The US Military's Racial Slur... Anyone have thoughts on this?

2014-06-27T13:23:31-04:00

I see this as yet another example of Political Correctness not being checked by common sense.

http://www.stripes.com/opinion/the-us-military-s-racial-slur-1.290919

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 27 at 2014 2:15 PM

2014-06-27T14:15:56-04:00

More PC B.S.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jun 27 at 2014 2:39 PM

2014-06-27T14:39:31-04:00

You look at the names and it's about being a fierce warrior honoring those namesakes. Not sure how the original helicopter/Native American thing came to be (though not sure about the Huey/Iroquois connection either), should we go PC commando and change all the names to safer alternatives:

AH-64 Butterfly
RAH-66 Dust Devil
UH-60 Whirly Bird
CH-47 Chrysanthemum

Now those are PC and, If I dare say, shock and awe kind of names that will have both us and our enemies dying from laughter.

Response by CMDCM Gene Treants made Jun 27 at 2014 4:27 PM

2014-06-27T16:27:14-04:00

I was seriously wondering when this would become an issue. We all knew it was a possibility and just hoped it would not touch the military.

Response by Cpl Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 27 at 2014 4:55 PM

2014-06-27T16:55:11-04:00

A pendulum swings two ways... wait for the swing

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jun 27 at 2014 5:05 PM

2014-06-27T17:05:25-04:00

If we're going to be politically correct on all these issues then we must be politically correct across the board otherwise it's nothing but hypocrisy.

Response by LCpl Steve Wininger made Jun 27 at 2014 5:58 PM

2014-06-27T17:58:21-04:00

Ridicules. The best I can tell, it is a few liberals crying foul. I have not done much research, but I have not heard any Native Americans complaining about the names that sports franchise's have used their teams.

If Congress has time to take up an issue such as this and cannot work out a budget or fix the real problems in this country, then it is time to hire a new congress.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 29 at 2014 12:52 AM

2014-06-29T00:52:37-04:00

I know most of these are mentioned in the article but where does this end? There are a lot of things in the military honorably named after Indians.
Kiowa
Chinook
Blackhawk
Apache
Tomahawk
Iroquois
Mohawk
Cochise
Wichita
Lakota
Comanche
Creek
Cheyenne
Osage
Mojave
Choctaw
Seneca
Sioux
Seminole

Response by LTC Jason Strickland made Jun 29 at 2014 8:15 AM

2014-06-29T08:15:33-04:00

What a waste of effort! Let's focus less on our naming conventions and more on the lethality of these weapons systems - and the next generation of "laying the smack down" combat multipliers.
If the DoD puts an ounce of energy into this, we're in for a LONG ride into absurdity!
We could always just use Transformers names: Optimus Prime sounds good for a tank...Ultra Magnus could be a missile system. Oh wait, we don't want to offend the Decepticons!
Thanks for sharing LTC Paul Labrador.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 29 at 2014 3:13 PM

2014-06-29T15:13:40-04:00

Since when does political correctness have anything to do with the core military mission: going out and breaking other people's stuff? I personally believe core military intention was to honor the power and reputation of our Native American tribes by naming powerful weapons systems after Native American tribes. The entire issue seems like going after the old Keep America Beautiful campaign using Native American tradition, images, and values to support cleaner environment. We can't always be politically correct and accomplish our core mission.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 29 at 2014 3:49 PM

2014-06-29T15:49:24-04:00

For those wanting some history:
"AR 70-28, dated 18 June 1976, specifies that Army aircraft should be given the names of American Indian tribes or chiefs or terms. The name should appeal to the imagination without sacrifice of dignity, and should suggest an aggressive spirit and confidence in the capabilities of the aircraft. The name also should suggest mobility, agility, flexibility, firepower and endurance.For brevity, it is suggested the name consist of only one word."
The article can be found: http://theaviationist.com/2013/03/13/american-indian-tribes-tradition/
It also contains a complete list of names.

Have you ever wondered why the AH-64 is called “Apache”? The American Indian tribes tradition

All of the American Army helicopters are named after either Indian Tribe names, or Indian Tribe Chiefs’ names (Apache, Comanche,Chinooketc). This regularity is nowhere near accidental. The …

Response by SFC Jerry Humphries made Jun 29 at 2014 5:15 PM

2014-06-29T17:15:21-04:00

I think the Native Americans we fought in the establishment of our nation, would feel proud their former enemy would Honor them in this way.

Response by LTC Paul Labrador made Jun 30 at 2014 10:36 AM

2014-06-30T10:36:46-04:00

A nice follow-up to this whole controversy:

Everyone Relax—The Army’s Native American Helicopter Names Are Not Racist — War Is Boring

There’s a difference between honor and exploitation

Response by SPC David S. made Aug 26 at 2014 1:52 PM

2014-08-26T13:52:08-04:00

There is at least one fixed rotary aircraft that has managed to have slipped through the cracks of AR 70-28 the Cobra. These name are no where near derogatory in nature in fact the reg speaks about this "The name should appeal to the imagination without sacrifice of dignity, and should suggest an aggressive spirit and confidence in the capabilities of the aircraft." I could think of much worse names like AH-1 Rice Cooker or UH-60A Sand Blaster. Also half the state and most rivers would need a name change if where going around renaming things. Although this is not coming from a Native American viewpoint.