"Brave & Coward" misused words OP/ED

[Gawdzilla]

Military service doesn't automatically mean life-threatening situations. In WWII 90% of US service personnel never saw combat.

I didn't say "automatically", so yeah.  But you and I both know that funny things can happen between the MEPS, the chow-hall service line, and the morgue, that don't happen in the civilian world. My abiding memory from enlistment: Air Force needs come first.  I wanted to be in crypto -- they wanted firefighters. So guess what?  I got to put my ass on the line whether I was in combat or not.

I volunteered for duty that turned out to have a 75% mortality rate. Just missed bumping it to 76% my self. 

@Gawdzilla Or some combination of all three, eh, lol?

Yeah, crazy comes in combos. 

[Brian37]

Military service doesn't automatically mean life-threatening situations. In WWII 90% of US service personnel never saw combat.

I failed out of basic in the Air Force. The physical aspect isn't what got me, I found that part fun. It was being shouted at being called a piece of shit from 5am to 10:30pm at night. It didn't help that I had a childhood and teen years on a street full of nothing but male bullies. I was doomed going in, because nobody prepped me and told me it was a mere test. I took it personally. 

But if I had to I certainly could pull KP and peal some potatos or make some sandwiches for you if it ever go to that point again in the future.

[Thumpalumpacus]

I volunteered for duty that turned out to have a 75% mortality rate. Just missed bumping it to 76% my self. 

I had no desire to kill or die for country. The Air Force thought otherwise. A1C White's death in a training fire was a wake-up call for me.

[Brian37]

I don't know if anyone remembers Tom Lykis. He railed against the recruitment of young people into the military and I think he was right. You look at all the cookie cutter promotions to join you see on TV they make it sound like an adventure, like you are going on a camping trip overseas, or that you will become a James Bond computer tech spy. Nope, once you sign up, your ass is government property, and if they put you in combat, you have no say in the matter.

It isn't that we shouldn't have any military at all, this is an imperfect world, but to glamorize war to mostly desperate youth who only managed to get through high school, or are looking to get a college education, is quite frankly a dirty tactic.

I think if our government wanted to be honest about it, what they should do is vet all the risks up front, and also allow someone to quit at any time, no not go AWOL, but with proper notice so that someone can replace them. If the government is going to put lives at risk then those who do it, should have full disclosure and like any other job, a way out. It would force government to think twice before going to war.