Joining the Military

[HighlyIllogical]

Is it a good idea to join the military? Would you ever consider it? This is a politics-relevant thread, in the sense that it is in regards to geopolitics and the waging of war.

[Montgomery-Scott]

Despite my leftist political leanings, yes. I plan to join the military for a few years after i finish college before I get a job. In my oppinion, it is every citizen's patriotic duty to fight for their country, wheather they believe in their government or not. Can it be dangerous if you are on an active tour? yes, but it needs to be done, and I don't plan on letting other people do it.

[Orcinator]

well I am not sure but I saw that many of the people who join the military are poor people from bad neighbor hoods, not all of them but some are.

[A-Carrot-By-Dr-Riot]

The Navy has been a pretty cool experience so far for me.
For the amount of work I do, I am WAY overpaid, for the amount of stupid BS I put up with, I'm underpaid.

There are pros and cons to military service, but it's definitely a learning experience.

[Montgomery-Scott]

At 1/5/06 08:40 PM, Orcinator wrote: well I am not sure but I saw that many of the people who join the military are poor people from bad neighbor hoods, not all of them but some are.

yes, the main argument for a draft is that having a voulenteer army puts mainly poor minorities on the frontlines. Of course, this is far from a rule, and there are many exceptions, the most notable being the officer corps, which is composed nearly completely (although that is changing) of white middle class or well to do southerners.

[Buckdich]

The Military has always been an option for me as something to fallback on. If I can't decide what career I might want to pursue or what college I might go to, I will probably join the military for several reasons.

1. Gives me a real job after leaving the house at 18 so I can become independent without relying on my Father for support.
2. The training and experience I would get from the military would help me greatly in any future jobs that I might have (Businesses love to recruit people who were in the military)
3. Money for college!

[Vicious-J]

At 1/5/06 08:40 PM, Orcinator wrote: well I am not sure but I saw that many of the people who join the military are poor people from bad neighbor hoods, not all of them but some are.

what is worng with that that is allways the people call on for to fight wars allways have allways will but gust because people from that kind of back round is not allways the voilent type and thay dont let ANY body join. but to the qustion yes i have been wonting to join sence i was 7 and i plan to do so out of high school.

[MortifiedPenguins]

Yeah i'm pretty sure i'll be joining the Navy, unless i get a scholarship to a college, even a UMass.

Anyways i want to be a Cop, so having crediantals that i was a Master at Arms would be good to become a Stattee.

[HighlyIllogical]

Yeah, I'm hoping to join the Navy or the Coast Guard either after graduate school, law school or medical school (but the Navy after Med school only, USCG doesn't have doctors as military personnel as far as I know). It's the duty of every citizen, me, a liberal too, to serve his or her nation in some manner.

[A-Carrot-By-Dr-Riot]

At 1/5/06 08:49 PM, fenrus1989 wrote: Anyways i want to be a Cop, so having crediantals that i was a Master at Arms would be good to become a Stattee.

Oooh... I don't want to burst your bubble but the MA rate is sorta crappy right now. Maybe if you've got a good head on your shoulders it might be different, but as far as I've been able to tell, the MAs are like mall security guards with gigantic egos.

I'd do some research before making assumptions about the MA rate.

[HighlyIllogical]

At 1/5/06 08:42 PM, Dr_Arbitrary wrote: The Navy has been a pretty cool experience so far for me.
For the amount of work I do, I am WAY overpaid, for the amount of stupid BS I put up with, I'm underpaid.

There are pros and cons to military service, but it's definitely a learning experience.

Arbitrary, what's your MOS or, If that's not applicable to the Navy, what's your rate and speciality?

[HighlyIllogical]

At 1/5/06 08:53 PM, Dr_Arbitrary wrote:

At 1/5/06 08:49 PM, fenrus1989 wrote: Anyways i want to be a Cop, so having crediantals that i was a Master at Arms would be good to become a Stattee.

Oooh... I don't want to burst your bubble but the MA rate is sorta crappy right now. Maybe if you've got a good head on your shoulders it might be different, but as far as I've been able to tell, the MAs are like mall security guards with gigantic egos.

Perhaps he should join the USCG and be a coxswain, bosun's mate or a gunner's mate. If not that, then be an Inspector as Naval enlisted. Or, go to college and do something as an MP officer.

[A-Carrot-By-Dr-Riot]

Electronics Technican Third Class (ET3)
I specialize in fixing communication gear, although I have been trained in the basics of Radar. My specific fields of expertise are HF and UHF communication, an obsolete version of NAVMACS, and IFF.

I spend most of my time trying to find parts to do trivial maintenance. I spent three days a while back to check the pressure on the low pressure air system for some antennas. It was supposed to take 18 minutes.

I also have to do all the miscelaneous military crap like guarding stuff. Furthermore, because of the danger it presents, I, like most people in the Navy, am expected to be fully competent in firefighting.

[HighlyIllogical]

So you're a PO3 (petty officer 3rd class), right? Because the Navy refers to you as your speciality then rank, such as, say, DC1 (I guess that would be a damage controlman/woman who's a petty officer 1st class).

[MortifiedPenguins]

At 1/5/06 08:53 PM, Dr_Arbitrary wrote:

At 1/5/06 08:49 PM, fenrus1989 wrote:

Oooh... I don't want to burst your bubble but the MA rate is sorta crappy right now. Maybe if you've got a good head on your shoulders it might be different, but as far as I've been able to tell, the MAs are like mall security guards with gigantic egos.

Dammit, just to my luck. I wanted to be a cop and if i joined the Military i would go for that because it would look good. I don't really want to become an MP(mainly because i don't want to be in the army).

Just peachy, but anyways, it matters how i do in high school. Currently so good, except for Geomentry.

I'd do some research before making assumptions about the MA rate.

Are you talking about Rate of Pay or what they actually do.

[Timmy-B]

Despite the fact that Im against war and the reasons for it, I would definitely serve my country in the military if the need arose.

Besides that, all the experience and perks you get from joining the military... even the Intel or another semi-safe job, is amazingly high.

[Buffalow]

I want to join the Army or the Air Force, out of High School.

Hopefully, when I get to that point, and I do get over to Iraq, most of the fighting will be over and it will degrate to just an occupation of Iraq and not a War on Terror.

[solusek]

Army's tanks blow up. Navy's ships sink. Marines get shot. I'm in the Air Force; I go home and eat steak.

[Imperator]

At 1/5/06 10:17 PM, solusek wrote: Army's tanks blow up. Navy's ships sink. Marines get shot. I'm in the Air Force; I go home and eat steak.

haha! That's one funny ass comment. Props to you sir!

I was plannin either reserves or national guard. Either an MP or somethin else. I'd have to look into it more, but I don't plan on it for at least 2-3 years. I wanted to get back into Martial Arts and continue breakin after I graduate (hopefully sometime in 08), and do Reserves or N.G. so I could still do all 3 and not have to move or be gone for long stretches of time/move/etc.

A future weekend warrior!

[SomeKindOfMonster]

would i join? no. would i join if you said i was being selfish? no, because i would classifie you as an asshole and i dont listen to assholes.

i wont join the military. others can go, i wont.

[Imperator]

At 1/6/06 03:10 AM, SomeKindOfMonster wrote: would i join? no. would i join if you said i was being selfish? no, because i would classifie you as an asshole and i dont listen to assholes.

i wont join the military. others can go, i wont.

So do you follow the Cynic philosophy approach?

No heroes among thieves and all that jazz........

Question:

Would you join if the country was under attack, ie draft?

I wouldn't call someone selfish if they didn't WANT to join. The army isn't for everybody, you gotta do what you want to do, not what people want you to do.

[A-Carrot-By-Dr-Riot]

At 1/6/06 03:10 AM, SomeKindOfMonster wrote: would i join? no. would i join if you said i was being selfish? no, because i would classifie you as an asshole and i dont listen to assholes.
i wont join the military. others can go, i wont.

No problem, I don't want you in my military anyways. You sound like a whiny little bitch and there's allready enough of those in the military. That's a small part of the reason I oppose the draft and it's one of the reasons I love this country. In the US, a huge percentage of the population can give a flying fuck about the military, but still get the advantages of the protection they recieve.

It's truly awesome that even at war, people around the country still have jobs selling sporting goods, peddling cell phones, manufacturing luxury vehicles and making movies about fantasy creatures. While brave men are risking their lives in Iraq, people can go golfing or relax at a Starbucks or sit at home drinking beer while watching a football game.

Compare this to life during other major wars in history. In WW2, most people worked in bomb factories or some other job to support the war effort. Today, life is going on as normal with only minor inconvenience. It's truly great that we can sustain a luxurious standard of living in the States while fighting enemies abroad.

[deathmonger666]

Now I may sound like those politcal candidantes that keep on saying "God-Bless-America" (God Bless America!) but I love this country too much. This is were the idea of Democracy was really practised. This is were you can hook up with different kinds of girls, get drunk, smoke, and eat red meat 'till you drop dead. (Basically what I'm trying to say is I love F R E E D O M!)

So being the overpatriotic average American, yeah I will.

Probably follow my old man and go to West Point, take an officers course, then ship off to the Rangers in Panama and hopefully in a few months or years (I don't know how long the training for a Ranger is) be in Iraq directing troops. (Lol, me dad says if I did that, I'll be the only officer in the family :)

[Lidov]

Well, maybe I am saying this just because of the fact that I live in a country whch in it you must go to the army for 3 years, from 18 to 21 (israel). But I really do want to join the army, I want to donate to the country, or at least feel like I am donating something to the country. So, I fell that even if it wasn't a 'must', a lot of people would still join the army, and so do I. It is not that you must be in the fighting unit, there are a lot of parts in the army which you do not have to do anything violent or fightish.
I heard someone saying once that he doesn't want to join because he doesn't want to kill anyone. Well sir, you don't have to kill anhyone in the army, although I think that your stupidity would could get someone legless. His mother also supports him, saying "If he doesn't like him, no one makes him, he can refuse". It is a law lady! He must go, it is not guitar lessons!
So, yeah, I would join the army and i would even be happy from it, as much as possible :-|

[x-Toadenalin-x]

I don't think I'd ever consider it.

I mean no disrespect to Dr_Arbitrary, but I feel that working for an organisation that pays me to help them kill people is immoral.

If I did join the military, it would be as a strecher-bearer\ ambulance driver, since it goes against my religious beliefs to take someone's life if I can possibly avoid it.

Similarly, I don't think I could ever serve in a war I disagreed with - I'd go insane if I was risking my life just for a paycheck. Hence I don't think I'd join up, because I disagree with Bush's foreign policy.

Finally, I also feel that the military dehumanises people, although reading Dr_Arbitrary's posts I'm starting to question that. My reasoning is that an organisation which puts such a high emphisis on following orders (rightly so - a soldier could be endangering people if he disobayed an order) might order me to do things I found distasteful or immoral, which I would have no way of avoiding doing.

[TheMartyr18]

Im joining the national Gaurd next week ^.^

[Imperator]

x toadenalin x:

I respect your religious beliefs and all, but there are many jobs which don't involve combat (The good Dr.'s job I would consider one of them).

Would you be opposed to a job like say, artillary spotter, or ammo loader (for a tank or something), where you were not directly killing someone, but helping others do their jobs?

And as far as I know, most people will only follow orders to certain extents. If an order contradicts human rights or the Geneva Convention, then you ( I think legally too) shouldn't follow it.

Take the Nuremburg Trials as an example. The "I'm only following orders" defence really didn't play out as well as those Germans thought........

Lidov :

Do you think other Israelies would share your views? Do you think most of your fellow countrymen are opposed to military service simply because they don't have a choice?

Just curious.

Martyr 18

Good luck, and have fun!

[Taxman2A]

I'm a Marine currently serving in Iraq. I have had many interesting experiences while in country. I lead over 30 men here and I have learned more about myself and more about leadership and more about my Marines than I ever would have learned if I hadn't chosen this path. I'm not sure if I'll make this a career, but even on the bad days (and yes there are many bad days) I'm glad I'm here.

[Lidov]

At 1/6/06 12:59 PM, Imperator wrote: Lidov :

Do you think other Israelies would share your views? Do you think most of your fellow countrymen are opposed to military service simply because they don't have a choice?

This is a good question. I would have to say that I think that a lot of peole would come to the army (if it won't ruin their university and such plans). That is because there are a lot of people in there who likes the country and that everyone knows that the country needs them. We are surrounded by enemies, without a strong army we are nothing. Of course that there are a lot of poele which are going to the army just becuse they have to, most of them even.

[MortifiedPenguins]

At 1/5/06 10:17 PM, solusek wrote: Army's tanks blow up. Navy's ships sink. Marines get shot. I'm in the Air Force; I go home and eat steak.

Funny comment but when was the last time a Navy Ship actually sank. The biggest thing i can think of is the USS Cole incident, which was bad(7 deaths i think) but not anywhere near fatal.