Things Must Change

My OP was mostly about the decline in enlistment into the various branches.

The Army will allow you to enlist up to age 35.
That's a lot of time for someone who wants to make a decision to defend their country.
Physical restrictions are few and GED's are honored.

Not a lot of reasons to not serve, in my opinion.

I have noticed that many people who serve 4 years get back to civilian life with few problems.
Most have learned valuable lessons about life and make good employees.
Even those of us who did enough time to retire from the military, had little problem finding a Nitch.

Don't want to sound like a recruiting ad, just stating an opinion about the state of affairs.
 

helenbacque said:
Wars are necessary in order to justify the massive military budgets.
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So it goes in China & Russia. Iran, No. Korea not far behind. They have large forces & spend money on military readiness.

helenbacque said:
Buy enough of Congress and you can do as you wish.
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How is America supposed to react to let's say a nuclear missile from No. Korea if money isn't spent?

Or something like this.
The Russian military says the Kinzhal has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) and flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it difficult to intercept. Aug 18, 2022

People like phrases so maybe this fits

The best defense is a good offense


The best defense is a good offense - Wikipedia​

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › The_best_defense_is_a...



"The best defense is a good offense" is an adage that has been applied to many fields of endeavor, including games and military combat.
 

Things Must Change​

I agree but war seems to be ingrained in our psyche.

I believe the goal in our society may be perpetual war for financial gains. It does not really matter with whom. It was touched on in the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. Unfortunately many of the events he portrays in his book have rung true in today's world. I will add that this does not detract from the fact that those who have served our country in war and peace deserve our utmost gratitude and respect for their service and they certainly have mine.
 
I served 30 years in the Corps. I got much more back than I gave. With my rank starting at 2nd Lt. and going up from there, I had a lot of men under my command. Many of the young enlisted men and Officers were very worthy of being in the Corps. Some should never had been moved on past basic.

After the Gulf Wars, I attended 4 funerals, 3 of the men had died from suicide. Funerals where the deceased were suicides are for some reason more sorrowful than those funerals that had died by natural causes. I also attended one funeral, an Officer, who died in a motorcycle accident. He was so mangled, the casket lid was not open. As an Officer, it was requested that I attend many of the funerals of men that died while on active duty.

I will never forget the funeral of a young enlisted man who had died in Iraq from stepping on an IED. He had survived for a few days, but because of his many injuries, he did die. His parents were at the funeral and approached me after the service asking if I had any information about his death. I told them what I had read. He was killed just outside of Baghdad while on patrol. He had actually stepped on 1 IED and fell on a second IED. Before he stepped on the first IED, he switched positions with the Marine at the front. Because of that decision he made, he is considered a hero. (I added the last sentence for the parent’s benefit.)
 
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Don M. said:
I think every young person who is not physically or mentally disabled should be required to perform a period of military service.
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Agree.

I was headed down a bad path when younger but somehow had enough sense to volunteer for the Army when I was 17.......they did a pretty good job of getting my head screwed on straight.
 
Disgustedman said:
The price paid, sometimes is too much. I really didn't like us going into Afghanistan,when it was Saudis who did the deed.

But what got me, was this picture.

There's nothing in this world, that makes this acceptable.
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I get your point, but there are things worth fighting for, just not what we've been involved in since WWII. Congress and Presidents are the problem, along with tin horn dictators who push things too far.
 


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