Is (and should) military service put on a pedestal to the detriment of other public service? (million, assault)
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While I greatly respect the work of men and women serving as teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc., I find much of what my friend wrote to be troubling. Simply put, I believe that members of the AF (as a general matter) do provide a different service requiring greater sacrifice than teachers, doctors, lawyers, etc. Indeed, how many teachers, etc., have been killed in the line of duty in the last 15 years (or last however many years you want to count)? How many teachers, etc., risk their lives every day just by putting on their uniform to go do their work? How many teachers are separated from their families for up to a year (or more) on regular deployments, etc.? There's a reason why military men and women are put on a "pedestal" by society (generally). What they do is different (although not necessarily "better" or "greater") than what your regular public servant does.
Still, I seemed to be in the minority with my beliefs (granted, most of my friend's connections lean left on the political spectrum, which may help to explain things). I'm curious to know how many (and why) would agree with my friend.
Yah, Sparta, Greece back when tried to specialize in military, @ a time when that was a plausible specialty. But even Sparta was conquered; & we're well past the time when purely military skills were sufficient to guard the nation.
In that regard, the UK colonies nor the US were fond of standing professional armies - they'd suffered too much from regular UK armies being stationed with them. & early on, every male citizen of an appropriate age in the colonies (& later the US) was to provide his own uniform, weapon, bullets & powder, & muster with his fellow citizens to provide for the common defense. The notion that soldiers are somehow more exemplary than anyone else in the polity is recent - the US didn't used to rush to get into wars - see WWI & WWII, especially. War fighting is only one function of a country - important, when push comes to shove. But certainly not the end-all nor be-all of any modern Western Civilization country.
I have an issue with people and politicians boasting they support the military, yet all the “pedestal talk” does nothing to support vets once they come back. The VA healthcare and mental support programs should be better. All the flag waving and patriotism is diluted if we can’t support vets from committing suicide, deal with PTSD, and other challenges they face after coming back from combat or service.
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Yes, exactly. There's a tremendous amount of lip service about our military & spooks. But VA is still a shambles, & you would think that for the amount of money & resources & personnel we put into developing & building weapons systems, we'd spend whatever it took to care for our veterans wounded in body & spirit.
They signed on with the understanding that they might not survive, & might not completely return from service. The least we can do is honor the contract we drew up with them.
& we need to accelerate studies & treatment for PTSD & IED injuries. We have far too many amputations & multiple amputations that we need to either provide much better prosthetics for, or work up a way to replicate or clone actual flesh & bone & nerves for as normal as possible baseline function. There is a huge market out there, with lots of civilian applications as well.
We need to get cracking on these areas of research - mainly, to keep faith with our troops. It's the right thing to do, & these lines of research should also forward a lot of bioengineering & medical research - always a good thing.
I DO NOT agree with your friend. Any job has a degree of safety issues, but the only job I know of where you are literally contracting to put your life on the line for your country IS the military.
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No, there are the spooks - the intel people who actually do field work, & CIA used to run paramilitaries. That's changed, now - especially since 09/11 - it's mostly SEALs, Special Forces, Rangers, Delta, 10th Mountain & some other units, that provide most of the muscle, depending on the particular skill sets required - & seconded to CIA. DEA does similar work in the war on drugs, & there are similar slots spread across law enforcement - contraband, human smuggling, slavery, & so on.
With the end of the USSR, we'll probably see a reemphasis on human intelligence, seeing as how the radical Islamic factions don't usually have assets that show up on satellite or radar scans, like the Soviet stuff used to.
I'm pretty leftwing, as are most of my friends. Many of them are ex-military, but that isn't a Venn diagram that overlaps completely. I don't think there is enough respect for the military in this country or enough done for our vets - they do a job that I would never want to do and probably couldn't ever have done.
What I have found though is that SOME people who are military vets can be incredibly arrogant about their service. A friend is dealing with a legitimate war hero on her staff who is causing complete chaos trying to claim all sorts of random privileges and exceptions because of his military service. Some of it is likely due to his TBI, but a lot of it appears to just be a douche-y personality. In another case, a fairly severely disabled friend was cut off pulling into the last handicapped spot by two guys on motorcycles. She challenged them because they didn't have handicapped tags, and one of the guys went off on her about how he was a veteran and could park in a handicapped spot because of his service, then they waltzed into the grocery store with no visible handicaps (I'm well aware they can be invisible).
I've known a lot of other combat vets who would NEVER dream of doing this type of thing. But I think for certain people, they thrive on the structure provided by the military and then when they leave the military run amok without that structure, using their service as a club to combat any criticism. I think certain elements in our society have elevated military service to something like sainthood, and that appeals to another element that is not of the best character, who uses military service as a way to put themselves above other American citizens in their own minds.
One of the hardest things for a lot of veterans, and especially retirees, is that we expected to step out of the military and into civilian jobs of equivalent standing and respect. Except for the most senior of commissioned officers, it usually doesn't work that way.
Despite the resurgence of respect for the military, most civilian employers don't care. The fact that most people in the workforce haven't served, means that many coworkers are indifferent, or full of stereotypes that fit their political and social agenda. The sooner a veteran understands this, the better.
Why d0 some of you seem to act uncomfortable because someone says....."thank you for your service" ?
My reply is either..."you're welcome" or " that's nice of you to say that"
After the protesters of the 60's managed to turn most of the country against US servicemen, some kind words are appreciated.
No, I don't think that was true. If the US in general got fed up with the war in VN, it was against the administrations & the military brass who kept saying that the war was nearly won, & that if we just committed a few more thousands of ground troops, bombing missions, gallons of Agent Orange (& all the other Agents), propped up just a few more grasping politicians &/or parties in the RVN, & on & on.
The realization that the US general public was being treated to a massive PR blitz by the administrations & the military brass was slow in coming (from 1945CE on); no one wanted to believe that. I think the anti-war protestors should have made it clear that they opposed the administration & the military brass - those who volunteered or were drafted to VN were not automatically against grassroots political opinion. & there was a fair amount of political dissent within the US military in VN & @ home - mostly in the Army, as that's where the draftees were most concentrated. & some of them were politically involved.
Name public services where you are given serious weapons and face death much more than Law Enforcement does. The police are not bombarded with artillery, mortars, IEDs, etc.. Only someone who did not serve would ask a question like this. I spent a year in Vietnam waking up to rats on me, being attacked by hundreds of Viet Long, mortar and rocket attacks a few times a month. Few others get PTSD in the numbers that the military does. I used to attack my wife in my sleep. Not man public service people have seen many friends torn apart by bullets, torture and explosives.
It takes a lot of courage to risk your life on a scale like no other. I am proud to be a Veteran and although I respect all that help people, it is apples to oranges. In fact, I do not think you can even classify the Military as a public service since we are trained to kill an not save people.
Explain why 83% of servicemen exit the military instead of staying in for 20.
If it was sooooo easy, I would think it would be 83% staying in and only 17% getting out.
Some that stay in have a passion for military service. Others that stay in, don't like the military that much, but find a niche' that is easy, and devoid of the drama of the civilian workplace.
The majority of the population, especially today, isn't adaptable to long term military service.
Maybe not treated badly in an outward sense. But there was a stigma about military service for a decade or so after Vietnam ended. "Employer of last resort". "The judge gave him a choice". "Very low pay". That sort of thing. The best analogy today is society's perception of fast food workers. The Vietnam stigma today is mainly retained among the upper middle class with 1960's political ideologies.
The problem I have with the BLANKET adoration of the military is that such worshipers do not speak of the number of people in the military who get into serious legal problems, get court-marshaled, or even executed (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...tates_military).
To me it should be like any other profession: the true superstars get the recognition.
The examples you speak of, crimes committed while in the military, are not going to be honorably discharged veterans.
A better example are decorated military veterans, who later run astray in civilian life. There's no blanket pardon for them either. So I guess I don't see your point.
The examples you speak of, crimes committed while in the military, are not going to be honorably discharged veterans.
A better example are decorated military veterans, who later run astray in civilian life. There's no blanket pardon for them either. So I guess I don't see your point.
I don't understand why this is so difficult.
If you're in the military and you do some beyond the normal...you deserve recognition.
If you're in the military and just muddle your way through...where is the reason for recognition?
Same in any profession.
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An eye for an eye
