Are vet FB pages hurting the cause?

SSG Warren Swan — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 14:00:56 -0400

There are a plethora of veteran specific sites on FB and they seem to be growing regularly. Are they really helpful to the cause or are they more of a hindrance? I follow a few of them and try to take them at face value with humor, but it's getting to be more and more of who can offend who the most, and who can get the most Senior military member upset. I know of one site in particular that called out the former SMA while he was the SMA, and these are our fellow vets. What do you think?

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Oct 18 at 2015 2:06 PM

Capt Seid Waddell — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 14:06:42 -0400

Be more specific. There are good sites on FB for Weapons Controllers for instance that give a place for us to meet and share war stories and photos. Those sites seem quite constructive to me and do not get into offending anyone.

Response by LTC Trent Klug made Oct 18 at 2015 2:13 PM

LTC Trent Klug — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 14:13:01 -0400

Imagine that. Service members and veterans wanting to be offensive to rile up the senior officers and NCOs. This is my shocked face.

Response by LTC Trent Klug made Oct 18 at 2015 2:33 PM

LTC Trent Klug — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 14:33:02 -0400

I have no problem with the vets/service members bringing idiotic things the military does to the surface, nor do I have a problem with vets calling out the former SMA. I fully expect my officers and ncos to do a sanity check on my orders. Don't you?
As for the former SMA, he should have been called out on his decisions. By his boss! The reflective belt in a combat zone, plus the coup de gras to quite a few careers, the infamous tattoo policy, deserved derision at every level. Instead, it was met by north-south head nods and "risk mitigation trumps all" affirmations.

Response by COL Jon Thompson made Oct 18 at 2015 2:58 PM

COL Jon Thompson — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 14:58:55 -0400

Overall, I don't think they hurt any cause. There are FB pages for just about every like and no one forces anyone to stay on a page if they think it is inappropriate or offensive. We all swore an oath to defend the Constitution and the 1st Amendment is part of that. They give people a place to vent and as long as behaviors remain appropriate, I don't think it matters.

Response by SrA Daniel Hunter made Oct 18 at 2015 5:24 PM

SrA Daniel Hunter — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 17:24:15 -0400

I think those that don't verify veteran/active status allow want-a-be's to learn the secret hand shake.

Response by SGT Patrick Reno made Oct 18 at 2015 7:06 PM

SGT Patrick Reno — Sun, 18 Oct 2015 19:06:54 -0400

Nothing on face book is helpful. Sites like face book where everyone posts pictures of what they had for dinner is one of the biggest things that are wrong with the internet. Who really gives a shit what your meatloaf looks like, or who your little sisters best friends baby sitter is dateing.

Response by SrA Matthew Knight made Oct 19 at 2015 1:27 AM

SrA Matthew Knight — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 01:27:03 -0400

US Army WTF Moments, Air Force Memes and Humor, Terminal Lance, they are all great pages. They find the negativity and stupid aspects of our service and present them in a humorous fashion. The only purpose they serve is to have fun and actually boost some service members morale a bit. Now maybe I have missed something in regards to the former SMA but from what I have seen there has been nothing more than some simple memes made of him usually in regards to his ridiculous tattoo or reflective belt policies. I wouldn't call any of that crossing the line. Just trying to bring a little humor into a job that sometimes takes things far too seriously, more so than usually needed anyway.

Response by SSG Warren Swan made Oct 19 at 2015 8:33 AM

SSG Warren Swan — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 08:33:40 -0400

I have an update to this. It's weird how I made this post and one of the main sites I'm talking about actually asked the followers what would they like to see more of on the page. It struck me being that the page is known for questionable actions, and while quite a few of the responders wanted the same as before, MANY to include myself asked to see things that are beneficial to the Soldiers, more of a crackdown on the really questionable FF jokes, and "make em famous" blasts (they made one yesterday that really brought down the house it was so over the top and harmful). Yet keep certain parts of it intact just for the gags part. Maybe there's some hope left?

Response by MSgt Michael Smith made Oct 19 at 2015 9:00 AM

MSgt Michael Smith — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 09:00:17 -0400

Welcome to Social Media -a wonderful world where everyone has a voice and there is absolutely no stupid filter whatsoever. In many ways us older folks (I'm 42) had it easier. When we said or did something stupid we had superiors there to tell us to knock it off. Now, with sites like FB (and Rally Point sometimes ;) every misguided, stupid, and completely uninformed opinion gets out there! I make sure to let people know when they are stupid, in a respectful way. They might not pay me any attention but at least I try.

Response by CDR Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 19 at 2015 7:19 PM

CDR Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 19:19:05 -0400

Now that you mention it, I just hang out at two on Facebook, both were previous units and I just hang out there because others are active in those groups. If RallyPoint keeps improving and growing I imagine I'll do less on Facebook and more here in RallyPoint.

Response by SPC Christopher Perrien made Oct 20 at 2015 9:52 PM

SPC Christopher Perrien — Tue, 20 Oct 2015 21:52:43 -0400

Could you elaborate or include a link? I am puzzled to who/what/why occurred , also what "the cause" is.

Response by AN Jose Vidal made Oct 21 at 2015 11:29 AM

AN Jose Vidal — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 11:29:02 -0400

I think that there are those vets or whomever are trying to create an upset while legit FB groups get caught up with the end tail of negativity.