Posted on Dec 13, 2015
Millennials support 'boots on the ground' to fight ISIS, but not necessarily their 'boots'. Is this survey surprising to you?
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The institute has asked millennials about the idea of American boots on the ground at three different times this year, and the survey results have fluctuated somewhat, but there seems to be a "hardening of support." In this most recent survey, 60 percent of the 18- to 29-year-olds polled say they support committing U.S. combat troops to fight ISIS. But an almost equal number (62 percent) say they wouldn't want to personally join the fight, even if the U.S. needed additional troops. The disconnect in joining the fight comes down to how millennials feel about the government writ large, according to Harvard IOP Polling Director John Della Volpe. "I'm reminded of the significant degree of distrust that this generation has about all things related to government," said Della Volpe. "And I believe if young people had a better relationship with government ... they'd be more open to serving."
http://www.npr.org/2015/12/10/459111960/millennials-want-to-send-troops-to-fight-isis-but-not-serve?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20151213&utm_campaign=bestofnpr&utm_term=nprnews
http://www.npr.org/2015/12/10/459111960/millennials-want-to-send-troops-to-fight-isis-but-not-serve?utm_source=npr_newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20151213&utm_campaign=bestofnpr&utm_term=nprnews
ISIS
Service
War on Terror
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 59
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It has been going on for a while. Right after 9/11 I was on recruiting duty. Talked to a kid who was all pumped up about the US pending war over the attacks. The only problem, he wanted others to go. He even said there are other people to fight the war. At the time the US had no idea who was to blame. We as Marines knew war was pending. We begged to get into the fight.
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Most animals are born with teeth for eating grass. A very few are born with teeth for eating meat. The grass eaters are "sheep" (no insult implied or intended.) The meat eaters are "sheep dogs." We have more in common with the wolf than we do with the sheep we are sworn to protect. We make the sheep nervous. Sheep want us to eat grass like they do, and to bark and snarl less. But you can't chase off a wolf by pretending to be a sheep.
I regard it as a positive when the sheep see the value in the sheep dogs, even if they don't want to grow fangs.
I regard it as a positive when the sheep see the value in the sheep dogs, even if they don't want to grow fangs.
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I would like to know how much different this is to every other generation. Veterans are only a small number of the population (less than 1% currently serving, and like 7% includes all veterans.) So the idea that 62% don't want to fight seems inconsequential and not the least bit out of the norm. I am sure we aren't seeing a huge difference between this generation and past generations. That's what draft dodgers where all about. Maybe we should all be more calm about this.
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SrA (Join to see)
TSgt Joshua Duplin You are right that people can still be annoyed by it, but the problem is this is being framed as a millennials are worse than all of the other generations because of this reason. I don't know that to be false, but I have reason to believe it isn't different. I guess that people just need to accept this needs to not be framed as a generational problem, but a person/American problem.
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PO1 Cameron Rhyne
Yeah, it's really hard not routinely see threads like this and think, isn't this the "Damn kids these days. In my day...." argument that's been made pretty much since the dawn of time?
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More contradictions from the so-called millennials. I want what I want, with no investment on my part. Just give me my freebies at someone else's expense.
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This pretty much sums things up. "Send somebody else"...
Ok, send me then.
Understand that a ground conflict here would be very dirty business, if we expect to win. Winning entails isolating and drawing into decisive combat a suicidal enemy in urban ground populated with civilians. It will take the unrestricted application of firepower and brutally going house to house in order to clear them out.
Being a leader means you'll be writing letters. Count on it.
I think that this is a fight worth taking on, but I do not think that we have the will to do what would be necessary.
Ok, send me then.
Understand that a ground conflict here would be very dirty business, if we expect to win. Winning entails isolating and drawing into decisive combat a suicidal enemy in urban ground populated with civilians. It will take the unrestricted application of firepower and brutally going house to house in order to clear them out.
Being a leader means you'll be writing letters. Count on it.
I think that this is a fight worth taking on, but I do not think that we have the will to do what would be necessary.
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CPO Andy Carrillo, MS
As was proposed earlier I would support making the house of Saud hurt so badly for exporting Wahhabism and Salafism that they would beg ALL gods for mercy--and then deny them relief, just as we firebombed their Nazi allies in Dresden.
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15yrs of war and countless lives destroyed. How many more do we need to put some skin in the game? Maybe we need to break out the larger munitions and make a few of these countries really hurt then the message we are serious just might unravel a few pajama warriors. This is really getting old and expensive (In Human Costs)
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CPO Andy Carrillo, MS
PO2 William Allen Crowder - Sorry, denied--you're too valuable here with us. To paraphrase Gen. Patton: make the Islamist terrorist bastards die on the ride....
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Capt Seid Waddell
PO3 Brad Phlipot, you might be onto something there. A Marine pilot in Viet Nam once told me that the primary cause of orphans in that war was inadequate target coverage.
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PO3 Brad Phlipot
Capt Seid Waddell - We either finish this or it will be our final demise. There is no way to keep the spirit / morale of the people in this for 10 more years while absorbing the attacks on the homeland and breaking the bank to do it.
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SGT Ronald Audas
Pretty much my thoughts while reading these posts. Billions spent on the finest weaponry known to man.We should have left the hand to hand with the cowboys and indians.We need to get the politicians ( civilian and military ) out of the conflicts. Combat is nasty at it`s best.Collatoral damage has always been a part of war.We need to identify the enemy,and eliminate him/her.Reagan put a missle in Gaddafi`s kitchen and we didn`t hear from him for 25 years.The only reason for ground troops should be to clean out small hidden pockets.We spend too much time using a screw driver as a pry bar.You got the tool,use it.
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Now where's the surprise - that the 99% don't want to get involved? What's new?
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CPO Andy Carrillo, MS
That the 66% of the 99% who don't want to get involved prefer that we (and others) do put our boots on the ground, Capt Seid Waddell. That baffles me, like Jane Fonda saying, I support the Viet Nam war and vets, but I myself...nah!
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