Men of ATOT: Why didn't you serve?

[brianmanahan]

I already had enough Orc blood on my hands.

i killed so many seals, they would've never let me join the navy

 

[pontifex]

I respect men and women of the military. It definitely takes a special kind of person to od that.

I'm too fat, would probably die in basic training.

There's also history. I look back at like WWII and the invasion of Normandy. I think the 1 beach landing had like 75% fatalities. I can't fathom going into that willingly. Obviously you don't know exactly what it's like before hand, but still.

Then there's other wars/battles in history where you basically know your chances of coming out alive are slim to none. How do you willingly go into a situation like that?

 

[shortylickens]

I served for 9 years and spent a little time in Kosovo and the Middle East.
Believe me when I tell you it does NOT make you a man.

 

[BoomerD]

I served for 9 years and spent a little time in Kosovo and the Middle East.
Believe me when I tell you it does NOT make you a man.

They certainly didn't teach you how to shoot... ()

 

[MongGrel]

They certainly didn't teach you how to shoot... ()

Um, heh ...

:whiste:

 

[keird]

I served for 9 years and spent a little time in Kosovo and the Middle East.
Believe me when I tell you it does NOT make you a man.

But Bulgaria will.

A buddy walked in downtown Sofia. Every face on the passing street cars stared at him. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen. He's black.

 

[keird]

Grunts/Marine/SpecOps types are an unusual type to hang out at parties in general

A few of the beach parties we had in rented beach houses on base up near Pyramid Rock on Oahu were Epic, had the MP's stop by three times in one night at one of em, they kept having to tell us to tone it down a bit, but were pretty cool about it.

To be young and dumb again

I still have a couple long burn scars on one forearm from playing "chicken" with a buddy when a bunch of use were drinking. Lay a lit cigarette in between your forearms side by side, first one pulls away losses.

The first one went out after about 5 minutes, we gave up after the second one did too.

I went off on a bit of a tangent I guess, but I imagine a lot more people on the forums might have served than many suspect.

Be me: naked in a climbing harness after constructing a hasty zipline over a swimming pool.

Also, naked in a climbing harness with an old mechanical alarm clock tied around my neck with 550 cord welcoming new troops to the barracks. Ah, hazing.... it takes me back.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

As an Israeli I fail to understand why anyone would WANT to go half way around the world to fight a nonsense war concocted by impervious politicians against people who don't know and don't care about you. There's no glory in war and death.

This applies to the 2 Iraqi wars. Afghanistan...questionable effectiveness but the operation itself can be argued for, post 9/11. The US wanted justice, or revenge, or both

Do think about the fact that while you are warring around the ME, it has cost you many lives, a ridiculous amount of debt and the rise of your friendly NSA\FBI "let us spy or be considered a traitor" folks.

I actually tried to make this post more positive but I can't. If you see someone who came back from a combat role, help him any way you can. Many come back with extra baggage that is nigh-impossible to get rid of.

While I agree on most of what you feel about war, are you REALLY trying to bad mouth the NSA/FBI for internal spying? I'm sure Mossad has never done that.

 

[norseamd]

I feel this is a legitimate question that will cause a lot of hearth ache. I also feel that I am in a unique position to ask this of you: Why didn't you serve in the war?

To clarify: Most of you are millennials. You are between 20-40 years old, and you could have. But you didn't. What was it that kept you from doing so?

I don't want to downplay your answers but, as a male, I feel like, at least in my childhood, I have always been bred to fight a war. It was always my destiny to go toe to toe with another man and fight to the death. That sounds a lot cooler than it really was...but I feel that I am justified.

I am a big fan of these scenes:

DEATH!!!
KLENDATHU!!

I'm curious as to your reasons of not being there with your sword. I was there. I spilled blood. Most of you were not there. I feel kind of betrayed.

I was talking to the recruiter in high school, and I took the ASVAB, but when it came down to it, I did not sign because I realized that I could not count on the American military and government to uphold the contract that they were bound to, while they could make sure I had to do everything on my side of that contract regardless of whether or not they fulfilled their obligations. We obviously talk about the poor state of our military now, but that was well apparent to everyone after the invasion of Iraq way back in 2003.

 

[Craig234]

I'm going to enlist in the army once I graduate if i am able to. My family is a military family my dad served for 29 years in the army retired a CSM E7 his dad served In Vietnam and my great grandad was a air force mechanic in WW II. So if nothing stops me I will continue the legacy and tradition of serving my country.

Some admirable things in that. But you might want to prepare by reading this book:

http://www.amazon.com/What-Every-Person-Should-About/dp/0743255127

I'll buy it for you if it makes a difference in whether you'll read it.

It's an objective, informative book about many issues in serving.

The author is a longtime war correspondent.

 

[Craig234]

I used to think everyone should serve. I felt it was a duty. After surviving Vietnam, I wondered why anyone served.

What a disaster that war was - but it did seem to reset our culture somewhat on our military aggression. Thank goodness there's been some change from this quote from the 1930's:

“I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.”
- General Smedley Butler, then the highest decorated in US history

 

[LTC8K6]

I enlisted in the early 90's during the first Gulf shindig, and did 4 years with 1 year in the ROK. Scored high in testing, so I got put into a high tech MOS that was hard to get into. Wanted Germany, but got South Korea.

 

[olds]

I enlisted in the early 90's during the first Gulf shindig, and did 4 years with 1 year in the ROK. Scored high in testing, so I got put into a high tech MOS that was hard to get into. Wanted Germany, but got South Korea.

"got put into"
Wow, most people have a choice. Was it go to the Army or go to jail?

 

[keird]

"got put into"
Wow, most people have a choice. Was it go to the Army or go to jail?

Oh, he had a choice. Go to the Korean brothel or not. I'm sure he was mindful of his security clearance.

 

[MongGrel]

Be me: naked in a climbing harness after constructing a hasty zipline over a swimming pool.

Also, naked in a climbing harness with an old mechanical alarm clock tied around my neck with 550 cord welcoming new troops to the barracks. Ah, hazing.... it takes me back.

Yeah, even did a lot of crazier things in my youth I won't mention.

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[Imp]

I am awared on OP's posts in P&N but...

I planned on enlisting after college for rear-echelon. If I joined, would have probably gone to Afghanistan. Went to a recruiter, picked up the forms, and trained to meet the physical. Didn't do it because durty college liburls awared me on how just the recent wars were. Tried blocking it out, then I added the risk of hearing loss, losing limbs -- dying is easy in comparison -- and potentially shooting randoms.

Idea came up recently again. Moral stuff isn't an issue anymore and I consider it a paycheck -- as long as I don't go to jail, meh. But I'm older now and know myself: I can't stand getting up early, can't get anywhere on time, hate being told what to do, and will not do anything without question.

Start conscripting and I'll go.

 

[sportage]

Vietnam, draft # 386. A safe number. Missed out on the draft.
Mom always said if I had been drafted, she'd sent me off to Canada rather than Vietnam.
Frankly, I wish I had been sent to Canada to eventually become a Canadian citizen.
Considering.

I toyed with the idea of enlisting in the Marines. But never did.

Flash forward, I'd like to be one of those guys sitting in South Dakota operating a drone real-time flying around in the middle east.
That would be the military dream job.

 

[norseamd]

Flash forward, I'd like to be one of those guys sitting in South Dakota operating a drone real-time flying around in the middle east. That would be the military dream job.

Sure who doesnt like spending 80+ hours of crunch time per week staring at screens?

 

[Humpy]

I have a ton of respect for those that joined up but I wouldn't dream of subjecting any military bros to my terrible work ethic and bad attitude. Ya'll were much better off without me.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

Because I watched the movie full metal jacket and know i'd be Private Pyle.

 

[MongGrel]

Because I watched the movie full mettle jacket and know i'd be Private Pyle.

It's metal, not mettle, and I still kinda go into flashback mode and grin a bit when I watch it myself.

Seemed pretty accurate from when I was in boot at least, the movie came out years after that.

I guess I was a lot closer to being Joker myself when I went through it.

 

[uclaLabrat]

Color blind ans asthmatic...they'd never take me if I wanted them to.

 

[Brian Stirling]

My two oldest brother served in Viet Nam and I enlisted in the USAF in 1977 and served a four year term ending in 1981. So, I served my country at a time when people still spat on service members.

As to the most recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq I had no problems with going into Afghanistan but I objected to our invasion of Iraq. I remember watching maybe it was Larry King or a similar program in the fall of 2001 when we had only recently entered Afghanistan and were having some success along with our Northern Alliance partners.

On the show was Admiral Woolsey and as we were now engaged in war it was no surprise that he was asked numerous questions about the war, but Woolsey didn't have any time to talk about the war we were in and he constantly brought the subject back to our need to go into Iraq and finish the job with Saddam. He would be asked a pointed question about Afghanistan but he repeatedly turned the subject back to Iraq. My bullshit detector was going off big time, but it wasn't until much latter, after the war in Iraq had begun more than a year latter, that we learned via a Scottish News outfit that Admiral Woolsey was one of many NEOCONS that were part of the PNAC that had been demanding we go back into Iraq since about 1997.

So, although I did not know about the PNAC until latter I had already great suspicion about the motives for the Bush admin to push for war in Iraq and I opposed it before the war. If I were a young man in 2002 and contemplating service I don't know that I would have volunteered given what I knew or thought I knew about the Bush admins hardon for Saddam.


Brian

 

[tcsenter]

I was talked out of it by a recruiter. I'm not kidding. Said he was doing me a favor, I can only guess based on how he put things, maybe he had recently become disgruntled with the military, or something. It was hella awkward.

But I'm glad it happened that way because several years later, I would be diagnosed with a medical condition that is a deal-breaker for any military service (specifically prohibited by DOD). Early milder symptoms (prior to diagnosis) were already starting to affect my life even before I went to the recruiting office and definitely would have interfered with serving. Likely would not have ended well.

 

[Dr. Zaus]

It's metal, not mettle, and I still kinda go into flashback mode and grin a bit when I watch it myself.

Seemed pretty accurate from when I was in boot at least, the movie came out years after that.

I guess I was a lot closer to being Joker myself when I went through it.

I would want to identify with Joker... but I know myself better than that