In a bar last night, someone told me that U.S. fliers are told to “beat themselves up” if they get shot down. This is supposed to make the enemy leary of showing them on TV, for fear of being accused of abusing prisoners.
Needless to say, when I was told this, I started laughing uncontrollably at the thought of our Tom Cruise fly boys pummelling themselves. “Take that, you pretty-boy bastard! And that!”
For some reason, this irritated my companion, who offered to bet me $10 that this was, indeed, official U.S. Air Force training policy.
Does anyone know anything about this? Or is it just too silly to contemplate?
Sounds silly to me. I think it’s reasonable to expect that Iraq doesn’t have any problems with violating the Geneva Conventions and abusing prisoners on live television. Anyway, here is a page that explains in great detail what you’re supposed to do if you’re captured. (US military personell are not permitted to surrender, but they may be captured.)
Sounds like bullshit to me, too. Besides, most of the facial lacerations and bruising you see on downed fliers comes from riding their aircraft down while ditching, or as a result of ejecting and landing hard. Broken arms can also be a result of ditching, as the pilot tries to control the aircraft as it “lands.”
I already made the bet and placed the burden of proof on him. He claims he read it in Newsweek, during the initial Gulf War. If he doesn’t provide proof (or at least evidence) within a week, he owes me $10.
If he does provide evidence, I’ll report back here.
BDS: Thank you for letting me write this script. Actually, I’ve had similar conversations before. Tell your friend, for me if you don’t mind, “Newsweek isn’t an official source.”
i was watching one of the morning news shows this morning and they were intervewing two soldiers who had been taken captive during the gulf war. one who went on t.v. said something about beating himself up so that he looked worse in attempt to stay off t.v. . i’ve also heard of this through a family friend who is in the airforce and said that some bases teach this in their training while others leave it out.