general Ever thought about joining the military?

[Splashee 28,537]

If you join the military, how big of a risk is there to be actual pawns and sent out into battle as meat shields?

[Jedishy 3,542]

On 6/16/2020 at 9:32 AM, Splashee said:

Does anyone know how you become a Staff Sergeant or higher ranked than that Sergeant (U.S.)? I have never really seen what the purpose is, since Sergeant is still not an officer position.

Depends on the branch of service. Navy there are boards and job testing. Other branches use various other selection procedures.

As for why well higher wages, more responsibilities and better perks. Further enlisted stay enlisted unless they choose to go for officer school so it's not like you can rank up to officer at any point.

 

Finally there are a lot of lies about the military here.

1. We do not spend most of our time killing anyone. Let alone innocent civilians which is a crime under the UCMJ. Most of what we do is humanitarian efforts.

2. No they cannot lay hands on you in bootcamp let alone outside it.

3. No you won't get kicked out for reporting behavior that violates standing orders. I have flat out refused a bad order from an higher ranking enlistedmen that came from one of the highest people in my chain of command. And nothing happened to me because I was in the right.

 

Finally I did six years under dadt. That is how much I valued my service and what I gained from it. 

[Splashee 28,537]

1 minute ago, Jedishy said:

I have flat out refused a bad order from an higher ranking enlistedmen that came from one of the highest people in my chain of command. And nothing happened to me because I was in the right.

That's absolutely crazy!
What rank are you? (If you are allowed to tell)

[Jedishy 3,542]

8 minutes ago, Splashee said:

That's absolutely crazy!
What rank are you? (If you are allowed to tell)

I was an E5 ie Petty Officer Second Class. ( equivalent of Sergeant) I even passed the test for E6 just as I got out. So I could have made the equivalent of Staff Sergeant if I stayed in and had enough advancement points. 

To give context i did not just refuse the order. I threatened to write up anyone that followed it. So I prevented it from happening period.

[Prometheus 3,038]

Just before I left school, my original plan was to join the marines. But I managed to get into college, and it seemed like the better idea at the time in terms of getting a career after service was up. So yeah, was pretty damn close to enlisting. 

[Fritzy 1,690]

Hell no. Not interested in possibly risking my life. 

[Ixrec 86]

Only thought about it enough to discard it. Maybe if I'd been born in a very different time period the whole "serving your country" narrative would've resonated with me more, but definitely not in this one. My immediate family has no history of service anyway; we're all nerds with classic STEM jobs like chemist, electrical engineer or programmer. And there's no way I'd meet whatever physical fitness requirements they have. Although my dad joked a few times that if I ever did join the (US) military they'd immediately put me in the Corps of Engineers anyway.

[HeavenSunset 1,866]

I have actually thought about it a few times for 2 reasons

1. to become elite special forces because.....duh

2. to get into the blue angels because......the wonderbolts are the blue angels in mlp 

[Jokuc 8,172]

Never ever not a chance. That's not how I roll. I wouldn't put myself at risk for the sake of others. Plus I'm not interested in their activities in the slightest.

[Lightning_Strike 14]

Yes, I’m currently training to enlist with the CAF Field Artillery. Currently on an a  strength and endurance  Workout routine. I believe I can pass BMQ as is (Basic Military Qualification) but I would like to excel in it and get a green score hopefully. If I’m not accepted into field artillery then infantry it is haha 

 There’s people over there that need my help and I’m gonna try my best to make a difference and save some lives 🇨🇦 

 And when I’m done my duty I’ll be more likely to be chosen for management positions as well as benefits and whatnot  

[Anneal 2,194]

On 7/2/2020 at 6:46 AM, Jedishy said:

Finally there are a lot of lies about the military here.

1. We do not spend most of our time killing anyone. Let alone innocent civilians which is a crime under the UCMJ. Most of what we do is humanitarian efforts. 

2. No they cannot lay hands on you in bootcamp let alone outside it.

3. No you won't get kicked out for reporting behavior that violates standing orders. I have flat out refused a bad order from an higher ranking enlistedmen that came from one of the highest people in my chain of command. And nothing happened to me because I was in the right.

Not to mention that some soldiers are never deployed in a combat zone, and even when in a combat zone, only a small amount of them see direct combat. A ton of jobs in the military have nothing to do with combat, such as being a cook, software engineer, chaplain, mechanic, and so on. In some cases, certain military personnel get what is basically a glorified desk job. It's part of the reason why it's so hard for the small amount of soldiers who do see combat to come back home – not only is it hard for civilians to understand what they've been through, but even within the military itself.

And if you're part of the National Guard branch of the Army or Air Force, you essentially see no combat at all. The National Guard is there to perform peacekeeping duties and respond to natural disasters and acts of terrorism at home.