Why do people enlist?

[Thaluikhain]

Well, the ads around here talk about learning a trade (for the support roles), learning leadership and all (for officers) and seeing the world (for the navy).

But, well...it's something that appeals to young people, particularly men.

I remember on another forum a deeply disturbing comment by a Thai military officer on why the minimum age for soldiers had to be so young (it came up in a discussion about US soldiers being able to die for their country before being old enough to drink).

It went along the lines of "Sometimes we need young men to run into machine gun fire, and people past their teens won't want to do that".

 

[templar1138a]

My brother has just become an enlisted man in the US Air Force. He and I have been against almost all of our country's military campaigns since W. Bush became President and we've never liked patriotic idiots. We know that the US hasn't fought a war in which it actually defended itself from an invading army since the Mexican war (1840s) and that the odds of the States being invaded in this day and age are practically zero. Suffice it to say I was surprised when he decided to sign on.

But the reason he did so is because he's 27 and isn't sure what he wants to do with his life. That and the schooling we received didn't prepare us for squat for adulthood. The armed forces is the only employer where you just take some tests and you have a job without the hassle of resumés, cover letters, and interviews, and my brother has always been good at tests. Yes, there's other bureaucracy, but it's much more resemblant of what he dealt with in school.

 

[Kennetic]

There are tons of opportunities in the US Army. I got explosives cert and EMT license all for free. I get to go to college for free, get VA benefits for the rest of my life due to my Iraq deployment (and people who keep bitching about the Iraq war, the Iraqi people that I met were very thankful for our presence). I've gotten to do things that regular civilians will never experience. That's off the top of my head and all I've got for now

 

[TheIronRuler]

Well, I understand that in the US for example enlisting comes with a few goodies on the side. Then there's also the people who like weapons, seek adventure or prefer the clear working structure.

Isn't there any option for you to do substitute social work or something?

Well, not really. I'm fit for combat (the army does something called "combat profiling"). I have no real reason, as far as the army's concerned, to exchange my service, nor do I want to do so. Why escape something that's a big part of my society, anyway?

Here, if you're deemed fit to serve, we have the choice of going with it for six months or rather doing something in a caring professions for nine months instead. So I was wondering if Israel had the same system or if there was only one way.


Captcha: be my friend ... that's sweet

"Caring professions"? What does that mean?

I think s/he means Shirot Leomy, National Service. You can do that instead of enlisting, can't you?

 

[Alon Doron]

Well, I understand that in the US for example enlisting comes with a few goodies on the side. Then there's also the people who like weapons, seek adventure or prefer the clear working structure.

Isn't there any option for you to do substitute social work or something?

Well, not really. I'm fit for combat (the army does something called "combat profiling"). I have no real reason, as far as the army's concerned, to exchange my service, nor do I want to do so. Why escape something that's a big part of my society, anyway?

Here, if you're deemed fit to serve, we have the choice of going with it for six months or rather doing something in a caring professions for nine months instead. So I was wondering if Israel had the same system or if there was only one way.


Captcha: be my friend ... that's sweet

"Caring professions"? What does that mean?

I think s/he means Shirot Leomy, National Service. You can do that instead of enlisting, can't you?

I don't think I can without a reason. I can do that in addition to my army service, but what's the point of that

 

[TheIronRuler]

Sometimes you do learn jobs skills in military service, I sometimes wish I had enlisted to be a helicopter pilot, and after the military you can fly for EMT services and such. Some employers offer special considerations for former military members.

Some people are very into the military, they want the danger/adventure.

Also, for some it's the brotherhood that comes from being in a volunteer military. This may be diminished for mandatory service.

I think that mandatory military service is not a good thing. You'll get a lot of people that don't want to be there and they can end up dragging down the morale of the whole unit. Volunteer military soldiers asked for it. They are better motivated than draft troops. This is why the US military doesn't want draft troops. They'd have to mix them up with the better troops and would end up causing more harm than good.

.
Oh, oh, oh, this one bit about moral is important. BUT, there are special tests you have when they pick you a unit. If you can't pass any of these you will be cleaning toilets for your service. It usually involves you going on a 3-4 day tour of training and group work together, where your abilities are tested. If you have no motivation you won't pass, simple as that.

 

[spartan231490]

I'm an Israeli pre-draft teenager.
As I expect you to know, we all *have* to serve in the army (of course with exceptions (girls usually aren't sent to the front-lines, and ultra-orthodox Jews, well... Aren't yet integrated)).

Anyway, to the discussion at hand.
A few years ago I thought of the army service as a waste of time, something that will hold me back from learning the trade I wanted, or just to have a normal life as you may call it. Then I got older (funny saying that as a 18-year-old), and I just wanted to try and make the most of it. Hell, I even trained. That doesn't mean I like what I have to do... but still, it's the way of life here.

I've always wondered why people in other countries enlist. Why would they? It isn't mandatory, nor it is directly protecting your loved ones (you aren't guarding a border 20 miles from home, just saying).

So, to the question: Why do people enlist? (where it is non-mandatory)
(I meant no offence or insult, just trying to figure out a state of mind that isn't familiar to me)

P.S. If I made any grammar or spelling mistakes, sorry. English isn't my first language...

I can't speak for other countries, but in America, I think it's mostly financial.
Sometimes they have to. Armies pay pretty well in non-draft countries, and they give health benefits and retirement too. This makes them pretty attractive to people who can't get in to college, or who fail out of college.

Then there's career military families, where the kids often enlist because it's what mom and dad expect them to do, and it's not too dangerous for them because they often end up officers. Then you get the people who want to be pilots, or astronauts(and one of the fast tracks for that is to be an air force pilot.

There are a lot of reasons, but i bet those are the main ones. Like I said, I can't speak for other countries, and I'm not even in the military(though I know a lot of people who are), but I think I'm pretty close to the mark.

also, your spelling and grammar were fine, probably not perfect, but I wouldn't have known english wasn't your first language if you hadn't told us.

 

[Broken Blade]

A friend of mine joined the marines after spending a year or so trying to get a job as a police officer. He was in great shape and tested/trained well, he just didn't have the experience for the openings they had. If I recall correctly, after his tour is up he's gonna reapply for being a police officer.

So, one big reason is a relative lack of other jobs, and a reliable paycheck, plus some other benefits.

 

[letfireraindown]

I'm sure you'll get a lot of over arching responses, so I'll just give you why I did.

I had to main categories of why I signed up, logical and illogical/emotional.

Logical:
Money for college, I didn't want to depend on my parents or enter into debt.
An amount of sophisticated training, I got trained in Switching and Signaling systems.
Advantages in the future. The US doesn't have mandatory service so having the status of being a veteran holds places an accent point on resumes and applications. It's kinda a weird double standard here, but as shifting as Equal Opportunity can be.

Illogical:
As a child I respected my great-grandfather (WWI vet) and he was the the last one to serve in my family. So that was kinda a pride, loyalty, duty thing that swam in my head for some years before the time came to sign up. I don't regret joining, serving or this being a fundamental reason for it. It just feels a bit childish looking back on this reason.

But that's my reason for having joined the U.S. Army Signal Corps.

 

[Robert Ewing]

It has some pretty good personal perks.

Not to mention, enlisting will put you in the best shape of your life, you get plenty of rl achievements, and you are literally fighting for your home land. I can definitely see the appeal in that.

If Britain was in a bit of a tight spot (Most likely with those damn argies) I'd definitely enlist to shoot some south American face.

 

[Dectomax]

I am pretty much 100% certain that I'm going to join the British Army. I'd like to join as an Officer in the Parachute Regiment, and I'll be taking a scholarship next year for entry to Sandhurst, where they train officers.
For me, I seek something that I can completely dedicate my life to, while doing something good, all while experiencing a level of risk and adventure that most people never do. I'm certain I'll see some shit that won't be pleasant, I'll probably have to shoot at and kill other people, and I'll run the risk of being shot/stabbed/blown up/beheaded on the internet. But for me, it doesn't matter, because I sure as hell don't want to look back on my life in 30 years and have regrets. I want to live as much as I can, and what better way to do that than by leading men into combat?
Sure, I may die in the process, but better to die living tommorrow than to die in 70 years never having lived.
That's my reasoning, feel free to take issue with it, it doesn't matter to me what people think, I'm not joining to impress anyone or earn respect; I couldn't care less to be honest.

Bloody Para's...misinformed youth; It's all about The Royal Marines! You don't want a pansy Cherry hat...

As for your reasoning, I'd reconsider. I applied for the RM's at 16, straight out of school and the training was the single most difficult thing I've ever done. ( Albeit RM training is longer, 32 weeks instead of 24+P company ) The Para's ain't an easy route. You'll get to a point where you'll be covered in mud, freezing your fucking arse off, soaking wet, sat in a field at night bundled up next to 3 or 4 other blokes who are in exactly the same position - a lot of the lads in my batch dropped after the Wet/Dry rotation; The soldiering part was easy, they enjoyed it, the being absolutely frozen to the bollocks for 2 days? Not so much. I'm not trying to put you off, I'm just saying the only thing that'll keep you going is your drive to WANT that Red beret. It's got to be burned into your mind, hurt and muscle that even when you're so exhausted you can't raise an arm, you still manage it.


OT: My Great-Granddad fought in WW2 as a Paratrooper, My Granddad fought in The Falklands as a Royal Marine, My Dad served in Ireland in the Infantry; It's just something that I felt I had to do seeing as it's almost a Family tradition, I wanted to make them proud and I wanted to show myself that I could do it.

 

[Ralen-Sharr]

Sometimes you do learn jobs skills in military service, I sometimes wish I had enlisted to be a helicopter pilot, and after the military you can fly for EMT services and such. Some employers offer special considerations for former military members.

Some people are very into the military, they want the danger/adventure.

Also, for some it's the brotherhood that comes from being in a volunteer military. This may be diminished for mandatory service.

I think that mandatory military service is not a good thing. You'll get a lot of people that don't want to be there and they can end up dragging down the morale of the whole unit. Volunteer military soldiers asked for it. They are better motivated than draft troops. This is why the US military doesn't want draft troops. They'd have to mix them up with the better troops and would end up causing more harm than good.

.
Oh, oh, oh, this one bit about moral is important. BUT, there are special tests you have when they pick you a unit. If you can't pass any of these you will be cleaning toilets for your service. It usually involves you going on a 3-4 day tour of training and group work together, where your abilities are tested. If you have no motivation you won't pass, simple as that.

I actually find that hilarious... because I have a co-worker that must have failed those tests going by what he said he did in the military.

What's worse is that he calls himself a "vet" because he was in the military, and gets mad when we call him a screw up because he got kicked out.

 

[clayschuldt]

A lot of people enlist for the perks. Even in the U.S. these days there is a good chance you'll never be put on the front line as they need more people to do work on the bases like re-fueling jets and fixing stuff. The military will give you money for college, some kind of pension, great benefits, and for many a chance to see the world and experience unique situations.

For a lot of people I know its a quick escape. It could be an escape from family, hometown, or being forced to work in a fast-food restuaruant because the economy tanked.

 

[DocMcCray]

Different people enlist for different reasons here in the United States.

I enlisted as a 29 year old. I did it for financial and education reasons. All of my college, books and rent will be paid for as I attend nursing school due to what is called the Post 9/11 GI Bill. So instead of having to find a full time job while going to school and taking out loans to pay for it, I can concentrate on studying and making good grades.

I hated military life, but it is over for me.

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

I've got a question for you though - do you think having a mandatory required enlistment is a good or bad idea?

I think calling it enlistment when it's mandatory is rather insidious. "Enlistment" implies voluntary service.

I also consider it a bad idea. No matter the benefits it can give someone, who honestly has the right to decide someone must join the army apart from the person in question?

 

[Havegun]

A combination of factors. In short: I liked the culture in there, it seemed a good entry-point for some useful education(s), the pay wasn't half bad, the job was challenging and fun (Or, well, the training was) and it gave me the chance to do some good in the world (come at me, trolls).

To expand:
In Denmark we have some limited form of conscription. All men have a chance/risk of being drawn to do 4 months of very basic military training, in somee regiments with an added 4-8 months of largely ceremonial duties. A lot of guys volunteer though, as do some women.
After finishing what equates to High School, I thought it'd be an interesting break, before continuing on to higher academic pursuits. I was largely confirmed in this and almost immediately knew I would like to do more than my 4 months. My options were either to apply for NCO-training or for another 8 months of training specifically for a 6-month deployment. I knew I'd want the NCO-training (even considered Officer's Training at one point) and that it'd be useful further on down the line, but I chose the latter option to get some experience. I also knew how hard it could be to take a Sergeant, who'd only a year ago been standing in my place, seriously, and the respect I had for the ones who'd done it 'for real'.
I also happened to agree with what we were doing, but I'm not really sure how big of a factor that was for me.

 

[NightHawk21]

If I ran my own private country, I think we would have some sort of draft (maybe not exactly a draft but say like 4-5 months in your last year of high school). Mind you I don't know how the Isreali draft is, but the one I envision would be like a mix of physical activity (continuous for the couple months), and a mix of basic survival stuff like:
- swimming
- first aid (the kind that lifegaurds get since it covers strokes, heart attacks, etc)
- maybe some basic self defense or some martial art
- Other stuff that you really should have at least a basic grasp on

After that you're free to go, and we'd have a standing military composed of volunteers. Honestly it would be more of a lifeskills draft than a military draft. Teach the basics so that the students leaving will be well enough equipped to deal with problems life might throw at them.

 

[userwhoquitthesite]

Why do people enlist?

In america: a misguided sense that it provides a free college education
a misguided sense that it will be a lucrative vacation with free meals
some sense of patriotism or duty
because they feel they have no other options
because it looks good on a resume.

There are, of course, other, more nuanced reasons pertaining to the individual, but those are the biggest