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I don't know... I was in the Air Force for 5 years and got out. I was not in a war, and it wasn't unusually stressful. I have a friend who stayed in and retired last year in his lower 40s. He worked in Admin, never in a combat zone, and seemed to do a whole lot of nothing in his final years. Now he sits around on his @ss all day doing nothing. He wasn't in trenches fighting people and was about the equivalent of an office manager in the corporate world. Now he enjoys a full pension and almost free healthcare for life. I'd call that leeching off the taxpayers. If someone actually fought in wars, I'd say they deserve an earlier retirement. But if you're not, put in at least 30 years.
You can't blame the guy for picking the right job. I did the same thing before joining and doing my four years. I researched which jobs were deploying, to where, and what they did while deployed. Leeching off the tax the taxpayers? Get out of here with that.
"Ten military years are equivalent to 20 civilian years.”
This is bullpucky. The common thought process is that in order to serve in the military, one will be on task non-stop for the duration of their enlistment. This couldn't be further from the truth. Most military folks have more down time than you'd ever believe, even in a wartime theater of operations. The 47,000 troops in Iraq right now are BORED. Heck, even the Stars and Stripes newspaper ran a front page article on what troops are doing to pass their time over here.
Are there MOS's that are extremely demanding? Absolutely. But I can assure you that the average military person is not twice as busy as the average civilian. That's just bullpucky that falls under the Big Umbrella of Praise that our society arbitrarily hoists onto our military. It's not reality though.
You can't blame the guy for picking the right job. I did the same thing before joining and doing my four years. I researched which jobs were deploying, to where, and what they did while deployed. Leeching off the tax the taxpayers? Get out of here with that.
When was the last time our military defended our borders?
This is bullpucky. The common thought process is that in order to serve in the military, one must be prepared to be on task non-stop for the duration of their enlistment. This couldn't be further from the truth. Most military folks have more down time than you'd ever believe, even in a wartime theater of operations. The 47,000 troops in Iraq right now are BORED. Heck, even the Stars and Stripes newspaper ran a front page article on what troops are doing to pass their time over here.
Are there MO's that are extremely demanding? Absolutely. But I can assure you that the average military person is not twice as busy as the average civilian. That's just bullpucky that falls under the Big Umbrella of Praise that our society arbitrarily hoists onto our military. It's not reality though.
Try doing a job for 20yrs or even more where your chances of getting sent to war and dying in war are great. Try being a recruiter for 20yrs or more where you are working insanely long hours, have civilians threatening you, school Administrations threatening you, your work, your vehicles, your property being vandalized or even targeted.
I dont care if you are a desk jockey or a ground pounder, if you had the balls to sign up and sacrifice your life for this country, and did so for 20yrs or more, the least this country owes you is healthcare for life (YES, for life), educational benefits and house loan benefits- at the LEAST.
You can't blame the guy for picking the right job. I did the same thing before joining and doing my four years. I researched which jobs were deploying, to where, and what they did while deployed. Leeching off the tax the taxpayers? Get out of here with that.
He's able-bodied and should be working for another 20 years! But no, he just sits there getting fatter. And then he likes to go out to restaurants in his uniform and let people come up to him and "thank him for his service" and pay his check! They think he actually was under stress and fighting in wars The reality was that he was home napping on lunch breaks and surfing the net half the day, at least in the last few years of his "career". The only people in the Air Force who actually "fight" are pilots. That's why I chose the AF as well. I just wanted a job that paid for me to live in foreign countries for a few years, and I know plenty of other people who did it for the same reason... at least in the AF. I think there should be a distinction between military people who actually fought for their countries and those who had rather ordinary, non-dangerous jobs. Why should we pay for people who didn't fight for their country to sit around for the second half of their lives?
This is bullpucky. The common thought process is that in order to serve in the military, one will be on task non-stop for the duration of their enlistment. This couldn't be further from the truth. Most military folks have more down time than you'd ever believe, even in a wartime theater of operations. The 47,000 troops in Iraq right now are BORED. Heck, even the Stars and Stripes newspaper ran a front page article on what troops are doing to pass their time over here.
Are there MOS's that are extremely demanding? Absolutely. But I can assure you that the average military person is not twice as busy as the average civilian. That's just bullpucky that falls under the Big Umbrella of Praise that our society arbitrarily hoists onto our military. It's not reality though.
I have to agree, as a veteran. There were times where my job sucked, but for the most part, it was just a job with lots of fun travel. I had someone thank me for my service not too long ago and found it to be embarrassing. I explained that I was never in combat!
Try doing a job for 20yrs or even more where your chances of getting sent to war and dying in war are great. Try being a recruiter for 20yrs or more where you are working insanely long hours, have civilians threatening you, school Administrations threatening you, your work, your vehicles, your property being vandalized or even targeted.
I dont care if you are a desk jockey or a ground pounder, if you had the balls to sign up and sacrifice your life for this country, and did so for 20yrs or more, the least this country owes you is healthcare for life (YES, for life), educational benefits and house loan benefits- at the LEAST.
You volunteered, duh.
Lot's of equally dangerous jobs in the private sector too (that actually contribute to the GDP), so stop acting like you have an exclusive.
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Could not agree more 
The reality was that he was home napping on lunch breaks and surfing the net half the day, at least in the last few years of his "career". The only people in the Air Force who actually "fight" are pilots. That's why I chose the AF as well. I just wanted a job that paid for me to live in foreign countries for a few years, and I know plenty of other people who did it for the same reason... at least in the AF. I think there should be a distinction between military people who actually fought for their countries and those who had rather ordinary, non-dangerous jobs. Why should we pay for people who didn't fight for their country to sit around for the second half of their lives?
