Poll: Ever Served In The Military?

[Legion]

No, simply because I do not believe what our Military is doing is right.

If our country was going to be invaded and they needed soldiers then I would enlist, but until they actually have a real purpose for getting people (our soldiers and other people) killed then I want no part in it.

I have a tip for you.

Don't get shot.

Indeed, but if I do it'll be in the line of duty; the most honorable way to die.
~Frosty.

As Max has said, honour means nothing to somebody who is dead.

Also dying in a pointless war is not particularly honourable nor is bombarding civilians. I can accept war is sometimes inevitable and that civilian casualties are are too, but there is nothing "honourable" about it, and I believe anyone who says otherwise is just trying to justify it or is brainwashed.

Well, my reasons TO join are as follows:
-Get Fit. I'm already in really good shape, but it could be better. Fair enough, but the gym and extreme sports can do that too, and you are more likely to live long enough to enjoy it.
-Learn skills you can learn nowhere else. No. You can learn how to kill in other places.
-Experience the comradeship which my family has been telling me about for years. This differs on the individual, hopefully you will make some real friends and it will be true.
-Get some discipline. Everyone can use some more discipline, no matter how much you hate it at the time, you'll thank whoever gave it to you later. Discipline is good, but so is free thinking. Obeying orders for no reason other than a badge on somebodies arm is not a good thing.

The military pretty much carves you into a great person: Strong, Courageous, Good Morals, etc.

No way in hell, It teaches you to:
- Obey orders you may disagree with.
- Kill people you do not know.
- Become desensitised to killing, to see people as targets, not humans.

 

[imperialwar]

I was all lined up to join the Aus Army at 18, but they decided my asthma was to much of a concern, back in the day they could use that as an excuse to disclude you.
I have never had an asthmatic attack before or since then.

Why was i going to join ? I didnt have many employment options, having flunked in High school. Also I have a natural nack for stealth and observation. I am still a crack shot shooting 89 / 100 over 1km.
So since then i have had to patch together an exsistence, going from Job to job never quite feeling fulfilled. The job I am in now has been my longest in a single job at 4 years. Yet I am still not happy here, but it pays the bills.

Also @ max. For some people honor and the memory of your self sacrifice means EVERYTHING to some people.
How about, would you fight with everything you had to defend something ?

 

[TheFacelessOne]

Oh, and I don't want any images that I can't get out of my head, or the horrible psychotics...thing...when you come back from war.

 

[InProgress]

I have a tip for you.

Don't get shot.

Indeed, but if I do it'll be in the line of duty; the most honorable way to die.
~Frosty.

Honor isn't worth anything to a dead man.

Anyway, no. And I never have any plans to, despite most of the men in my family having done so/attempted to do so.

My reasons are simple.
One: I do not care about my country. It is a piece of land. It is not worth dying over.
Two: I have massive authority issues. The first time someone "ordered" me to do something, I would use the training I had just recently acquired to teach them the folly of doing so, preferably with a high-powered rifle.
Three: It is unreasonably hot in Iraq. As long as there is even a .01% chance of serving anywhere nearly that hot, I will not be serving. I do not do well in warm climates - I would die.
Four/Three B: There is nothing worth dying for.

This, especially points 1 and 3. And since I want to go to college, the army can't do squat against me and be fined for not serving in the military.

 

[Snor]

hell no, its bad enough that we even need a military. that and i would prefer not to get shot and run around like an idiot shooting innocents and draining taxes...
Although in the past i did consider the airforce but i realised that a proper education would be much more valuable than putting on a uniform as Lt. Snor

just my opinion

 

[Legion]

Accidentally posted it separate to my previous one. My apologies.

 

[AhumbleKnight]

Well, my reasons TO join are as follows:
-Get Fit. I'm already in really good shape, but it could be better.
-Learn skills you can learn nowhere else.
-Experience the comradeship which my family has been telling me about for years.
-Get some discipline. Everyone can use some more discipline, no matter how much you hate it at the time, you'll thank whoever gave it to you later.

The military pretty much carves you into a great person: Strong, Courageous, Good Morals, etc.

Your reasons are simular to the reasons I joined. I am an Aussie and currently serving.

Personaly, I would suggest joining a combat support Corp. That way if you find that military life is not for you, you will actualy have some skills that you can leave with and get a job in the civi world.

One: I do not care about my country. It is a piece of land. It is not worth dying over.

A country is not a peice of land. It is the culture, values, and most importantly the people in that peice of land.

Four/Three B: There is nothing worth dying for.

I would die for my family. Wouldn't you sacrifice your life for those you care about?

Also, I think a lot of you need to harden up a bit ... not doing all of that because it's too hot ... or too hard? Well I'm from Australia, welcome to my world. If you grew up where I did you'd be killed with that attitude.

Military service is not for everybody. Frankly, I am glad that these people don't join up because their soft attitude can get people killed.

 

[Ajna]

I have a tip for you.

Don't get shot.

Indeed, but if I do it'll be in the line of duty; the most honorable way to die.
~Frosty.

Honor isn't worth anything to a dead man.

Anyway, no. And I never have any plans to, despite most of the men in my family having done so/attempted to do so.

My reasons are simple.
One: I do not care about my country. It is a piece of land. It is not worth dying over.
Two: I have massive authority issues. The first time someone "ordered" me to do something, I would use the training I had just recently acquired to teach them the folly of doing so, preferably with a high-powered rifle.
Three: It is unreasonably hot in Iraq. As long as there is even a .01% chance of serving anywhere nearly that hot, I will not be serving. I do not do well in warm climates - I would die.
Four/Three B: There is nothing worth dying for.

More or less that. Whenever someone says the quote "Better to die on your feet than live on your knees," I laugh. Because I'll be the one at their funeral, laughing. I'll take my knees, thank you, and stand up later.

I'd be okay with the military, long as I wasn't going to be in long. I'd like it just to get some training in firearms and the like... Respect from others for my service... It could be useful...

 

[gh0ti]

Four/Three B: There is nothing worth dying for.

Freedom to express that sentiment?

 

[Magical Hans]

Yup! I was in the Irish reserves for 3 months until i realised that it wasnt much of an army at all. Now im a deserter baby lol

 

[coda di lup]

No, I don't plan to have a military career and me and my friends were the first generation in Italy that did not have to serve in the military.

 

[Grimm91]

I am joining the US military this summer. That is going to be interesting.

 

[AhumbleKnight]

Well, my reasons TO join are as follows:
-Learn skills you can learn nowhere else. No. You can learn how to kill in other places.
Actualy, yes and no. The military can teach you skills that you can learn elsewhere. The difference is, elsewhere doesn't pay you to learn them. It IS NOT all about killing. Peacekeeping forces across South Asia spend alot of time saving lifes by clearing mines/IEDs.
-Get some discipline. Everyone can use some more discipline, no matter how much you hate it at the time, you'll thank whoever gave it to you later. Discipline is good, but so is free thinking. Obeying orders for no reason other than a badge on somebodies arm is not a good thing.
True. It's a good thing then that the military is not really like this. Sure, there are people with rank that maybe should not have it, however, the vast majority of people with 'a badge on their arm' know what they are doing. In the Australian Army, Initiative is one of our core values. It is activly encouraged.

The military pretty much carves you into a great person: Strong, Courageous, Good Morals, etc.

No way in hell, It teaches you to:
- Obey orders you may disagree with.
This is true. But it is also true that you will have to do this in almost every civilian job you may have.
- Kill people you do not know.
Only if they are trying to kill you. Rules of Engagement are very specific and the punishments are appropriatly sever.
- Become desensitised to killing, to see people as targets, not humans.
Really? News to me.

Edit: I am curious where you learnt so much about the military. Because, to somebody who is currently serving, you are wrong in some very fundamental ways.

 

[oldMcDouche]

i live in Austria and it is mandatory to join the army here at the age of 18.
our army is small tho and we just stay a soldier for half a year minumum. one year is also possible. then we'll have nothing to do with military again.
this fall i will join.

we dont participate in wars anyways. its just training.

 

[FrostyV3]

Well, my reasons TO join are as follows:
-Get Fit. I'm already in really good shape, but it could be better.
-Learn skills you can learn nowhere else.
-Experience the comradeship which my family has been telling me about for years.
-Get some discipline. Everyone can use some more discipline, no matter how much you hate it at the time, you'll thank whoever gave it to you later.

The military pretty much carves you into a great person: Strong, Courageous, Good Morals, etc.
You can go in an average 18 year old, come out a better 19 year old with $40,000 in his pocket; for just one year of basic training.

Also, I think a lot of you need to harden up a bit ... not doing all of that because it's too hot ... or too hard? Well I'm from Australia, welcome to my world. If you grew up where I did you'd be killed with that attitude.
~Frosty.

-Why do you want to be that fit?
- What skills are you going to learn which you can learn nowhere else? How to use a rifle to effectively murder someone? Not particularly high on my to do list.
- Comradeship? WHat if you end up as the 'Privat Pyle' of your unit? The one who is not quite as good and gets bullied into suicide by all the others?
- Why do you want to be so diciplined?

The military carves you into a mentally damaged, physical cripple with no employable skills apart from how to kill people in a variety of interesting and creative ways. Either that or it carves you into a dead person.

The only thing you'll acheive by joining the military is the furtherance of economic dominance by the US and the EU. I hope you enjoy killing poor people

Wow ... you really are a failure aren't you.
The military is not: 'Learn Ways To Kill People'
And the more i read through your reply, the more I realise that you are a really miss-informed 12 year old who gets his ideas about the military from movies like Full Metal Jacket.
~Frosty.

 

[Ken Korda]

Well, my reasons TO join are as follows:
-Get Fit. I'm already in really good shape, but it could be better.
-Learn skills you can learn nowhere else.
-Experience the comradeship which my family has been telling me about for years.
-Get some discipline. Everyone can use some more discipline, no matter how much you hate it at the time, you'll thank whoever gave it to you later.

The military pretty much carves you into a great person: Strong, Courageous, Good Morals, etc.
You can go in an average 18 year old, come out a better 19 year old with $40,000 in his pocket; for just one year of basic training.

Also, I think a lot of you need to harden up a bit ... not doing all of that because it's too hot ... or too hard? Well I'm from Australia, welcome to my world. If you grew up where I did you'd be killed with that attitude.
~Frosty.

-Why do you want to be that fit?
- What skills are you going to learn which you can learn nowhere else? How to use a rifle to effectively murder someone? Not particularly high on my to do list.
- Comradeship? WHat if you end up as the 'Privat Pyle' of your unit? The one who is not quite as good and gets bullied into suicide by all the others?
- Why do you want to be so diciplined?

The military carves you into a mentally damaged, physical cripple with no employable skills apart from how to kill people in a variety of interesting and creative ways. Either that or it carves you into a dead person.

The only thing you'll acheive by joining the military is the furtherance of economic dominance by the US and the EU. I hope you enjoy killing poor people

Wow ... you really are a failure aren't you.
The military is not: 'Learn Ways To Kill People'
And the more i read through your reply, the more I realise that you are a really miss-informed 12 year old who gets his ideas about the military from movies like Full Metal Jacket.
~Frosty.

What ever you think of me as a person you still haven't convinced me. See if you can bring back part of a dead body as a souvenir. Even better a dead rich person, that'll be really rare!

 

[Legion]

*snip*

In relation to the desensitisation part, that is not of course, what all people become like.

However, some soldiers (mainly those who have been in heated warzones) tend to become extremely cold, they had to repress guilty feelings of taking another life and so they distance themselves emotionally from people.

My wording was poor with that part of my previous post, I understand that not all soldiers become cold, heartless killing machines.

The military is not: 'Learn Ways To Kill People'

No, but that is what it's used for most of the time. There has not been a necessary War since the Second World War.

 

[FrostyV3]

Ok, after reading through all your posts I've had a change of heart.
I realise that alot of you have different views and beliefs about the armed services; which are greatly different to mine.
Only last point I would like to make is this:
The military is not 'Killing School' - That's one point I will not differ on. You can believe it in your own minds, but I never will.

I know this thread caused a lot of controversy and hate thrown in my general direction, but I'm OK with that; go ahead.
This is most likely my last post, seeing as I have made all my points. If another point comes up, ill answer it but I won't keep repeating myself.

Cheers Guys,
~Frosty.

 

[imperialwar]

For what its worth Frosty, i salute you, soldier to soldier.

 

[Legion]

Ok, after reading through all your posts I've had a change of heart.
I realise that alot of you have different views and beliefs about the armed services; which are greatly different to mine.
Only last point I would like to make is this:
The military is not 'Killing School' - That's one point I will not differ on. You can believe it in your own minds, but I never will.

I know this thread caused a lot of controversy and hate thrown in my general direction, but I'm OK with that; go ahead.
This is most likely my last post, seeing as I have made all my points. If another point comes up, ill answer it but I won't keep repeating myself.

Cheers Guys,
~Frosty.

I think you need to make clear in your first post that you are Australian, a lot of the hate comes from people who only see the damage the USA and UK have done with their Military in the Middle East.

If I was an Australian then the chances are I'd personally be more favourable towards it, like I said in my first post:

No, simply because I do not believe what our Military is doing is right.

If our country was going to be invaded and they needed soldiers then I would enlist, but until they actually have a real purpose for getting people (our soldiers and other people) killed then I want no part in it.