Is strict military discipline and flamboyant personality really contradictory?
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In the early 1970s, France made a movie that made the People's Liberation Army "black".
The "fantasy" film, called "The People's Liberation Army in Paris," makes a crazy assumption: in the 1970s, the Chinese People's Liberation Army hit All the way to France and captured Paris.
▼ The surrendered French politician learned to welcome the king
But the Hard-working and simple People's Liberation Army, in Paris, a city full of capitalist wave (fu) and bai culture, began to lose itself. In the end, the PLA was defeated by capitalist sugar-coated shells and withdrew back to China.
▼ The original intention of the film is actually irony
The nihilism that prevailed after the "May Storm" in France
The People's Liberation Army is really lying guns...
The situation in the movie naturally does not happen in reality, and the PLA has always given us the impression that it is indeed obedience to command, uniformity, and strict military discipline!
Compared to many armies in the West, the PLA seems to have great limitations on the personality of soldiers. For example, the US military next door dares to fight "aliens", they are very particular about the personality of soldiers, not only can read a variety of "beauty magazines", and even boldly paint all kinds of strange graffiti on aircraft tanks.
So, which is better, strict military discipline or flaunting personality? Is the personality of the US military really corrupt and degenerate?
- Behind the GRAffiti of american beauties is written "Survival of the Fittest"-
In fact, not all the troops of the US military dare to draw beautiful women on the equipment, and most of the US troops stationed in the mainland are relatively honest. The uniforms were neat and the equipment was clean.
And those with flaunting personalities often have a common feature, they are basically stationed overseas! During World War II, the United States sent troops around the world on a large scale. Various popular cultures that have been popular in the United States since the 1920s have also been brought to the world.
One of the most representative U.S. military graffiti is the nose paint of the U.S. Army's Eighth Air Force at that time. The air force was stationed in Britain and was long responsible for the strategic bombing of the Axis group.
This group of young people, who have only experienced half a year of training, also have to face the thin air and the biting cold, and carry out monotonous flights for more than ten hours. In the harsh environment and tragic air combat, the probability of the soldiers of the Eighth Air Force being sacrificed is as high as 40%!
The soldiers came up with ways to combat this enormous pressure. Among them, which has been passed down to this day, is the famous bomber nose graffiti.
The main element of inspiration for the nose graffiti of the US military during World War II is beauty! The ideas of these beauties are generally derived from the poster girls who were popular at the time.
The girls on these planes were generally individually requested by American pilots, and designed by local British gentleman painters, and then asked painters or skillful ground staff to copy them onto the plane.
A B-17 crew consists of 10 crew members, and one aircraft can represent both their squad and the trenches in which they fight. These machine nose graffiti express their common emotions and attitudes.
Another thing that has to be mentioned is the "Flying Tigers" stationed in China. The Full Name of the Flying Tigers was the "Chinese Air Force U.S. Volunteer Aid Air Force for China", which was later reorganized into the 14th Air Force of the U.S. Army Air Force (the mixed group of the U.S.-China Air Force belongs to this rate). The American P-40 fighters they use tend to paint the nose with the shark's head logo.
▼ This famous graffiti comes from
British Air Force in Liberia
There are many theories about why it is called the "Flying Tigers", one of which is that Chinese soldiers saw the painting and mistakenly thought it was a tiger, so they named it the Flying Tigers.
▼ Another theory is that Song Ziwen named it the Flying Tigers
Take the meaning of Chinese "like a tiger adding wings"
The flying tigers' graffiti generally consists of three parts, in addition to the terrifying shark's mouth at the nose, there is also a flying tiger in the middle of the fuselage.
▼ This is the Flying Tigers' team name General Chennault
Specially designed by American designers
There is also a part that is often not noticed: next to the cockpit, there is a small graffiti that represents the squadron to which the fighter belongs. The Flying Tigers have three squadrons:
▼ Adam and Eve Squadron
▼ Panda Squadron
▼ Hell's Angel Squadron
It is worth mentioning that the later Flying Tigers were reorganized into the Twenty-third Air Group of the Tenth Air Force of the United States. This brigade is still an active duty establishment of the United States Air Force. And its fuselage graffiti is still partially inherited.
▼The equipment was changed to an A-10 though
But the shark's mouth was preserved
Troops stationed overseas often have to face dangerous enemies full of unknowns and more fierce battles. This multiplied the psychological stress of the soldiers. A beautiful graffiti can enhance the cohesion of the soldier group to a certain extent, boost the morale of the team, and strengthen the belief of the team!
In fact, the same example is also reflected in the Chinese army, for example, during the self-defense counterattack against Vietnam, many soldiers' field photos also look like a "military disorganized" look.
However, due to the high temperature and rainy characteristics of the Vietnamese front, it is impossible for anyone to emphasize the issue of military appearance on the battlefield where life and death are at stake. The seemingly sloppy appearance of soldiers is actually a summary of the experience of veterans in long-term battles, and some are even the experience of comrades who exchange their lives for their lives.
Nowadays, various "personality liveries" have also begun to appear on the fighter jets and flight helmets of the Chinese Navy. The reason is also very simple, the navy aircraft carrier formation began to go overseas, which is the best proof that the Chinese navy is going deep blue!
The examples of the Chinese Navy and the U.S. Military have proved that strict military discipline and assertive personality are not contradictory. The image of soldiers and the culture of the army are all for the service of actual combat, and this down-to-earth spirit is what we should respect.
So if you have to do something, what will be the effect of asserting your personality?
Let's look at the Indian motorcycle brigade next door...
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