Most teen-age or early twenty-somethings that go into the military are invincible. Bullets bounce off their chests. Death is what happens to someone else. No one enlists to die. To quote General Patton, "No one ever won a war dying for his country. You make the other poor son-of-a-bitch die for HIS country."
Education has nothing to do with it. The officer corps of the US military is among the best educated, best trained and best motivated in the world. At the other end of the education spectrum, even the lowliest grunt can still read "This side toward the enemy" on a claymore mine.
So why go? I belonged to the draft-age Vietnam generation. I went because enlisting in the Navy and getting 3 hot meals a day, a hot shower and a clean bunk sure as hell beat mucking around in a rice patty. My choice. I would like to hear from anyone out there who is of the all volunteer generation who served.
For the arm chair admirals and generals out there, let me say that I didn't enlist to serve. For me, it was matter of getting it over with the safest way possible. And I did. I learned very quickly that you don't serve your country, you serve the Commander-In-Chief. He's the one who can tell you to kiss your ass goodbye. It just gets passed down the line to the non-comm who barks in your face.
For me, it wasn't pride, it wasn't glory, it was simply survival. Would I serve in an all volunteer military. NO. Not an angry no. Not a HELL NO. Just no.
And this Iraq war? It is sad. Very sad. Most gung-ho patriots out there haven't the slightest idea what a battle field looks like or smells like. Carnage is pixels on a TV screen. You have no idea. You just don't. I find it interesting that some of the greatest "peace-niks" are in fact the top brass of our military. They know.
(:raig
™ Version 4.2
