I just read OSC's new World Watch column and have to say thank you to him for his fair representation of the U.S. Soldiers and servicemembers. Of course I may be a bit biased, but I think that he hit the nail on the head.
Our soldiers are not perfect. The lower enlisted are much like the kids at any of your colleges around the United States. They are not uneducated country bumpkins, but rather they are probably better educated than the average American. (I have seen statistics to this effect but do not have them at the moment or the time to get them. Maybe after finals are over tommorrow.)
Our soldiers are the most effective force in the world. I would match our soldiers up against corperate America any day of the week and bet that I could find soldiers to get the job done. Maybe not as efficiently, because the military is at its core a governmental organization and as such is somewhat inefficient. But our soldiers would get the job done no matter what obstacles you throw in their way.
I would be willing to take my old squad of complaining Specialists and motivated Sergeants with our 25 year old squad leader (though he just got promoted to Seargent First Class so he has a platoon now) and I would tackle whatever problem you can throw our way. Our guys may complaing and gripe about getting assigned some sucky job, but guess what? They would do it anyway and do it well.
While I'm now a weekend warrior while I attend law school, I must say that I am proud to have been in the U.S. Army and I salute those who enlist into this war time Army (and other services) knowing that they will spend a lot of time away from their families and that their families may suffer because of it.
Sergeant
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
Was there a particular column you are remarking about? I just went and read the March 26th...
Posted by Miro (Member # 1178) on :
Sergeant, are you talking about this?
Posted by pooka (Member # 5003) on :
I know all my relatives who are serving are very bright people .
What blows my mind is that long before we actually entered WWII a peacetime draft was instituted. I don't know if people were just a lot more civic-minded then, or if the New Deal had created a more nationalist situation. Certainly the fact that the depression hadn't fully ended made the draft a bona fide opportunity for many.
Posted by Sergeant (Member # 8749) on :
pooka,
I read the column on Rhinotimes.com. Sometimes they come up on that site before they get to Hatrack though most of the time they come up at about the same time.
Miro, that looks a lot like the article I had previously read. A caveat to that is that some job fields are much better educated than others. The popular misconception, even in the military, is that the infantry men are all stupid. This may have been in the past but now days the infantry guys have to score fairly well to get into the job field. (I should say that I was not an infantry guy so this isn't personal bias.)
Sergeant
Posted by Orson Scott Card (Member # 209) on :
The hostility and hatred of the military fostered by the "peace" (anti-draft) movement of the 1960s were a new thing in America. Until then, Americans had been largely very proud of our military and it was regarded as a highly honorable career. Wearing the uniform on college campuses was a mark of pride. It still should be, and shame on those who, for specious reasons, turned it into an object of opprobrium.
Most people who are educated and reasonable recognize that we need a military, and that it should consist of the best people our country can assemble for that purpose. Oddly enough, despite the whining or accusations of the miseducated and unreasonable, that is what we actually have. Why? Perhaps partly because people ignorant enough of history to think we don't need a military don't volunteer for it, thereby raising the average intelligence and unselfishness of our military <grin>.
Posted by Sergeant (Member # 8749) on :
The World Watch is question is now on Hatrack if anyone has not read it yet
Sergeant
Posted by MrSquicky (Member # 1802) on :
Sergeant, I'm curious. Do you find a lot of hatred being directed towards you by members of The Establishment? For example, have you come across the idea that anyone who joins the military must be a torturer and baby murderer (or at least entirely willing to turn away from such) from anyone who wasn't on an extreme fringe?
This doesn't fit with my experience (and as far as I can tell, I'd be considered part of the elite academic establishment) and I haven't heard about it from the dozen or so close friends and family members I have in the military.
[ May 05, 2006, 12:29 PM: Message edited by: MrSquicky ]
Posted by BaoQingTian (Member # 8775) on :
One of my good friends in college last year had the leader of the College Democrats (a poli-sci major) come up to him when he was wearing his BDUs and ask him how it felt to be a baby killer. My friend was kind of speechless-and he's usually not the type to be at a loss for words. I don't think this is the lunatic fringe you're talking about Squicky, but there's a future college professor right there so I think it would make him a part of the Establishment described by OSC.
Posted by Sergeant (Member # 8749) on :
MrSquicky
I live in a fairly conservative area that shows strong support for the military so I have not really had any bad experiences with people on campus. I have a strong feeling that if I walked across Berkley's campus in uniform I wouldn't get all the way across without some comment.
Of course there are a lot of law schools out there that are miffed that the Supreme Court ruled that they could not exclude military recruiters without losing their Federal funding in the FAIR v. Rumsfield case.
Sergeant
Posted by RunningBear (Member # 8477) on :
the US military is the most effective fighting force in the world, and it doesnt need a draft, whaddaya know. coinkydink?
yeah, I know, this doesnt connect with anything.
Posted by Son Of Kerensky (Member # 9233) on :
I myself was in the Navy for 6 years as a submarine nuclear mechanic and I have to agree with that essay. The submarine I was stationed on was involved in various interdiction operations against smugglers working with terrorist organizations and we also launched cruise missiles into Iraq during the invasion. Yes following the horrible days of 9/11 there was an outpouring of respect and gratitude for the military, but once things started to calm down from the Patriotic fervor of those days the "Establishment" went back to work. I was home ported out of Groton, CT and the people of New England (outside of NYC) had already been infected by the common view portrayed by the media which permeated their part of the nation. I have been asked how it felt knowing I had helped to kill innocent civilians on a few occassions. These were not members of the media just people who had the ideas spoonfed to them by their TV's and radios along with their own politicians. When I told them I never did such a thing, they asked how I knew that. I told them I was in the briefing for the Battle Damage Assesment which had satalite data along with on site photos where the cruise missiles struck. So they retorted that the government could have given me false information. All I can do is shake my head and drop it. I have a brother that was on the ground in Iraq and I visited with them when they returned from the invasion. Their stories were full of how they respected and cared for the people of Iraq along with the fury they brought to bare first on Saddam's regime and then the insurgent forces. I am proud of my service in the Navy and if not for a reckless driver who hit me while I was walking on the sidewalk I would still be serving even now.
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
.