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The DOD already spends $4 billion on advertising and recruitment. Considering that Guinness Ale just set a new record for a TV ad campaign, at $16.3 million, I'm not feeling your fiscal conservatism.
The DOD already spends $4 billion on advertising and recruitment. Considering that Guinness Ale just set a new record for a TV ad campaign, at $16.3 million, I'm not feeling your fiscal conservatism.
Apples and oranges.
A lot easier to convince people to drink a pint than to sacrifice their lives for oil profits
I only donate to charities that support veterans or active duty soldiers. They deserve our honor and respect as citizens for their sacrifices for our nation. You might not agree with the politicians and what they order these young men and women to do, but they do their job and they do it well and for that I will respect and do anythign I can to assist them for the rest of my life.
This column says it all for me especially as a vet myself. Join? Really? In my county, the military joined you with the local draft board (before the lottery) choosing the young guys based on economics. That is, if you came from a family with money and power you were safe OR you got into the reserves or NG even if there were no spaces left. So, wrong side of tracks or black, you got selected by your "neighbors". And as Fred tells us, all for McDonnel Douglas or Grumman or whoever made M-16s. Same crap today. Same crap always. Patriotic? U betcha! Bah!
But on the other hand for you that believe the military is so morally corrupt, it was civilians who gave us the Patriot Act which robs people of their freedom without charge or trial; which puts people under surveillance without warrant. And both repubs and democrats voted for it and enforce it. The military has been the most egalitarian institution in the nation. Pays equal regardless of sex or sexual orientation. Was first to be integrated and provide "equal" opportunity. Has a social medical system open to everyone from a private with his family to a flag officer and his. Is it perfect? Never! It has the best education/training system on the planet surpassing the public and private education systems run by civilians. Check it out. And recall when we have had disasters who winds up getting the call to come rescue because civilians are typically inept at most everything. The only civilian element that seems organized to aid is oddly enough The Salvation ARMY. Nothing is ever either/or except dead and that is debatable now it seems.
No it is not a load of BS. You should be ashamed for making that false statement.
None of the 1,700,000 men who were drafted during the Vietnam era joined for patriotic reasons.
30% of those were killed in Vietnam. Is that what you want? Compensatory service where everyone has to go into the military so that if the government gets us involved in another meaningless war families get to bury the son (or daughter) who wanted nothing more than to grow to be older than 20?
Man, there's a lot of hatred and bitterness - and a bunch of other things - being vented here in this forum. I can certainly understand and agree with the disrespect for the politicians that put us in those wars (Vietnam, Gulf War II, Afghanistan, etc.) But to callously demean the men and women in uniform with such harsh criticism is completely unwarranted.
As far as the recruitment goes, some of you are so way off base, i wonder at where you get your ideas. I teach in a public high school with one of the best Marine Corps Jr. ROTC programs in the nation. Those kids go on to join not just the USMC but all other branches of the military. And very few are the immigrant, white/black trash, socioeconomically disadvantaged teens many of you are talking about. I have ties to other local ROTC programs and the consensus is the same. Yes, there is a significant few that join for no other reason that they have no other options. But many are finding that the GI bill has come in handy for college tuition & that their job training in the military has helped them get jobs in the civilian world (not all service members are infantry soldiers). I have personally seen 5 students from my school enter the military under pressure from parents. This sounds bad, but the students had no intrinsic discipline whatsoever. They had behavior problems. 4 have made a career out it and the other finished up 10 years and is going to college. They found what they were missing in the military (that's not to say that their parents were useless.)
If you take the politics out of the discussion - which I think the OP would like for you to do - then his ideas are not without merit. A 3-year stint can be good for:
a young teen unsure of what they want to do with their life. They haven't emotionally &/or mentally matured enough to handle college, but could use the time wisely for developing skills, get $$$ for college, or simply finding out what they do want to do.
developing a skilled work force. Regardless of what many of your think (that have never served) the military does need almost every job found in the civilian world. The military has to train these recruits to fill those positions, and consequently many can use those skills once back in the civilian life.
developing a strong reserve force. Most of us feel it would never be needed, but don't forget that the first world war was called "the war to end all wars", so people can be wrong. It may never be used, but you know the saying: "It's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it."
instilling a sense of discipline in teens and young adults that - from a teacher and parent's perspective - is sorely missing from many (not all) of our young generation.
I know that the last decade of wars has soured many people's minds against the military, but I'd hope that people would have enough common sense to know the difference between the civilian politicians that get us into these messes and the men & women in uniform doing their jobs.
Location: By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea
68,327 posts, read 54,350,985 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stargazzer
I agree 100%...good post. I keep wondering if the budget can be reduced on the pricy equipment and waste and at the same time reducing the accepted age by a full year. The approach may not only be cost effective for society but encourage the good value mentioned in a greater way.
Absolutely
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