As requested...I'm Smiling Canadian AMA (almost)

hardest working people i have ever known were Polish

not enough of them imo

and all I can remember were the silly Polish jokes as a kid

maybe this is what happens to people who actually do something with their day

idk
 
Growing up is like a giant sorting machine. It should be a bit of trial by fire. Especially when it comes to jobs that require a specific constitution and demeanor.

What one person interprets as love is bullying to someone else. Men and women both have certain types of behavior to those they love that no one else could get away with. That is called bonding.

Different strokes for different folks, baby.

Canadians are just weird, though. My best friend was from Ottawa (RIP bro) I once stuck a lit ciggarette up his asshole through a pair of really tight, thin shorts. His first reaction was to clench his ass cheeks together and hold it in there tighter. His second was to dance around like an idiot flapping away at his ass. In public. On a coffee house terrace. Then, he looked at me with puppy eyes and said "ow".

He deserved it. He knew it. That's love.
 
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I have a question for you Smiling Canadian....well a lot of questions. a series of open ended and in no way specific questions directed at you so we can keep this phenomenal thread going a little while longer

What entrepreneurial adventures would you say were worth doing and which ones were not?

which ones do you wish you pursued more of, earlier, or faster, and which ones do you wish you didn't waste your time with.......possibly even first hand failures or bad timing.

I know you have as much experience with this topic as you do military adventures and feel like it would be such a waste not to prick your brain about it more.

That you have put the same energy and dedication into your out of tactical life as you put into it.

I only mention this, thought of this, because I had a chance to talk with some random guy who did very well for himself financially and he was sharing stories of how he owned a crab boat (worst idea ever for him...most work least return), how he owned a tree farm (another bust), how he lost some of his fingers in a hay bale machine, how he opened a small hardware store in a local college town and how that was the one that was worth his efforts....... that he sold it to some younger people for a bond that pays 10% interest a year for several million dollars.

that it all took off from there

I realize that his experiences couldn't be repeated but was still so inspiring

I know yours would be even better and have always wanted to pick your brain about this topic. That we could all use more of what I know you have in your head.

No need for numbers, or doxxing, or anything too specific just whatever you feel like posting about really.
 
smilingcanadian, i have just spent ~some time~ making this thread about myself and the narrative i'm pushing on the internet, pls answer some token questions b/c i'm starting 2 realize that i just shit in my own fravrit bed
 
SC, from a 'boots on the ground' perspective - what would you like to see happen to improve the life of the men on the front lines?

Regarding ROE's - what would you like to see changed with them?
 
I ran across this blurb I wrote 15 years ago for a fellow legionnaire that was going to write a book. The book was to be about Legion Snipers.



The first time I knowingly killed someone in the Legion was October 26, 1983 in Beruit, Lebabnon. This was 2 days after the bombing of the Marine barracks that also killed I believe 55 or 60 French troops. I had been on other deployments and operations prior to this and had been in contact a number of times but you can never really be sure if it was you or someone else's bullets that kills an enemy in a chaotic situation.

I had recently been made squad marksman and issued the FR F1 sniper rifle. I had a lot of range time with the weapon but this was my first deployment with it as my primary.

Tensions were very high throughout the city after the bombing and we were doing multiple raids a day to try and round up those responsible. At about 16:30 hrs myself and my spotter set up inside a building and were going to cover a couple of teams making simultaneous entries on 2 targets next to each other. I was scanning my sector for threats for about 30 mins. and gave the all clear to the teams. I heard the other overwatch team give the all clear on their end. The go order was given. When they popped the doors of the targets, 3 men with ak's appeared from a hidden stairwell on a building about 250 meters to the left and below my position. Because of how I was set up I had to actually get up and move to get a clear shot. While my spotter warned the assault teams of the threat, I stood up, wrapped the sling around my forearm and engaged the targets. I neutralized the first target with 1 round to the chest and made a quick follow up shot on the second target. The round struck the target in the neck area and the target dropped to the ground. The third target took cover behind a low wall but a good portion of his back was showing so I fired 1 round into the target and when he rolled into view I shot him a second time striking him in the chest. The entire engagement lasted less than 45 seconds.

I went back to overwatch and 15 minutes later we were told to exfil to our rally point and return to base. When I got back I immediately had to head to the bathroom. I had the worst diarreah of my life and I was shaking so bad I thought I was going to fall off the toilet. I went to debrief and the Captain first gave me a glass of water that I swallowed in 1 gulp and then asked if I wanted "le whiskey". I wasn't much of a drinker but I accepted and it seemed to help me calm down and stop shaking. I gave my report and was dismissed.

Upon returning to our team area I got a bunch of handshakes and pats on the back and comments about losing my cherry. It really helped to have the support of the guys. We stood down the next day so I got my gear straightened out and tried to eat but I rally had no appetite.

Many times over the years I have thought about what I did that day. I have never really been troubled by it I don't think but I remember even the smallest details until this day. The one fellow was wearing 2 different shoes. I don't know how I took in that detail in that short amount of time. I remember each of their faces. Since that time I have knowingly killed many many people and while I have some recollection of each event, I don't seem to hold onto the details like I do of my first time.
 
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Esteban_Villa said:
excuse me sir i have questions about number 4 has the statute of limitations ended yet
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I knew I shouldn't have put that in there...

I worked for a month selling funeral services over the phone and in person. We would get lead sheets every morning with tips from hospital staff about patients that had passed or were on the verge. We also had to go through the obituaries in the paper and cold call people whose loved ones had just died. Back then preplanning of funerals was not really a thing so many folks had no idea of what to do. I believe this job killed a part of me.

This was when I was at the lowest point in my life...I was out of money. No place to live, sleeping on peoples couches or on the ground beside my bike. I sold my bike and took that money and my commission check for that month and went to France to join the Legion. Death in some 3rd world shithole was going to be preferable to dying a little each day.
 
samUwell said:
SC, from a 'boots on the ground' perspective - what would you like to see happen to improve the life of the men on the front lines?

Regarding ROE's - what would you like to see changed with them?
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The best improvement would be not to have them there in the first place. Other than that front line life is a shit sandwich. I'm not a fan of 12 month deployments. The Legion really tried to keep you in a combat zone for no more than 6 months at a time. I think the US did a big disservice to their war fighters by sticking them in combat for 12+ months at a time.

RoE's are there for a reason and I have never found them to be restrictive. All RoE's I've ever had to operate within always come with a caveat of protecting yourself. If some PoS civillian oversight cocksucker ever questioned me regarding violating and RoE I just pointed out that caveat and usually got up and left.
 
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