[stevew]

this news is just awesome to hear less than 2 weeks before i turn 18. i keep wondering where they expect the troops that they need will come from. because i sure as hell am not enlisting.

Don't worry.

Charlie Rangle loves you.

 

[Reactor]

If they are short (and they are) They'll probably recall inactive reserves. People who were in the military for less than six years are automatically transfered to the inactive reserves at the conclusion of their active service, until they reach six years total.

 

[Fonzie18]

When they kick out your front door, how you gonna come, with your hands on your head or on the trigger of your gun...

Ha, I was listening to that Clash song while reading this thread.

Ditto on not enlisting.

 

[dhbuilder]

forget for a moment the number of kids already killed by the poorly executed invasion...

Invasion was actually very well executed. The war itself was poorly conceived. (I know its nit-picky, just had to throw it in...)
Militarily things have been good, in all reality. Its the aftermath and the lack of an exit strategy that is the biggest issue.

exactly !!!

the funny thing to keep your eye on now is,
all the dems. in congress with the illusion of new found power.
flippin and a floppin over what to do next.
as one by one or all at once they realize they don't have what it takes to keep "W" from doing as he damn well pleases.

"she" doesn't control the purse strings like she thinks she does.

this is gonna get good.

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

exactly !!!

the funny thing to keep your eye on now is,
all the dems. in congress with the illusion of new found power.
flippin and a floppin over what to do next.
as one by one or all at once they realize they don't have what it takes to keep "W" from doing as he damn well pleases.

"she" doesn't control the purse strings like she thinks she does.

this is gonna get good.

AWESOME!.
in spite of everything done by a republican administration, flip-flopping still seems to be an exclusive democrat trait.

 

[Secret Squirrel]

The only way anything gets good is if tomorrow was January '09

 

[LordOpie]

[/IMG]

 

[BurlyShirley]

Anyone watch the speech tonite?

Barrack "Hussein" Obama is talking now on MSNBC

 

[lugnuts]

If they are short (and they are) They'll probably recall inactive reserves. People who were in the military for less than six years are automatically transfered to the inactive reserves at the conclusion of their active service, until they reach six years total.

Actually, it's 8 years total. . .at least in the Army it is.

this news is just awesome to hear less than 2 weeks before i turn 18. i keep wondering where they expect the troops that they need will come from. because i sure as hell am not enlisting.

Ditto on not enlisting.

And whats with all the hate towards enlisting anyways? When you join the military it does not mean that you are signing up to agree with every stupid decision some politician makes for you. It just means that you have the balls, and are willing to serve your country. You think all the troops over there agree with what they are doing?

 

[MMike]

. It just means that you have the balls, and are willing to serve your country. You think all the troops over there agree with what they are doing?

Serve your country.... which means what exactly?

 

[BurlyShirley]

Serve your country.... which means what exactly?

Do the bidding of the democraticly elected government without question. It's not a popular admin and their choices arent popular either, but you still have to have a loyal workforce.

 

[MMike]

Do the bidding of the democraticly elected government without question. It's not a popular admin and their choices arent popular either, but you still have to have a loyal workforce.

Well yes. But I (being the canadian coward that I guess I am), just don't see the "reward" for "serving your country".....especially if you happen to not agree with what you're being forced to do.

 

[RenegadeRick]

Do the bidding of the democraticly elected government without question.

That sounds great. Sign me up. I LOVE it when other people tell me what to do. ESPECIALLY people whose intelligence and actions I don't respect.

lthumbsdown:

 

[BurlyShirley]

Well yes. But I (being the canadian coward that I guess I am), just don't see the "reward" for "serving your country".....especially if you happen to not agree with what you're being forced to do.

Well, for one, you can go to college and get paid for it when you're done like Im doing. Also, anytime you get pulled over/arrested you get to shout "You cant do this to me, Im a veteran" and exclusive rights to the phrase "You dont know man, you werent there!"

 

[BurlyShirley]

That sounds great. Sign me up. I LOVE it when other people tell me what to do. ESPECIALLY people whose intelligence and actions I don't respect.

lthumbsdown:

Well the way I looked at it was that I grew up in a pretty damned great place, and it cost the lives of alot of people for me to live so comfortably, without even the threat of foreign invasion. I figured I owed it to my kids.
Also, you get to travel and blow stuff up which was fun. To be fair, I was just a photojournalist/PR guy, so I had it alot better in the Marines than most, but its cool to say I did it.

 

[$tinkle]

That sounds great. Sign me up. I LOVE it when other people tell me what to do. ESPECIALLY people whose intelligence and actions I don't respect.

lthumbsdown:

BS is right; servitude - by its nature - is unconditionally submissive.

<pre-empt>kinda like slavery.</pre-empt>

 

[MMike]

and exclusive rights to the phrase "You dont know man, you werent there!"

Ooohhh....that DOES sound appealing..

 

[rapp]

Also, anytime you get pulled over/arrested you get to shout "You cant do this to me, Im a veteran"

I tried that a couple weeks ago, it don't work. I had my cammies and flak jacket in the back seat too.

 

[RenegadeRick]

...without even the threat of foreign invasion.

And now you live in a place with the daily threat of terror. And who is beating the terror drum? The US government! This is such an improvement!

 

[JohnE]

You can serve in other ways. Germany has public service rules, 2 years in the Army or 2 years working in hospital or some sort of service.
"You cant do this to me, I work in your parents old folks home!"

 

[lugnuts]

Serve your country.... which means what exactly?

Well, to me it meant volunteering to give up some of my own freedoms, safety, and personal comforts so that my children will never have to.

Hey, call me melodramatic, but thats the way I see it.

Of course I also felt like trying to make a difference in the world, or serve the greater good, or stand up for whats right, or any other number of cliches that you would probably want to pick apart.

My point was that enlisting in the military doesn't make you an evil stormtrooper loyal to Darth Dubya and his oil mongering ways.

 

[lugnuts]

Well, for one, you can go to college and get paid for it when you're done like Im doing. Also, anytime you get pulled over/arrested you get to shout "You cant do this to me, Im a veteran" and exclusive rights to the phrase "You dont know man, you werent there!"

My personal favorite is going to hang out with "old war buddies . . . . you wouldn't understand."
And my veteran plates actually got me out of a parking ticket once!! woo-hoo!

 

[SDH]

I just don't see the "reward" for "serving your country".....especially if you happen to not agree with what you're being forced to do.

That is because you are reaping the rewards/benefits of the folks before you that served..............

 

[jimmydean]

My point was that enlisting in the military doesn't make you an evil stormtrooper loyal to Darth Dubya and his oil mongering ways.

Well, to be honest, it sort of does. Enlisting in the military when the military is being run the way it is now is in no way "serving your country". You are serving the current admin and what ever they decide to do with you. Agree or disagree, you do their bidding for 8 years.

I joined in '91 because I wanted to serve my country. I did that and was proud of what I did. I joined the reserves in '99 because I missed doing just that, serving my country and making a difference.

Well, last year when my ETS rolled around, I couldn't wait to be done. Because the military is NOT making a difference, they are making a mess. That being what it is, i made the choice to no longer take apart in said mess.

Maybe in 5 or 10 years, it will be different. But the mismanagement of the military and it's resources will have a long term affect and will take a very long time to resolve, if it ever can.

 

[lugnuts]

I guess I see what you mean. Perhaps I misspoke.

What I meant was that by joining the military it does not mean that you are 100% a Bush supporter, and in favor of this war, or anything like that. You still can vote however you want. You still have your own opinions. You can serve in the military and be against this war and the way it is run.

However you do have a point that no matter what my opinion is, if I get my orders to go back overseas. . . .I will be going overseas whether I like it or not.

 

[JohnE]

I am military, and am 110% NOT a Bush supporter. To me it is supreme irony that a guy who avoided service in SEA would so willingly send other peoples kids into a hazy war for oil or ME control or whatever his reasons are. To me the supreme test of whether a war is worth fighting is if the POTUS would send his own children to fight in it...

 

[$tinkle]

To me it is supreme irony that a guy who avoided service in SEA would so willingly send other peoples kids into a hazy war for oil or ME control or whatever his reasons are. To me the supreme test of whether a war is worth fighting is if the POTUS would send his own children to fight in it...

that's not irony; that's hypocrisy.

same would have to go for MOC across both aisles who did same.

 

[Silver]

I am military, and am 110% NOT a Bush supporter. To me it is supreme irony that a guy who avoided service in SEA would so willingly send other peoples kids into a hazy war for oil or ME control or whatever his reasons are.

What are you talking about? As far as I know, the Vietnamese never invaded South Texas, and credit for that can be placed directly at the feet of George W. Bush for his willingness to sometimes serve in the Texas Air Guard.

 

[jimmydean]

...and credit for that can be placed directly at the feet of George W. Bush for his willingness to sometimes serve in the Texas Air Guard.

Willingness to sometime serve, now that's funny.

 

[RenegadeRick]

Well, to me it meant volunteering to give up some of my own freedoms, safety, and personal comforts so that my children will never have to.

Apparently America's youth agrees with you:

800,000 Privileged Youths Enlist To Fight In Iraq
'We've Been So Selfish'
January 10, 2007 | Issue 43•02

WASHINGTON, DC—Citing a desire to finally make a difference in Iraq, in the past two weeks, more than 800,000 young people from upper-middle- and upper-class families have put aside their education, careers, and physical well-being to enlist in the military, new data from the Department Of Defense shows.

"I don't know if it was the safety and comfort of the holidays or what, but I realized that my affluence and ease of living comes at a cost," said Private Jonathan Grace, 18, who was to commence studies at Dartmouth College next fall, but will instead attend 12 weeks of basic training before being deployed to Fallujah with the 1st Army Battalion. "I just looked at my parents in their cashmere sweaters and thought, 'Who am I to go to an elite liberal arts college and spend all my time reading while, in the real world, thousands of kids my age are sacrificing their lives for our country?' It's not right."

Added Grace: "Whether I agree with the war or not, our president needs us, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let our least advantaged citizens bear the brunt of this awesome burden."

At the on-campus temporary recruitment table at Reed College in Portland, OR, the line of students eager to sign up for active duty stretched around the block Monday. Recruiters across the country reported a similar trend, with scores of young people asking how soon they could be ready to go to battle in Iraq.

"They don't have these recruitment centers where I live," said Daniel Feldman, 26, who resides in the affluent neighborhood of Brookline, MA and recently passed his bar exam. "I didn't realize you could just sign up, but now that I do, all of my friends from law school, yoga class, and temple are going to join, too. And not the Reserves either. We're talking down and dirty, right on the front lines."

Drill sergeants at boot camps in South Carolina and San Diego, though at first skeptical of the recent crop of potential Marines, said they have been impressed by their work ethic, claiming the wealthy youngsters' desire to "do their part" is undeniable.

"They haven't complained once since getting here," Sergeant Greg Forenczek said of the new upper-crust recruits. "Usually, after the first two hours, you know who's going to get dismissed early, but not with these kids. There's a fire in their eyes—a fearless passion to become U.S. soldiers"

"They inspire me," Forenczek added.

New Marine Sierra Pettingill, a 22-year-old sociology major who left Duke University before her final semester, said she felt compelled to serve after realizing she did not have a single acquaintance who had died, or even served, in Iraq.

"I was sending out invitations to my champagne-brunch birthday get-together when I heard that U.S. military casualties in Iraq had reached 2,900," Pettingill said. "I decided then and there that I would not allow this inherently unequal system to perpetuate any longer, no matter how much I want to go have martini night at the Oak Room."

Though most of the privileged enlistee youths said they were motivated by a newfound concern that America's reputation could be permanently damaged with a loss in Iraq, others have cited the examples set by their relatives as instrumental in their decision to join.

"My great-great-great-great grandfather would not have been able to make a fortune in the fur trade and real-estate business had it not been for the brave people who fought in the Revolutionary War," said 24-year-old John Jacob Astor VIII, who has put all of his business ventures on hold indefinitely. "My children are going to know the importance of stepping up to the plate when their nation needs them."

"From this day forth, the Astor name will be synonymous with sacrifice," he added.

U.S. Gen. John Abizaid, who has in the past argued against a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, now says that with the influx of nearly a million troops expected to be on the ground Feb. 1, the region should be stabilized within six weeks.

 

[LordOpie]

Apparently America's youth agrees with you:

I find that hard to believe.

 

[skinny mike]

I find that hard to believe.

the onion...

 

[LordOpie]

the onion...

Exactly.

 

[SDH]

Sure the kids that probably had everything handed to them now want to get down and dirty............HA. Give them a healthy dose of a Marine DI and a touch of combat and I bet they will be singing a different tune. I have seen some of the toughest guys in my nieghborhood come back very humbled!

I always loved the well off kids in college that actually thought it romantic to struggle and "keeping it real" and us inner city kids who did that most of our lives looked at them like they have been on the pipe.

 

[lugnuts]

Apparently America's youth agrees with you:

cute. I especially like the headline.

 

[JRogers]

I guess I see what you mean. Perhaps I misspoke.

What I meant was that by joining the military it does not mean that you are 100% a Bush supporter, and in favor of this war, or anything like that. You still can vote however you want. You still have your own opinions. You can serve in the military and be against this war and the way it is run.

However you do have a point that no matter what my opinion is, if I get my orders to go back overseas. . . .I will be going overseas whether I like it or not.

Which, in many ways, is of limited utility.

I support veterans and current soldiers and considered enlisting before I went to college, but there's no way in hell I would do it now. I love my country, but I don't have many grandiose ideas about serving it. I think it's ridiculous that most people limit "serving your country" to following the orders of its government. I serve my country, not its government. To me, there is a distinction and it's a big one.

 

[JohnE]

"I serve my country, not its government. To me, there is a distinction and it's a big one."
Agreed. Well said.

 

[$tinkle]

Which, in many ways, is of limited utility.

I support veterans and current soldiers and considered enlisting before I went to college, but there's no way in hell I would do it now. I love my country, but I don't have many grandiose ideas about serving it. I think it's ridiculous that most people limit "serving your country" to following the orders of its government. I serve my country, not its government. To me, there is a distinction and it's a big one.

serve the country, but not the gov't seems a lot like "i support the troops, but not the war".

the 2 are tightly coupled; there is no magic line over which exactly one is supported at the expense of the other.

 

[narlus]

"They don't have these recruitment centers where I live," said Daniel Feldman, 26, who resides in the affluent neighborhood of Brookline, MA and recently passed his bar exam. "I didn't realize you could just sign up, but now that I do, all of my friends from law school, yoga class, and temple are going to join, too. And not the Reserves either. We're talking down and dirty, right on the front lines."

hahahahaaaaa

 

[RenegadeRick]

serve the country, but not the gov't seems a lot like "i support the troops, but not the war".

the 2 are tightly coupled; there is no magic line over which exactly one is supported at the expense of the other.

Troops are people. You can support the people with out supporting the war they are serving in. The distinction seems pretty clear to me.