The Military

[Motti]

If there was a war worth fighting, I'd fight in it.

 

[Labyrinth]

Excellent to see you again, good sir. Welcome back to the world.

[HEADING=1]Ares Tyr is back![/HEADING]

Does this kind looking warrior occasionally phase in and out of reality?

Yes. He's Shrodinger's Shirtless Warrior.

 

[Dmatix]

As a member of the IDF, I have to say I rather enjoyed basic training. In general, I think the army made me a far better and more confident person.

 

[SmugFrog]

Also, hello again. I'm back.

HEY! We missed you. Your name has come up a few times in miscellaneous posts, so good luck getting caught up on all of that.

Yeah, the military tends to treat everyone like children because a few act like children. Punish the many because of a few.

I'm in the Navy, and it is the same for us Bro. I had been in for 8 years when I transferred to Virginia for temporary duty (a security / MA school). They actually required the students to have a LIBERTY BUDDY to go out in town. That's not uncommon overseas (in fact, in the Navy, it's pretty much the standard now), but just to go out in Little Creek? Pants on the head retarded!

It seems like everytime I go up in rank, the new rank becomes part of the group that gets treated like children so I don't see any of the benefits.

 

[McClaud]

I'm in the Navy, and it is the same for us Bro. I had been in for 8 years when I transferred to Virginia for temporary duty (a security / MA school). They actually required the students to have a LIBERTY BUDDY to go out in town. That's not uncommon overseas (in fact, in the Navy, it's pretty much the standard now), but just to go out in Little Creek? Pants on the head retarded!

WTF is wrong with the Navy? I mean, Liberty Buddies are so ... 1940's. I'm sorry, it's just that this is like bombarding me lately about how retarded the Navy seems to be at times.

For all their tech you'd think they'd actually evolve procedure-wise.

 

[MoganFreeman]

I think I would make a good soldier. I have a sense of surrounding that borders on paranoia and can act rationally in the face of fear.

Fortunately, I am not nationalistic enough to join up out of a sense of civic duty and I am rich enough to not have to become a hired killer to pay my way through college. So, baring a draft, I won't be joining up.

 

[S.H.A.R.P.]

I openly applied for an intern ship at the army, with the intent of getting a function that would correspond with my education (corporate mathematics). They hadn't any places left though, which was good since I'm quite comfortable where I am at the moment. Still it would have been quite nice I reckon, I could have used some exercise besides all the mental work.

 

[Rhayn]

Military training is obligatory in Finland, so yes, I will go there. I'm looking forward to it too, even though most young men do not. Minimal time you have to spend there is 6 months, but for anything more intresting than truckdriver you'll have to be there 9 months. I, personally, plan on staying there a year. Perhaps even pursue a military career. We'll see how that turns out.

It's just a shame that the (active) Finnish military is quite small when it comes down to it, but currently, if I have understood correctly, we have a lack of high-ranking officers.

Also, this seems to be my 200th post, so I'm thinking a brief introduction is in order, since I never got around to writing that review I was thinking about. My name is Peik, I'm currently 18 years old. I've been gaming since I was 6 when my father bought me the Nintendo 64 and Goldeneye to go with it. Now, I'm a PC gamer to the heart. Specifically I have a new-found love for RPGs, and currently playing Mass Effect. I do enjoy pulling out some 'oldies' though; recently I had a shot at Baldur's Gate again.

Sorry for ninjaing your thread there.

 

[Ronwue]

Military isn't mandatory in my country since the year I started college. I am spared from the experience. If I didn't go to college, I would have been in the military. Which wouldn't have been fun.

 

[S.H.A.R.P.]

*snip*

Oi, that sounds a bit classy.

Classy? Possibly I might have ended up as some sort of army administrator. Sure, I wouldn't have been down in the mud (much), but I hardly think of that as classy.

 

[SmugFrog]

WTF is wrong with the Navy? I mean, Liberty Buddies are so ... 1940's. For all their tech you'd think they'd actually evolve procedure-wise.

lol yeah. Actually, I believe in the 1940's, in the old Navy, you would probably get punched in the face for even saying "liberty buddy". These days it is the kinder gentler Navy - love your shipmate, be nice to everyone, be home before midnight... The people who need to be kicked out or punished AREN'T, because they can kiss-ass so well. It really frustrates me.

My last long underway a guy went to captain's mast (basically, like being before a judge and receiving a punishment - look up UCMJ Non Judicial Punishment if you want to know more) for going to a whorehouse. Times have changed.

 

[McClaud]

WTF is wrong with the Navy? I mean, Liberty Buddies are so ... 1940's. For all their tech you'd think they'd actually evolve procedure-wise.

lol yeah. Actually, I believe in the 1940's, in the old Navy, you would probably get punched in the face for even saying "liberty buddy". These days it is the kinder gentler Navy - love your shipmate, be nice to everyone, be home before midnight... The people who need to be kicked out or punished AREN'T, because they can kiss-ass so well. It really frustrates me.

My last long underway a guy went to captain's mast (basically, like being before a judge and receiving a punishment - look up UCMJ Non Judicial Punishment if you want to know more) for going to a whorehouse. Times have changed.

LOL I know what going before the mast means, and I'm kinda leery how that is supposed to be effective. Since most people called before the mast seem to be repeat offenders. Not that Air Force's version of non-judicial punishment is much better, but it isn't as ... ceremonious? ... as that.

I get why they used to have something like the liberty buddy system back in the days of WWII and the Korean War. Since sailors would often go ashore and get into fights or get jacked (even in friendly countries like our own). But you'd think that the reality would be, "Hey, check in with your assigned squidmate and let him know every so often that you are okay."

And you're right - the name totally sounds like something a 9 year-old would come up with.

 

[7moreDead_v1legacy]

Thinking of signing up to the forces sometime this year (my fitness isn't too great atm, so need to work on that). My friends and family that are in various parts of it all say that once you've got in and everything it's a great job...

 

[Echo3Delta]

Lance Corporal. Marine Corps Reserve. 3 years. MP.

I think a common problem I'm seeing here is the M.O.S. (Military Occupational Specialty) of the guys that don't appreciate basic. Being a paralegal doesn't sound like an incredibly combat-heavy MOS (nothin wrong with that, I'm sure it's necessary work), so a lot of the training and treatment didn't directly apply to you. I can see how that might suck, but I would take pride in the fact that you can look your fellow soldiers in the face and say you too have been there, done that. Can you imagine what kind of stigma your MOS would have among your fellow soldiers if you could simply opt out of basic?

To the almost-Marine who wanted to be a combat correspondent, holy shit you got on the wrong bus! You're recruiter must've fucked you, because he obviously forgot to mention that EVERY Marine is a rifleman. We can all locate, close with, and destroy the enemy by fire and maneuver, and repel the enemy assault by fire and close combat. Of course they desensitize us toward killing and treat us like POWs. That's our job. All of us.

I think the issue is you joined the Marines. Marines are bullet-sponges first and foremost, and then their career tracks second. Which is so weird to me. You guys go onto a beach after it's been shelled, bombed, torched and blasted and take the remaining soldiers' fire so the Army can land behind enemy lines and drive around? That makes no sense to me at all.

The shining tip of the spear inevitably gets a bit banged up. And of course our career comes second, how would it not? We don't have the Army's money, the Navy's technology, or the Air Force's professional development. The Marine Corps offers pain, pride, and nothing else. We may be insane, but we don't give a shit, because we're insane.

 

[Ares Tyr]

Former Air Force here.

Seeing as how I worked in a training squadron for a few months as acting First Shirt -

You think basic training is a stressful mindgame? Wait until you are in real combat - you'll realize that basic training is a cakewalk in comparison.

The deal with basic being so mentally exhausting and somewhat humiliating is that it achieves a few main objectives:

1. You gain pride when you accomplish a task. In your head, you start going, "Yeah, I did it. Fuck you, Sergeant." Trust me, drill instructors know. They can see self-confidence start to form when you start doing things better and faster, just to show them up.

2. It eliminates a sense of independence among your platoon. Once everyone (well, almost everyone) is broken down to the basic element and treated the same, you start working together. I mean, teamwork makes everything EASIER, right? You gain some pride in your team as well, since you all came from the bottom to graduation.

3. It teaches attention to detail. It may seem like a pain in the ass to remake your bed in a certain way perfectly every day and hang all your uniforms in the same way. Or keep your foot locker organized in a particular way. And all the beds aligned, and boots underneath lined up. But think about this - when you do that, how much faster did you pick everything else up? You got in the mindset of paying attention to detail. Of course, no one gives a shit about that stuff out of training except on inspections in barracks.

4. It weeds out the people who don't have the patience or mindset for the military. When the shit hits the fan, you have to snap to your training in a heartbeat. If you can pass the tests in the end, you are probably never going to forget how to clear a barrier or move in formation quickly to another area instead of running around like headless chickens. It's funny - I know fresh recruits out of training at a glance because they don't walk on the grass and walk with their hands closed. It's good to fall into the old habits when it comes time to go to war.

5. It's tradition. If this shit was easy, you'd die in the field tomorrow. This ain't a cakewalk, son. Hold your chin up and be proud you made it through.

EDIT: I agree that some drill instructors are way out of their boundaries when training. You won't believe how many of these people keep getting called to the post to be warned about their insane, cruel methods. Ever wonder why some drill instructors never last or old ones eventually get replaced? Because they tend to push the limit too often and get bounced back to regular duty due to their big mouths and chuckle-headed ideas.

Oh, no no. I meant I was fine and dandy with basic training being hard and what not. I completely understand that methodology. I meant in AIT, where I was learning to do my MOS as a Paralegal Specialist, that it became annoying because of the small, senseless things they did like uncalled for formations, or not allowing me to have a cellphone at the school break area. It was just annoying, not grueling or hard to deal with. It was just a great big pile of aggrevating. I'm extemely proud to be a soldier.

 

[Seekster]

Ideally, a soldier represents the best of mankind. ("Ideally" should be written in the largest font possible, bold, and underlined as many times as possible).

I cannot vouch for the militaries of any other nation but criticizing the U.S. military (or rather the soldiers that make it up) is one of the few things that I simply do not tolerate

 

[Bourne Endeavor]

The training would not do me in. What would be my griding point would be the nigh dog like treatment you are given. I admittedly hold myself in high accord and refuse to be talked down to by anyone, which is the essence of the military. I could be far too likely to tell my commanding officer to suck a lemon when listen when he kept increasing my push ups for the thrill of it.

 

[TheBluesader]

Compulsory service for everyone! That'll teach those hippies a thing or two about working for their daily dollar! Little punks, sitting on their narrow backsides all day, staring through their long, dirty hair at the gotdang Internet! Worst generation since the 20s! *shakes shillelagh in geriatric rage*

Of course, I only advocate this because I assume at that point I'll be Supreme Leader of everything in the Western Hemisphere north of the Amazon, and I can use the military as my own personal brute squad.

You are all now richer for my input. I hope you people appreciate what I do for you. I should charge.

 

[Lord George]

I'm pretty healthy and keep very fit, so I don't think the physical aspect would bother me. Its the authority thing that does it for me, I will only listen and follow someone who I actually respect as a person, I'm not just going to jump around for some idiot with more rank then me, I think I should join MI5 instead of the army, could work out nicely.

 

[Madshaw]

I want to go into the army after I get my degree, but my parents will never let me

my dad has told me he would rather i was on benifits (welfare to you yanks) than joined the army, but thats what i'm going to do