The Pentagon is scrambling to retain the main pipeline for new service members as disillusioned families steer young people away. This article is part of a series examining the problems confronting America’s military.
As active duty army myself, I have very mixed feelings on this.
I was raped a couple years in.
A year or so after that, I was accused of sleeping with my counterpart - despite having severe trauma from my rape that made that the last thing possible. The resulting admin actions meant that I couldn’t get promoted.
So, I carried on with top mark ratings until I hit the point where I can no longer stay in due to promotion retention issues.
But, instead I’m getting out due to PTSD from my rape.
That’s my story.
In general, the Army is a welfare system. If you come from a financially poor background, the Army will provide the economic stability to lift you out of poverty.
Not raised in a good home environment and/or need to do some maturing before ‘striking out on your own’? The Army’s got you covered. We’re a system of paid babysitters. I’ve had to take people to buy sheets and make their bed, because they were never taught to do that growing up. Their family only slept in a folded in half comforter.
The army will also pay for college classes each semester, at no cost to you, and will give you time during the week to attend them, essentially giving you the education you need to better future generations.
If you have sick or disabled family members, the Army has a healthcare system that is unbeatable in terms of affordability.
The Army also increases the amount it pays you based on how many family members you have. So, if you want to have many children, go for it. You want to have your sick parents live with you? Go for it. The army will pay for their healthcare too.
If you’re trying to become a US citizen, the Army helps you become one.
BUT - if you don’t need any of these things, then the Army is the one getting the better end of the deal.
Thus, my recommendation on joining the Army depends entirely on your current socioeconomic status, how your family’s health is, and your family’s plan for growth.
Mishandling and retaliation for your grieviances is a disgusting example of why participating in large powerful orgs can be risky for the foot soldiers. I guess it comes with benefits but those get propagandized, the risks and dangers only now become mainstream knowledge...
The Army’s current propaganda campaign is “Be all you can be.”
I hate it. It makes it seem as though the individual person is in control of their future in the military. In reality, as you said, the foot Soldiers get caught up in the will of the powerful organizations.
This campaign implies it’s the fault of the individuals for not “achieving,” as though it’s their fault, and not the fault of the larger system.
You know, if they would fix their system so that rape wasn't so prevalent, they'd be able to recruit more women. Seems misguided to alienate half the populy
My grandfather was a vet. He had lots of kids and swore none of his kids would join after what he experienced (of course some did eventually and so did my cousin). But if you want people to join, you have to treat vets better. Lasting health problems as a result of chemical and other exposures with no support isn’t a good image. My own parents were staunchly against me joining due to my grandfather’s warning.
I had a friend that went to war, came home with untreated mental health issues, partied hard, and then committed suicide. That would not have happened if he had proper support. I had another friend who joined, was booted out and then years later committed suicide. I’m just one person and I know or am related to all these vets that weren’t taken care of. It’s not a good look.
my grandfather was a vet and had 100% coverage by the va. multiple times hed be diverted to a local hospital because the va would be full and then hed get the bill and have to fight the va to have them pay for it. having his medical taken care of was great for his financial stability in his later years, but it shouldnt be limited to vets imho. everyone deserves to age with dignity and not be stripped of their assets.
It sounds a lot like how Reddit, Twitter, StackOverflow, Digg, Tumblr, MySpace, etc. all died, and people are even turning away from using services like Google, when it becomes increasingly difficult to find anything using it.
I mean that enshittification turns people away. Although in this case, it's not just (caveman voice) "me not be able to find what I want on the interwebs", when the defense of an entire nation crumbles and it becomes more vulnerable to outside aggression. Seriously, if I wanted to invest long-term into attacking another country, I would be hard-pressed to come up with a better strategy than to feed it misinformation so that it crumbled apart from within like this... although it's equally likely that our own stupidity & greed just did this entirely on its own, and even more likely that the two factors together (+ more besides) is what got us here.
Everybody wants to "be taken care of", but nobody wants to step up and help - and those extremely rare few that do, are put off from it by the extraordinarily high cost, not just of risking one's own life but with it increasingly looking like actual suicide to do so.:-(
But if we don't, we'll lose it all. And yet most people are just at a loss for how to truly help. Since this is m/Nonpartisan I won't say any names, and instead just say that I find it so refreshing whenever I hear of individuals who help create awareness and actively work to actually help real actual vets who need immediate assistance - and I'll add fuck those people who work against that, treating active service members like meat puppets to do their bidding!:-( By comparison, what Huffman did was nothing in the grand scheme of things, in comparison to disrespecting our active & former troops! These are literal lives at stake.:-|
Not sure where you are going with this shit post... But this issue ain't complex.
I pay a lot of good money in taxes to daddy government. Daddy government recruits kids and sends to fight wars against people I have nothing agianst, at least last 30 years.
The kids come home broken and need assistance. I PAY GOOD MONEY!
Why can't daddy spend that money for people who actually need it?
Can anyone answer this?
Now daddy got pikachu face when young people got wiser
no BOdY WanTs to KiLlsSBroWns NoMorE, plz Helps Me
Why would anyone with half a brain participate in such a shiti deal?
Help Vets today so maybe tomorrow some of us will fight a war if the duty calls... Otherwise get fucked daddy, I ain't ur *****
I do admit to worrying a tiiiiny little bit when our nation's military forces consists almost entirely of crack-heads b/c it cannot get anyone else with even the slightest sense to want to join. That might not end well for us, it seems to me.
So even if we didn't care one bit about throwing our children into a meat grinder (for the lolz or whatever), maybe there's still room for an enlightened self-interest line of reasoning to ah... NOT do that?
It is my opinion, as a veteran, that the real underlying problem is systemic incompetence. Let me explain.
My experience lies with the Navy; other branches may be different.
The path to promotion in the military is primarily based on longevity rather than skill or qualifications. This results in a majority of enlisted leaders who are lacking in intelligence and capability. They struggle to care for themselves, yet they are entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing dozens to hundreds of people. These individuals cannot refuse any orders given by their superiors, regardless of how reckless or dangerous they may be. Consequently, when a superior, who is often ignorant of the potential risks, needs a task completed, they delegate it to their subordinates. They certainly aren't going to do it themselves; it would ruin the pristine appearance of the uniform they've spent the majority of their day meticulously ironing. The problem is that these subordinates are not adequately prepared or trained because their superior lacks the necessary training and intelligence to recognize the hazards involved. Consequently, they carry out their duties without proper protective equipment, training, or even knowledge of the potentially harmful substances they are handling.
Unfortunately, for the most part, the more intelligent individuals choose to leave the military after their first enlistment. This leaves a predominantly less capable group of individuals to be promoted, perpetuating the cycle.
For those who choose to leave the military, it is highly likely that they will encounter medical issues directly related to their service. However, many end up having to fight the VA for benefits that should be clearly service-connected.
Given these circumstances, and many more, it would be ludicrous to recommend anyone to join these days.
Well explained. It’s why my trust in the military decreases the higher in rank they are (GO+) until I’ve had personal interaction with them. There are a couple gems, but they are few and far between.
Not to mention that the superiors bounce around from dept to dept every few years, so it's unlikely they've ever done what they're asking their subordinates to take care of
Once again, showing how much this country loves fucking everyone over, and then throwing a fit when people aren't happy with it. We aren't joining the military, having kids, or doing many things they want us to do because it's not worth it. At all. Why would I develop PTSD and risk homelessness with a drug addiction all so that weapon manufacturers can get another yacht?
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