Originally posted by BOFH:
I think I agree, but I'm not sure where I see your disagreement. I was in during Gulf War I and I did see soldiers who were given orders to the Gulf do things to prevent their deployment. For the ladies, pregnancy shot up, for the men, in the most extreme case, as self inflicted injury.

So I do think many join not expecting to go to war. Hey, people are often short sided. The recruiter certainly doesn't sell the potentially getting shot at as a benefit.

I made the conscious decision to enter the military to get an education with the knowledge that if we went to war, I may go. I didn't enter the military to go to war, but I agreed with a strong military defense of the nation, and was willing to go if called on, and if I got a couple of degrees out of it, bully for me.

I don't know if it is denial or just poor judgement, but many don't really expect to go to war.

However, this is simply a side discussion to the issue at hand.

But I can tell you one thing, as a Signal Officer in the Army, serving with a Pershing II nuclear missle unit, I was pretty sure that the Soviets would be gunning for me and my soldiers if war broke out. They certainly didn't want me to be able to recieve and deliver the launch codes, should they actually arrive.

However, I never shared with my mother, grandmother or sister that I would probably be a prime target on the battlefield. So in the event I was killed on the battlefield, I'm pretty sure it would have been a shock to my family.

TB



I can go with ya on that TB. I understand what you are saying. Most ppl these days ONLY get into the military to get an education BUT they cannot sit there and whine when something like this happens. I know alot do, I do not disagree with you there, and I am sure ppl do inflict things upon themselves so they do not have to. In that case, they were not meant to be in the military. The military was never designed to be a stepping stone for ppl just want college educations and all, it's there for defense. Those who whimp out and try to do things like that so they won't have to go make me SICK. Sorry if some of you don't agree with that, but alot will agree.
Basically, I see the military in this order:

1. First and foremost, defense of our country
2. Help people to learn a job skill so they may serve and then go and use this skill in the civilian world, if they so choose.
3. To help those who cannot afford it to go to college on the GI Bill.

That is why when I hear ppl whining about having to fo fight for our country when they are part of the military makes me sick. The military was not put on this earth for their enjoyment, it's here for our protection and defense against morons like Sadaam and Osama.
I do not denounce those using it for the GI Bill, no biggie, but don't complain when you get called up is all I am saying.

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