MandoMan |
03-19-2023 07:13 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rainger99
(Post 2198927)
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Interesting article. I don’t agree with all of it, but it offers some interesting suggestions for improvement, such as allowing recruits who aren’t married but have children. (That was once considered a way of escaping responsibilities, but these days so many are already escaping them with impunity.) One reason given that hadn’t occurred to me is that recruitment is down because we don’t currently have a war where those in the military can go out and kill people. That could be! But not for most, I think.
However, the article doesn’t mention one big one. I think that from 1980 to 2001, recruiting was based on the idea of enlisting in order to get training in what could be a useful career someday and get access to help with college costs. I recall reading that recruiters were encouraging enlistment by telling kids they were unlikely to be asked to serve in a war zone overseas. Some were allowed to sign up with stated objectives of getting to serve overseas in countries like Germany and South Korea and seeing the world. Enlisting was a career move and NOT a desire to fight for one’s country. As there was no big war, not wanting to go into battle wasn’t considered a big problem. But then came the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recruits were not only being sent into battle where they might kill or be killed, but many were required to serve multiple tours in war zones. I recall the son of a college girlfriend of mine who enlisted in early 2001 because he was told he’d never have to go into battle, but he served three tours in Afghanistan. He wasn’t wounded, at least physically, but it was harrowing. It may have been wrong to tell recruits they wouldn’t have to serve in combat, whether they want to or not, but one could argue that it was also wrong to enlist in the military without being willing to fight.
I recall reading another article about Coast Guard enlistments being down because enlisted men and women were being sent to war zones instead of staying in the U.S. and doing what the recruitment posters said the National Guard does. A lot of people also decided to not join the Reserves because of the likelihood that they would be sent back to war, disrupting their careers and families. I don’t see any real way around it. You shouldn’t enlist unless you are willing to fight and protect. Getting job training and other benefits should not be the main reason for joining.
I myself would favor a near universal two year conscription for training, followed by a couple decades in the reserves. If you want the right to keep and bear arms, then you ought to be willing to be properly trained to bear them and be willing to actually bear them in war. Israel has a system somewhat like that, and that’s why young Israeli men and women are so confident and strong and brave. They all know they are trained and ready.
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