Serving in the Military....
- Thread starter BBUK
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What does that even mean? Make a man out of you? Under what definition? Yours and those like you? What about artists? Poets? Writers? Are they less of a man because they don't fit into your archetype? John Wayne was a cross dresser by the way. Does that make him less of a man?
Bud
I tried to nicely end our conversation on a decent note.
If you want to debate get one of your post buddies. Let's agree to disagree. You are not eloquent and not enlightened. You are arguing for the sake of arguing. Run along and find someone who you may impress. If you don't like John Wayne that's okay. All you are doing is showing yourself an ass. I won't waste time trying to convince you. It's not worth it. Be Good
I will take on the crux of this question, and happily:
Men who have sacrificed years of their personal lives in order to serve their country are better men than the men who do not (generally men who serve only themselves). That is not to say that the latter group does not include very good men. Simply put, these two groups of men are different, their resultant quality is not a perfect tie, and it is not the latter group that is better.
For any man or young man that wants to understand a meaning of ANYTHING, the ancient answer provided by the elders among all cultures is to get off your ass and go live the experience. Join the men who do more than read about it and talk about it and then you will know.
The child who asks the man, "what does it mean" seeks knowledge. The man who asks "what does it mean" seeks an excuse.
Any more questions? kk
Making it a requirement would be a horrible idea. But I would like to see more incentive for people to join. Higher salary for active duty and more post-service benefits.
I also think it would be a great idea to give citizenship to immigrants who serve four years in our military. If they're willing to serve and defend this country then they should be granted citizenship.
I also think it would be a great idea to give citizenship to immigrants who serve four years in our military. If they're willing to serve and defend this country then they should be granted citizenship.
Was talking to a Turkish business associate yesterday and he mentioned his brief stint in the Turkish military--of only two months. However, he said it gave him a much greater appreciation and respect for career soldiers.
Many friends of mine who were born and raised in the Northeast have no family or friends who ever served in the military--it's like something out of the movies for them. So....I think it would be very worthwhile to have all US citizens serve time in the military--even if it's only for one 2-3 month period in the Summer between the ages of 18-23. A little discipline, military training and hard work wouldn't be a bad thing for anyone.
And, yes, I realize there would be a huge cost to this and the uproar to enforce it would be massive so it will probably never happen unless we are in a fight for survival. But, IMO, would be good for this country.
Many friends of mine who were born and raised in the Northeast have no family or friends who ever served in the military--it's like something out of the movies for them. So....I think it would be very worthwhile to have all US citizens serve time in the military--even if it's only for one 2-3 month period in the Summer between the ages of 18-23. A little discipline, military training and hard work wouldn't be a bad thing for anyone.
And, yes, I realize there would be a huge cost to this and the uproar to enforce it would be massive so it will probably never happen unless we are in a fight for survival. But, IMO, would be good for this country.
Admit this caught my attention. Combined with your North Dallas 40 snip. Tempted to guess we're close to the same age, maybe I'm a bit older (mid 50s). I served late 70s through most of the 80s. Knew many, many fellow servicemen stateside and overseas from the New England states. One of my best friends was from Maine. Took a few road trips on long weekends from Ft. Bragg to Boston with a friend from Quincy. Plenty of servicemen from surrounding Boston area back then. Maybe there's a generational shift in your observation. Concerning.
Once again, I find it easy to tell which posters have never indulged serious literature.
I've heard this idea many times before and I don't understand why so many people think arming a non-citizen and asking them to fight for your country is a good idea. If you're not a US citizen then the last thing I want to do is hand you a gun and ask you to fight beside me. I think it's one of those ideas that non-military people like. No person that I know that has ever served wanted to be fighting alongside non US citizens. Unit cohesion killer... but for that matter (IMO) so are women in combat units but that is another story.
But they have non-citizens currently in the military, what better way to indoctrinate a person. Much better that just allowing citizenship to ones coming here for purely economic reasons.
First of all the military isn't a one size fits all proposition and not all military personnel are someone to be admired. Can it be the instrument to turn a persons life for the better? Sure it can be and it has been, but the negative side of that story is not told nearly as much.
My thinking would be instead of forcing people as the only option into the military, the better solution would be two years of service, military or not. That could be extremely useful stints in the coast guard, wildfire and forest fire fighters, disaster clean-up, flood relief, roadway maintenance, border patrol, public utility construction, refuse collection, civil construction, all sorts of jobs that are in the interest of the country and are entry level jobs that do not require a college degree.
My thinking would be instead of forcing people as the only option into the military, the better solution would be two years of service, military or not. That could be extremely useful stints in the coast guard, wildfire and forest fire fighters, disaster clean-up, flood relief, roadway maintenance, border patrol, public utility construction, refuse collection, civil construction, all sorts of jobs that are in the interest of the country and are entry level jobs that do not require a college degree.
You'TE="IdaCat, post: 2084829, member: 2982"]I need my 54 y/o out of shape ass sent to boot camp right now.[/QUOTE]
You're 54 for real? For some reason I was under the impression you were late 20's early 30's. Please do not take as an insult. Not meant as one in any way
You're 54 for real? For some reason I was under the impression you were late 20's early 30's. Please do not take as an insult. Not meant as one in any way
They are called bullet stoppers. Eventually some of them figure it out and learn how to be a good soldier or marineThe military would suffer it's worst demise if it was required to find a place for each of the lazy offspring from each of our social classes, from the wealthiest to the poorest, from the sprawling estates to the project slums where the primary purpose is to eat, sleep and reproduce and to teach more generations to do the same, but even worse yet is that the military would suffer the most unfair consequence of all - to be required to find a purpose for the offspring of persons who had achieved more than 25 thousand posts on an internet message board.cheers to the 173d and the 503.
It would be VERY costly to taxpayers, since there are severaly times more newly eligible recruits every year than actual new recruits. Difficult to justify that, when we need to be cutting budgets across the board, not expanding them.
And just like every teen isn't college-material, neither is every teen military-material. Why force a square peg into a round hole.
Lastly, I am not in favor of the government forcing people to do something that isn't essential. And while having a military is essential, having everyone serve in it is not essential for a country as large as ours.
Are there teens who could get benefit (discipline, structure) out of military service? Yes.
And just like every teen isn't college-material, neither is every teen military-material. Why force a square peg into a round hole.
Lastly, I am not in favor of the government forcing people to do something that isn't essential. And while having a military is essential, having everyone serve in it is not essential for a country as large as ours.
Are there teens who could get benefit (discipline, structure) out of military service? Yes.
I bet you breathed a sigh of relief when you got that message. My father in law was drafted and they asked for volunteers for cooks and since his dad was a chef, he raised his hand. It kept him out of Vietnam and he turned into a 30 year career.
