Posted on 04/21/2014 9:57:37 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
It may come as an unwelcome surprise to conservatives, but Americas military has one of the only working models of collective living and social welfare the country has ever known.
Every day before dawn, brave men and women of different races and backgrounds rise as one, united by a common cause. They march together in formation, kept in step by their voices joined in song. These workers leave their communal housing arrangements and go toil together in the field. While they are out doing their days labor, their young are cared for in subsidized childcare programs. If they hurt themselves on the job, they can count on universal health care. Right under your nose, on the fenced-in bases you drive past on your way to work or see on the TV news, a successful experiment in collectivization has been going on for years.
In an era defined by 13 years of continuous war, most Americans still seem to regard the U.S. military as a mysterious and remote way of life. Then a tragedy involving a soldier or veteran happens, and reliably experts come forward to explain the strange customs of the folkloric troop in its native habitat. Shame that so many of the experts seem to have barely a clue what the military is really like. Theyve studied it from a distance without getting a real feel for the customs and characteristics of the culture theyre eager to explain.
It probably comes as a surprise to many, but the army may have more in common with Norway than Sparta....
(Excerpt) Read more at thedailybeast.com ...
I poked him a little.
Figured this was a thread right up his alley.
So far, he still has yet to explain why he believes the military are mercenaries “because they get paid”.
Maybe he’ll make a thread laying out his case?
Maybe if he’s real good, he can lay out logical reasons on why the military shouldn’t be paid.
I’m honestly curious as to why he hates us so much, calls us Rambo wannabes, skinheads, and thinks that we’re mercenaries specifically because we get paid.
You mean troops don’t get free checks to work on their art and music talents that they have no market for?
Sounds like an extreme Paulestinian (Rontard), but I could be wrong. Wonder what he thinks I was buying with that $397 a month, before taxes and other deductions? If he thinks I joined the Army for that amount of money, when I could have easily made up to 10X as much on the outside, I don’t know what to say.
*shrugs*
Maybe we’ll see an explanation.
Maybe not.
Likely not.
Not holding my breath.
You can say that the pay system is similar to a socialist model. An E5 digging ditches and an E5 working on sophisticated electronics makes the same pay. All the other stuff don’t really compare.
The Air Force offers special duty pay, hazardous duty pay, incentive pay and reenlistment bonuses to encourage service in certain hard to fill career fields. I’m sure other services do the same.
Very few bonuses these days. Most of your had to fill career fields are in the maintenance areas.
You can leave the service when your enlistment is up, you can’t leave a socialist/fascist state like we now have.
I will die in a socialist/fascist country as a slave to the collective, I was born a free man in a country known as America.
That's what I was thinking too. Socialism? Not really seeing it. Now if he had said the military is a Nanny Staters Paradise, I could agree. Anyone who has spent time on any base of any service is familiar with the mind-numbing volume of chickensh*t rules governing every aspect of life.
Military people are eager to get the benefits promised to them and deserved, if you want to call that socialist, go for it. I’d bet you have no up close experience with the military, hmmmm???
My military retiree husband died fairly young, mentally ill and had let life insurance run down to virtually nothing. So I faced my middle age and old age with nothing. Then they let me buy into that pension thing, I used the small ant he did get from life insurance to buy into that plan and I thank God for the small payment I get each month for the rest of my life. Still, I should get his retirement. But I don’t and I won’t get what I should, so I’m thankful for this.
Right.
When people realize that the pension is gone quickly, they wisely get the survivors benefit.
Paul Ryan threatened to take that away. As if it’s ok. As if anyone would dream of doing that in the private sector.
People are completely ignorant and yet judgemental about military compensation.
They believe that you should give that up, without recognition, and while the govt is giving away resources to people who (yes some need it) do not want to work, or cannot afford to work, as a result of govt policies.
If Michelle Obama gave half what she spends on a vacation to a pension fund, it would set at least a few people up for life, who’ve given everything to the military.
From each, according to their ability, to each according to their needs... Dad, and maybe mom, generate revenues. The new baby has lots of needs, and his big sister is a special needs child and needs lots more, but their older brother Simon is a healthy teen, and he mostly covers himself with his paper route money. They work harder and cooperate and share and sacrifice because they love each other. I, and most others, will NOT do it so that families in Baltimore and Pine Bluff and Catawba OH can have as much (or more) than the ones I do actually love and care for.
So it's the fault of the actual servicemember's that Iraq and Afghanistan are potential failures?
Last time I checked, the frackin' ahole in the WH is the CinC...
Your comment is frackin' stupid, because just about everyone of the servicemembers "accomplished some damn things"...the military performed quite honorably with the ROE and constraints imposed against them in order to ensure that they could not win.
And the thing is, they did it KNOWING they had little chance to be successful, but still followed orders and did their level best to perform as professionals.
"...self aggrandizement..."?
Get bent.
?
Not every military female who is pregnant is single...so your comment indicates that you’re full of crap and I suspect you’re taking this whole thing just a tad too personally...
Pregnant females are a liability in the military and others are forced to pick up their workload as a result of the US military being a “social experimentation” workshop.
I wish all the C5’s were getting the re-engining...I read where Dover is getting 18 of the modified birds, I suspect Travis is as well...something like 50 birds total, so Altus is probably going to have some for training I suspect.
Cut my teeth on them...a mechanic’s jet engine...had to have game if you worked on them.
Ryan is dead to me, I’ll NEVER support him and will campaign against him if for no other reason than he does not support our military (or Rand Paul, who supports illegal immigration)
WHY can’t we get a truly conservative representative? We keep getting these jerks who are conservative in a few ways and then support the Democrats in other ways. puke!
Ryan is dead to me, I’ll NEVER support him and will campaign against him if for no other reason than he does not support our military (or Rand Paul, who supports illegal immigration)
WHY can’t we get a truly conservative representative? We keep getting these jerks who are conservative in a few ways and then support the Democrats in other ways. puke!
It’s personal?
No
Statistics please otherwise you sound misogynous
No, just expect the American people to live up to their commitments. We were the ones who risked our lives, lost years with our families, lived and sometimes fought in the armpits of the world while know-it-alls like you enjoyed the benefits of freedom and safety.
It might have been somewhat palatable if everyone else took the same cuts - like our Congressmen or our other "leaders", but no, we were singled out.
I used to resent people like you during my time in service but age and wisdom have taught me that the people who didn't volunteer know themselves best and know that they don't have the talent. We were better off without you.
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