Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Im no expert, but i do know english soldiers envy our troops regarding those things you've highlighted, always have and always will.
I am an English (British Army) soldier and generally the only US troops equipment we're envious of is your Oakley Ballistic glasses as yours are black tinted and ours are yellow tinted. We're able to supplement and personalise our own gear and the country we tend to use more than any other is France. Their latest equipment that was modernised in 2007 is excellent.
Link: FÉLIN - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
We get free healthcare (NHS) alongside the medical and dental services provided by the army and our family housing is being updated and modernised across the forces.
I don't understand why the wealthiest most technologically advanced country in the world cannot better care for or otherwise provide for the soldiers serving in our armed forces?
1) Healthcare.......everyone who I've spoken to especially the spouses of active military personnel say tricare is a joke. Horrible, terrible. Is that true? Pregnant mothers often complain the most.
2) Education? What is the GI bill up to nowadays? $10K for 4 years? LOL what a joke!!!!
3) Dwellings? Why is base housing always the most dilapidated buildings in a community? Is it because soldiers are irresponsible and trash the places or just renters and just don't care?
4) Equipment.....while the troops might have better equipment than say the average Chinese or Russian soldier they hardly have the best equipment, clothing, etc. a 21st century American economy should be able to provide. I know plenty about the clothing and equipment of the US military and it still pales in comparison, even at the SpecOps level to what the private sector, even outdoor companies, are producing and innovating.
5) Which brings me to the next question. Why the hell aren't troops able to keep ALL of their damn equipment including weapons when they leave the service? As a tax payer I could care less what these young men and women take with them. Most of it is outdated anyways after a few years and we are still seing tons of surplus crap from the Vietnam war being sold by surplus stores, on ebay etc. They deserve it.
Again why do troops have to PAY for ANY of their equipment i.e. uniforms above and beyond a certain number etc.
6) Now I've heard troops are starting to be fed better i.e. better quality ingredients etc. But our troops should be eating some of the best food prepared by some of the best chefs and dieticians in the world. These are our SOLDIERS for crying out loud. Give them grass fed beef, organic produce, whatever they need to stay strong and healthy.
Am I missing something? Or is it because it's just the "military" and they are supposed to be tough that some of these things just don't matter?
For some crazy reason I guess it was assumed that not letting people with PTS leave with M-16s once they were discharged is a good idea.
The soldiers over here in Afghanistan got it pretty easy. Except for troops who actually go outside the wire the other 20,000 just seem to hang out around Pizza Hut or Green Bean all day complaining about *insert contractor or weather here* or how the wifi isn't that strong.
US soldiers are "better taken care of" than the foreign soldiers they have been sent to kill on the other side of the world in the last decade.
If the expenses associated with securing their services cost anymore than they currently do, then war waged by the United States would not be as economical as it is.
And yeah. It is economical. The ruling elite did a cost/benefit analysis long before the first US soldier hit the ground in the Middle East.
The numbers came back, and it was on. Business booms when cold lead flies.
US soldiers are "better taken care of" than the foreign soldiers they have been sent to kill on the other side of the world in the last decade.
If the expenses associated with securing their services cost anymore than they currently do, then war waged by the United States would not be as economical as it is.
And yeah. It is economical. The ruling elite did a cost/benefit analysis long before the first US soldier hit the ground in the Middle East.
The numbers came back, and it was on. Business booms when cold lead flies.
Well, it booms for a select few, the rest get "trickled" on.
Nothing has changed in decades. As a hippy Canadian kid I hitch hike through America after the Viet Nam war. The highways were littered with the walking dead. Soldiers that were thrown away after the war. Mentally ill young men with no where to go or turn too...Broken and damaged guys that just stood there with that blank stare..who were ruined for life.
The high and mighty elite that used these young men to ensure their continued wealth and dominance in the world...are thankless for the service these guys provided..Ungrateful and arrogant doinks who saw the marshal class as expendable.
If a corporation that takes oil out of the middle east for example..generates a huge profit from the actions of the military -who through force -secured certain regions such as Iraq and surrounding territories ...Then those Corporations owe these guys big time..not just a thank you note but a profit sharing check!
Most of the foreign "soldiers" were not soldiers but draftees or civilians fighting for some cause or another. Let’s face it. Our overseas adventures were to defend the right of American and European oil barons to continue their thievery. They steal the oil from the countries and sell it to us at monopoly prices and don't even have to pay for the enforcers. Great racket that is.
I am a 'Nam veteran and we were just about ignored during and after the War. After all, the elites figured we "Lost the War" and Michelin Rubber had to go somewhere else for their natural Latex so we should have gotten nothing. They were right about that and that is about what we got. As far as equipment goes we were the first to get the Mattel Toy gun aka the M-16. A rifle that does not go bang EVERY TIME you pull the trigger is worse than useless. It is dangerous and IMHO criminal.
I used the GI Bill for college. IIRC it paid a princely sum of $230 a month for nine months a year. Hell, if I had received $10,000 a year I would have been in great shape.
The Powers That Be have always abused the people that actually fought for them and probably always will. As has been noted: War is a rich man’s sport and a poor man’s fight.
Here in CANADA. Those who have done tours in Afghanistan- now have to fight their own government..the little bureaucrats who sit at a desk guarding their own interests and pay checks...who out of routine deny real and proper benefits to vets.
They act as if they are the welfare department and their administrative duty is to with hold as much funding as they can to ensure that they continue to get payed and to hell with soldiers...who they view as chumps. It is not so much the top dogs in government that are responsible for this abuse..it's the machine below...the agencies that are not elected and who keep a firm eye on their budgets...knowing that if they pay soldiers it might just cut into their slice of the pie.
When a nation abuses a volunteer force..or even a drafted one..The future of that force becomes in question...Who is going to volunteer their service in the future- knowing that the ones before them got double crossed? Imagine if the Roman Army of old denied payment in full to their troops? There would have never been a Roman Empire. If America wants to continue being an empire- They had better start acting like one.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
