Guest guest Posted January 16, 2005 Report Share Posted January 16, 2005 Thanks for the history lesson Butch. How do you remember it all? I just remembered the sentence because it was so funny, not the details. As for this: <Freedom to say that one would like to do away with armies came from armies having given one that freedom .. > True, but only because there was another army there that took away the freedom in the first place, etc etc. We can dream, can't we? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 16, 2005 Report Share Posted January 16, 2005 Thanks for answering Butch, frankly i had no clue, lol... Carol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 16, 2005 Report Share Posted January 16, 2005 Dear Butch, Thanks for the history lesson on military uniforms. I will be sendin a copy of this to my son for his information. Let him see that dear old mom still reals about history. I think that he will be happy to read it. He made the Superintendent's List for grades last semester and that makes us happy. So far he has made the Sup's Honor Roll each time at the Naval Academy. This semester he is officially taking 19 hours with 3 labs or 21 hours and he will be busy. He is on guard duty tonight guarding " Bancroft Hall " (the very large building where 4,000 midshipmen live) against " terrorist activities. " ;-D No kidding this is what he had on his Away Message and I'm still laughing but it is good to know that these young people are being taught how to protect their " home " and our country. You were so right when you have said that it takes a strong military to give people the rights to be free and speak their minds. Without our strong military I would be very worried about where our world and freedoms would be. Take care and have a great week ahead of you and don't work too hard. ;-D Rhavda Emsion Scents of Success (http://www.scentsofsuccess.com) Texas Grown - USA Made Rose Oil Products Rose, Helichrysum, Oak Moss, Melissa & Other Aromatherapy Products >Hi Ien, > >> Thanks as always for the chuckles Carol, >> but I have to ask: >> Wasn't that be the other way around? >> >> I do believe it was the French who wore red. > >Hard to say .. European armies were pretty non-standard in their uniform >choices back in the 1700s and so .. and even so today. After the French >and British realized they were not going to control the world they began >to instill pride in Regimental affiliation .. basically, a home guard. > Uniforms became Regimental Uniforms rather than Branch of Service. > >I served in NATO Turkey with British officers .. it was a joke that we >would never see two British officers wearing the same uniform on the >same day because they coordinated their dress the night before .. much >like their wives would do prior to a cocktail party. It was an easy >thing to do as they were normally from different regiments. ;-) > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 16, 2005 Report Share Posted January 16, 2005 Hi Ien, > Thanks as always for the chuckles Carol, > but I have to ask: > Wasn't that be the other way around? > > I do believe it was the French who wore red. Hard to say .. European armies were pretty non-standard in their uniform choices back in the 1700s and so .. and even so today. After the French and British realized they were not going to control the world they began to instill pride in Regimental affiliation .. basically, a home guard. Uniforms became Regimental Uniforms rather than Branch of Service. I served in NATO Turkey with British officers .. it was a joke that we would never see two British officers wearing the same uniform on the same day because they coordinated their dress the night before .. much like their wives would do prior to a cocktail party. It was an easy thing to do as they were normally from different regiments. ;-) In the 1800s the contemporary uniform trousers for the French and half the other armies of Europe was Red trousers .. but approximately half their regiments .. to include Infantry, Artillery and Fusiliers wore Blue trousers. The French Foreign Legion wore White. By the late 1920s they had pretty much switched to Brown for Infantry .. but that lesson was one that was learned the hard way. Even in the late 1700s and early 1800s there was discussion in England about adopting uniforms more suitable for woodland warfare .. but there were many who believed that there would be no more wars like the ones they had lost in the United States .. so change did not come about. In those years flamboyance was the name of the game and many French regiments wore red, pink, green and other wild colors. There was little differentiation made between Dress Uniforms and Combat Uniforms because it had long been the tactic of European armies to face each other at close range and fight battles of attrition .. but that was due to change following the first World War. > In fact, when it was suggested that they switch > to camouflage material an offended general > exclaimed: " Le pantalon rouge, c'est la France! " . It wasn't a General .. French Generals were too smart to make such a dumb comment .. twas a retired politician. Read on: Le Pantalon Rouge In the two years leading up to the First World War, Politics in France were dominated by one huge issue: the red trousers worn by the French Army. The British Army, on the other hand, which had recently fought the Boer War, had discovered the need for camouflaged uniforms and were now dressing their soldiers in khaki. The Germans had also changed, moving from prussian blue to field grey. But the French did not follow the same tack. Traditionally, they had worn blue coats, red kepi and red trousers, as at Waterloo, and decided to retain this distinctive outfit once the Great War had started. In 1912 A French Minister of War had visited Bulgaria to observe maneuvers, and came back convinced that because war was no longer fought at close quarters, concealment was essential to protect soldiers against the new long range rifles. Despite the other countries adopting sensible colors that did not attract attention, the French would have none of it. " To banish all that is colorful, all that gives the vivid aspect is to go both against French taste and military function " , wrote a leader-writer in Echo de Paris, The nation was divided between the traditionalists and the modernists. The traditionalists won the day. Those who wanted to dress the French soldier in khaki, it was said, were revolutionaries who wanted to destroy the noble traditions of the country. Declared a former Minister of War at a parliamentary hearing: " Le pantalon rouge, c’est la France " . The consequences of this victory by traditionalists proved disastrous. How many French soldiers lost their lives in the first year of the Great War before the highly visible red was superseded by the khaki color one may only guess at, but would have amounted to thousands, have no doubt. > Ien in the Kootenays, who would rather do > away with armies alltogether. Why not do away with police too? Next time we're in trouble we can call a wino. ;-) Freedom to say that one would like to do away with armies came from armies having given one that freedom .. not from one earning the freedom and not from the lack of military power in the world. The United States Army Medical Corps is credited with having found the cures for many diseases that used to devastate the world .. and the U. S. Army in general has always been in the vanguard of social change .. in particular, equal opportunity for minorities and females. In 1972, I commanded the first Military Police Company in the United States Army to integrate women into all male units .. to be housed and fed and trained and disciplined by male commanders. It was a social experiment that put a lot of pressure on me .. it worked and it was the beginning of the end for the Woman's Army Corps (WAC). For those few who are interested in trivia .. it was the 38th Military Police at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Personally, I would like to do away with Liberals .. but I think neither of us has any hope of getting what we want. ;-) > ******************************* > Stop. Breathe. Smile! > ~Padma ( my TV yoga teacher) > See my smiling face: > http://www.greatestnetworker.com/is/ien > ******************************* Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch http://www.AV-AT.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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