What is your most radical or unpopular opinion concerning the military?

With the draft the military had a better cross-section of society. With the all-volunteer military we tend to have a draft of the disadvantaged.

That no one since WWII has "fought for our freedom". Not since then has our actual freedom been threatened. In Iraq/Afghanistan/Vietnam/etc. we fought for America, sure. But had we lost/quit/etc. no ones life back home would have been void of freedom. You hear this phrase thrown around a lot though.

How about this: that to be able to vote, hold an elected position or serve in a political office you should have to serve at least two years in the military or equivalent. Also: that age should not be a bar to military service. Finally: that civilian contractors should not be allowed to do a job in place of the military that the military can do. This goes for everything from working a CIF, to security details to running a dining facility. Sole exceptions would be concessions like the PX/BX/NX, NCO/Chiefs/Officers Clubs, Comissary, Four Seasons, etc.

It depends on who the listener is, as to which is the most unpopular. The most radical would probably be my belief in the system suggested by Robert A Heinlein whereby full voting citizenship is only available to those who have served in the Military or the equivalent. It obviously would require revision of the Constitution, at the least, and is not likely to happen bar an alien invasion or a zombie apocalypse, but while Service does not automatically make you a wise or good person, I think you should have to put in an ante if you want to decide which way the game is going to go.

The military is not a democracy.

PT ceases to be an individual responsibility the second you mandate 1.5 hours of enforced pt every morning. You planned it now it's your responsibility.
PT is "only to maintain" is a lazy excuse for a bad program. No decent workout program in the world spends over an hour 5 days a week 'just maintaining' a substandard fitness level.
A forced pt program the involves running every day or almost every day is a disservice to your soldiers and a cop out.
Officers/e6+ should do pt in the mornings just like everyone else. (Maybe just my experience with this one)

That nobody but Rangers should wear a black beret, and that women don't belong in combat arms.

Military pay is comparable, or even better than, civilian pay.
Reasoning:
Military is only taxed on base pay. Plus when deployed in a qualifying zone you pay no income tax.
You get extra pay for living off post.
You get extra pay when you mess separately.
You get an annual clothing allowance.
You get 30 days paid vacation a year.
You get some of the best free medical care and dental.
You get paid training in the skill of your choice.
You get several different incentive pays for special skills, like jump pay, dive pay, etc.

one of the best jobs you can have as a civilian is accountant (money wise). they start at 26 dollars an hour, and generally double their salary every 7 years. It takes a four year degree (which actually takes most people five years to complete). So at 23 you are making about 52k a year, regardless of where they live their is no variable housing allowance in the civilian world. If you want to work at a big 4 accounting firm you can do it, they have one in almost every major city, but if you work in San Francisco, Los Angels, Miami, New York, (these cities all have the some of the highest earning potential) you will commute 2 to 3 hours day. with commute and starting workload as an accountant you are looking at an 80 hour work week, 50-60 in the office. Plus you have to be certified to earn anything more than your starting salary and that takes a Masters degree and at least one year of accounting experience to be a CPA. so it takes you 7-8 years to become an actual "accountant". Then you have to have continuing education credits, and each year the tax code and can and does change. And if you work in say Virginia beach you top out at probably 80k a year.

A specialist over 3 makes 2314.80 base pay. or roughly 27,777.60 a year (or about 13.50 an hour for a 40 hour work week), a little more than half a starting accountant. And doesn't pay rent, utilities, school loans, or pay for medical and dental insurance, and you don't NEED a car, or any form of transportation.

But let us make a more comparable comparison an EMT, in Raleigh, N.C. averages 15 dollars an hour. NOTE this IS NOT a starting salary. this is an average of all the EMT's in the city form 0 years of experience to over 40.

There is a reason construction workers command a premium salary, they only work for 6-9 months out of the year, so they need to earn more when they work, to live during the lean times, There is a reason why certain fields like lawyer ( 7 years of education a state certification), doctor (8 years of education, 3 years of practical experience, and sate certification), accountant (6 years of education and state certification), architect ( 6 years of education and one of the most stringent state certifications lasting five days), get payed a premium salary, they spent years learning their profession.

Being a soldier is the easiest job you will ever have. Next time you think, I am going to get out and make real money, you might want to do some research first.

"Athleticism" is over-emphasized WRT PT.

Be fit. Be Strong. Be ready to fight. If you are pulling 'two-a-days' but you can't shoot, don't understand the fundamentals of the offense, and don't understand the Constitution you've sworn to defend, you might be an athlete. You will also be someone I don't want to fight with.

If you can shoot a gnats earwax out of his ear at 300 meters, study all the doctrine and tactics and intellectual 'meat' the Army can throw at you but are to thick or too slender to get your weapon system to the place on the battlefield it needs to be to ensure it influences the enemy in our favor, then you aren't a Soldier. You also are someone I cannot fight with.

But if you habitually score an above unit average score on a PT Test, you work hard to know your job and perform your tasks to standard if not above standard, you love America and the U.S. Constitution that protects it and it's people, and you can handle yourself respectably in a fistfight where a friend or family member is in jeopardy.... the you sound like a Warrior... and I've got your back.

Too many Soldiers spend too much vain time trying to look a certain way or run a certain speed and simultaneously could be taken out with one firm bitch-slap. That's not a Soldier in anyway consistent with the Warrior Ethos.... If you can't fight, all the PT you do is worthless.

The military is not a social experiment.