I take some offense. I served 24 years. Should I have quit during the 8 years Clinton was president? He did plenty of damage. I don’t mean to be confrontational.
If good people refuse to serve, what good does that do our country as a whole? I have 3 sons, my oldest is showing keen interest in attending a service academy (we have several Naval Academy and West Point grads in the extended family).
Despite current political conditions, those academies are far better than almost all liberal higher education institutions.
What should we all do? Just give up? Hell no I say. If my son wants to serve it’s still a great path. You can still love your country, fight for it, and resists the imbeciles currently in charge.
And yes, I will admit that if he saves me $200 K in college tuition I won’t say no to that. His second choice is Stanford University (although he will apply for ROTC scholarships too, so maybe not too bad a financial hit).
The values I was taught at The Boat School, and what I acquired in the Marines, were fantastic. Now...they're toxic masculinity. Our Founders aren't men worthy of admiration- they're just a bunch of racists. Capitalism is evil and exploitative. And worst of all is the squelching of free political thought and speech.
Are we truly still a country where individual liberty is the central value? Because I always considered that the core "bargain" of my military service. Civilians are obliged to keep this a country worth defending, and I'll defend it. Well...they're no longer holding up their end of that bargain.
They mock our values while expecting us to protect theirs,and unfortunately, the rot has become deeper than just one election. Those values have become pervasive among far too many young people. This crap will continue to be pushed down our throats as long as they get away with it, and keeping the mliitary fully staffed despite the culture war is part of what they want. A "strike" by those of us who traditionally served is one way to let them know they have gone too far.
How about the Merchant Marine Academy? People tend to forget it exists.
My nephew was awarded the top Air Force ROTC scholarship; the one with full tuition, Room and Board, and a stipend for all 4 years. An Air Force Captain came and presented a certificate at the school’s award assembly. A week after high school graduation, he got a letter informing him he was medically ineligible due to a peanut allergy reaction when he was 8.
That was in 2018. Now I’m glad he was disqualified, but at the time it was disgraceful. He had worked with the military doctors, sent all his records just to have them say just kidding.;