Dirty Dozen

It works for the French Foreign Legion. If a Sergeant can`t straighten 'em out, an enemy bullet will. Wish 'em good luck!

Whats the difference if they go there criminals? There coming back criminals regardless.

Originally posted by d11_m_na_c05
Whats the difference if they go there criminals? There coming back criminals regardless.

That's a pretty broad brush you're using there. Having served in a uniform for a few years, I can tell you that not everyone goes to war with a "bloodlust" nor do they live through their ordeal with no psychological problems. Most military men are good people put into a bad position with no recourse but to follow orders.

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
If you don't like the quality of the population from whom the services have to draw from, then all those who have clean backgrounds should get off their duffs, suck it up and make haste to the nearest recruitment office.

I think more people would if we went back to our military morals. Smart people see through rhetoric, and I believe to be a good soldier, you must have smarts. The smart people in our population, see through the mist, and are not enlisting. So what are we left with? A criminal army and an ats member who thinks smart people are "pansies."

A conveniently ignored paragraph of the article indicates that even with the increases, the total number of felons accepted for military service is very small and I'm sure that those are pretty well vetted.

I'll take your word for that.

Not all felonies are equal and not every convicted felon is a hopeless case.

I hope this article didn't hit too close to home. I joke. I agree, not all felons are bad, however I still feel that this is a sign of desperation and it doesn't make volunteers feel as proud to sign that contract, imho.

AAC

AnAbsoluteCreationz: I think more people would if we went back to our military morals.

The military is smarter than it has ever been and more well educated, as well. It might surprise you to know that before the volunteer military, the military was an option for many a young man who ran afoul of the law. I have known Marines who were given a choice to either enlist or serve jail time.

The one thing the military does is to strip a person clean of the culture he might have come in with and to reorient him into a meritocracy in which he can put the past behind him and rise according to his motivation and skill.

I don't necessarily suggest that we empty the jails to supply the services with troops, but the idea that the military has always insisted on the "squeaky-clean" is just a complete misconception.

A lot of misguided young men found a second chance in the military and made good on the opportunity.

As for me, I had no criminal record upon my entry into the military at 17 and held a secret clearance during my enlistment.


[edit on 2008/4/21 by GradyPhilpott]

Originally posted by GradyPhilpott
Frankly, a convicted felon who is willing to serve his country is worth 100 pristine pansies who won't.

But, as I said, I'll take the felons over the pansies any day.

[edit on 2008/4/21 by GradyPhilpott]

Amen Grady! I totally agree...and I think we ought to go a step farther...and solve the jails and prison overcrowding here and offer tons of these young men and women serving sentences now a chance to redeem themselves or at least make themselves useful.

Get out of jail and go serve. I think this would be a better rehabilitation for them and I'd rather my tax dollars going to them anyway, go to them doing something useful, in Iraq and Afghanistan!

Well, when the enlistment rate gets so low that they have to dredge the bottom of the barell of society for soldiers, then maybe the PTB will realize that getting out of this unwinnable war is a good idea.

Originally posted by Finn1916
Well, when the enlistment rate gets so low that they have to dredge the bottom of the barell of society for soldiers, then maybe the PTB will realize that getting out of this unwinnable war is a good idea.

Then maybe the PTB will institute a draft and make the parasites do something to earn their freedom.

"Unwinnable war?" What is that?

Grady, do you think your memories of your service are clouding your perception of present day service? Serious question, if you've thought of this possibility.

Do you not find Americans patriotic for standing up against what their hearts tell them is wrong? There are a lot of service members that served in Iraq and they speak just as openly against the war, and the way we're fighting the war.

My father served in Vietnam, I am not ignorant to service, it is sometimes I feel that people's devotion to what they experienced in history, starts to become food for a present day discussion, when perhaps it's a different storyline.

Your thoughts?

AAC

Originally posted by AnAbsoluteCreation
Grady, do you think your memories of your service are clouding your perception of present day service?

I respect conscientious objectors. When I was in the hospital recovering from my wounds, I met a conscientious objector who was an Army Combat Medic. He was one of those who scrubbed my burns with gauze during my daily scrub treatments.

He carried no weapon during his tour in Vietnam and was the recipient of the Distinguished Service Cross, two Silver Stars, and the Bronze Star with a "V" for valor. He was the kindest man I ever met and certainly one of the bravest.

As for your question, it is absurd and does not deserve a response.

The war before us is just as important as the war we fought in Vietnam and probably a lot more considering that this enemy has already struck our homeland twice, two of our embassies and at least one of our ships.

I listened to the cowards then and I listen to the cowards now. They sing the same song. It's not that hard to recognize.

[edit on 2008/4/22 by GradyPhilpott]

Lets see... equipping murderers and rapists with guns and explosives, and then sending them off into a country where they will go mostly unsupervised. What can go wrong?

Originally posted by DJMessiah
Lets see... equipping murderers and rapists with guns and explosives, and then sending them off into a country where they will go mostly unsupervised. What can go wrong?

What evidence do you have that murderers and rapists are being actively recruited, or is it that you just can't pass up an opportunity to make unfounded statements against the US military?