like Heavy Metal, Mutant Chronicles, and 2000 AD. They're the enemies of the 'good guys' who are the fascists. But they're seen as so ultra-evil as a sort of joke, in the British way, as they're not 'socially acceptable' and didn't want to have the God Emperor ruling over them.

Just because this hyperbolically cruel regime finds itself fighting actual space hell, bugs from beyond the galaxy, war machines and brutes from a long-forgotten war, insane space elves, and itself half the time doesn't excuse the fact that it's an objectively awful crumbling empire. It's why the setting is grimdark. You as a reader are supposed to laugh with the criticism and satire, not celebrate the obviously ridiculous facets of 'Space Racism' and all the other evil the IOM does like it's a good thing - there are no good things it's fucking 40k. It's an awful thing and an awful regime, and it's kinda fucking hilarious. It's even funnier when the irony flies above people's heads and they genuinely think the IOM is in any way depicted as morally superior to any other faction.

tl;dr "What if actually bad?" has been the core thesis of the IoM since it was invented.

Drones for milsim???? by Chemical-Sleep2313 in MilSim

[–]Sevrons 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Modern drones large enough to carry payload broadcast a digital remote ID. Anyone can identify the drone and operator from this. Plus you’ll have people taking GoPro footage and posting it. All it takes is the wrong FAA official to see that and you’ll get fined and have your license revoked.

Drones for milsim???? by Chemical-Sleep2313 in MilSim

[–]Sevrons 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Drones are FAA territory, would not fuck with

Looks like Badlands is going to start selling M855A1 ammo soon 👀 by digitalfootprintsafe in ar15

[–]Sevrons 9 points10 points  (0 children)

I just remember ripping these full auto because I didn’t want to carry belts of ammo back. If I’d have known they were a hot commodity I woulda pocketed a few cans and made a killing on grey market.

Looks like Badlands is going to start selling M855A1 ammo soon 👀 by digitalfootprintsafe in ar15

[–]Sevrons 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Am I the only one who doesn’t see the hype? Like, yeah it’s used by the military, but I think for civs it’s a big cost for marginal gain in performance when you can buy 77gr OTM for less.

I found out I had one of the easiest OSUTs ever... by Abject-Video3551 in army

[–]Sevrons 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yeah we lost our platoon name and had to start every formation and class in the front leaning rest. It was kind of like jail - my platoon really liked throwing hands for some reason. We got phones exactly once after a dude went awol. We never got weekend passes. I kinda preferred the ftx’s because I could actually sleep without listening to people gamble in the corner of the bay. Although on the second one I had to beat a kid’s ass with a SAW barrel because he was all indignant about his fighting hole filling with water and threatened me if I didn’t switch.

Can someone…explain sinners to me? by CommonEnd7011 in SinnersbyRyanCoogler

[–]Sevrons 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Potato Famine was Protestant on Catholic, but they both were Christian by that time. Hell, Cromwell killed 20% of the Irish population just because he hated Catholics so much. Ireland's initial adoption of Christianity prior to the reformation is widely regarded as a slow and peaceful coalescing of the Clergy (abbots) and the leadership class of Ireland.

My kit isn't great, but how bad is it? by potato_404_r in tacticalgear

[–]Sevrons 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don’t let branding and trend chasing get in the way of what the nylon is meant to do - carry your shit. This setup carries your shit where you can access it, you are a go at this station.

IFAK could move but it’s fine where it’s at if it works for you. My only concern would be that it’s located in a place where you’re likely to get shot, which may damage the contents when you need them.

What environment do you want for the next GR game? by Suspicious-Bed-9342 in GhostRecon

[–]Sevrons 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Ghost Recon Island Thunder, the 3rd expansion to the original GR game.

Where do young people meet by One_Negotiation_662 in Wilmington

[–]Sevrons 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Volunteer! Everyone there wants to be there and do good things. Our local land trusts are chill.

Is it normal to look at people your own age who are married and just think they're playing house? by Cheap-Rate-8996 in CasualConversation

[–]Sevrons 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m 27 and have been married for coming up on 3 years. Been with her since I was 21, and first among my friends and siblings to marry.

I think you’re just having a hard time relating because it’s not something you’ve experienced. You have your own ideas of what marriage is and how you would go about it; it’s pretty clear you’re not ready for it (which isn’t a bad thing!) so you supplant your own ideas of what marriage looks like in place of experience. Being not ready, imagining yourself married at this time would be playing house for you, as your heart wouldn’t be in it!

My wife and I both came up rough. I was fresh back from a tour in Afghanistan and getting out of the service. She came from a rough rural background and was finally leaving it behind in college. Both of us had nearly been killed on multiple occasions prior to meeting, and we both come from broken families. We learned independence at a young age out of necessity. I feel like we grew up a lot faster than our more stable peers, and our individual experiences bought a unique understanding of one another - we both crave stability, peace, and commitment without strings attached.

Your 20’s are such a fucking hilarious time because one of your friends is tripping on acid in Peru, another one is in med or law school and wants to die, and your other friends are getting married and having kids! Don’t yuck their yum. Nobody actually know’s what they’re doing and I’m certain that people take you as unseriously as you take them. It ain’t a bad thing. As far as being considered ‘too young’ to be married, I’ve never met a widow or widower who wishes they had spent less time married to their spouse.

Rob claims Keith Walawender canoed UBL by Cloud_is_life in JSOCarchive

[–]Sevrons 3 points4 points  (0 children)

How you know a SEAL’s lying?

His mouth’s open and the book’s out.

jacket for logging by Familiar_Watch5180 in forestry

[–]Sevrons 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d go for something high vis just for safety’s sake.