Posted on 07/10/2006 9:56:57 AM PDT by MplsSteve
At 17, Leo Valle was dazzled by the money and other perks that came with service in the National Guard. So in March, the South St. Paul resident signed up to join.
He soon had second thoughts.
Valle's parents, who had given their written consent, didn't want him to go. His girlfriend was against it, too. When Valle saw a video about the rigors of basic training, he decided he had made the wrong decision. "I didn't want to do it anymore," he said recently. "They yell in your face and you take orders."
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Sounds as though he will be taking orders for the rest of his life.
And then asking if the person would like fries.
I agree.
I did not want to make it a career, but I can safely say it was probably the most influential time of my life.
I learned a lot, including how to be *really* responsible, and how to stand up for myself and take care of myself.
Having come from a Navy family (son of 30 year USN veteran) I knew what a chain of command was, what it meant, and why it was important. I also knew how to take orders and answer them with "Yes Sir/Ma'am", "No Sir/Ma'am".
If you don't have those skills by being a military brat, the military teaches them when you join. And those simple skills can take you a long, long way in life.
.............wow, just love your tagline.....!!
one from the vault...:
MaryJo Kopechne to Ted Kennedy: "Ted.....
um, er, well, I think I'm pregnant...!
what should we do...!!??"
Ted: "Don't worry, MaryJo; we'll cross that
bridge when we come to it....!"
1...I refused to let him serve under Clinton...and in 99 it was uncertain who would win in 2000....I told the recruiter to call back after the election, he had a real good chuckle out of that!...
2...I wanted my son to get a college education first and go to OCS.....
3...We fought over this (screaming matches) for several days..my hubby agreed with my son, I held firm and won out.
4...It was bad enough my hubby was serving under Clinton and didn't want the same for my son and possibly even algore.
5..my son stayed in school and got an associates degree in criminology before 911...then all bets were off...
.....absolutely.....!! of course, I went to boot camp
many, many years ago, too... our recruit company lived in mortal fear of our Company Commander, a First Class Machinist's Mate....he made no bones about who was in charge, too.... in retrospect, it was a very valuable experience...hell, I'd do it all over again, except I'd probably stay on Active Duty.... in the Air Force, though....!!!
A million lifetimes ago (the 70's, after Vietnam) the Air Force and I decided I would make a great languages expert. See the world, work in embassies, just the kinda thing a small-town girl wants to do. I passed all their tests, and went to be sworn in.
As we were filling out the paperwork, the female boss of the room decided to ream someone out because they put some info on the wrong line. I realized that my signature would be a problem with this lady, and also realized that I was used to giving orders, not taking them. I left (oh, I know you vets are gonna slam me!). I think I saved the Air Force a lot of time and money on me!
Point being that I knew *before* I signed that this wasn't going to work, for either of us. This kid sounds like a whiner who should be made to jump thru all the hoops to get out, but in the interest of the Guard, should no way be a soldier!
He signed his name on the dotted line like an adult; he's got to take the consequences like an adult.
"I hope all that criticize this guy have already been to boot camp..."
Yep, I have. Got yelled and AND took orders. Somehow, I managed to survive and even learn a few things.
Not that any of that matters, troll-boy. This is a non-story at best. I've known numerous people to change their minds about joining at the last minute. They just didn't offer up such panty-waste type reasons.
"Sounds as though he will be taking orders for the rest of his life.
And then asking if the person would like fries."
LOL!!
When Valle failed a 40-question test, he got a tutor to help him pass the second time, Olson said.
I'm assuming that this was the ASVAB test, though it seemed to be a lot longer than 40 questions when I took it. My question is, how could anyone actually fail that test? The average idiot can pass that test with ease.
Why did he sign up in the first place?
Do they have new computer games you can play in recruiting offices?
I bet he doesn't make it through basic. We lost 40% of the guys that started basic with us, and that was only a 6 week AF basic training.
Isn't life about following the rules, be it in the military or civilian life? Most people work for a superior, most people have to do what is asked of them. It is a give and take. You perform your duties, you are compensated.
Not to mention, he truly doesn't understand what following the law actually means. His contract with the military does involve the law.
This country was wrested from tyranny and held together by men often younger than 17. In the past 17 year olds were often married and started on their families. It has only been in recent times that the minor/adult cutoff has been set at 18 (and in some cases, 21).
unlike Lt. 'Hakuna' Watada, we haven't wasted money on training for this kid.
I see no harm, no foul.
When I started reading this article I thought that some military discipline is exactly what this boy needs. By the end I felt that they should just let him out of his commitment, he just isn't worth the time and effort to to train.
Back during WWII, my dad ran away from home and and enlisted 2 times before he was old enough to (he lied about his age). Both times he was kicked out. The third time he finally talked his parents into signing him in at age 16. During his basic training a Drill Sergent took him out behind the barracks and beat the s**t out of him. Dad later said that it was one of the best things that ever happened to him as as it knocked some sense into him. Course this was back in the days when D.S.'s could do this and nothing would happen to them.
If "experience" was a prerequisite for posting on FR, we'd all be refreshing blank pages, huh?
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