What Would You Do if Your Child Said They Wanted To Join the Armed Forces?

Originally posted by Arnie123
reply to post by zerozero00

 

WOW, simply anti-military huh? well like it or not, the military is here to stay, regardless of how much you like it or not. An for the record, in the gulf war, 82000, yes, 82000 iraqs surrendered, we practically had one marine for every 1000 POWs in line, they were happy to leave, to leave a regime that killed without question an murdered more then you think, yes I weighed my options. You fail to see what this world is about and blinded by your foolishness.There are gonna be many reasons for us invading other countries, I have'nt come back in a bodybag and in rather GREAT health as I am in currently responding to your post, as are my other battle buddies, yea its easy to sit there an say, "this an that, the corporate war machine, yada, yada..." What would you have us do? sit idly by as other nations come upon us an destroy everything we have done??? in those countries of war, yes we occupy, but we also AID!! *GASP!!* water, food, you name it. this "War machines" insures your freedom, your ability to act without question, post on sites like this without it being blacklisted (china), yes I have most assured weighed my options before I came in, I was into Conspiracy, Ufology and Cryptozoology long before I was thinking military and believe it or not, there are plenty of people in uniform who believe in this, THATS RIGHT, PLENTY OF MILITARY WHO BELIEVE THAT WE MAY BE DOING THINGS FOR REASON OTHER THEN FREEDOM, but thats the nature of the beast. MY family is fed, YOU are safe, so what? trust me I understand where your going with all this, but what is it you intend to do? huh? what is your end goal?

Agree: There's a new movieon netflix I recommend:
" The world without the U.s".
It goes heavily into the dissolution of Yugoslavia(1995ish) (a.ka.: bosnia/kosovo civil war and genocide) and how the Europeans stood around watching genocide; America was the only real power in the room with a political consensus to stop the bloodshed.

Europe is NOT the"united states of Europe; "just an economic bloc. So they sent Dutch troops with no clear rules of engagement and without ammunition.(?) To "peacefully mitigate an internal struggle"...

They Surrendered to a bunch of Serbian militiamen who put on (?)the Dutch uniforms; gathered the locals into a relief camp under the"protection of international peacekeepers" and who then mowed them down.

We had both the political will and military power to stop Milosovic. The u.s. military saved lives.

reply to post by Expat888


There is one article about SOG on the internet sphere, This is what Vietnam was all about, and it wasn't about saving the Vietnamese people from communism.

Gold and heroin.

Our children died for it.

After my 28 years in the military I have no problems with them joining, BUT I do think they can be more successful than me and do it a different way than what I did, but the military is a good place to mature and gain valuable skills. Right now I live an extremely good life, so I can't say my military experience hampered me in any way. There is no way I would be where I'm at without it.

This is not to say there are better ways to make a good life for you and your family, but it is a good way to do it.... I'm kind of living proof, so it would be hard to dispute my point...

There are many kinds of soldiers in our world. You don't have to join the military to become one.
There are corporate soldiers, soldiers for religion, soldiers for charities, political soldiers...the list goes on.

The definition of a soldier in whatever form is right in the word.....

a SOUL-DIE-r......

Don't want to be a soul-die-r...then ask your own soul deep down what is the right choice.

but sometimes must "die a little" to "grow a lot more"

One can be a military or any other kind of soldier without having their soul die in the process....

What would I do if...

I'd say no and then tell them why.

reply to post by thesmokingman


I would allow them to make their own decision. But with all the activities and ignorance and misguided politics going on I would try to tell them to do something else that would help the species of man out more and keep them in a somewhat safer position of employment. Its their decision overall but I would PRESENT THE FACTS and let them take it from there.

If they wanted to join i would advise they join in a manner where they did not have to go into combat.

I think the only people who should join the military are those who need to be told what to do and they feel safe in a collective...or just want to kill. I knew a few guys from highschool who wanted to go into the service just to kill people. Many years later they are still in and they still say they like to kill people. Some people just like to kill i suppose.

. If you have a mind of your own and a clear idea of what you want then you might not want to go into the service unless what you want is to be in the service to kill people or "serve" your country.

I didn't join after I opened my eyes to all the bs our government does with our military. It was too much for me to ignore. I regret it sometimes and the time is ticking till i can't do anything about it. I have always told myself if I failed at life i would join... but i am too dang good at life to fail..

I think in the end it is the kids choice. I would give him/her the same information that changed my mind and see how they view it. Not everyone views everything the same way. It is their life, let them live it .

reply to post by thesmokingman


I would encourage them to go US Air Force or Navy.
My line of thinking for my kids is when you reach 18 and graduate HS is a couple of choices.
College. They can live at home, pay a small amount of rent but must also work. College is paid mostly by them, I will help.
Work. Get a job and move out. Become a productive person and adult.
Military.....

That is about it.

Originally posted by votan
If they wanted to join i would advise they join in a manner where they did not have to go into combat.

Then why join? The purpose of the military is to fight. We hurt people and break their stuff.

Originally posted by votan
I think the only people who should join the military are those who need to be told what to do and they feel safe in a collective...or just want to kill. I knew a few guys from highschool who wanted to go into the service just to kill people. Many years later they are still in and they still say they like to kill people. Some people just like to kill i suppose.

Granted, there are guys in the military that like to kill, but that's a very small percentage. And sorry, the military teaches you to think for yourself; we don't need or want anyone that can't do that.

Originally posted by votan
. If you have a mind of your own and a clear idea of what you want then you might not want to go into the service unless what you want is to be in the service to kill people or "serve" your country.

I didn't join after I opened my eyes to all the bs our government does with our military. It was too much for me to ignore. I regret it sometimes and the time is ticking till i can't do anything about it. I have always told myself if I failed at life i would join... but i am too dang good at life to fail..

So, according to you, only failures join the military?

Originally posted by votan
I think in the end it is the kids choice. I would give him/her the same information that changed my mind and see how they view it. Not everyone views everything the same way. It is their life, let them live it .

Being a Army Vet and meeting my husband in the Army, along with being diagnosed with a serious illness, I feel obligated to give my opinion.

With that being said: It would be very hard for me to feel okay with my son or daughter joining. Let me tell you a few reasons why.....Our forces are led by many misogynistic leaders (sorry but true)....I felt it from basic training into company leaders, to platoon leaders all the way down to privates beneath me.....

Another reason is that I truly believe the Army is what has caused my disease, or helped it right along. Vaccinations left and right, you name it, I have had it, along with who knows what else....Now my immune system is trashed....not what I would want for my kids thanx....

Another reason is, now that I am sick, who is gonna take care of me in the future? I have a progressive disease and at this rate of our economy and the war against the middle class, the elderly and children, I am even more scared. I need my kids close to home.....

Now if we were at war on our own soil against an invader, I would take up arms along next to my family! That is for sure!

The only reason I may be okay with it would be if I die; then I wouldn't have any say now would I?

I did not feel this way a year ago, but now my viewpoints have changed....

Originally posted by thesmokingman
There you have it, what would you do, support them, or talk them out of it?

Just talk them out of it.

There's never a reason to join the armed forces. Here's why.

If the father is rich, then better opportunities exist for his son or daughter in the private sector. In a capitalist society the prize is profit and the cost is risk. From a purely risk/reward ratio analysis, private sector employment is more advantageous in achieving the capitalists goals. The army pays less, and there's a disproportionate risk to health and even loss of life by doing that work. In the private sector, one could, for example, become a banker, and live handsomely on the rewards of plunder, while the military plunder always goes to another and not the soldier. In the old days the king shared his plunder with his soldiers, so they were more motivated to invade, but today all get a fixed salary, and there's no bonus for a job well done.

The one caveat, is that the child needs a good education, and that's where the "rich" father comes in. It takes money to prepare for the highly competitive world of the private sector.

If the father is poor, then it might seem that the army is a way out of poverty, because they do provide various sorts of education for free. However, what value is that education if you're dead? In modern times, lots of free education can be had online from taking courses around the world via the internet, so if it's just the education you need then the cost is falling rapidly, and the army is no longer the sole provider of free ed. The one difference remaining is certification. While you can get an education online today, reading and working through material on many free online ed sites, you still need a "certificate" to present for a job. That, however, is easier once you have the actual knowledge stored in brain, you can demonstrate it to a college board and then take their exams, to receive their certificate or diploma.

Then, imagine that your country is invaded by some foreign state, and the rule falls under someone else other that your familiar politicians. Well, from all we have seen of the political process of late, the fact is we don't get to choose our politicians anyway. So, what does it matter if Romney or some foreign "Mr Ruler" is sitting in the White House? How does it affect your life? Will you have to pay more taxes? Less taxes? What is the reality for you, John Citizen ? Basically, life goes on, you still don't control who rules, you're still told what to do, what taxes you have to pay, whether you have to buy health insurance or not, etc.., all these decisions are still "out of your hands". So, there's no difference, anyway. So, why join the army to fight to prevent that invasion, that would replace one ruler whom you didn't put there, with another ruler whom you didn't put there either?

You've seen how the RNC held a scripted false vote, that merely got the people shouting "aye" and "nay", to feel they are participating, all the while simply reading out loud the previously prepared script which declared "the ayes have it", which was decided long before the convention, so why would you put on an army uniform and risk your life for THAT ???

See? There's no good reason to join the armed forces.

So, my son, concentrate on becoming like Romney. Get rich. Stay healthy. Let other people's sons and daughters join the armed forces to fight for you. And remember to give those soldiers "Medals", little iron badges to wear proudly on their chests, for that is what they work for, that is their "cash", their "motivator", their "wealth". And who are we to argue with that system? It works, and most of all, for us true capitalists, it costs us next to nothing, in comparison to the profits we make from all our military activities.

I just spoke to a young lad here where I live in Wiltshire. He had just returned from the Army recruiting office down town. The Sgt there informed him that he wont be going to the Afghan. If hes recruited. More than likely Syria or Iran. So I put my tin foil hat on and had a chat to the lad. Iran is no threat to us. They are not going to attack England. Nor is Syria. Just more oil wars for the rich oil barons and banksters. Same with Iraq they never threatened us in England. We are just told some lies by our govt and then they send our sons off to war. I am ex military myself. It was a good experience for me and I met some real good brothers in it. Closer than my own family. Its a good life if you are that way inclined.
How ever in saying that, I still think that it is wrong to attack another country to steal its wealth. As was done to Iraq and is going to happen to Syria and Iran.
I made the lad aware of what it was all about. He is now starting to ask questions and I wonder if he will still join up. I shall know for sure in a week or so. Its his choice what ever he does and as long as he knows the truth. Then he can make up his own mind.

If I had kids, and they planned on joining, I'd probably be afraid for them.

reply to post by thesmokingman


i don't have kids, but if i did, no way in hell would i let them do it. i couldn't live w/the constant worrying that goes w/having your child in a war zone.

Another veteran here. Im at that stage now where my 15 year old is seriously considering it as a career when he leaves school next year and my 11 year is hot on his heels. Im at the stage of trying to talk him out of it. I did what i did and im proud of my service but i wouldnt wish the experience on my kids. We came to an agreement that he should do College/University first and then consider it. At least that way the additional qualification could give him a better type of job in the armed forces unlike my Infantary days

Yeah, just tell them they can just live off you and when your money runs out they can live off the government handouts. When that runs out they can grow up..... to become.........

Originally posted by Surfrat
Yeah, just tell them they can just live off you and when your money runs out they can live off the government handouts. When that runs out they can grow up..... to become.........

3 of mine became physicians 1 became a apothecary ... all are doing very well and they did it on their own without joining any damned military .

If my child said they wanted to join the armed forces, i would train them myself,if after i was done with them and they still wanted to go(which i no they wouldn't) all the power to them..

reply to post by Happy1


Come on now... this thread isn't about facts. It's about beating war drums. And besides, how else could be martyr thousands of young men and make artificial heroes out of them??????

i would take him/her down to the local V.A. hospital and have the VETs relate to them how they have to wait months just to get an appointment, how the V.A. made them wait for years and years to get their deserved disability pensions, how the V.A. employees are lazy, rude and incompetent in their dealings with VETs. in short i would make sure they know that joining the military isn`t going to be like the movies where everyone comes home a hero and lives happily ever after.
at the end of the day though i`ll support them in whatever it is they want to do.