Just wanted to get everyone’s thoughts on this. Do you feel that every able bodied young, single male has a duty to enlist in the armed forces if Congress declares war? I believe so, although the thought of it scares the hell out of me. What does everyone think?
No I don’t think so. Someone has to stay home and do the jobs that also keep the country running. The military already has 2 million members or so…I doubt they need any more. They are chasing a few thousand terrorists or may possibly declare war on a few militarily inept coutries (Iraq, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Iran, etc).
Sorry to disagree with you, But I say absolutely not. Our army is more than equipped to fight any war in my opinion. If they need help they will institute a draft. At that point it is every able bodied young single males duty to comply IF drafted. They will draft as many as they need IF they need them. I highly doubt that this will be the case however, being that I believe strongly that we have the best most well equipped military in the world.
-Jason
If this was going to be hand to hand combat I would go sign up right now, but since this will be more like a video game war with most American injuries being from “Friendly Fire” I would have to say we don’t need a draft and you as an American will know how to help in your own way. Much of the war will be won right here at home with alternative energy sources and the business of war supplies is already on the move. I have a buddy that works at a “Missle Plant” and he tells me they make this shit that is just like a nuke but no fall out. he also told me they just went into round the clock production.
First of all it is every america’s duty to assist in this effort. Females can now enlisdt if the so choose.
Do not be afraid. As an ex-infantry/special operations officer, I will tell you that only a small percentage of soldiers actually “close with and destroy the enemy” they are the teeth of the wolf, the teeth are useless with out the rest of the wolf.
If you choose not be be combat arms, that is your choice. There is still alot for you to do.
I respect all who serve and those that serve at home.
I will be turning 17 shortly. There is no fuckin way I would enlist for a war, only for the sake of fighting a war. this isn’t the middle ages anymore. no one has a duty to enlist. However, I would go to war if i was drafted, but I would be very reluctant, and I probably wouldn’t make it because I’m colorblind.
Now the truth comes out. Of course war is a good idea, as long as you’re at home. Rationalize your cowardice in any way you please. “I’ll do necessary work at home.” Or “There are enough soldiers.” Give me a break.
If war is like a “video game,” then I’d say you want to push the buttons from your lazy boy chair.
Our grandfathers were much more courageous than we. The real T-men were our grandfathers. Personally, I do not know where our duties lie when it comes to this (do they need us, does our duty manifest itself upon a formal declaration), but they would know and they would follow through. We need to be more like them and less like the generation that is between us.
Hell, maybe I’m just “old fashioned”, but if we enter what appears to be a prolonged conflict, I’m dropping out of college and enlisting. Personally, I feel that is my duty, besides, I wanted to join the military anyway after college. I just feel that I have an obligation to do it, and unfortunately, not too many other teenagers do. They’re too concerned about their own ass and what’s good for them to realize that they can do something that’s good for everyone they care about.
Chris, you hit an important point in you question when you said it “scares the hell out of me.” Well, that’s the whole point of courage. it isn’t an absense of fear, but rather pressing on IN SPITE of that fear, knowing what you are doing is right. If my country is in need of volunteers, I will stand up to be counted. They probably won’t take me (38 yrs old, married, 8 monht old daughter). However, I feel that this is going to be a very different war. If you think that the violence on our soil is over, I think you’re sadly mistaken. We may be the next Isreal as far as terrorist atacks go. There may be as much “action” right in your home town as you could possibly wish for or imagine. In that case, your physical abilities and courage to act will be your biggest asset that you can give to your country. Be ready to act on the local level in an emergency capacity.
I sincerely doubt we’ll need to have a massive enlistment, since it only takes one exterminator for every few thousand roaches :). But all the same, I’ve got an Army Sgt. coming over for dinner tomorrow and I’m likely going to let him recruit me.
We have enough people in the military? The previous administration has brought military readiness to an all time low. War like a video game? Cruise missiles aren’t going to do much good in guerrilla warfare, where there hide outs are caves in mountains. Hell, mass bombing sure did pound the Vietnamese into submission, right? There is a false sense that the U.S. could walk over the Afghans, the same Afghans who fought off the Soviet Union in a prolonged guerrilla war. And this time I’m sure they’ll have the backing of Iraq. It’s one thing to talk how tough you are, it something else to lay it on the line for your country, when our way of life is threatened by cowards.
Sorry if my comments on military readiness were a little off base. My main point however was that it is not our duty to enlist. If you do enlist, thats great that you support your Country in that way but I do not feel the obligation. my point is that our military will institute a draft in the event that we need more manpower. At that point it is our duty to comply if drafted.
-Jason
Hell, I’m 28, and amid all the feelings of anger and frustration at not being able to really do much, I was even kicking around the idea of hitting the reserves,… let’s face it, we have more than evnough forces to obliterate all of the middle east, but I’d much rather ‘do my part’ protecting our soil (and at this point, most of us would only be stationed around like security guards), than sitting at home, possibly being a target anyway!
i wouldn’t enlist, but if i were drafted, i am pretty sure i would comply (depending on the nature of my service- would it be to butcher common people or defend them?). Also, here is one thing i have come to think of. After Vietnam, the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18, because men were giving up their lives, then why couldn’t they vote? Well what about women? this may make me unpopular here, but think about it, women are protected from the draft. So maybe their voting age should have been kept at 21, at the very least. Or they should not be protected from the draft.
Here’s the problems as I see it. This war is going to be fought by ferretting out the cowards from the rocks they’re hiding under (caves in the Afghan dessert). This is going to require shadow ops troops, which are highly trained. That means we have a total of about 29000 available. Is that enough? They’d say a resounding “Hell Yes!” I sincerely hope so. The problem is that we might not be able to train the forces fast enough. It is fortunate that we have the cooperation of the neighboring nations so we can use their airspace. These are definitely interesting times we live in…
In my opinion, to enlist or not to enlist is a personal decision. What we as Americans do have is a DUTY to defend our country. Mike the Lip said in a post several weeks ago that he would rather see his family killed than have to defend them and risk his faggot ass. People like that got themselves fragged in Vietnam as they were a risk to everyone. I hope he and all his followers get drafted. As for those expressing support for enlisting, God bless. You express the true spirit of what our country was built upon and you ARE appreciated by 89% of Americans. The other 11% can kiss my rosy pink ass. Captain Avoids Roids USN Sea Wolves (Ret.)
I’m in my senior year of college, so I’m not wild about dropping out. If there’s a genuine need for enlistment, I will fight and die for my country (if that’s how it must be). I love the United States, but at the moment I would serve no purpose in the armed forces. Hey, I’ve had a good run.
I’ll repeat what I said to a drunk cowboy in a bar this weekend. He saw my long hair and earrings and confronted me about where I stand in all of this. If our numbers get low, I won’t need to be drafted. I’ll save time and cut my hair before enlisting. I’d be proud to serve. And Avoids, sorry to see you couldn’t make it to MT. The weather has been beautiful (Sacajawea has a little snow cap).