War
by Berg
Image Text: They offered to make me a green beret, but I liked my regular one. Although it gets kind of squashed under my helmet.
Today's comic seems to be a parable about the perils of love during wartime. Our protagonist is seen here leaning against his pack behind a low wall, surely a good hiding spot for any gentleman with a rifle and scope. Judging by the letter he's in the midst of writing, he has a complex relationship with Cordelia. On the one hand, she's attractive. On the other hand, she's a sniper, as evidenced by the shots fired mid-missive. Cordelia's ire works against her, though, as her volley of shots has revealed her own position atop the maintenance shed. We can presume that in a matter of minutes, this love affair will go sour as the love letter is wrapped around a live grenade and "delivered," so to speak. War is indeed hell.
As to the image text, the green berets are worn only by Special Forces soldiers. It takes a lot of training to become a green beret, and as evidenced by our protagonist's clever use of decoys to outwit a sniper, he may be qualified for the honor. It sounds, however, as he didn't understand the proposition, preferring his regular beret instead. Further evidence for his idiocy is given immediately thereafter, as he confesses that he wears a beret under his helmet.
July 21st, 2010
Wasn’t there an old reoccuring charecter who wore a beret?
July 22nd, 2010
Indeed, our beret wearing friend is the series existentialist. He appears in #167, #209, #248, #502, and #614.
July 22nd, 2010
But is this him?
July 21st, 2010
the beret is probably a shot at hipsters
July 21st, 2010
If it is Cordelia then it must be King Lear
July 21st, 2010
It could well be Cordelia Rosalind, the sniper from Anima.
http://atoracle.wikidot.com/en-cordelia-rosalind
July 21st, 2010
I’m not positive, but I think he might be referring to a character in the Vorkosigan SciFi series. At one point in the series, Cordeila Naismith and Aral Vorkosigan are on oppisite sides of a war but fall in love.
July 21st, 2010
“Further evidence for his idiocy is given immediately thereafter, as he confesses that he wears a beret under his helmet.”
Funny, but I understood it in a other way… It seems to me the protagonist is being sarcastic about the fact the condecorations do meaning nothing in the war.
Imho, the above sentence means: Doesn’t really matter if it is black or green beret, both end under a helmet.
July 22nd, 2010
Nice explanation. Although I think we can also add in that this is a reference to old war movies and romanticized stories of the past. It’s common for men in the battlefield to be fearful of their lives, and often pull out a pen and paper and write a letter to their loved ones. They would then keep these letters on their bodies, so that when their bodies are found, the letter would be found also, and forwarded onto the loved one.
That’s what I thought the letter was at first: a note to his beloved, just in case he was going to die. But the joke comes in showing that his loved one is not at home, but is actually IN the war, and playing for the wrong side!
July 26th, 2010
I thought I heard that at one point the U.S. army started issuing black berets to all its incoming soldiers — trying to encourage enlistment by automatically getting a beret, trading on the cache of ‘green berets’. So this may be a comment on that, and how giving everyone a beret erodes any cache berets had for being reserved for special forces… ?
August 5th, 2010
Special Forces, Rangers and Airborne were previously authorized to wear berets. It was in 2001 that the US Army adopted the beret to every Soldier. Addison, you were spot on. There was a bit of a distaste for the change by those previously authorized (Hey, at least the Cav still have our Stetsons…)
Green – Special Forces
Tan – Rangers
Maroon – Airborne
Black – Every other type of unit
We certainly don’t wear a beret under our mich. Although, not everything is always meant to be taken literally. It sure is a funny concept to have a squashed beret under there. I just gather it’s just another way of saying “be happy with your position in life”, perhaps?