Thursday, December 2, 2010

Doctrine Man continues tradition of military services humor

“Doctrine Man” is an nameless, unauthorized Facebook comedian strip about surviving the absurdities of military life. Doctrine Man’s advice as struck a universal chord throughout the military services, from high-ranking officers down to enlisted personnel. The Doctrine Man Facebook updates carry on a long tradition within the military of using sardonic laughter to cope with a life of rigorous discipline.

Doctrine Man understands

An Army officer had been the producer of Doctrine Man, and placed his invention online for the world to determine via Facebook.As outlined by the brand new York Times, the officer (who will remain anonymous) was working with individuals who "just didn't get it" and he needed an outlet to vent his frustrations. He leaves names out of the mix, but he takes a hit at military doctrine in a comical way from experiences he has had with any person he comes in contact with who meet his cartoon criteria. Other military officers who have ran into his site and were intrigued have started dialogues with him via private e-mails. His superiors do receive any viable details that is received from his site and use it how they need to.

Status update of Doctrine Man

The Doctrine Man comic strip is drawn in stick figures, but the message is more essential than the graphics. The Facebook superhero is best describes as, “Able to leap useless acronyms with a single bound, faster than a lumbering field manual, more powerful than a cheese enchilada in a staff huddle.” Making the war zone feel like home, a soldier wearing a hula shirt to combat, and an officer selecting someone for a special operation by simply throwing a book at the first soldier who walks by; are just a couple of the situations you might run into with the Doctrine Man comic strip.

Laughing about life

Doctrine man isn't the first, and by far isn't the last, example of a minion accepting his life and laughing over it. Classic examples are the characters Willie and Joe that cartoonist Bill Mauldin penned as he traveled with troops in Europe during World War II. Some have even turned into big screen and TV hits such as, Joseph Heller's "Catch-22" and Richard Hooker's "MASH". "Beetle Bailey" has been continued by various different people since it began in 1950, and some believe Doctrine Man might follow within the same path.

Citations

Facebook

facebook.com/pages/Doctrine-Man/110598432306650

New York Times

nytimes.com/2010/11/19/us/19pentagon.html?src=twrhp

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Mauldin



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