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Part I don't understand is why did they sign up for the military in the first place.
Nobody put a gun to their head.
Nobody drafted them.
They Volunteered
Did they not know that there was a chance they would go to war?
Did they not understand that they may have to do exactly what military personnel are trained to do?
Two options in war, kill or get killed. And in order to avoid getting killed you have to do what is necessary to secure the environment.
I respect what you all are saying, but the military is trained to do a job and if you aren't willing to do that job, then you shouldn't have joined the military in the first place.
The Army’s mission is to fight and win our Nation’s wars by providing prompt, sustained land dominance across the full range of military operations and spectrum of conflict in support of combatant commanders. We do this by:
* Executing Title 10 and Title 32 United States Code directives, to include organizing, equipping, and training forces for the conduct of prompt and sustained combat operations on land.
* Accomplishing missions assigned by the President, Secretary of Defense and combatant commanders, and Transforming for the future.
The Army's primary mission is to provide necessary forces and capabilities to the Combatant Commanders in support of the National Security and Defense Strategies.
According to About.com, the Manual for Courts-Martial says, “An order requiring the performance of a military duty or act may be inferred to be lawful and it is disobeyed at the peril of the subordinate. This inference does not apply to a patently illegal order, such as one that directs the commission of a crime.“
Who decides whether an order is lawful or not? It’s certainly not the soldier who decided not to follow the order. About.com puts it this way: “Ultimately, it’s not whether or not the military member thinks the order is illegal or unlawful, it’s whether military superiors (and courts) think the order was illegal or unlawful.”
Joseph Heller’s famous novel Catch-22 is based on the premise that common soldiers can never beat the system. Regardless of the rights or wrongs of the matter, when someone has to pay, it’s going to be your average GI Joe (or Jane), not the military and certainly not the civilians charged with overseeing the military.
Seems like the average military person is damned if you do and damned if you don't.
Imagine a soldier disobeying an order that he or she believes is illegal only to be court martial and sentenced.
The orders come from the top and trickle down. Sure, some orders like a Sargent telling his squad to fire on civilians is easy to recognize as unlawful.
However, How does a regular average military guy determine whether a presidential, congressional, or DOD order as unlawful?
Is the Afghanistan and Iraq war worth fighting for? IMHO, NO.
Originally posted by jam321
WARNING SOME PICS ARE VERY GRUESOME
THINK TWICE OR MORE BEFORE CLICKING
If every retarded American who thinks war is a good thing was forced to look at some of the pictures you linked to, very few Americans would support us being the world police.
The military is not a cakewalk. It isn't about getting money for college. It isn't about being able to retire in 20 years. It isn't about family tradition.It isn't about getting a job because the economy is bad or because the recruiter promised somebody a 4-8 year vacation in the Garden of Eden.
It is about being willing, ready, and able to be trained and sent off to some foreign land at the drop of a dime. It is about going into combat and noncombat missions that have been signed off on by the upper echelon of government. Ultimately, it is about war. Do or Die!
This misconception that people in the military are nothing but uneducated dimwitted trigger happy thugs is nothing farther than the truth.
They are Good people, with LOTS of honor and courage, we all should be greatful that they are there doing the things that many of you wont, or couldnt do.
as far as accepting the danger my favorite saying, i didn't join the army to die for my country, i joined it for them to die for thiers lol.
The survey also asked officers their opinions on the governmental leadership of the nation. On a scale of one to 10, with 10 saying they have a great deal of confidence, the study reports these numbers:
Presidency - GW Bush: 5.5 (16 percent had no confidence at all)
CIA: 4.7
State Department: 4.1
Veterans Administration: 4.5
Department of Defense: 5.6
U.S. Congress: 2.7
Main Reasons for Joining Military
Money for College, education repayment, benefits etc. 57.5
Travel and New Experiences 52.7
Test yourself Physically or Mentally 39.4
Challenging or Interesting work 32.9
Personal Growth and Maturity 32.3
Pay and allowances 29.6
Retirement pay and benefits 28.9
Time to figure out what to do 16
Get away from family, personal situation or Hometown 9.4
Military tradition in family 7.1
This first one speaks to confidence in leadership...which in a round about way speaks to the perception of whether the mission is "lawful" in a given soldiers eyes.