Former Military People: Would You Do It Again? Even Now?

[mopaul]

p.s... if you were drafted, the question has to be reframed.

[MindPilot]

1. Yes but...

The country would have to face a real threat from a real enemy...like the White House. And I don't think I would be as tolerant of bullshit as I was thirty years ago.

USN, Vietnam 72-73.

[jonnyblitz]

2. no. nt

[enlightenment]

3. Yes, and agree with the poster above.

The military is not the problem (though they have their fair share, obviously) -- this mal-administration is the problem.

USAF 79-84

on edit: specifically, post #2

[oneighty]

4. Yes I would

I miss the long cold dark nights huddled on the deck of the steel hull 220 foot long minesweeper dragging the contact mine sweep gear 1500 yard off the North Korean Coast. I remember sometimes the ship wallowing in the heavy seas and the cold water washing over we sailors huddled there waiting for the ship to be blown out of the water.

I remember most of all in the dark of night the bright flash of cannon fire over on the mainland where I knew for sure our brothers in arms were screaming and bleeding and dying, guilty I am, glad that I am safe at sea. More or less safe, but certainly safer than they were.

Some time later with the mine-disposal team in Wonsan Harbor I watched in fear as the diver below released a Russian mine free from its anchor and the mine popped to the surface a few yards from the LCPR with the red and white shark's mouth painted graceful on the bow. We waited for the explosion of the surfaced mine which did not happen. It was a new mine and recovered for exploitation by our ordnance experts.

Then there was seven more war free years also filled with great heart pounding adventure as I fulfilled my dreams of being a deep sea diver.

Yes I would do it again.

180

[getmeouttahere]

5. Nope...

USN 1985-88

I had a hard enough time keeping my mouth shut back then, and I got out of my reserve duty early.

But at least I served (and have the DD214 to prove it!) unlike BushCo

[Dr.Phool]

6. No way!

USN '69-'71.

Lying bastards reneged on every promise they made in my enlistment contract. They wouldn't like me very much now.

[Nordmadr]

7. I would have done it again, but not now, not for this war and

not for this administration.

Army National Guard 1990 - 1991
USN Active - 1991 - 1995

Olaf

[ThomWV]

8. Yes

I wasn't drafted but I joined (4-year enlistment) on the day I was to have been drafted, so there really wasn't any choice. I was going into the Army on December 6, 1966 one way or another.

I served just under 4 years, and just under 36 months of that time was in the Republic of Viet Nam. Just another troop on the ground. Got there as a Private (E-2) and got out as a Sargent. I carried essentially the same medals with me as Senator Kerry when I got home. I was not an Officer, just a grunt on the ground.

Would I do it again today. Yes, I would. I would not do it happily but I would go again were I a much younger man. Like the writer above I would take less bullshit, and there is plenty to be had, but I'd probably be a better soldier.

Why would I do it with the full knowledge that we are led by a corrupt regime? Because I believe that one must serve his or her country unconditionally and without concern to what is right and what is wrong in its operation or deployment. That is the duty of each of us as a citizen. However at the same time we also have the responsibility to control our Government. That is the failure of the present, we have lost control over our own Government. The argument that Guns don't kill people, people kill people rings true for me. By the same token the Military doesn't enter into unjust wars, Governments enter into unjust wars. Put the blame where it belongs.

So, in my convoluted logic manditory military service is a good and necessary thing but at the same time it is the responsibility of each of us to exercise control over the Government that drives that military. I would not abandon the former because of failure to accomplish the latter.

[lateo]

9. Yes,

But I would lead an internal rebellion.

[TahitiNut]

10. It's easy to sit back and yell "Let George do it!"

We deserve to lose any semblance of "democracy" when we rationalize our relative inaction by pointing a finger at military personnel and telling 'em that they should refuse to obey orders. It's easy to ignore their imprisonment. It's easy to ignore their dishonorable discharge. It's easy to ignore the inequitable burden we place on the shoulders of a few.

That's much of what happened during the Viet Nam Era. Just blame the troops. Just blame the guy who didn't move to Canada and never mind the fact that some other poor schmuck would have been drafted in his place. It's easy to point a finger at someone else.

Democracy isn't a spectator sport. It's one thing to give lip service to whistle-blowers and another thing to ignore the lifetime of hardship they encounter after being black-balled in their careers. It's one thing to march in a protest parade (conveniently scheduled so we don't suffer the inconvenience of missing a day of work) and another thing to engage in the pretentious naysaying against an 'unelectable' candidate, whether that's Eugene McCarthy or Dennis Kucinich.

If only those folks who arrogantly declare "they should refuse to fight" were to engage in a national strike, it'd be enough. But they don't. They'd rather proclaim "Let George do it!"

[PsN2Wind]

12. As usual TH

you put things in there proper perspective
PsN2Wind, USN 57-61, USAF 61-64

[Obamanaut]

14. Nicely put indeed. I wish I could put words together

the way you do. To answer the question, yes I would. MOST of the military people I encountered in my career were people who just did that for a living, a means to feed and clothe their families. They were aunts, uncles, grandparents, school board members, parents, children. It is true that SOME have personality disorders that cause them to commit atrocities, but I like to believe they are the exception rather than the rule. I believe that the only ones (on either side) who really want war are the ones who are heavily invested in munitions, construction, and the like.

USN '60 - '88

[Aristus]

11. Hell no! Draft the Republicans if they love war so much!

I already helped America out during its first war for oil. I'll be damned if I do it again!

However, if I DID go in again, I'd be a medic this time. No question about it.

[Hubert Flottz]

13. No, because this is the thanks we got, for the last time!

Donald Rumbo-con had this to say about the draftees during the Vietnam era...

"The disadvantages to the individuals so brought in are notable. If you think back to when we had the draft, people were brought in; they were paid some fraction of what they could make in the civilian manpower market because they were without choices. Big categories were exempted -- people that were in college, people that were teaching, people that were married. It varied from time to time, but there were all kinds of exemptions. And what was left was sucked into the intake, trained for a period of months, and then went out, adding "no value, no advantage, really," to the United States armed services over any sustained period of time, because the churning that took place, it took enormous amount of effort in terms of training, and then they were gone."

I think I hate that mother worse than I hate BUSH!

[Stinky The Clown]

15. I joined during the early part of the vietnam war era

Navy and then reserves .... 67 to 72. I am the son of a WWII veteran and have WWII veterans on both sides of my family. It was a 'duty to country' thing for me back then.

I still hold 'duty to country' dear. Honorable. Before self. Patriotic in the best sense of the word.

But this war and this administration? No way. Not me and not my sons. No fucking way. Patriotism now is to oppose this war (and, indeed, in hindsight, the Vietnam War).

But for a *real* reason? Yes, absolutely. In a heartbeat.

(Side note to idiot son ....... congratulations, George, you've created a whole new generation of antiwar military veterans.)

[cynatnite]

16. Yes, I would

I served in good units with some great people. The military was good to me. I don't fault the service members for what this regime does and the way I see it, they are the ones who need our support more than anything.

86-90 army medic
90-92 army reserves

[malmapus]

17. Yes, along the lines most have said

Not for this administration though, but my time in is what made me who I am today. I've kept quite a bit of what I learned from being in and carried it on with everyday life. Like the fact that buddies mean alot to me, and I never leave one behind. Have been known to go out of my way to help another out even if I'm not in the best shape to do it.

Plus there are times that I miss the weekly 6 mile ruck marches we would do in the morning for PT, and the dog pile my team would do when we'd finish. The whole bonding that you have when you're in, there really is nothing like it out here. There's wasn't a guy that I wouldn't of taken a bullet for when I was in. I can't say that about many people I've met since I've been out. Heck, not many guys would break down and cry in front of either but it happened in there too heh.

[ls317]

18. ........

With myself having 16 years in the military,with less than 4 years to go before I draw a 50% pension.
Army 88-98
Reserve/National Guard 99- Present
1 rotation complete 15 months in Iraq( Jan 2004-April 2005) with a strong chance that I may have to go back once again..
On paper my enlistment is slated to end 12/15/2005
Date of separation:Because of stop-loss( Indefinite)

Really I am having a hard time with attempting to complete my twenty years.

[Toots]

19. I would not give up my military past for anything but I would not wish it

upon my worst enemy. If America wer to be attacked by another country and we were truly at war I would not hesitate to fight for my country.

[reprobate]

20. Do it again? Sure. Do it again now? Not by your shorthairs.

Of course, I was in during peacetime, just when Viet Nam was starting to get into a frenzy. Good times. Trained as a Comm Tech and went to England for three years. Fought the Battle of Britain every weekend down in SOHO.

Seriously, it was four years that turned the boy who enlisted into the man who grew into the silverback of today. It's an experience that I think everyone should go thru at age eighteen. A chance to grow and learn discipline, SELF discipline, which is sorely lacking in todays youth. And let's be honest, the shortarm inspection is something that no one should miss in this lifetime.

Do it again today? Not by Mad George's shorthair. This is a case of executive treason by a govenment that is out of control and cares not one whit about it's citizens.

On the other hand, I'd be glad to serve on the gallows team at the Hague after the war crimes trubunal.



USAF '61-'65

[bumblebee1]

21. Would I serve in the military again?

Not under this regime!!! I wouldn't recommend this to any of mine or my husband's family members.

U S Navy 1980-1992

[Orsino]

22. Do what again, exactly?

I'm a Gulf War I-era vet who served through most of the nineties. It was a good experience for me.

File me with the "not under this regime" crowd, but I am increasingly of the opinion that even a Kerry Administration would be picking fights to appease big corporate donors.

I know a fellow who is just completing his Basic Training at Ft. Benning, and who will soon be in Airborne training. I'm frightened for him. He said he wanted some excitement.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

23. Join the Marine Crotch again? There ain't enough whiskey in the world.

I can safely say that it was stupidest thing I ever did in the 61 years I've been breathing. I'll leave it to the other adolescents who have been led to believe that toting a gun and having muscles makes one a "man".