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I'm going to go out on a limb and say that 2LTs having a platform is a good thing. JOs having a platform is a good thing.
1) They are better at engaging the general population than majors (who isn't?)
2) They are a more relatable face to the next gen of service members
1) They are better at engaging the general population than majors (who isn't?)
2) They are a more relatable face to the next gen of service members
3) They can share ground truths about both military life, and about wars.
Think of @colbybuzzell 's blogs from Iraq. Think about all the outreach @pptsapper and @LadyLovesTaft do now. We, service members and civilians both, NEED to hear from junior enlisted and junior officers
Think of @colbybuzzell 's blogs from Iraq. Think about all the outreach @pptsapper and @LadyLovesTaft do now. We, service members and civilians both, NEED to hear from junior enlisted and junior officers
Think of the hunger for genuine, honest, authentic military content, among service members and civilians. There has been an explosion in the last twenty years, from milblogs, to Terminal Lance and Task and Purpose, to twitter, to now (gulp) TikTok
Civilians want to know the military. They want to see that those in uniform are messy, complicated people, just like the rest of us.
Junior service members want their stories told, they want examples of others like them, they want a culture they can take part in
Junior service members want their stories told, they want examples of others like them, they want a culture they can take part in
There is such a deep longing for connection to service members.
The problem isn't that 2LT douche bro can talk to 3 million people any time he wants by filming a TikTok without going through the review process at Parameters or some other professional publication
The problem isn't that 2LT douche bro can talk to 3 million people any time he wants by filming a TikTok without going through the review process at Parameters or some other professional publication
The problem is that this is what he thought it meant to be an Army leader.
You think he's just some piece of shit who slipped through the cracks? You don't think he learned "don't be a pussy" from 100 other toxic leaders, officers and NCOs alike?
You think he's just some piece of shit who slipped through the cracks? You don't think he learned "don't be a pussy" from 100 other toxic leaders, officers and NCOs alike?
No, the problem isn't the platform.
The problem is this kid put out exactly what he thought he was supposed to. He was playing at the role he thought he was supposed to play. Some vision of a tough guy
The problem is this kid put out exactly what he thought he was supposed to. He was playing at the role he thought he was supposed to play. Some vision of a tough guy
If you want to shut down the platform, you are just preventing sunlight from being shone into the dark corners of the heart of military culture, where toxicity breeds.
The fault, dear Brutus, lies not in our TikToks, but in ourselves, that we, the military, have deep seated issues with sexism, racism, and a broken idea of leadership
