In a message dated 12/22/98 5:40:45 PM Eastern Standard Time, wildeman@psn.net
writes:

<< UnderF4331@aol.com wrote:
 > >  As for sound, Elizabeth Moon has the briges of ships engaged in space
 > >  battles actually PLAYING sounds to simulate earth combat. Presumably,
 > >  people cannot be effective in combat without hearing the sounds of it!
 
 Nonsense. Utter nonsense. An aircraft, a ship at sea, or a submarine
 beneath it can and will engage an enemy they cannot see or sometimes
 even hear. A volley of nuclear-armed ballistic missiles can destroy
 hundreds of cities and millions of people in less than thirty minutes,
 and all that is required to do it is for a handful of people thousands
 of miles from their victims to follow a checklist step by step. >>
 
	Excuse me, but whose hands is the panic button?  A man who has no idea of
being in the military is like and has been using the military in hopes of
salvaging his political career.
	As far doing battle with ships and the like that you can't see, you also are
attacked sometimes, and so you occasionally get a reality check/reminded that
there's a war going on.

<< >         That's kinda true...
 >         There is an instinctive reaction to explosions, esp. the sound of
them: to
 > release adrenaline.  This is because, in nature, an explosion usually means
 > that you need to run, now, and fast.  I mean, let's face it, things don't
 > normally explode.
 >         Also, without sound a person might get to the point where they just
don't
 > believe that it's real, and do you really want that kind of person in your
 > military?
 
 The scenario of "Ender's Game" notwithstanding, this is also nonsense.
 The tension and fear is very real, very palpable. It's never a game,
 because the people in these positions know very well that their turn to
 die at the hands of an unseen enemy might be next. >>
	I don't trust people to be sane.  Anywhere.  And I don't see why one should
believe that just because someone has a high rank in the military they are
more likely to be sane.
	I would note that the highest ranks in the US military are political, and not
necessarily earned.
	And, since this is now off topic, I request that any replies be off list.


		--Ryo Hoshi