Posted on 11/07/2005 3:17:49 AM PST by SuzyQ2
Going to war, more than job opportunities and money for college, is the post-September 11 allure for joining the armed services, military officials say. And, in a trend that bewilders and dismays those opposed to the war in Iraq, enlistment numbers are up and recruiting goals are mostly being met or exceeded.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
Is that the alternative spelling for "wuss"?
The few, the proud...
Semper Fi,
Kelly
The only way I would do this is to have a sixth branch of service. This sixth branch would be for the pacificsts, and their job is to build houses for the homeles, clean up disaster areas, and provide humanitarian aid where needed, letting the other five (counting Coast Guard) focus on protecting our country, instead of handing out bottled water to NOLA.
Heck...I'd go for that! But since we don't have that, I'll have to stick with my original plan and we can agree to disagree. Okay?
I don't want to share a foxhole with a guy who is only there because he is forced to. I also don't want to rely on an airstrike called in by a guy who doesn't want to be in a combat zone.
I only want to fight with guys who want to serve and protect their country.
The Volunteer army (military) has only been in effect since the 1970's. Under your belief none of the foregoing wars this nation has fought since the Revolution would have been fought or won. The true reality is that the front line grunt doesn't fight for national pride or freedom or anything. Once your butt is incountry and on the line...grunts fight for each other. Why do you think the re-enlistment rate overseas is far higher than the initial enlistment rate? Grunts think if they ETS while they're buddies are still on the line and one of those buds gets killed they're at fault for not being there.
I was a recon scout. I was in to protect my country. Of course what you say about the desire of the grunt to protect his unit are true.
However, making the jump to say prior to 1970s as being failures in my opinion is not at all what I said. I said I don't want to rely on a guy who wants to be somewhere else, jodying a soldier's girlfriend.
I want someone I can rely on aiding me if I am putting my life on the line.
And of course I don't mean the guy who once the shooting starts, wishes he were somewhere where he isn't being shot at. Anyone who is sane doesn't want to be in a position where they can be shot. But, there are those who are willing to be in a place where they can be shot because it is needed for them to be there.
I am afraid my inability to express myself is making me sound like I am floundering. I hope that a level head can understand what I mean.
It's not what I said either. I was making the observation that prior to the 1970's there was no VOLAR and that all of Americas past military victories including the World Wars were won with draftees who didn't want to be there at all...but went anyway....because they had no choice except to go to Canada (in the case of 'Nam) or to jail. These conflicts were successes because of draftees...not failures.
I want someone I can rely on aiding me if I am putting my life on the line.
I think that when everybody's life is on the line then the proof is in the pudding past that the draftees will step up to the plate for pure survival. Who cares why they do it as long as the mission is accomplished.
OK, so a draftee can relied upon 75% of the time. Do you want to be lucky and get the three of four that will do the job and let someone else get the one who not only doesn't want to be there, but is busy getting high instead of manning the radio that you are calling on to get an airstrike?
I tell you one thing. If I were in a fire fight in Nam, and I died because we got overrun because the radio man at the airbase was busy getting high, I would ask God to let me monitor the gate with Saint Peter. Then, when Pothead Joe showed up, "Excuse me PEte. I know this guy. I take care of processing him."
Hey, Joe. You'll get your wings in a moment. But, first come over here and take a look at the suffering we avoid up here. Don't get too close to the edge....don't push...no, wait. DOn't jump. Don't jump!"
"Sorry, Pete, he tripped."
ROFLMAO!!! That was GREAT!
However 75% or not...it's how business got done in the old days. It's how business is gonna have to get done in the future....because our committments will have us way overextended with the paltry size of our military at this time thanks to Clinton. If it weren't for HIM yours truly would be a light colonel in the reserves and probably in the sand which would be fine with me...although my wife might not like it too much. It may take another 911....maybe much worse (like a nuke) to finally motivate folks who are products of the public schools to get in and do their duty or suffer a similar fate on their own loved ones....
9/11 is going to be the formative experience of this generation.
It will never be wiped from their minds.
I remember when I joined the Army in 1965 my recruiter got really upset because I wanted to go into the Infantry. I figured that since I was going to stay in and make it a career that was the best place for advancement. I didn't join up frothing at the mouth to go out killing people. However, whenever I met the enemy on the battlefield I did it.
I have met a lot of guys that went into the Army because they wanted to be grunts, paratroopers, Rangers SF, Tankers or artillerymen. Not one of them ever said he did it because he wanted to kill someone.
Oh yeah, after retirement I became a cop too so I guess I should be in an institution.
The DUTY of the United States of America's armed forces is to KILL and DESTROY the enemies of this nation.
Idiots and children find this disturbing.
Which branch did YOU serve in?
"You see, captain is the last officer rank in the US Army where you actually get to pull a trigger as a main part of your job..."
I love it! (Retired Platoon Sergeant, E-7.) I always envied the side-arms of my officers. ;)
During WW-2, pacifist Quakers served honorably on the front lines as medics. Giving that option is the quickest way to seperate the legitimate pacifists from the cowards
When I was in there was a sidearm to envy, the M1911A1 45ACP. I just can't get too excited about the M9 Beretta. Something wimpy about the 9mm in combat. Reports from the sandbox seem to bear that out.
Actually, for the last 17 years I've been a high school teacher in the public schools. The last nine in the inner city. Pal...I'm not a psycho....I'm a SHEEPDOG. This is who I am:
On Sheep, Sheepdogs, and Wolves
By Dave Grossman
One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: "Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another.
Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.
Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.
I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell. Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful. For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.
"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there that will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.
"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."...
If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.
Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, which is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.
But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.
The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheepdog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.
Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa."
Until the wolf shows up! Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.
The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.
Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?
Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed right along with the young ones.
Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.
There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.
There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.
Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.
Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people and parents. -- From sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.
Here is the point I like to emphasize; especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be.
ExSoldier’s personal note: Here I would add to this impressive essay for it does not address those of us NOT in the aforementioned professions of security or protection, but rather those who CHOOSE to be a sheepdog by arming ourselves and staying skilled with those arms. For in this category, there are many more sheepdogs mixed into the herds of sheep than the wolves will ever know or recognize until it's too late for them.
Real players want on the field instead of sitting on the bench.
Real warriors want to be on the field of battle instead of guarding the rear.
But I'll wager you don't know much about either.
In an emergency most people run away from the smoke. Be thankful that there are some who's genetic imprint makes it difficult to run away from danger.
Considering that they teach 'controlled doubles' I'd agree.
Additionally, those drugged hajis don't watch TV or Hollywood and don't always know that they're supposed to die promptly in place when they get shot.
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