A lot of people get hustled by recruiters into enlisting when they’re very young and stupid. I was one of those people. When you’re 18 (as I was), your long term thinking is non-existent. A lot of kids never really comprehend what they’re getting into until they’re in it.
She’s still a victim who has the right feel any way she wants.
You have the legal right, but no moral right.
I feel the same way. Because she can’t go, someone else has to do her job for her. Why is she happy about that?
Now, obviously it isn’t her fault for not deploying, but why is she happy about that? I’ve never understood people in the military who dread deploying. I mean, you joined the military and on day one they tell you that you’ll deploy at least once and there may come a time when you have to kill someone. It’s part of the job, which really shouldn’t come to a surprise to anyone.
Oh, and why she’s “thankful” for not deploying, so she could be with her fiance? That’s rubbish. I know people who were deployed during the birth of their first child, being away from your fiance isn’t really that big of a deal.
Really? Do they give the baby a teeny-tiny little camo-patterned Kevlar helmet liner?
'Cos that would be adorable!
Maybe-- just maybe, she and her family are thankful that Nabil (or whatever) was the one that went all postal and shot up the joint to save her and her family the trouble and shame that would have come along if she’d taken the same initiative.
Then those kids who got hustled are idiots. When I was 18 I was perfectly capable of not going into a recruiters office and signing up for the military.
You have no moral right to say that.
I can understand recruiters hustling by downplaying the probability that you’ll be deployed, or how much basic training will suck, or how shitty the pay is for a new enlistee, or whatever.
However, if you join the army and don’t consider the possibility that there might be a war in the next five years and that armies fight wars, you are retarded. There’s a war every fucking five years.
Also known as a “leap war.”
Oh hey - this thread’s in the pit! When did that happen?
Anyway, perhaps I went a bit too far with my comment. I’m sorry if I offended anyone; obviously I don’t wish for anyone’s death, not even an idiot’s.
It’s just that I’ve known people who’ve been killed in terrorist attacks; I’ve also known people who’ve survived terrorist attacks, and the thought of someone thanking the terrorist for *anything *seems abhorrent to me. Forgiving him, I can see. But thanking?
Plus, as a former and occasional army guy myself, I find the fact that she’s taking pride - publicly - in the fact that she managed to dodge her deployment strongly off-putting. Lots of soldiers try to get out of serving somewhere they don’t want to serve; most of them succeed if they put their mind to it. You just don’t brag about it.
This is an example of something that it’s OK to think, but tacky to say in public. A closed mouth gathers no feet.
Of course, they’re idiots. They’re 18. That’s my point. 18 year olds are stupid and malleable. Evidently you were a special case who already had perfect wisdom and maturity, and never did anything stupid, so maybe you wouldn’t understand.
I’m going to be a wee generous and say that it’s possible she’s still in shock and thus she’s still not in her right fucking mind.
Otherwise, she’s a fucking moron.
The new hubby has three more holees to fuck. Win win.
She’s not shirking anything. She’s not capable of being deployed now, so she’s not going. If she were healthy, she’d be deployed as expected. If she refused to go under those circumstances, she’d be shirking. Expressing relief at not having to go isn’t
shirking.
I wouldn’t suprise me that many soldiers have doubts about being deployed and experience some measure of relief if, for some reason, their deployment is postponed or cancelled. The only difference here is that this particular woman expressed that relief in a public way.
On preview, I can understand how military folks find her expressing that opinion to be distasteful.
It’s not even so much about not realizing the possibility. You can know the possibility is there. Kids even join with the full intention and expectation of being deployed. It’s just that it can seem abstract and theoretical, and not sink in as REAL, right away. The first day of Basic is a huge wake up call.
And yes, they are stupid. That’s what I’m trying to say. Teenagers have shallow thought processes. They’re impulsive. They don’t think things through. They might even have a romanticized image of what they will be doing, then reality is a splash of cold water.
Recruiters depend on this impulsivity and shallowness of thought. The romanticization too.
Immediately after your first post.
All I know is if you shot me and a million dollars flew out of my asshole, I still wouldn’t thank the you, because I get the feeling that getting shot sucks. Especially when the others who got shot along with me ended up not only without the anal million, but dead.
I’d take the bullet hole and the ass-million. I’d take that today.
Ah yes, we can’t ever judge anyone for anything that we ourselves haven’t been through in the most literal way possible. Does this mean that you’ll finally shut the fuck up?
Well, there’s also the pesky deal with the dead compadres that might shift your wish-list.