I find it utterly deplorable when I see army recruiters at cons. They’re always talking to teenagers who are impressionable and feel bullied. I always walk by and tell the teens to not die for someone else’s stock portfolios
I’m from the UK and when I was at school, we went out on a day trip to an army base. It was cool to see all the vehicles and weapons but I remember some British army guys trying to get us to join up by letting us play call of duty in a tent and telling us that we’d get paid for sitting around all day doing nothing.
I didn’t realise it at the time but now I know they were just plain lying to try and sell army life to a bunch of teenage boys.
I remember something very similar. If they did that to my kid now I will be very angry about it because it’s ridiculous. At least back in the 90s when this happened to me there wasn’t really any ongoing conflicts, not like now where you’re basically guaranteed to have to go fight somewhere.
Bruh I took the asvab after getting picked up off the street and being bought tacos.
I was living in my car and a recruiter would drop off no perishable care packages until I said fuck it 😂
okay but when I was a young innocent healthy teenager, I did join the army of my own volition and now they are taking care of me for the rest of my life. Some people want to join the Army. Let people do whatever they want.
Good thing we fund the military instead of public healthcare that would take care of everyone.
All right, you hold onto those rare scenarios and keep assuming that everyone in the military ends up like that. You enjoy working every day for the rest of your life while we get to retire at age 40 or younger.
Glad it worked out for you. Let’s not force people to risk death, dismemberment, and permanent brain damage just to live an okay life.
I don’t know anybody I served with in the military who experienced any of those things. We all came out completely alive & whole & thriving, The only person I knew in the military who died, he got in a car accident and died while he was on leave.
So what you’re saying is the country has no vested interest in supporting its citizens unless they are willing to die for it in which case the scraps thrown to you were sufficient enough to keep you out of abject poverty.
What a system.
I’m also a vet and I didn’t get shit.
Having schools forward the contact info of low-income, low-performing students to recruiters at the age of 14 so those recruiters can start talking to kids without anyone else’s knowledge and having kindergartners do worksheets with recruiters where they talk about what branch of the service they would join if they could isn’t letting people do whatever they want, it’s grooming children to die for the aristocrats.
It’s not like the army forces you to the job that they want you to do. No one finds themselves in a combat role by surprise. Besides, most military jobs are support based, like logistics or IT. I’d maybe recommend it to someone who doesn’t have money for college but has an interest in something like computer science. But even then, the GI isn’t as big of an incentive as it used to be since a college education doesn’t really guarantee you a comfortable living anymore. I’d probably recommend most people don’t join the military but it can be a good life decision as long as you know what you’re getting yourself into
It’s not like the army forces you
No, it just preys on vulnerable people who are easy to coerce into something they wouldn’t necessarily have chosen for themselves independently. Sound voluntary to you? Or does it sound like cult programming?
No one finds themselves in a combat role by surprise
Maybe not, but you’re aware that “do whatever your superiors want you to do up to and including killing people” is kinda the main thing in military culture. And religious cults.
Besides, most military jobs are support based, like logistics or IT.
So you’re only coerced into HELPING people kill people? That’s alright then!
I’d maybe recommend it to someone who doesn’t have money for college
Yeah, economic coercion is a thing too. If everyone’s telling you that you need college to make a good life for yourself and you can’t afford it, you’re much more likely to be coerced with promises of free college to do something you’d otherwise never do.
the GI isn’t as big of an incentive as it used to be since a college education doesn’t really guarantee you a comfortable living anymore
Yeah, it’s a stick instead of a carrot now: used to be that a college education all but guaranteed you a high paying job. Now that you can’t get any except the lowest paying jobs without a degree most places, free college is even MORE of an incentive than back when you could get a middle of the road salary regardless of college.
I’d probably recommend most people don’t join the military
I’d recommend no people join. At the very least, their recruiters preying on the vulnerable like they are needs to be illegal.
as long as you know what you’re getting yourself into
Which is far from always the case and even when you know, you can still be coerced into it against your will.
I genuinely think that loan forgiveness would have been pushed through long ago if it wouldn’t ruin recruiting incentives
Military recruiting has to come to you because you can’t just stroll onto a base and check out the place. Just like how you can’t go into an airport so they do airshows to give you a glimpse of what goes on inside the fence. There are scummy recruiters but also those that are very honest about what it can/can’t provide. Many use it to get travel, training and experience the private sector would never pay an unproven rookie to get. Then in a few years they leave and move on to better things on just like any other job.
And honesty is the best policy. The US military does good and bad, but they sure as hell aren’t the Russians forcing unequipped, untrained kids out to die over a trench.
If you’re about it be about it, just know what you will be signing up for. Don’t let them choose a career for you.
Sounds like you expect other people to live by standards you yourself don’t live. Unless you’re somehow a full-time soup kitchen worker you still contribute to the machine just by living in this country and paying taxes. The military can be a good option for a lot of people. But not a great option for most people.
Sounds like you’ve had the privilege in life to where something like military service is something you’d never consider. Be thankful you have that privilege.
No one finds themselves in a combat role by surprise.
This is false. Many people found themselves in combat roles by surprise in Iraq and I would assume other conflicts are the same because war never changes. My unit was an artillery unit that ended up kicking in doors like infantry. I knew supply clerks and admin assistants who ended up assigned to QRF. All soldiers and marines are combat personnel first and foremost. It’s the whole reason every soldier and marine has to pass a rifle qualification in basic training/boot camp.
It’s the whole reason every soldier and marine has to pass a rifle qualification in basic training/boot camp.
My father in law once mentioned that as the reason he went Navy instead. (Sailers are apparently all firefighters first and foremost.)
I suppose it’s also maybe a good argument for picking the [ch]Air Force.
Okay, most people don’t find themselves in combat roles by surprise? Point is the military doesn’t force you to do an MOS. If you work supply or artillery I’d say that’s not unreasonable considering you know you’re going to be on or near front lines to perform that job. Anyways, I don’t mean to sound unsympathetic but the military is a good option for a lot of people who don’t have many options
You have any fucking clue how much lying goes on at MEPs when you pick your MOS?
Yup, I’ve had the experience. I also think a lot of people don’t know the lack of options you gotta have to consider the military a good option. Call it privilege. I’d never consider it for my kids, their education is already provided for. But I didn’t have the same options.
The Navy meanwhile had a Shinji and Kaworu cosplayer making out with each other. Know your audience
Wow that’s horrible. Where was this, exactly, and is it a regular occurrence?
So you can avoid it, right? Because it’s so horrible? Where exactly so you can stay far away.
Yoshikazu Yasuhiko, one of the creative minds behind the original Gundam series felt the need to create the Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin manga because too many kids thought the War is Hell story to be War is Cool and felt the need to make it more clear.
Also, stack copyright infringement on top of the other crimes by the US military. Pretty sure Anno and the rest of Gainax wouldn’t be happy about this.
There a a saying that it’s impossible to make an anti-war movie, because they always end up glorifying war.
It’s actually quite easy. Just focus on the victims rather than the killers. Come and see, Grave of the Fireflies, Catch-22, All quiet on the Western Front, …
I’ve only watched Grave of the fireflies once. Can’t bring myself to watch it again.
You just need to embrace the glorifying war aspect like how Starship Troopers does it, and just be so ridiculously over the top that it’s blatantly obvious how over the top it is.
“We’ve made a law saying we’re exempt from laws”
Sounds like they took page from congress.
Sovereign immunity predates Columbus’s voyages. It’s also pretty important for a functioning state.
I went to an airshow a few years ago and the F22 raptor demo team was doing their show, which was amazing and the recruiter was working his pitch into the show the whole time. Between the talking points they would play music and the one that stood out the most was BYOB by System of a Down, which is a complete and total 180 to what they were pitching. It was incredible the cognitive disconnect.
Or the people setting up the show knew exactly what they were doing but their leadership didn’t catch it
As a member of the Air Force, I propose a middle ground. They just liked the music or associated it with badassery. They probably didn’t think too hard about it.