The military

Anyone else here considering joining the military? Anyone currently in or a veteran? Post about it here.

I am in the military, I'll post more if anybody has specific questions

>>5591 What nation and branch? What MOS if applicable? Best part of your job? Worst part of your job? Any funny/stupid stories? Advice for an 18 year old infantry depper?

Skippy’s List: The 213 things Skippy is no longer allowed to do in the U.S. Army https://web.archive.org/web/20170712060106/http://skippyslist.com/list/

Don't join the military if you can avoid it. You think it's going to be like a brotherhood. It's not. You think the recruiter is going to follow through on all those promises, he won't. You think it will get you valuable work experience, it doesn't. All their equipment is proprietary. The only thing it does for you is maybe get you out of a speeding ticket.

it's a job you can't quit that involves possibly being complicit in war crimes. No thank you.

Months of mind-numbing, bureaucratic butt-sitting, punctuated by moments of bowel-emptying terror.

>>5607 At least my bowels would finally be empty!

>>5592 I didn't forget about you OP, actually your questions had me thinking all day. also how long until you go to boot? and did your parents have to sign anything (did you DEP in at 17?) >What nation and branch? What MOS if applicable? united states, I work with weapons >Best part of your job? I guess I get paid to do work that I enjoy and can retire before everybody else my age, also travel is nice >Worst part of your job? there's a lot of stuff that is like kicking dead whales down the beach about my job,dealing with literal manchildren and self entitled poor leaders would probably be the worst part >Any funny/stupid stories? I once saw two men climb into the same uniform and pretend to be a 4 armed alien... there is not much to do while deployed. >Advice for an 18 year old infantry depper? This question stumped me all day, I tried to think of some not so cliche things to say but I guess I could narrow it down to the following. I joined at 18, and am now an NCO. Some points I think are crucial for young people to hear are >don't get married right out of boot, chances are if you are getting married to stay together, it probably was not going to last anyway >don't marry a stripper for the BAH >don't buy a fancy car on your first paycheck (yes, I know getting lots of money with no obligations might seem really cool for an 18 year old ) along with that, SAVE YOUR MONEY >get started with a TSP, they will explain this at boot, but starting now and planning long term will help you for your future >volunteer for things. if you do, you cant get told to do stupid things >be nice to other people, don't get caught in the 18-21 year old group of party bros. The fact that you are on lainchan means you are probably not just going with the flow. Off the bat, I would assume you probably have a good head on you shoulders If you do go out, offer to DD, (in other peoples cars of course) you will get in good with your co workers, and you wont end up being the awkward loner (yes its boring, but you can soykafpost while at a bar just as easy as you can from home) otherwise, don't get involved with the drunk crowd, alcohol is one of the biggest causes of sexual assault/harassment reports, and you can get kicked out for underage drinking also >don't become an alcoholic >don't start using tobacco products and if you plan on staying in, TAKE ADVANTAGE OF TUITION ASSISTANCE... LITERALLY FREE MONEY FOR SCHOOL (you can get a compsci degree in your free time if you want... you can even get a degree in underwater basket weaving- if you can find a school that offers that degree) remember to change your socks, drink lots of water, and remember, NOBODY CARES MORE ABOUT YOU THAN YOU DO take care of your feet and teeth, and don't hurt yourself trying to accomplish everything. don't be a soykafbag either, do your job, do it well, and treat people with respect. Overall, doing those things will get you places. If you stay in for just 4 years, have fun, there is no other experience like it I would be more than happy to talk to you some more about it if you have an email (can be a burner email or whatever) and lastly, MEMORIZE YOUR GENERAL ORDERS AND RANKS

Don't be an imperialist mercenary. If you're not in an imperialist or comprador country, joining the military is OK.

>>5613 Wow, thanks for the detailed response. I'm definitely not planning on marrying a stripper, drinking, or smoking. I have a 5 grand bonus but I'll put that into a Roth IRA or something. Generally I'm planning on being fairly conservative with my money and only buying stuff I need and saving the rest. I'll post again tomorrow with a burner email, I have to sleep now.

>Anyone else here considering joining the military? Not considering, I have to. It's sad that there are still countries with military duty, which force their people to join the army. I will set in next year in january.

Go for it, it's one of the best things you can do. Allowing people with no military experience to vote and reproduce is probably the biggest issue of today society.

>>5617 >I have a 5 grand bonus but I'll put that into a Roth IRA or something. very nice, also PRO TIP: you can have both a ROTH IRA with your bank and a "TSP ROTH IRA" which are both technically roth IRAs but you can legally double the amount of money you can save in the roth IRA (basically you are normally limited to 5k a year I think, but doing it that way is a work around that allows you to save 10k)

>>5616 >what is NATO You "imperialist" whiners know very little about politics at large it seems

Scum.

>>5616 there's no such thing as a non-imperialist country >>5622 fash detected

>>5626 that being said: OP, sometimes joining the military is the only good option. I never would because I got principles, but if your principles are different the benefits are great.

>>5622 I completely disagree with the direction the military of my country has taken. You are saying that I have to take active part in things I find abhorrent before I'm allowed to vote against them? Really?

>>5616 >>5625 >neurosuggesting not serving in the military but being forced to either become a neet or enter the socioeconomic state of millennials and go to a university just to be another cog in the wheel is any better >>5627 From an ideological standpoint, the military teaches good morals, its the people who throw them out, there are still good people out there, just like in any field >>5635 I think its more the question of the nature of service and who may have the privileged to vote in a system. One way of doing it would be absolute anarchy (which works in extremely small communities but is terrible on a national scale the other route would be a dictatorship, which has its obvious downfall. then there is an absolute or representative democracy which have their own flaws (majority taking advantage of the minority and possibly vice versa in the representative form) or in the method of Heinlein's described government (a la starship troopers) the role of governmental decisions should be by people who have a vested interest and have expressed their goals of supporting the community, rather than by those who want political gain (Heinlein implies that this is through military service, but stated later he phrased it poorly and actually intended to mean all public servants and public jobs like teachers and doctors, contribute positively but not non contributing jobs like casinos, CEOs and Mcburger employees because their loyalties are not to the community). What >>5622 is trying to say is that people with no expressed interest or experience working in or for the community should not be able to dictate the direction of the community, because you will get self entitled SJW femnazis or storm users who will try to use the community to their own ends without actually having been involved in the progresses that support how communities actually work

>>5637 Ok so you didn't read Starship Troopers. It's true, the military is a small percentage of the service jobs available for taxpayers who want to become citizens. Doctor? Teacher? Those weren't included. In fact the doctor who gives John his medical at the beginning before admitting him to the army says that he himself is NOT a citizen, only a public servant. The non-military jobs to gain citizenship had to be grueling and/or life threatening, such as living on a research station in Antarctica or terraforming Venus. Even if you did understand the novel, and you don't, it'd still be a terrible idea.

>>5623 lainanon@protonmail.com And thanks for the tip, I didn't know you could have two IRAs at once.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOCYMU3zYH0&list=PLN6xa7kD9dZ_qXHAmm4dx-Bqqy10mSVDZ&index=4

>>5638 I did read it, I said that Heinlein actually contradicted himself against his story.he did not say that doctors etc. were important, but in later interviews he stated they were because just like the military they do a valuable service to the community. (i think he was actually called out on contradicting himself too) The Idea was based on his observation of the times, Think of it from a practical standpoint. If people decide that they want to work jobs where compromise is something that needs to be dealt with daily, and they can appreciate the positive abilities of all people, then they will be more likely to appreciate effort and positive cooperation over arbitrary and often times negative preference. For example. Somebody who had to work in a system where not cooperating would mean certain death would understand the value of teamwork much better than some neet who sits on 4chan all day and thinks the world will magically work harmoniously and cater to him if all black people suddenly disappear, causing him to function under a severely skewed and socially negative bias Basically life or death situations that can only be resolved with altruism teach the importance of helping others vs. being selfish and not learning to not be selfish will cause people to vote only in their self interests. In Heinleins ideal world, NEETs should not have a say, because they don't contribute to the society they draw benefits from. I know that its harsh, but in some senses Heinlein advocated an almost social Darwinism (even discussing eugenics for Darwinistic purposes in Beyond this horizon) It was also a theory in a fiction book, not a practically applied concept by any means. >>5641 You cannot under normal circumstances, but TSP counts as a "government retirement plan" so its exempt form being an actual ROTH IRA (which it really is)

>>5625 fuarrrk these motherfuckers

>>5625 American troops are on a world tour since 1955. Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, next ...? One thing is common in all these they don't understand what war is. In a war you either win or lose but Americans seem to enjoy spending their resources and men for mere years of nothing but misery!!! fuarrrk these assholes!!!

>>5638 I don't think you read it either because Heinlein never specified his definition of service, everything else is fanon.

http://baor-locations.org/IED.aspx.html

>>5651 Either way, I don't see why a nation of people who do service to their nation would be good for anything but perpetuating said nation.

>>5654 >who do service to their nation would be good for anything but perpetuating said nation. It makes sense when its mankind vs. space ayys I guess it also makes sense when you have an oppressive dictator trying to take over the world and threatening your way of life.

https://www.itstactical.com/intellicom/mindset/murphys-laws-of-combat-operations/

http://schlockmercenary.wikia.com/wiki/The_Seventy_Maxims_of_Maximally_Effective_Mercenaries

>>5651 > I don't think you read it either At least you're admitting that you didn't, but I did. > because Heinlein never specified his definition of service It's in the goddamn book. I don't know what he said in some interview you apparently read but it's also likely that the society represented in ST is more an object for discussion than his example of a perfect utopia. > everything else is fanon I don't know a thing about that but apparently you do.

>>5637 >not serving in the military but being forced to either become a neet or enter the socioeconomic state of millennials and go to a university just to be another cog in the wheel is any better Hey at least you're not literally murdering people, so yes I am implying that. >the military teaches good morals Follow any order from people higher up than you and never question authority, shoot before you think, torture is okay, all these things are good morals?

I can't believe there's people on lainchan that would join the military. Just unbelievable.

>>5665 If I lived in one of those more neutral countries that didn't interfere with others I would think about it. Then again they mostly have conscription so it's not like I'd have a choice there anyway.

>>5665 welcome to the internets you fairy a serie of tubes where random people want to do random stuff

>>5665 If you pay taxes, you are complicit. If you buy anything at a supermarket, you are complicit. If you have insurance, you are complicit. If you take out a loan, you are complicit. Everyone is dirty. You aren't better just because you like to put a few arbitrary degrees of separation between yourself and your crimes. But hey, maybe I'm wrong and you live in a utopia or you're a hermit or something.

>>5669 The complete impact you have upon a situation can be calculated, and if you aren't directly involved or directing events in some manner, then generally your involvement is less significant. Your not reporting a deranged man in the metro might lead to a stabbing not being averted, but that man is quite a bit more responsible for it by having done it in the first place.

>>5669 you make a choice to join the military. You don't make a choice to participate in society.

>>5669 >insurance >complicity As for military 'war crimes', this is probably the one thing that doesn't make you complicit. Anything you do that can possibly avert funds from the military. Socio-economic warfare is quite common at the nation state level, and could be from a grassroots movement as well.

I'm a nerdy guy probably like most of you here, I got out of the military about 8 years ago now. My biggest problem was fitting in, I'm not a soykafter so I didn't get bullied but everyone else was going out every weekend and getting plastered spending hundreds at the strip club and I wanted to stay home and read books. I honestly liked the job, but I really struggled with the fraternity style military culture and it made my life pretty miserable for those 3 years.

finally a thread for me if you do join make sure you know what you're getting into. military service, at least in the us (what i have experience in) will suck but it's a decent stepping stone to make connections in your field as long as you have a plan to get out and use the skills and network you build i have no moral issues being a part of the army but obviously that's something you'll have to consider for yourself with regards to recruitment just don't settle for a crap deal and make sure to understand every part of your contract. get all of the things you're promised signed on paper, words are cheap for techie types 25 series will be nice, but it won't be the tech you know. more like satellite communications and networks that will pick up and go with the unit you're supporting. 17c is also pretty neat, more network security oriented. but i don't have any experience in that area deployment is the only place you'll do your real job though. in the states it'll be a lot of meaningless busywork so be ready for that unless you get pretty lucky i won't ramble anymore but if you're considering it ask away and i'll answer, short of secret squirrel stuff

>>8210 What MOS were you, if I may ask? I'd imagine it would be hard to fit in to a grunt unit if you're posting here. >>8219 I'm going in as infantry, any hot advice for an 18 year semi retard?

>>8237 oof. infantry is not my specialty, i'm as nerd as they come. you are going army though, correct? advice for army in general though, in addition to what i said above (>>8219) during your initial training do your best to keep your head down. it's not a big deal if you do a lot of push ups in your first couple of months but it does make life easier if you avoid attention as much as possible. the more the drill notices you the more opportunity he'll have to see you fúck up related to that, start doing push ups, sit ups, and running two miles or so now if you haven't already. those are the big three of army fitness and you can look up scoring charts online to see how you are doing to prepare. you'll be doing yourself a favor and you won't struggle nearly as much in the beginning. keep your score up until you get to the 'real army' and your leaders will see you excel mentally speaking, prepare yourself for a lot of bullshít. it doesn't end once the drill sergeants get out of your face, it just changes forms; prep for a lot of 'hurry up and wait' also if you're a sensitive person grow a thick skin because infantry especially you'll get a fair share of friendly and not so friendly shít talk other than that just be ready to be in close quarters with a whole fúck ton of other dudes, start getting over any qualms you have about showering around other guys or seeing another no homo dick, and i was pretty retarded when i got in too. it's very 'fake it 'til you make it' environment to adapt to, just see what's going on and adapt you'll be told in no uncertain terms what to do and where to go in your basic combat training so don't sweat that. you'll probably hear it but the fastest way out is through. don't get discouraged, as long as you don't literally just quit or get super injured you'll get out, and experience the rest of the non-insane, drill sergeant free army

>>8240 Thanks for all the info. I am going Army, yeah. I've been doing cross and track for 4 years and doing pullups/pushups/situps for a few months now so hopefully I can max the PFT. Really what worries me most is not being fit enough, so I've been working out like a madman more and more as my ship date gets closer. I've heard my training might be extended from 14 to 21 weeks too.

No.

>>8237 I'm a Canadian, I was an armoured crewman. I don't know if armour is considered a grunt to you guys, we don't really use the word grunt up here. They are a really grizzled bunch with a ton of Afghanistan vets, but I joined shortly after we winded down deployment and I never went.

>>5625 I was asked by a guy (in relatively okay clothes) for change so he can buy food. He had wet eyes and looked devastated with sadness. He said if I can give him food instead he would also be grateful as he needs the change for food. There was a sense of almost manipulative guilt in the air that would follow if I don't help him out. <I let lainon decide what happened as it doesn't matter> I feel the same emotional manipulation in that video. It's a collection of somewhat objectively bad/sad things (children getting hurt by something) and a few psychopath soldiers who would arguably do the same thing outside of the military. While living in a war zone is no good for children in any circumstances, just because we put US military in the beginning and the end of the webm, those children might have gotten hurt in basically anything, not from bombings and the war. And even if it was war, it could have been some other neighboring country or w/e. If you let someone create a montage without context, he can make you hate basically anything.

if it ever seemed like i was going to kill myself for sure yes. Im probably smart enough and have college education to where they might not put me on frontlines, but who knows anyways. I wouldnt bet my life thats what would happen, so unless i really am like ready to die i wouldnt go.

>>8273 I'm sure you'd find some way to kill yourself no matter what job they gave you.

>>8273 the odds of dying on the front lines are so low you would have to try very hard to even get in that situation. more likely is straight up suicide and even more likely than that is accident or death unrelated to the army

>>8281 True. Our military is a lot smaller than some countries so literally every single time a soldier dies, it's in the news. More guys seem to die from driving on crappy roads in undeveloped places than getting shot or blown up but I don't know the stats.

>>8283 This is very true - the Marine Corps hasn't had a combat death since 2014. The most dangerous jobs in the US military are generally things like 'truck driver' these days, since combat arms aren't deploying if they're in regular units and have access to world-class medical care if they're somewhere high speed.

>>8237 can some miltard explain this civtard over here the joke in the comic? because I really feel too retarded right now to get it. Nice 8 point cover though, marines

>>8303 stereotypical air force are fukken nerds, marines are window lickers. (can confirm) marine can't fathom the smart speak and zones out. panel 5 references the asvab (armed services vocational aptitude battery) which essentially tests your ability to do jobs requiring more or less smarts. classic 'dolan' style rage comic throwback probably thanks to the 'untied status marin crops' facebook page which makes military comics in this style if you find it funny

>>8310 >stereotypical air force are fukken nerds Makes sense, even in my country they send the future doctors there. My physician and M.D. was there. I lacked knowledge about the internal tests so I couldn't have figured it out on my own, thank you!

Just don't. It's risky, and all that risk goes to destablizing middle eastern countries or something just as bad. If it was at least real colonialism, where you would stabilize some soykafhole and make it better by rule of high IQ people, but that's not going to happen.

>>8325 In the US it's a pretty sweet gig honestly. 90% of the military are POGs, so if you're a nerd you can do 4 years as an intel guy, get a TS clearance, get set up to work for the NSA/CIA/whatever, and get free college and bennies out of it.

>>8281 There are actually more troops dying to suicide and drunk driving than combat deaths IIRC

>>8386 That's because we shell everything till rubble-ized before tanks even go oscar mike. <3 shock & awe + hearts & minds <3 go army

>>5600 Blast from the past, Lain

I am thinking about joining the french foreign legion the fitness tests doesn't seem too challenging but it seems like they put a lot of emphasis on the motivation for joining the legion frankly I just want to get some XP before I apply for merc jobs. Should I just make up a story like "I didn't fit in with society and came here looking for comradeship." or just be honest.

I'm planning on joining the military if this college thing fails, i've been having some money issues, so military may help pay them off. If I can't keep paying half my tuition outta pocket. Any Lainon's have any luck with military paying off student loans?

>>11897 French foreign legion is one of the hardests trained forces on the world. They get special forces training on par with the green berets. Better start practicing running around with a backpack full of rocks now. I dont think you need to worry about your story, only total whack loons would join for such masochist adventure. Dunno if being a merc is a good idea, its certrainly tempting but selling out to the international mafia is a bad idea. >>9468 That strategy sure worked well in naam. Also idk if if this goes oftopic but anyone got any war stories to share?

>>5622 Actually, your country destroying the planet is the biggest issue of society today.

>>11899 none of that is true. ffl takes people who don't have any other options, typically dirt poor people from third world countries. they usually don't take westerners since westerners aren't desperate enough to stick with it. they get the training you would expect for a famous if somewhat low speed unit from a european country, nothing like what you're thinking. idk where the image of the ffl as some special forces unit comes from. deployments are rare and usually to dusty pits in africa where you'll spend the whole time miserable and dirty and maybe shoot half a mag total. you'll get no useful experience like you're thinking you will and you'll experience plenty of racially fueled bar fights between slavs and africans. to that other guy - if you don't know french and you're from a western country don't bother - join the us military since the ffl likely doesn't want you and you'll hate it there if you make it anyway. if you want a "challenge" or whatever ask an army recruiter for an 18x contract and then fail out and become a cook. better yet, join as a pog and get some useful certifications and skills out of it, then make bank in the civilian sector and never even think about a combat arms job again. I recommend water treatment or AC repair. >war stories this one time someone mortared our DFAC. I think someone took a potshot at my humvee once too. pretty high speed, right?

>>5589 Currently in. Don't reccommend it. If you're your average imageboard poster, you will most likely be treated like soykaf on account of your personality. Being the guy who minds his own business and keeps his head down is exactly what will bring scorn down on you, and your career will suffer for it no matter how good you are at your job. If you insist on joining, I reccommend trying to join a clique as soon as you get to your first command, because the military is more or less an extension of high school. And you probably already realize this on some level, but the Middle East really is like kicking dead whales down the beach. I cannot emphasize just how fuarrrking hot it is all the time, and humid too depending on where you are. You step outside and you're drenched. You stand a five hour armed watch with a thick armored vest on and you hate your life. If you choose to use your free time to head into town, you will be greeted by pushy street merchants who are trying to scam you, taxi drivers who will deliberately ignore your directions and take you to their friends, and food that will give you violent diahreah. If you're trying to go infantry, you will almost definitely be stationed or deployed there at some point during your contract. Go for it if you have literally no other opportunities, but otherwise you should look more seriously into your other options.

>>5622 That's the exact opposite of the truth. People get sent off to the military because they're a part of the lower echelons that civilized society does not need many of... i.e. the stupid working class...

>>5622 wait, people took Starship Troopers seriously? what the fuarrrk

>>5613 based NCO A1C USAF 2A652 reporting I am loving life. I like seeing the planes and I like going to work everyday and learning something new. I did not join when I was 18, but I did have some experience working right out of HS. I was 20 when I joined and that two years gave me a good understanding that you will need work ethic and you also have to tune into your warrior ethos. If you ever join USAF you will get soykaf talked by a lot of people in other branches (usually over the internet) but never get complacent and always be mindful of everything you are doing. Some of the jobs you might end up getting will require some amount of skill or experience or technical orientation. Just remember your training and be thankful if you ever find yourself a mentor. Mentors will never choose you, and always pick the brain of the good qualities you find in the people you meet.

>>14342 The book is sincere and hearkens back to an exclusive citizenship based on responsibilities in the Classical world and also the farmer-soldier ideal that early America borrowed from Rome. Whether you think that's at all applicable in the modern world (or future) is a different matter.

OP here, I kind of forgot about lainchan for a while but I just wanted to thank everyone who posted in this thread for their advice. Everything turned out better than expected.

>>14583 >Everything turned out better than expected. Share it then!

>>5589 If all else fails. >>11897 Most of the Legion's applicants have had a lifetime of third world hard living before they even hit the training field. If you have a criminal past that prevents you from working in your home country (or if there are no jobs in your home country) they will be more likely to take you. My understanding is that starry eyed American youngsters are rarely accepted.

Once I finish this upcoming senior year of High School I have been thinking two things: 1: Join Air Force right out 2: Go to college and have ROTC pay for everything, then go into Air Force I was in ROTC for 3 years at my school til it got shut down. Option 2 obviously seems better but I have no idea what colleges are good. Should I just go to the Air Force Academy? Probably going to major in theoretical physics but want to fly in the Air Force.

>>14770 Of course it wasn't all smooth sailing - I had some medical issues that extended my time at basic for two months and washed out of RASP - but I adapted to my job faster than I thought I would, and my leadership and coworkers think pretty well of me for a lowly private, enough that my squad leader is pushing for an early promotion. In addition I got selected to be my company's guideon bearer after being here for like a month and a half and The BN chaplain is also trying to push me to go to West Point some time in the future. >>14774 If you're trying to end up an officer I'd recommend just going ROTC, enlisting with the intent to commission takes much longer and is a more tedious process and you need to focus on studying and working out if you want to be competitive enough to pick up a pilot position.

Don't help the military. Not unless some issue in the world truly calls for it. There's no reason to serve in the military right now, and the money shouldn't be allowed to outweigh how ethically indefensible it is. Maybe if your life is URGENTLY desperate. Our track record in the late 20th/early 21st century should speak for itself. We don't do worthwhile things with our military might, delusions notwithstanding.

>>5622 People deciding who should and should not have the right to vote for reasons other than being a citizen is probably the biggest problem.

>>5622 See, this is what a lot of the military is like. Elitist pigs who think they're special and everyone else is just a civilian. The country would be better off without you.

>>14814 Is this a bait or are you just stupid? Let's be pragmatic and not be blinded by ideals here, how do you expect that a country survive without a force of defense? Also, military expeditions depends on politics, so in a democracy, everyone has a certain guilt. So why you degrade the military so much? Also, I can guarantee you, people on the military are not elitist pigs, they come often from lower classes in search of financial stability.

>>14822 I think he's commenting on the fact that >>5622 said people who don't serve should have voting rights taken away.

>>14822 Let me assist you with your English. "Elite" and "elitist" are two different things. You can be either one, or both, or neither. That's as far as I'm taking you though, try the dictionary.

>>14822 Is YOUR post bait? Indeed, a lot of the people who join the military are forced to do so by their socioeconomic circumstances. That doesn't mean the military is good. Yes, the people should be able to defend themselves, is the current military the appropriate way of doing so? Experience has told us no, quite the opposite, actually.

>>14822 This would be more credible if we had really fought in genuine self-defense at any point in history since the fuarrrking civil war. Oh sure, our might has acted as a deterrent one might say. Too bad we can't build a time machine to prove or disprove that. What about every country that doesn't have a military that is swollen 26 times as massive as the next strongest on earth, yet still remains uninvaded and at peace? Oh sure, we're the might keeping them safe too. Suuuure. Very tidy. Surely it wasn't runaway paranoid militarism at modern industrial scale that suddenly made world war a thing. Also interesting that any country that has had war lately also happens to be the ones we'd staged coups in since the 1940s onward. Or even earlier for the ones in South America. We've been sowing the seeds of the conflicts we're now fighting for a long time. I thought the military made peace though? Funny how that works out. History. Learn it from somebody who isn't also a high school gym teacher someday. Contrary to what people seem to take for granted, standing armies don't actually keep the world peaceful. They're more like classic mob racketeering schemes: they take your money for the service of "protection." Protection from them. The world isn't really a Tom Clancy novel.

There's another issue no one's brought up. If I said I was Iranian or Chinese would Lains still be telling me signing up was a good thing? My country is not one of those but I still disapprove of our military policy. I'm not American either which seems to be the assumption here.

>>14837 I mean it's a fairly safe assumption considering the demographics of the board. Might not be totally fair, but that's the way it is. Also, other English-speaking countries are generally part of the same forever war coalition so it's fairly similar for them. Some countries don't give you a choice, as with my friends from college who were on student visas from South Korea. They were great. several had to go home for mandatory duty--at least the men did anyway--and honestly their country has good reason for it. Some of the older ones had already done their stint and had stories. But for the most part, and I suppose there will always be some exceptions, I don't think people in countries with voluntary service should join.

The US military? fuarrrk the military. I discriminate against veterans.