Serving in the Military....

BBUK

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Should all able-bodied men serve in the military for a stint?
 

Catfan in Tn.

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Maybe, but just don't see it ever happening. Too many people would be against the idea.
 

BlueRaider22

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Germany has done it and it has worked ok, but the US is far larger. I don't really see a need at this time.
 
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Maybe, but just don't see it ever happening. Too many people would be against the idea.
There are 1.3M active military personnel right now.

There are more than 10M males between the ages of 20-24 in this country.

People would be against this idea because it's dumb.


Now, some sort of "national service" obligation? Maybe. Serving on active duty? No way.
 

liveblue92

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South Korea makes everyone do two years. I don't think it's the right approach. For one, you will have people who are unmotivated, who don't wanna be there, who will not want to be a part of a team. That would cause chaotic situations .
 

JamesIII

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No, but it would be nice if more people at 18 served in AmeriCorps, Job Corps, or the Peace Corps (those children of promise but without the necessary means for a...necessary means for a higher education).

I wouldn't want to make it mandatory, but incentivizing people to join those 3 for at least 2 years would help our country/world out a lot more...and hopefully them in the process.
 

Ron Mehico

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I'm not against having to do something for 6 months at the age of 18 after high school. Now what that something is I'm not sure, but some sort of basic training type of thing wouldn't be a bad idea at all IMO.
 
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Barong23

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Great. Another Big Government Program. j/k

Mandatory service is not the answer but some form of service in exchange for a college education is definitely needed. The GI Bill is one of the greatest programs ever undertaken and benefited both our country and our servicemen tremendously.
 

KingOfBBN

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I think to hold political office and especially the presidency, you should have actually served in the military.
 
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warrior-cat

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There are 1.3M active military personnel right now.

There are more than 10M males between the ages of 20-24 in this country.

People would be against this idea because it's dumb.


Now, some sort of "national service" obligation? Maybe. Serving on active duty? No way.
National Guard or some sort of reserve duty maybe for a couple of years but, you would still have a large portion of Americans who would find a way not to serve so, the 10 million would be cut a lot.
 

warrior-cat

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I think to hold political office and especially the presidency, you should have actually served in the military.
Then, I need to run for office. I am sure I would get Deee's vote afterall, all I would have to do is lie at every turn.
 
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DaBossIsBack

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I think every kid should be able to fire a semi automatic with precision by the age of 10. Their military training should be included in their curriculum as early as middle school. Raise em right!
 

UKStoops81

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No, but I do believe that serving at least 2 years should be a requirement on the path to citizenship for immigrants.
 
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shockdaddy19

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Interesting question. My father was drafted and did 2.5 years in Vietnam and saw heavy combat duty. His brother, got married on purpose to avoid the draft. If you ask my father, he'll tell you that war does crazy things to a man. I know he would have done anything to prevent me from ever serving...even though I would have, and regret not doing so.

That said, he definitely looks down at the draft dodgers. But on a side note, my uncle is now on his 5th wife, so karma came full circle.
 

Big_Blue79

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(those children of promise but without the necessary means for a...necessary means for a higher education).

 

MegaBlue05

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Nope.

Thinking back to my youth:

I hated getting up early. And I still kind of don't have the proper "respect" for authority.

I'm VERY appreciative of those valiant men and women who volunteer to serve in the U.S. military. And I'm glad I'm not one of them because I'd be an awful solider.
 
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KingOfBBN

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I think my position about politicians being required to serve in the military may help get rid of some of the absurd ROE and their quickness to make decisions on things that could have major consequences. That military experience is something that gives others more insight than those of us on our soapboxes without an actual clue.
 

IdaCat

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I need my 54 y/o out of shape *** sent to boot camp right now.
 

KopiKat

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The military would suffer it's worst demise if it was required to find a place for each of the lazy offspring from each of our social classes, from the wealthiest to the poorest, from the sprawling estates to the project slums where the primary purpose is to eat, sleep and reproduce and to teach more generations to do the same, but even worse yet is that the military would suffer the most unfair consequence of all - to be required to find a purpose for the offspring of persons who had achieved more than 25 thousand posts on an internet message board. ;) cheers to the 173d and the 503.
 

warrior-cat

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You're pretty good at that already.
Honestly, how would you know? You have been duped for a long time now and don't know it. And, if you do know it, that makes you one of the worst kind of Americans. Self serving and deviant.
 
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warrior-cat

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The military would suffer it's worst demise if it was required to find a place for each of the lazy offspring from each of our social classes, from the wealthiest to the poorest, from the sprawling estates to the project slums where the primary purpose is to eat, sleep and reproduce and to teach more generations to do the same, but even worse yet is that the military would suffer the most unfair consequence of all - to be required to find a purpose for the offspring of persons who had achieved more than 25 thousand posts on an internet message board. ;) cheers to the 173d and the 503.
Maybe, but have you seen it lately? It is in pretty bad shape now. Between the PC police, extended wars, and dwindling man power, it is in pretty bad shape.
 

theoledog

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I grew up in the "Draft" era... Was scheduled for induction by way of my low lottery ### post graduation in 1973....
Dick Nixon changed the course of my life (in some way) by cancelling all draft notices and began the shut down process of the VN War....

My son chose the USMC as his daddy for four years... He says, as a volunteer, that he prefers to serve beside guys who want to be "in", over those forced (by draft) to enter the service.... That's his POV as a younger man.

I say, the public has little investment in policy decisions that effect young mens lives, because the Military is populated with the "all volunteer" Army. That is a bad thing IMHO.... The Draft, in the end, turns out Military men the same as does those that Volunteer... The difference is in the bus ride to the induction center... Perhaps a volunteer is looking forward to the experience but in the end The Military molds body and mind to do the task at hand...
 

dgtatu01

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I don't think the military should be a requirement, but I think 2 years of public service would be great. As someone mentioned earlier, the Peace Corps, Job Corps, Coast Guard, National Guard (with no foreign or war duty required), would all be suitable replacements for military service. Honestly I would move if required to serve in the military. I am glad there are people that serve and I am sure that everyone has good intentions, but I just don't think I can justify putting my life on the line for the geopolitical nonsense that this country has fought over since World War II. The only thing we should have been involved in was finding and killing Bin Laden and what happened to him could have been done without invading Afghanistan. In fact the CIA finding him and SEALS killing him was all that should have been done to him and his henchmen.
 
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BBUK

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That's right. Give the government a chance to brainwash/condition/indoctrinate every male in this country. Two thumbs up.

Only if you let them. They actually try to get you to think and LEAD. If your take is to be brainwashed.....you already are... Be Good
 

DaBossIsBack

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Only if you let them. They actually try to get you to think and LEAD. If your take is to be brainwashed.....you already are... Be Good
If they thought Iraq was a good idea then they need to think a little harder. Same goes for pretty much all of our military involvement post WWII.
 

*CatinIL*

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It should remain voluntary...that way we get the people that want to be in the military in there. I do like the idea of future members of congress and the President needing to have served in the military...that way they have a better understanding of what takes place when you send troops into combat...but this requirement will never happen.
 

Bill Derington

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I don't think mandatory military service at this time would fly, but if we ever get into a major war again an all volunteer military won't cut it.
 

Lexie's Dad

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I'm opposed to mandatory anything. I "get" the concept, but it's not efficient for distributing resources or allocating talent.

I could also make points that each of the following be mandatory:
  • Personal finance classes;
  • Cooking classes;
  • Driver's ed classes;
  • Sex ed classes.
I could probably come up with more.