The Army. (A serious thread here now)

[dnnydllr]

If that's what you'd like to do, then go ahead and do it. Don't listen to what other people say about it, and I don't really think there's that much of a chance of death. I currently have 3 brothers serving in the military across the pond from you, and all of them have stayed pretty alive.

 

[KaiRai]

Right so, I've sent in my applications to join the UK army as an officer, and this has been met with a fairly unanimous response.

"Don't do that, you'll die"

I know it's a possibility, but that's surely taking a very negative ground, right?? I mean, in the UK I've worked it out to be around a 0.1% death count.

What're your opinions on this?? I just think everyone is a bit overbearing on this issue,

(Also please don't post anti war speeches, it's not a hate contest, merely a question)

Whoa-whoa-whoa...

UK Officers go into dangerous territory?!?


But srsly, if you don't know where to go, the military generally builds you up for the rest of your life if you can stand the lower standards of living and lack of liberties.

Well since if I get in, I'd be a 2nd Lt, which is basically, same as a regular squaddie with more money
I dunno, I want to see some action to make me a stronger person, but everyone seems convinced that it's a bad idea.
I'm going into the Paras BTW, UK airbourne to those who don't know.

 

[AhumbleKnight]

The UK has one of the best militaries in the world. If you want to join up then by all means, go for it. It your decision to make and you will be in good hands.

 

[ItsAChiaotzu]

Do whatever you want. If this is what you want, go for it.

I would join the army, but I have a serious allergy with bullets. If a bullet hits me, I die.

You sir, are god.

 

[chefassassin2]

You could die doing just about anything, and to try and use that as an excuse to dissuade someone from joining the military is ludicrous. To join the military is a noble cause, meaning you put your country above everything else, at least while you have the uniform on. Don't be a dick when you're out of uniform (or in), carry yourself with pride, and go do it!
The military isn't something I'm interested in, but I respect the hell out of soldiers. If you do happen to see combat at all, good luck. If not, help those who have. That's my take on it at least.

 

[sneakypenguin]

Dying isn't the only risk. If they send you somewhere you'll have a 1 in 3 chance of getting PTSD.

Also, kindly wake the fuck up. You'd have to be very lucky to actually get the chance to fight for 'freedom' or 'democracy' or 'the safety of your country'. You'll most likely be sent to a country in the Middle East where you have no right to be, where they don't want you and where a combination of terrorists and stupid politicians will take away any chance you have of doing something good.

I find it frustrating to read that even after the debacle in Iraq there's still people willing to risk life, limb and mental wellbeing for a bunch of lying, thieving politicians.

Or some of us just like to be available for service if our country ever truly needs soldiers...

I'm on my way to a B.A. and i'm considering enlisting in the USAF, 35k-100+ k a year salary, travel, paid education so that M.A. should be free. So after 4 years I come out with experience that looks good on job aps, a paid education, access to benefits programs, the ability to always go back if I lose a civy job... Sounds like a fair deal to me.

 

[KaiRai]

Dying isn't the only risk. If they send you somewhere you'll have a 1 in 3 chance of getting PTSD.

Also, kindly wake the fuck up. You'd have to be very lucky to actually get the chance to fight for 'freedom' or 'democracy' or 'the safety of your country'. You'll most likely be sent to a country in the Middle East where you have no right to be, where they don't want you and where a combination of terrorists and stupid politicians will take away any chance you have of doing something good.



I find it frustrating to read that even after the debacle in Iraq there's still people willing to risk life, limb and mental wellbeing for a bunch of lying, thieving politicians.

Or some of us just like to be available for service if our country ever truly needs soldiers...

I'm on my way to a B.A. and i'm considering enlisting in the USAF, 35k-100+ k a year salary, travel, paid education so that M.A. should be free. So after 4 years I come out with experience that looks good on job aps, a paid education, access to benefits programs, the ability to always go back if I lose a civy job... Sounds like a fair deal to me.

Just what I was thinking, the job market here in the UK sucks thanks to idiot politicians, and I have good leadership skills I think, those who can, lead, right?

Also, I'm not fighting for the stupid government, I'm fighting for the people back home.
The government can screw themselves, but British citizens, they need the most help here.

 

[RicoADF]

Right so, I've sent in my applications to join the UK army as an officer, and this has been met with a fairly unanimous response.

"Don't do that, you'll die"

You've got more of a chance being killed by a car or lightening, especially in the general army, just do what you want .
To explain: General Army are just guards and dont do alot, its the SASR, SAS, DF etc that do the dangerous work, the standard infantryman spend most of their time driving around and standing at checkpoints.

 

[Trivun]

Right so, I've sent in my applications to join the UK army as an officer, and this has been met with a fairly unanimous response.

"Don't do that, you'll die"

I know it's a possibility, but that's surely taking a very negative ground, right?? I mean, in the UK I've worked it out to be around a 0.1% death count.

What're your opinions on this?? I just think everyone is a bit overbearing on this issue,

(Also please don't post anti war speeches, it's not a hate contest, merely a question)

I originally wanted to join the RAF, preferably as an officer, but when I found they wanted me to join straight from school I decided not to since I wanted to do the university route first. I figured applying for the university scholarship and joining the ATC while there would be too much hassle, and eventually decided to go into game development instead. I just finished my first year at university a couple of weeks ago.

However, this isn't to say you shouldn't join up. I simply thought it an opportune moment to reference my own previous hopes of joining the Forces. I say, if that's what you want, then go for it, I fully support your decision. Of course, I hope for your benefit and for that of those around you that you're aware of the risks of the military and so on, but that's just common sense so you should be covered there. So yeah, if that's what you want to do with your life then I say do it, it's up to you at the end of the day and the military is a very good career choice. Plus, you can literally do anything in the Armed Forces, aside from being a soldier, though judging by your post you want to be a soldier, as you mention joining as an officer. But it's also good preperation for other work outside the Forces when you get discharged at the end of your service, and the military provides the best training you can get for plenty of civillian jobs too.

Good luck, I hope your application is successful

 

[Ignignoct]

Right so, I've sent in my applications to join the UK army as an officer, and this has been met with a fairly unanimous response.

"Don't do that, you'll die"

I know it's a possibility, but that's surely taking a very negative ground, right?? I mean, in the UK I've worked it out to be around a 0.1% death count.

What're your opinions on this?? I just think everyone is a bit overbearing on this issue,

(Also please don't post anti war speeches, it's not a hate contest, merely a question)

Whoa-whoa-whoa...

UK Officers go into dangerous territory?!?


But srsly, if you don't know where to go, the military generally builds you up for the rest of your life if you can stand the lower standards of living and lack of liberties.

Well since if I get in, I'd be a 2nd Lt, which is basically, same as a regular squaddie with more money
I dunno, I want to see some action to make me a stronger person, but everyone seems convinced that it's a bad idea.
I'm going into the Paras BTW, UK airbourne to those who don't know.

I really don't think you'd be placing yourself in any sort of danger worse than heat exhaustion, personally, and you might not even be going to the sandbox.

If the UK military is anything like the US, you'll be initially in charge of some noncombat support personnel until you've acclimated and grown as a leader, and only then would they place you in charge of a unit that might have some danger spots.

Disclaimer: Take with a grain of salt, I'm not you, make an informed choice, etc etc etc

Hope it works out for ya.

 

[KaiRai]

Right so, I've sent in my applications to join the UK army as an officer, and this has been met with a fairly unanimous response.

"Don't do that, you'll die"

I know it's a possibility, but that's surely taking a very negative ground, right?? I mean, in the UK I've worked it out to be around a 0.1% death count.

What're your opinions on this?? I just think everyone is a bit overbearing on this issue,

(Also please don't post anti war speeches, it's not a hate contest, merely a question)

Whoa-whoa-whoa...

UK Officers go into dangerous territory?!?


But srsly, if you don't know where to go, the military generally builds you up for the rest of your life if you can stand the lower standards of living and lack of liberties.

Well since if I get in, I'd be a 2nd Lt, which is basically, same as a regular squaddie with more money
I dunno, I want to see some action to make me a stronger person, but everyone seems convinced that it's a bad idea.
I'm going into the Paras BTW, UK airbourne to those who don't know.

I really don't think you'd be placing yourself in any sort of danger worse than heat exhaustion, personally, and you might not even be going to the sandbox.

If the UK military is anything like the US, you'll be initially in charge of some noncombat support personnel until you've acclimated and grown as a leader, and only then would they place you in charge of a unit that might have some danger spots.

Disclaimer: Take with a grain of salt, I'm not you, make an informed choice, etc etc etc

Hope it works out for ya.

Naaah, here in the UK they dump you straight into the shit to see if you can cope, if not, they send you home and you're discharged on medical. We don't mess about My friend is in a unit called the Mercians and his officer in Afghan was only out of training for 2 months before they sent him on ops. We don't have as big an army as the Us so we can't afford to waste officers that cost our shit country a lot of money to train

 

[Berethond]

Dying isn't the only risk. If they send you somewhere you'll have a 1 in 3 chance of getting PTSD.

Also, kindly wake the fuck up. You'd have to be very lucky to actually get the chance to fight for 'freedom' or 'democracy' or 'the safety of your country'. You'll most likely be sent to a country in the Middle East where you have no right to be, where they don't want you and where a combination of terrorists and stupid politicians will take away any chance you have of doing something good.

I find it frustrating to read that even after the debacle in Iraq there's still people willing to risk life, limb and mental wellbeing for a bunch of lying, thieving politicians.

Or some of us just like to be available for service if our country ever truly needs soldiers...

I'm on my way to a B.A. and i'm considering enlisting in the USAF, 35k-100+ k a year salary, travel, paid education so that M.A. should be free. So after 4 years I come out with experience that looks good on job aps, a paid education, access to benefits programs, the ability to always go back if I lose a civy job... Sounds like a fair deal to me.

That's a pretty good choice, actually.
My friend's cousin is in the USAF. Gets paid a lot.
Also, pretty much the only USAF personnel in any danger are helicopter pilots, and they're mostly protected now too.

 

[jasoncyrus]

It's not a danger of being killed by terrorists....more a chance of being killed by americans in a friendly fire incidient -.-

 

[Cutlesnap]

[..]

Or some of us just like to be available for service if our country ever truly needs soldiers...

I'm on my way to a B.A. and i'm considering enlisting in the USAF, 35k-100+ k a year salary, travel, paid education so that M.A. should be free. So after 4 years I come out with experience that looks good on job aps, a paid education, access to benefits programs, the ability to always go back if I lose a civy job... Sounds like a fair deal to me.

Just what I was thinking, the job market here in the UK sucks thanks to idiot politicians, and I have good leadership skills I think, those who can, lead, right?

Also, I'm not fighting for the stupid government, I'm fighting for the people back home.
The government can screw themselves, but British citizens, they need the most help here.

quick point-by-point:
@penguin: Your country will not truly need soldiers. I know this sounds like an unreliable prediction, but the simple fact of the matter is the west, being allied to eachother, has a /vastly/ superior military to everyone else. There simply isn't a power in the world that is a serious threat to us.

And frankly, I think we're talking about more essential things than money.

@kairai: You may /want/ to fight for the people back home, but you'll be getting your orders from idiot politicians. They will be in control of your life. I want you to think about this very concretely: Do you want to be part of the wars we are fighting today? Dying might be a small chance, but PTSD is a very real one. Do you want to risk that for what they're doing in Iraq? Don't get me wrong, I think the soldiers are doing their best, but the idiocy of our leaders means that nothing good comes from it, an hundreds of thousands of people died. Millions are on the run.

 

[Valiance]

Get a desk job so you give orders to the poor bastards in fox holes who get to die.

 

[systhicsfg]

The army is a great profession if you wish to give yourself a good base to build your life. Discipline, friends, travel, and a profession. While there are many risks involved, there are with all things. Go for it. At least its not the US Army

 

[Nmil-ek]

Sorry for my ignorance but how does one apply for thejob of an officer would that not rquire experiance and time spend in a military environment? Seems alittle scary if so, people with no combat experiance going directly to leading roles how does that work out?(again correct me if im wrong)

Considered joining some branch of the army of navy myself for quite awhile, my eyesights almost completley shot in one of my eyes as is my cordination so being a soldier seemed impossible but was considering a communications or engineering possition possibly.