Outside of following something like 9/11 my experience over the last 20 years has been:
10% love of country
20% service to others
70% a path into a possibly better life and the post-service benefits
One thing I find interesting but not very surprising, having known some of the same people both pre and post service, is how their reasoning and perception changed. One young man (son of neighbor) was really clear about signing up just to get the Hell out of the neighborhood; 10 years later when he came out what he mostly talked about is the good he did for others and how he grew as a person.
What the heck business is it of yours, or your “friends” or “co-workers” or “random folks overheard in a diner” why a young person chooses to join the military? How does it hurt you/them if the young person is joining for the “wrong” reasons? How does it affect you/them if the young person joins for the “right” reasons? What am I missing here?
Paula, you enter the military if you have devotion to a cause, not for a handout. These folks believe that young folks and some minorities are getting away with crimes. My co-workers are tired of minorities, tired of the whining, the complaining. They express their outrage to the others at our work. It’s a water cooler.
Welcome back we’ve all been waiting for your answers to John Mace’s questions. I assume you aren’t going to bother answering them but others seem to have more hope. So how about it?
Your coworkers, who whine about minorities and young people complaining, sound like pathetic, whiny bigots who know nothing about the military. Why do you put stock or any value in their opinions?
I’m going to ask again, why do your friends think that enlisting in the military is some sort of “handout”? What do they think people in the military do all day?
Well, look, if your co-workers are expressing that, then – well, it’s been expressed? And if they’d like to express that GODFATHER III was better than the original, they can express that too, I guess? They can also express a sincere belief that the moon is made of green cheese; I don’t see why we’d care, but they can of course express away.
Listening doesn’t mean all opinions are worthy of consideration. Some people believe the Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world. That opinion is not worth considering. The opinions of your ignorant and bigoted coworkers also are not worth considering.
You have already been called out on that: ***there is nothing remotely resembling a “handout” about enlisting. *** You go to Parris Island and tell any young Marine fresh out of the Crucible who just got pinned the EGA that he’s there looking for a handout.
You enlist, you swear to be part of the defense of the nation for years, even up to and including loss of life or limb, and no part of the job is a cakewalk. If you are not committed to the greater goal you will fail. At the end if all goes well you will have earned with sweat and tears and even blood certain benefits that are better than nothing but don’t even come close to putting you on easy street. Also, as others have mentioned, some of the finest military people are those who at first went in for the education/training/opportunities and ended up finding their calling once serving.
And the majority of people enlisting who enlist for the opportunity, include a majority of the white males. Are *they *getting away with something improper?
But tell me…
… what the ever loving damn does that last paragraph and links have to do at all with the question about motivations to join the military? You just brought in something entirely irrelevant.
Oh, and…
They can take a long walk off a short pier about that sentiment, and NO I don’t have to respect it, it is a sentiment unworthy of respect or consideration or appeasement. They are just wrong, they need to deal with that.
Excuse me but** they** the ones whining and complaining to a tiresome degree.
Well, I didn’t enter the military at all. My family members who entered the military were drafted. Why did you enter the military, or did you at all?
And it sounds like your co-workers need to collectively shut up and get some darn work done instead of yammering on about what they’re "tired of. " Sheesh.
Wow, did you drop a mic on the ground after writing this? 'Cause this post deserves a mic drop. Glory Days, you seem to have missed this post so I’m quoting it again for you. You should read it, and maybe discuss it with your alleged co-workers.
I must admit that I’m curious as well as to how the military constitutes a “handout.” What exactly are your “co-workers” suggesting? That members of the military should not be paid for the (very difficult and dangerous) work that they do? That the armed forces should consist entirely of amateurs, fighting their country’s wars out of pure love and devotion, expecting and receiving no compensation in return?
Or perhaps the suggestion is that there should be no benefits associated with the job–no assistance for education, no life insurance, no assistance in getting home loans, no help in finding jobs after they leave the service? Because the military themselves have been touting those kind of things as reasons to enlist for as long as I can remember. It seems to me that the military encourages its recruits to consider these types of benefits when they join up.
How, exactly, would a military whose members joined purely out of “devotion,” rather than “wanting a handout,” look different than the military as it currently exists?
I agree about being tired of the “whining and complaining.” And although you swear you don’t share the same beliefs with these people on this most recent issue you’ve brought to us on their behalf, you certainly share plenty with them on the “whining and complaining” front. Good job on being consistent. Oh, and never answering a single pertinent question. That takes dedication, man. Keep fighting the fight for the voiceless little guy.