Posted on Sep 21, 2014
Do you think elected officials should have prior military service?
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Throughout history there have been notable American political leaders who have served in the military. I've asked people who haven't served this same question and got various responses. I just wanted to hear your perspectives on the subject.
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Leadership
Leadership
Posted 10 y ago
This is a duplicate discussion. Click below to see more on this topic.
I feel it should be law that all political office members from president on down should have to have served in the military before they can be voted into office. If these people are going to have the power to decide who and when we go to war they should know what it is like to lead in the military. Far too many of our leaders have never served, and neither have their children yet they vote to send ours to war. <div>I recall at the height of the war in 2006 when politicians were considering a draft or mandatory conscription service. However they were silent when asked if their own children would be subject to the requirements of such a requirement.</div><div>A doctor must go to med school before they can legally practice medicine so the president should have to be a veteran before they can be commander in chief.</div>
Responses: 12
In a perfect world, Yes. The problem is that we don't live in a perfect world. There are a number of jobs in the military today that require a level of training, intellegence, and stamina that recent generations aren't capable of assuming. There are a number of studies during the past several years that show America's schools are failiing to keep pace with the rest of the world, and that our society is increasingly out of shape and physically weak.
It would be nice to see more former service members become elected officials (and more importantly elected leaders), but the unfortunate reality is that today, we as a culture do not revere the service as in times past, and there are fewer and fewer who voluntarily take the oath to "protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foriegn and domestic". There is a disconnect between those who serve and those who are served. There has never been a time in history when so few of our elected officials have served in the military than what we face today.
Historically, military service has always been based on service before self; and that lifestyle typically carries over as people leave the military for life on the "outside". Our country's story is littered with people who enter the political arena having served honorably, and then continued to demonstrate the same strong character that made them successful in the military. Maybe the glut of servicemen and women leaving the miltary following a decade of struggle will continue to serve by seeking elected office; and serving honorably there as opposed to the disconnected career politicans who currently occupy most of our governing institutions.
If it were only a perfect world....
It would be nice to see more former service members become elected officials (and more importantly elected leaders), but the unfortunate reality is that today, we as a culture do not revere the service as in times past, and there are fewer and fewer who voluntarily take the oath to "protect and defend the Constitution against all enemies, foriegn and domestic". There is a disconnect between those who serve and those who are served. There has never been a time in history when so few of our elected officials have served in the military than what we face today.
Historically, military service has always been based on service before self; and that lifestyle typically carries over as people leave the military for life on the "outside". Our country's story is littered with people who enter the political arena having served honorably, and then continued to demonstrate the same strong character that made them successful in the military. Maybe the glut of servicemen and women leaving the miltary following a decade of struggle will continue to serve by seeking elected office; and serving honorably there as opposed to the disconnected career politicans who currently occupy most of our governing institutions.
If it were only a perfect world....
PO3 Shaun Taylor
sad...but true
No...just because one serves doesn't make them an expert on military service what's best for a country/area.
PO3 Shaun Taylor
SGM Matthew Quick I agree with you just because one serves doesn't make them an expert on military service. I was only speaking on prior military service as a requirement to run for office period. As in any election I vote for the person I feel best qualified.
LTC (Join to see)
PO3 Taylor, what gives someone better qualifications for elected office just because they served?
SGM (Join to see)
MAJ Trey Guy, I almost down voted you (I didn’t because the thought police flashed a warning message on my desk top) and this is why: Sir, if you’ve served you are more qualified because among other things you have gone through the basic entry process, Physical Fitness, endurance preparedness, camaraderie, unit cohesion, brotherhood-sisterhood of arms, you’ve taken fire/incoming and survived. You should have learned discipline, obedience, gained valuable leadership qualities that civilians look for and are not easily learned, but most service members come out of the service with. You learn self-reliance, intestinal fortitude, good work ethic, time management, mental toughness, and self confidence among other things. Sir, are you going to tell me you had all of that before the military, all of it?
Yes. And. But.
Yes, I think elected officials SHOULD have prior military service. Not to go full-Heinlein (the author, not the other LTC floating around here...), but it speaks to the level of commitment they hold. It matters to me if someone is willing to write the "blank check."
And it should NOT be a requirement to hold office. First, not everyone has the desire or commitment to serve under arms - but they could still have the desire and commitment to serve in other ways. Second, and most important, it would raise the issue of a self-licking ice-cream cone. By controlling who entered the military today, you could have a lock on who can be in charge of both the military and the government a generation from now.
But let's face it, the military has its share of maroons.
Yes, I think elected officials SHOULD have prior military service. Not to go full-Heinlein (the author, not the other LTC floating around here...), but it speaks to the level of commitment they hold. It matters to me if someone is willing to write the "blank check."
And it should NOT be a requirement to hold office. First, not everyone has the desire or commitment to serve under arms - but they could still have the desire and commitment to serve in other ways. Second, and most important, it would raise the issue of a self-licking ice-cream cone. By controlling who entered the military today, you could have a lock on who can be in charge of both the military and the government a generation from now.
But let's face it, the military has its share of maroons.
MSG(P) Michael Warrick
BLUF - Yes I do especially the president of the United States of America should !
LTC (Join to see)
SFC (P) Warrick, Would you then say that those Presidents that have not have had military service have done a worse job with respect to the defense of our country?
LTC (Join to see)
SPC Ludlow, I would ask you to do a little more research on what Ike did as POTUS, then you might reframe your request.
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