Posted on Mar 15, 2018
What is your most radical or unpopular opinion concerning the military?
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Military Life
Military Career
Chain of Command
Command
Leadership
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 139
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That we don't need to be put on a pedestal by everyone we encounter simply because we enlisted in the Military. Not everyone in the military is a good person, much like the rest of the country the Military has good and bad people in it. We are not all deserving of respect and admiration. Each individual needs to be judged separate, not on the basis that they simply enlisted.
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Jenni Reid
Amen! Say that as a vibilian though and you will have thousands of troups all over your post calling you obscene names and suggesting that you take your own life. That us what lowering the standards results in. Mindless grunting and comradery based on their matching outfits, not even knowing who they are standing up for might be a psycho that eats kittens for breskfast.
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SSG Ralph Watkins
I was an RN in the private sector. Dealt with all kinds of scummy people. The worst ones had a long family history of being leeches upon society. When I went to work for the VA, people asked me if I had issues working with some of these mean & nasty old vets. Not at all. Despite their issues, they still did one thing right in their lives. They served our nation. That makes them heroes in my book.
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SSgt W. Aaron Gregory
SSG Ralph Watkins - SSG Watkins, that makes YOU a hero in my book. Thanks for your continued service.
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SPC Earl Semler
Enlisting and serving in a combat zone doesn't make you a hero, what does is the way you serve honorably and with dignity!
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Lowering standards to achieve the politically desired demographics will get people killed.
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Jenni Reid
And cost the military thousands in transportation to send home unplanned pregnancies(the numbers are attrocious), and destroy marriages and break up families. But equality is more important than FAMILY apparently.
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SSgt W. Aaron Gregory
Brad Powers - Brad, I have been out of the military for far too long, and even when I was still in, I am not sure I could answer or help with your question. I just want to say that as long as America has motivated, driven people like you interested in military service, it will remain unstoppable. Stay motivated, and get in, no matter what it takes or how long you may need to wait.
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SFC Jim Ruether
Everyone on this site is a hero to someone. I think you are all heroes who have sacrificed separation from family and friends, have been wounded literally or psychologically by your service to our country in countries most Americans couldn't even pronounce. You all raised your right hand and swore to defend our country against all enemies both foreign and domestic. This sets you apart from the rest of American citizens in fact you are a small but very important 7% of our population. God Bless you all for your service to our country!
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LCpl Daniel Muzquiz
You never know how even the smallest gesture of kindness shown while you are in you uniform can touch and change a life. Greatest hero's are born from the smallest acts repeated often.
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Diane Frazier
there is good and bad in everyone and in and out of the military. It is all about the individual and let me say, you must really know the individual to judge. One act of kindness or one act of misbehavior does not define anyone. You must know a persons heart and have a physical/verbal relationship with them not a stranger on the street. Or he said she said judgmental groups of people. But to all the Military out there that are good Thank you for your service!!! And Always please be safe out there!!
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That our Military Services are being utilized by politicians for missions that don't necessarily serve the USA's best interests and that we are in effect becoming the policemen and women to the world.
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MSgt John McGowan
SFC Jim Ruether---- I would call it forced from the retirement ceremony. By a officer and one CMS. The man retiring had requested the E8 read the prayer. Any way it was a embarrassment to all involved. And to enforce something like this went against professional Airman and shot to hell and back good conduct. I hate to see something like this happen and me, never heard of it. I worked until the day before I left the base and the ceremony didn't happen then. Last I heard the E8 was going to sue, not for money, to get his name back. The Air Force was trying to kill religious activities of any kind then.
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Kathleen Celata
PO2 David Dunlap Would be nice if you addressed the issue instead of tossing off a half-clever insult & feeling that suffices
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Kathleen Celata
PO2 David Dunlap Not AT ALL what I was responding to. I was addressing the fact that we have become much LESS the policemen of the world since WWII.
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MSgt Jeff Bailey
Of course we're used for political purposes...everything the gov't/politicians do is political by nature.
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SGT Joseph Gunderson here is another one. Gender reassignment surgery! Should be paid out of their own pocket. IT is not life or death or life threatening in any way. it is not a surgery to alleviate someone who is in terrible pain...it is not to cut a something growing in you that might kill you...it is a choice...no it is a WANT...a DESIRE...so yeah, this just chaps my hide.
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Sgt Kelli Mays
SPC Sam Hircock - I disagree. This is an elective surgery as far as I am concerned. For hundreds or thousands of years, I'm sure there have been people like this and they lived with out changing their gender. Removing a TUMOR if LIFE threatening is a surgery that is necessary. Gender re assignment is not life threatening.
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SFC Jim Ruether
If they believe they need this surgery to serve in the military then I would recommend an immediate discharge from service.
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Brad Powers
Sergeant that would piss me off too. I know how I'm just a civilian though it still concerns me. really is that actually happening?
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Toxic leadership and the ‘Good O’Boy’ program are real issues that are poorly addressed.
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SGT (Join to see)
I thoroughly agree! With both comments here! I just have to tack on the race card too. I've seen racism in the army flow in every direction.
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I feel there should be more officer recruitment from the enlisted ranks. They should find outstanding E-5s and E-6s with 5 to 10 years time in service and send them to college on an ROTC scholarship to complete their bachelor degrees and then, here's the radical part, commission them as 1LTs based on their prior experience or, at least, have them only serve one year as a 2LT. The reason why the Army has a retention problem with junior officers is that the "college kids" tend to view the Army as a stepping stone to another career rather than a career unto itself. A junior NCO with 5 or more years in is already invested in making the Army a career.
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Maj Pete Siegel
SSgt Ronald Orso - been there, done that, and have my UNO Alumni Class of 1975) T-shirt.
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LTC Jason Mackay
OCS numbers have risen to about equal to ROTC since Iraq and Afghanistan. Wondering where the crossover point is where we hurt the senior NCO pool by producing Company Grade officers.
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CPT Lawrence Cable
Hasn't that always been evident and in general the purpose of an Army? Defend the Constitution is only the first line.
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MAJ (Join to see)
Beautifully depicted in a two-panel format, SFC Michael Hasbun! I really wished our military and political leaders would take a hard look at the quantity of scope creep which has infested our military's strategic objectives. Do we really need to be in the areas where we are currently engaged? What mission areas can we pull out of with a reasonable amount of risk to drastic changes in the current state of domestic security and affairs? Something tells me these hard questions are not being asked at the highest levels of leadership, yet they very much need to be.
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That I was nothing more than a poorly paid mercenary. When I got to Iraq in 2008 and discovered that I wasn't doing anything to protect the United States, and everything to make Haliburton and KBR rich, it was shattering. Once I decided I could live with being a merc, then I was able to do my job. Afghanistan was actually a better deployment simply because there was less money to make there, and so we weren't doing missions to support the civilian contractors. Nothing I hated more than supporting contractors that were making 10 times what I was while mucking up the whole situation.
You asked. I'm pretty sure that answer isn't going to be well liked. Then again, a PFC isn't privy to the information senior leaders are and only have incomplete observation and perception to go on.
You asked. I'm pretty sure that answer isn't going to be well liked. Then again, a PFC isn't privy to the information senior leaders are and only have incomplete observation and perception to go on.
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MAJ (Join to see)
SFC Michael Hasbun - You can't argue with a man the won the Medal of Honor...twice.
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Kathleen Celata
Was a very thorny bone of contention with my friends who served in Vietnam. And any involvement we've had in Central and South America was usually at the behest of United Fruit Company etc. Which unfortunately made it easier for dictators to take hold, but discussion for another day.
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Sgt Joshua Hout
I agree with you. All of the civilians I interacted with in Afghanistan didn't know who we were or what the US was. They thought we were Russians returning. I have never personally met anyone of any religion (including being overseas) that wanted to kill me just because I wasn't a part of their religion. Personally I feel that we have to have a war or conflict every few years so we always have combat veterans within the ranks. We train groups (Taliban for example) to do something for us and then we go fight with them later to keep our skills sharp and protect the interests of the wealthy.
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Poor decisions made by persons sitting at a desk in a safe place away from the action.
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