In our family, eight men over three generations volunteered for military service, but never again. All the services are now left-wing social engineering experiments. Any resemblance to a meritocracy is now gone. My son (Marine) and I (Navy) now council against joining.
Thank you for you and your family’s service. Both of my sons served (Army,Navy). My mother lost her only brother to WW2 (first mission over Germany). Dad was 15 when it ended; was married, with one child, and was a farmer when Korea started, had a second child before it ended (I came along in 54), so he never got called up.
That first child (son) died in a farm accident 5 days from 16 in ‘66. The draft ended a year before my lottery. If it hadn’t my mother probably would have considered disabling me enough to keep me out, even though the family doc said my lower spine would have gotten me rejected anyway.
Say it again, brother! My maternal grandfather fought in WWI, for Scotland. My dad and stepfather served during WWII, also an uncle on my mom's side. An older stepbrother served in Nam. My FIL served in the Army during the Korean War, stationed in Germany. One of his cousins survived D-Day.
I was on active duty at the start of the AVF, from 76-84. Army, Air Defense Artillery. I spent my 4+ years with the same battalion, 6/56 ADA, motto "Night Hides Not"...oops, I just outed myself.
I loved my time in Germany, never really wanted to leave. Unique assignment, air base defense. We had composite Chaparral/Towed Vulcan batteries at Hahn, Bitburg, and Spangdahlem.
Before my next comment, allow me to say the Army treated me very well, they paid for college and I had some great assignments.
I have close to a dozen nephews, along with my two sons. I have never advised them to join the military. It's not the military we knew, and the Courtney Massengales have run off the Sam Damons. I fell far short of resembling Sam, of course, though I gave it a good effort. There were sufficient run-ins with staff pukes and REMFs that kept me from a career.
That was my trump card, never intending to make it a career. I refused to be cowed into submisson by a micro managing superior. Best relationship was with my last battalion commander in Germany, whom I also worked for back at Fort Bliss.
Not only is our military too woke, our generals continue to insist on preparing for the last war. Air Force should be buying thousands upon thousands of drones, as opposed to the next $150 million jet fighter that will be obsolete the moment the first one is delivered.
Where is the leadership today? Case in point: the young soldier that drowned in the Rio Grande. Where were the rules of engagement, where were the flotation devices? IMO, the entire chain of command should have been relieved over the loss of that soldier.
No, it's time for the sons and daughters of our politicians and elites to shoulder the burden of their parents' leadership failures. Don't bring back the draft: rich boys have found a way to avoid the draft since the War Between the States.
Apologies for the length and failure to stay on topic. The Battle of Midway is one of our greatest military victories. If you're ever in Fredericksburg, TX, they have an excellent museum of The War in the Pacific. It's a history lesson unto itself, and the birthplace of Admiral Nimitz is just across the street. You can spend several hours in it, and barely scratch the surface.