I'd say I was being pretty specific with calling you out on one area in which you are obviously out of touch with reality. The culture in the military has greatly change in just the time since my son enlisted (2005). I hear from him often regarding changes, and most of which are NOT FOR THE BETTER, as you claim.
OK, well, I joined in 1998. I’ve been through Clinton, Bush, and, now, Obama. It’s much the same. In some ways better, in some ways worse. Your son never saw the garrison Army like I did. Now that the war is winding down, he’ll get his chance. I hope he likes working long hours for the sake of working long hours and doing all of those wonderful invented tasks NCOs come up with in order to keep Soldiers busy. My favorite was a First Sergeant who made his company flip over rocks in a rock bed b/c they were “too hot.” That kind of crap stopped in a hurry due to high optempo, deployments, and training. Now we’re getting back to stupidity again.
The cultural decay you all are foaming at the mouth to convince me of? I can only shrug my shoulders at it. The military is a subset of our national culture, nothing more. This country has been on the downward slide for a long, long time. Why are you so surprised/angry that some of it has wormed its way into the military? What did you do to stop it before it reached its current levels? Why did you fail me and your son?
Now, as to how bad it is around here. Well, let’s look at that. How long has your employer embraced homosexuals? I can honestly say mine just really started. Can you? While the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy was still in effect, I could easily rattle off half-a-dozen homosexuals within 100m of my workspace. I spoke my piece to those who would listen, not that anyone cares what a Captain thinks, but the policy was repealed by people many, many levels above me. The net effect, so far, has been zero.
You people complain about removal of crosses and this complete B.S. about how we’re going to start court-martialing Christians. Frankly, the Chaplains I’ve run into have always been rather milquetoast or downright not religious. My Soldiers told me about their prior Chaplain who openly watched porn on their first deployment. But, when was the last time you saw a major organization open and close a professional gathering with prayer? We just did last month. Can you say that?
The military (Army in particular since that’s what I know best) has its issues, God knows I know, but these vain attempts to get me to resign my commission in outrage over “what has been done” are just stupid and childish. We’re still professionals doing a job, it’s that simple.
not just your son, I even told about others who have just got back and told me how he saw his officer wearing a dress, how homosexuals tried to get married quarters, how there is a case right now on a camp about homosexuality
some care about promotions but then again when some join for their freebies and not for love of country then it does nto surprise me