Mandatory Military Service

[jumblies]

As a vet of two armed "conflicts" I can say with resolute sincerity that it's not right for everyone. I think everyone who has been through it can attest to the people who "cracked" going through. While it's likely that these people had schizoid tendencies or were schizophrenics who had not had their first break, no one can say whether the pressure caused them to lose it.

I will never forget the night I awoke to find a squad member in the middle of the floor dumping foot powder on his head and singing the national anthem at full tilt. Oh, and of course, he was naked. The poor guy was never the same and was given a section 8 (but it's not called that anymore).

I prefer it the way it is, where those who have served are a minority, and those that are successful after service recognize each other as an elite fraternity deserving of the recognition and respect we afford each other.

To all those soldiers who posted in this column and those who haven't but have sworn and served in this noble endeavor, your have my respect and my warmest regards.

(As a postscript, I was a military policeman, and am now in medical school, where the veterans are few and far between, but when we spot each other, camaraderie is easily rekindled)

 

[Wedesdo]

no. military is too harsh

 

[smith462]

Mandatory service? Certainly not! We have enough problems with those who volunteer and three days out of recruit training decide that it all just doesn't fit into their little plans.

It all gets old. It gets real old. I'll finish twenty years active-USMC three months from today. Two weeks after that I'm done (you have to retire the last day of the month, thus the two extra weeks) and when folks ask me what I'm gonna' do when I retire I kind of like to tell them that I'm gonna' head out to the Great Plains and give blow-jobs to buffaloes for a nickle a herd until I get my self-respect back. After that I'll move on.

I'm gettin' off the subject here but I just have to say be careful what you believe as concerns the plight of we poor military people. As I make my way home each day every third Marine I see has a cell phone stuck to his head; one out of three has personalized plates; one out of four is driving a tricked-out Honda Civic. Why? Because most are in a position where every bit of their income is in it's own way disposable. Every one of these things tells me that we are apparently making plenty of money. The problem with we military folks as a whole is that we think every thing should be free to us. Don't go for the food-stamps stories. That's crap. Anyone on food stamps has simply made bad choices along the way and now wants somebody else to fix the problem. His personal life ain't none of your business until he needs something.

January 1st of this year I started receiving about 100 more dollars after taxes regular pay and 100 more for housing for a total of a 200 dollar a month increase and we all know G.W. wasn't President until three weeks later so it sure as hell wasn't his pay-raise.

Out of the 173,000 Marines we have I would have to guess that no more than 73,000 of them do more than 1 real hour's worth of work each day. For the other 100,000 folks it's just like welfare except you get a bigger check. If I were a recruiter I think that's how I'd sell it: It can be just like welfare.

I got lucky. I came in a couple months into the Reagan years. Those before me didn't see the money we make now. Military folks can say it ain't about the money all they want, but in real life it is.


I'm afraid that no one's recruit training can undo what mommy spent 18 years doing: teaching their little babies that they are the most important person on Earth and all that matters is that they are happy at the moment. Forget your committment or obligations.

We do have some good people; we have some excellent folks, but I'm afraid that for the most part Timothy McVeigh and Diane Zamora are your newest protectors.

Maybe it's all my fault. Whatever.