Military scout offer to colonize space

[dragon]

kind of an interesting idea about letting elite people trained in living off the land be sent off planet to prepare the way for others. Not to sure about feasibility of it but might be worth a shot with a little specialized training.
As the editor states about the tourist going to space all is needed is the desire,

SFC Ruth I salute your enthusiasm, braveness and if not your sanity due to jumping out of perfectly good planes.

Afghanistan Heroes Offer to Colonize Moon, Mars and Beyond
April 25th, 2008
Author Anthony Duignan-Cabrera

A recent survey in the news showed that the war in Iraq had dropped to number 3 on a list of issues currently obsessing potential voters in the ongoing presidential campaign season.

That war trailed the economy and gas prices on the list of items clearly furrowing the brows of the American electorate. Oddly enough in the reams of coverage devoted to oil prices, the Iraqi insurgency, the mortgage crisis, the credit crunch and all the ensuing economic upheaval attached, the war in Afghanistan barely creates a ripple.

Sure, we’re concerned that Pakistan’s role in the War on Terror could be a little more one-sided–with that nation’s government, army and secret service preferably falling on OUR side of the fence–but all-in-all Afghanistan has become a kind of “limbo war”; not as concrete as the one in Iraq, but a place where all the success since the routing of the Taliban has become dimmer, their resurgence a grim reminder of how unfinished the job is over there.

I would get more sanctimonious about this issue if in truth I wasn’t as guilty of my own–at best, amnesia; at worst, indifference–towards the situation. I worry about gas and the economy, too.

Yet earlier this week I received the most wonderful e-mail in my “Letters to the Editor” mailbox.

Typically, it overflows with bargain Viagra and/or Cialis pitches, angry missives from Creationists or UFOlogists and for some reason of late, irked Raëlians. But on Wednesday I received an e-mail from SFC William H. Ruth of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division stationed somewhere in Afghanistan.

Sgt. Ruth wrote in response to SPACE.com Senior Editor Tariq Malik’s story Monday about Prof. Stephen Hawking’s belief in extraterrestrial life and he has a suggestion for NASA:

“Please forward this to the proper channels. I have read Stephen Hawking’s latest remarks on space travel and the importance of it to human survival. The problem is, NASA is going about it all the wrong way.

Here is an idea: Send battle-hardened, strong-minded soldiers and marines on the long trips into space. We are conditioned to live with the bare minimal (of) life’s necessities and are trained to be prepared for … the worst conditions that any environment could throw at us.

Hell, me and my men will go, set up a colony somewhere and await colonists to arrive.

Me and most of my men are on our 3rd or 4th deployment into a combat area. We are scouts, reconnaissance specialists. We go before everyone else and spend time living off the land. Sounds just like the type of men needed for a long colonization journey.

Please pass this message on to anyone you know in the space program. (T)here are many men already trained and prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice for their country and the human race.

Thank you for you time.

SFC Ruth, 101st Airborne Division. Afghanistan”

I don’t know what impressed me more, Sgt. Ruth’s enthusiasm, his selflessness or his commitment to his country and all humanity. We traded e-mails throughout the week and I pointed out that many in NASA’s astronaut program are pulled from the U.S. Air Force and Navy.

Still, the idea of sending scout parties with years of practical experience seems obvious to me. As Dennis Tito, the first civilian space tourist has shown us, you don’t have to have extra-special skills to go into space, just the desire to go there.

Sgt Ruth sent me a pic of he and his fellow soldiers on the ground in Afghanistan:

Sgt. William Ruth and 101st Airborne
Sgt. Ruth’s e-mail put Afghanistan in the forefront of my mind as one of the most important issues of the day. Last time I checked, Osama bin Laden is still cavorting there in the border regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

For anyone at NASA reading this, take a serious look at Sgt. Ruth’s proposal, it’s a brave out-of-the box idea. In all humility, I realize that this is what real heroes do: They protect their country, their fellow soldiers and the defenseless. They tolerate impossible conditions and the very real risk of injury and possible death.

And when they have some free time, they look to the stars and dream of saving humanity.

If you would like to reach Sgt. Ruth and his troops to thank them for their service and wish them well, please e-mail me here at this address. All appropriate e-mails will be forwarded.

airborne

[j1j2j3]

Brave words to be sure, but almost zero chance of being implemented. There is much more to space colonization than just needing volunteers.

[dragon]

Brave words to be sure, but almost zero chance of being implemented. There is much more to space colonization than just needing volunteers.

Very true but people showing this kind of support can only help the goal of space exploration. Plus that sense of adventure and accomplishment that comes with it is one reason we strive for new challenges.

[Ford Prefect]

As nice a sentiment as it is, I find the idea of living off the land in space to be very amusing. You can't send a man to Mars and say 'live off the land', because you need mechanical support just to breathe there.

[Tanasinn]

To say nothing of John Q. Public, who would rather kill unwashed religious people overseas than see his tax money go to "worthless" exploration.

[dragon]

Well there is that saying about the ignorant masses. now that said while living off the land on mars is not all that feasible maybe once we find a habitable planet. but for that unless we have some serious breaktrhroghs in tech then it will be a long time if ever before we are able to get to one.

[Dracofrost]

The man sounds informed enough to have not meant the 'living off the land' literally, probably more something along the lines of In-Situ Resource Utilization, like he might have read about in one of Robert Zubrin's books or something.

And setting up the first moon and mars bases is going to require people willing to work very hard in very harsh, very dangerous conditions. Now if only recruiting were the hard part in that endevour...

[darthdavid]

Exactly. You could find millions of people who'd jump at the chance to go to another planet and hundreds of thousands who'd still be willing to go once you spelled out just how fucking difficult it would be. People aren't the problem. And the technology for it isn't the problem either. It isn't everyday shit billybob can cobble together out of a '91 honda civic, a leaf blower and duct-tape but for a basic base on the moon or mars we've had all we need to do it for years. It's money and the will to put it behind such an endeavor where we get problems...

[Tolya]

Ironic, isn't it? The people that seem to be best suited to space travel, space exploration and living in otherwise extreme conditions, are the ones, that in most sci-fi holywood action flicks are depicted as stupid unrational order-obeyers who want nothing else than to kill everyone in a giant atomic blast that has to do with a chickenshit premature execution of the "backup plan".

[Junghalli]

As nice a sentiment as it is, I find the idea of living off the land in space to be very amusing. You can't send a man to Mars and say 'live off the land', because you need mechanical support just to breathe there.

"Living off the land" here would presumably mean, as Dracofrost said, in situ resource utilization; getting as much of what you need from the local environment and as little from Earth as possible. Basically recycling water and air, growing your own food, obtaining building materials from the local environment etc. Being able to do this is pretty vital to any real space colonization: it'd be hideously uneconomical to import massive quantities of material from Earth on a regular basis to keep the colony going.