Is Joining The Military Stupid?

the militairy does do a wonderful job of ummmmmm brain washing recriuts
the idea of seeing your buds killed and mutilated is not a pretty one,but that
is really how they brainwash you into a mass murderer i know of 3 people that happened to in vietnam

 

As a Vietnam veteran, I must say that most of America did not understand why we were there. What was going there was a war between two families one in the north and one in the south. I would imagine that none of the warring factions even knew the real reason they were fighting in the first place.
The US government got involved in Indochina, which later was divided into 3 countries Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam during WWII when the Japanese were marching down the mainland attacking and annexing anyone in their way.
A young war lord Ho Chi Minh asked for assistance. President Roosevelt sent an Air wing to Hanoi to give air cover to forces of the VIet Minh fighting the Japanese.
After the hostilities were over the English controlled the land north of the 17th parallel and the French the land south of the 17th parallel.
The English returned the land to the Vietnamese people. The French refused because they had found rubber. They resisted returning the land until the Vietnamese force soundly defeated them at Ding Bing Phou (Not sure of spellling). At a Geneva convention in 1954 the United States was given protectorate statue over the area.
Military forces originally placed in country in the late 30's remained there until we left in the 70's. Over 58,000 American servicemen gave their lives attempting to secure and preserve freedom for the Vietnamese people.
In a war, even though there are attempts to prevent it, innocents are killed, because war by its very nature kills.
War is not pretty, war is not fun, but sometimes it is necessary to acquire a just peace.
As you exercise your right to free speech as well as other rights secured by those who gave their all, remember that Freedom is not free, it cost the precious lives of those called to defend freedom. So as we near Memorial Day in this country, remember the cost to secure those freedoms and please to not give them up easily.

 

Yes it is stupid, but if they want to do that is their deal, what may be stupid to us isn't to other people

 

It's not stupid if it's your only option. And you are willing to kill on demand. If you have a problem with killing without knowing why you are killing then you probably should opt out.

It's not stupid but neither is military service heroic in general either. It's a job and one you should consider whether or not you are willing to perform.

If you can't or won't kill on orders, then think again. But always remember My Lai when making your decision. Killing without reason is pointless, and saying you were only following orders isn't go to cut it when you meet your maker.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/vietnam/trenches/my_lai.html

 

I waited several days to post. The reason is that no one who has not been in combat can understand the feeling a person gets when they see their buddies or fellow servicemen killed in battle. Since only those at My Lai are the ones who know the true feelings being felt at the time, no one who wasn't there can say with certainty they wouldn't have done the same thing. War is the only situation in life where life and death must be determined in fractions of seconds. You make the right choice you live, you make the wrong choice you die. Many times, the situations you confront require that you make those decisions very fast, sometimes the decision is right but the outcome is wrong. Wars and battles do not follow a predetermined order, they are like wildfires, sometimes coming at you from all directions. Was My Lai justfied? To some yes, to others no.
Unless you have been there or in similar situations, neither you or I have the right to judge.

 

No, it's not stupid.
Many people join the military to get an education or training in certain fields of work. It's not all war.

What is stupid is those who come up here to Canada after they join, knowing quite well of the possible consequences. Now if there was a draft, that would be another story.

 

If you're not prepared to answer the call, don't join. There's nothing worse than knowing your life may depend on the response of a coward. In a battle you always want the enemy to be on the opposite side.

 

That's for sure, I agree.