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Originally posted by depmats
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Originally posted by marichiko
The MILITARY????? The stories that they tell about military bungling, stupidity, waste of resources and disregard for the enlisted men who serve within its ranks are hair raising.
I am so tired of hearing this. What large organization doesn't produce some of this. Most of us with an ongoing connection to the military understand shit happens - so deal with it. And those of us who deal with the civilian world AND the military world acknowledge that incompetance is far more prevalent in the civilian world than in the US military.
In the 70's and 80's the military had a lot more problems than it does now due to the draftees. (note to anyone who cares - real military members don't want a draftee anywhere near a uniform) Starting in the mid-80's and continuing until shortly after Desert Storm the military cleaned up its act. Most of the a$$holes who were only there for the benefits (college, etc...) but didn't think they should have to go to war chose to or were forced to get out. With all due respect, this is not your father's military.
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Do you currently serve in a branch of one our armed forces?
Whether you do or not, you are remarkably ill informed. The draft in the US ended in 1973. I think that's stretching it just a teensy bit to say that the military's problems in the 70's and 80's were due to draftee's. I guess they all re-upped or something, except then they wouldn't really be draftee's anymore, now would they?
Anyone who enlisted in the military for the past 20 years just for the benefits was a damned fool. Military benefits have been cut and cut again from the 70's on.
One of the finest members of our military whom I have been priviledged to meet is a full blooded Mohawk Indian who served with great honor and courage as a tank commander in the initial wave of assault we sent out in the first Gulf War. He was responsible for saving the lives of 5 survivng men in another of our tanks which had been hit by enemy fire. I read the letters those men wrote him afterward.
After the first Gulf engagement the army went through a period of downsizing and this man was targeted for an involuntary discharge due to an obvious case of racial prejudice by his CO. I helped him with his legal defense and he came out of it with a citation for merit and a fully honorable discharge. Is he one of the a$$holes to whom you refer? The army brass was the a$$hole in his case and many others.
No, this is not my father's military, and its too damn bad its not. He served on the staff of the Inspector General and with General William Westmoreland in Vietnam as well as with Merrill's Marauders in WWII and a$$holes like you wouldn't have even been fit to lick his boots.