Don't soldiers seem like...complete idiots?

[Standby]

As long as the pay's good I don't think most people care.

If that's the case there isn't really that much of a difference between soldiers and mercenerys who just happen to be employed by the state.

 

[Caliostro]

It is a soldier's duty to follow orders, no matter what they be. If not, what would war be?

It wouldn't. If people had to fight their own wars they'd think twice before starting them.

Not any more than you or I would be for doing that project that was detested in school, or listening to that teacher that was a complete jerk.

Killing people, bombing houses, destroying families - doing school work and listening to teachers for educational purposes.

...Yep, they look like the same thing.

@OP: The reason I didn't join the army, despite my ever present bloodlust, is because I don't think I'd do to well with the whole "be a brainless cog in the machinery" attitude they have going. I refuse to fight someone else's war, under some idiot's command.

 

[McNinja]

The soldiers fight for our freedom. They take the freedom of a nation above their own lives. It's really a pretty heroic act if you ask me.

No, they don't, that's what they want you to think.
They are -NOT- fighting for my Freedom, the only one who fights for my freedom is myself.

Maybe not at this moment, but if another World War were to break out, and there was a chance that your country were to be taken over, then your soldiers would be fighting for your freedom.

Oh, you mean like during WWII when Sweden proclaimed neutrality while shipping materials to Nazi Germany?
Yeah, some freedom fighters there.

So No. They aren't and will never. The only one responsible for my own Freedom is myself, and that goes for everyone.

Um... what? I honestly don't know what you are saying. Are you saying that if your country is invaded Red Dawn style you're gonna form a one man army and go kill everyone to protect your freedom?

Sweden was neutral. They could do whatever they wanted as long as they didn't start fighting. You are aware that the US shipped stuff to Germany before the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor?

And what about the French Resistance? or the British army? or the American army? Hell, even the Russian army fought for freedom in World War II.

On topic, some soldier are stupid. Some, like the five that I know, two of which are in Afghanistan, are not. They're actually pretty swell fellows. Making gross generalizations about a rather large group of people you have never met and probably never will meet is even more stupid.

 

[Caliostro]

As long as the pay's good I don't think most people care.

If that's the case there isn't really that much of a difference between soldiers and mercenerys who just happen to be employed by the state.

You're implying difference where there isn't any.

The only difference is in practical terms. Mercenaries are generally trained to work alone or in small teams, while the military is trained to work as one massive group.

Conceptually or ideologically, what's the difference between a soldier and a mercenary? They'll both do what they're told for a paycheck. If anything I'd give Mercenaries the moral advantage as they allow themselves the freedom to deny a work they don't agree with.

 

[Ryokai]

As long as the pay's good I don't think most people care.

If that's the case there isn't really that much of a difference between soldiers and mercenerys who just happen to be employed by the state.

You're implying difference where there isn't any.

The only difference is in practical terms. Mercenaries are generally trained to work alone or in small teams, while the military is trained to work as one massive group.

Conceptually or ideologically, what's the difference between a soldier and a mercenary? They'll both do what they're told for a paycheck. If anything I'd give Mercenaries the moral advantage as they allow themselves the freedom to deny a work they don't agree with.

I don't know what soldiers your country has, but in Israel, soldiers don't get paid (a small amount is given to buy smokes, snacks, or what have you, but it's fraction of minimum wage.

Soldiers go to the army because the country needs them, and our existance is at stake every second. You can refuse, but most people don't.

 

[Mechsoap]

i think its more for most just to the mates, and the guns

 

[Hollock]

Little known fact about soldiers

Spoiler

If they weren't signing up to fight for us, we'd be going

Soldiers are kind of like you and me, some are stupid, and some are smart.

Don't disrespect soldiers man. They have bigger stones than you. Maybe they're not the smartest guys in the world, but that doesn't change the fact that they are fighting for freedom. Unless you actually have been in the army, you can't judge them.

he's 15, I'm guessing he isn't

 

[conflictofinterests]

I think it's hard to get a real reading on the intellect of the armed forces and everyone's grasp of the situations in general because of the mountains of pro-armed forces propaganda everywhere. "DO YOU SUPPORT OUR TROOPS?!" "FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM!!!" It's a lot of polarizing nonsense that doesn't lend itself to intelligent debate. It lends itself to the name-calling pissing match that typifies politics today. "YOU'RE UNPATRIOTIC!!!" "YOU'RE A MINDLESS DRONE AND/OR SHEEPLE!!!"

 

[omega 616]

I am probably going to piss alot of people off with my view on this one.

If your willing to go to training, were some old guy screams at you and insults you for a year or two, so you can go to a place to kill people, have an awful quality of life, be away from loved ones, not have a relationship and have a high chance of dying yourself then get back home and treated badly, your an idiot.

Your life is short a it is, why aim to make it as horrible as possible and vastly increase your chances of dying? Especially when it's not to save your country or to help a bunch of people who don't want your help.

I think the people in world war one and two were legends, who deserve everybody's respect but in modern times it's just a waste.

I am just talking about real life though.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

My friend, anime and manga is pretty much the complete anthesis of real life.

In anime, soldiers are assholes or heroes.
In real life, soldiers are real people.

In manga, schoolgirls are promiscuous and tend to enjoy being raped.
In real life, schoolgirls are usually not particular promiscuous and tend to loathe being raped.

In manga, giant walking mechs are a feasible means of combat.
In reality, they aren't.

In anime, people can become important and influential in military organisations due to their skills.
In reality, military organisations have a lot of very skilled people already and the main character is probably not even close to the top of the pile.

In manga, katana's can cut through anything.
In reality, katana's have a hard time cutting through anything that isn't soft and easily cut.

In anime, explosions don't kill people much.
In reality, if the blast and overpressure doesn't get you, the shrapnel will.




In short, your logical premise is flawed. Reboot from start, if you please.

 

[crazyjay321]

Soldiers are heroes

 

[Bigeyez]

Are all soldiers stupid? Let's see. Many of them operate machines and equipment that require extensive training and expertise in order to use them correctly. They constantly use critical thinking to improvise and overcome any obstacles they are faced with. A large part of any countrys armed forces are engineers tasked with building things, fixing things, developing solutions for things, and being expected to do all their engineering tasks while under fire. Soldiers perform logistics tasks such as setting up convoy lines, fuel lines, evac centers, outposts, and navigation. Soldiers use state of the art military tech like drones, satelites, etc.

Yup it's pretty obvious that by all of that we can conclude that all soldiers are officially stupid.

 

[OneKlicKill]

Most soldiers are some of the most intelligent people you will find.

thats sarcasm right? I have yet to meet a soldier with more than slightly above average intelegence. And those that are are doing it for the money and ride through college becuase they cant afford it. they are also not the average grunt soldier, but rather ones not on the front lines because they arent stupid enough to put major risk on there lives.

 

[Bigeyez]

Most soldiers are some of the most intelligent people you will find.

thats sarcasm right? I have yet to meet a soldier with more than slightly above average intelegence. And those that are are doing it for the money and ride through college becuase they cant afford it. they are also not the average grunt soldier, but rather ones not on the front lines because they arent stupid enough to put major risk on there lives.

And the Ignorant statement of the day award goes to you my friend! Congratulations!

 

[Legion]

I am probably going to piss alot of people off with my view on this one.

If your willing to go to training, were some old guy screams at you and insults you for a year or two, so you can go to a place to kill people, have an awful quality of life, be away from loved ones, not have a relationship and have a high chance of dying yourself then get back home and treated badly, your an idiot.

Your life is short a it is, why aim to make it as horrible as possible and vastly increase your chances of dying? Especially when it's not to save your country or to help a bunch of people who don't want your help.

I think the people in world war one and two were legends, who deserve everybody's respect but in modern times it's just a waste.

I am just talking about real life though.

That's more of a criticism of the military policies rather than soldiers in general though. If nobody in the USA for example went through the crap required to be a soldier, and therefore had no military whatsoever, then what would happen to the country? It'd be fucked basically.

I agree with the part about going to other countries such as the Middle East being bullshit, but a military is still required for "what if" scenarios, and so having those willing to put up with all the crap is a good thing.

That doesn't mean there are not idiots who do it for foolish reasons, but that goes for every job going.

As mentioned before, I would sign up, but I don't intend to be blown up by a road side bomb in a foreign country where a significant portion of the population don't even want me to be there.

 

[Steelfists]

I was reading the One Piece manga recently, and a certain quote got to me. A soldier had said that "Doesn't all the people losing their lives look like complete idiots?"

That really got to me. Don't soldiers ever stop to think what there fighting for? I understand the "protect their love ones" argument, but were their love ones in danger to begin with? It just seems most soldiers across the world go and die and kill because someone had told them too.

Thoughts?

You were reading fucking manga. Get a grip.

 

[zenoaugustus]

I completely disagree and I am offended at the notion of calling Soldiers Idiots. You may not like the war they fight in but they fight for nations so we do not have too they deserve nothing but our respect. they are people who risk there live everyday. Would you call the soldiers who fought for England, America and Russia stupid because they were fighting the nazis and giving europe. Also sometimes soldiers are dragged into combat for example VIetnam the draft are they Idiots because they got drafted into Vietnam. Soldiers are people willing to fight and die for there country they are brave men and women. SO please show them the respect they deserve.

Word.

The original poster is just a dick. You don't even know these people or who they are or what they stand for. Jimi Hendrix was a solider. Does that suddenly make him stupid? I'm sure soldiers question what they are fighting for often, but just because they don't rebel and make a complete ass out of themselves or the army does not make them idiots.

I'm sure there are plenty of soldiers smarter than you or I.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

I think that about once every 30 years, armies are necessary. This is the reason for the draft.

I think that people who actually volunteer to enter into a world of danger-upon-assignment, relinquishment-of-freedoms and loss-of-personal-responsibility are idiots, no matter their reason, and that whole 'for your country/freedom' schtick is a cop-out used to try and rationalise a bad decision.

 

[AngloDoom]

Most soldiers are some of the most intelligent people you will find.

thats sarcasm right? I have yet to meet a soldier with more than slightly above average intelegence. And those that are are doing it for the money and ride through college becuase they cant afford it. they are also not the average grunt soldier, but rather ones not on the front lines because they arent stupid enough to put major risk on there lives.

Let me take a moment to compare the army, any army, to a shopping centre.

What we have are the people at the front, dealing with the customers; the main 'enemy' are reason for a shop to exist, in essence. These people are usually the less intelligent, but there are many more of them than the managerial staff or more specialist members of the crew who get a high salary after working their way into that situation.

You will always find more average and less-intelligent people, regardless of the position, in a lot of businesses and social work. Your presumption that everyone in the army is an idiot simply doesn't work: if all soldiers are thick as pig-shit, how do you think they carry out complex repairs, construction, demolitions, plans of attack, etc.

What most people do when they hear "solider" is think of a guy running over a hill, laughing as he fires at other people doing the same. That is not the case. This couldn't be the case; if it was then the military simply couldn't be organised.

I hate this view where everyone says "I've never encountered [such and such] so it must, therefore, not exist." I've lived in military areas for the majority of my life, surrounded by people who are often staff-sergeant or higher. From my personal experience, everyone in the army is intelligent, gets well paid, is never called into war, and do nothing but paperwork and training exercises all day. However, common knowledge shows us this is not the case.

I advice you to try and look further than your own experiences.

 

[Legion]

I think that about once every 30 years, armies are necessary. This is the reason for the draft.

I think that people who actually volunteer to enter into a world of danger-upon-assignment, relinquishment-of-freedoms and loss-of-personal-responsibility are idiots, no matter their reason, and that whole 'for your country/freedom' schtick is a cop-out used to try and rationalise a bad decision.

As mentioned above though, even when a military is not in use, it is needed. What good would a bunch of inexperienced men or women be if a country was invaded?

That's what would happen if countries did not have a constant military presence, you need soldiers who are trained day in and day out to do it. They can't magically appear when needed.

I agree that patriotism is a poor excuse however, especially for Westerners under no threat of invasion.