What is the worst excuse a Republican gave you for not enlisting?

[FunkyLeprechaun]

On a message board (I just posted this in another thread, sorry if there's rules against reposting but...)

Republican after I asked her to ask her daughter to enlist: "i did, she didn't want to, now she's working 16/7 and has two boys to raise. When she was 18, the military was so full she wasn't needed. Get off the ur horse already, u can't enlist and you have no kids, so stfu!!"

Which leads me to the question: has the military ever been too full?

Just wondering.

[RPM]

1. he gives moral support to the troops and president

I said - hooray for you you fucking cheerleader. strap on a helmet and get on the field you pussy.

[LastKnight]

2. too full? my BS-o-meter just went off...

as far as i know they've always been looking for warm bodies to fill the bags.

[FunkyLeprechaun]

7. Also

They tell me I've no experience so I can't tell them to enlist. Hm...

[solinvictus]

3. My own experience..

I came into the Army Reserves back in 1987. By about 1988, the Gramm/Rudman spending bill was enacted to control Raygun's huge deficit. At that time, there were 2nd Lieutenant's who'd received commissions without any units able to take them. In short, yes, at one point, it was hard to get by in the military. For my own experience, I wasn't able to transfer or to obtain any additional training because of budget constraints.

[Doctor_J]

4. "I have a boil on my ass"

has to be right up there.

And, no, they've never turned people away because they were "too full". Expect this chicken-hawk lie to take hold though.

[youthere]

5. Actually...

I think it was under Reagan there was a RIF (reduction in force) and enlistees were being offered bonuses to "opt out". Under Bush Sr. they were also limiting reenlistment-my husband was in the Marines and wasn't able to "reup" (right after the first Gulf War). I don't think they were stopping new recruits from coming in, just limiting reenlistments on certain fields for active duty.

[xmas74]

16. I knew about that

but thought that it affected officers mostly. My best friend's father could not promote in rank for quite a few years because of it (he retired as a captain). He said that it happened mostly to those who had put in many years and planned to retire and that it heavily targeted officers. I heard the same from another friend's dad who was a recruiter.

[youthere]

17. You might be right about the RIF..

I just vaguely remember that-it may have been limited to officers and may have only been in certain branches..I thought it was service wide. After the gulf war I know they were definitely limited reenlistment for certain MOS's though. My husband was a combat engineer and wasn't able to reenlist because there were no open billets in his specialty-but they were still recruiting new enlistees. Go figure.

[xmas74]

18. I knew that they were limiting certain MOS's.

I think that it was service-wide and all branches but mostly officers were affected.
My brother was enlisted but he ran into problems w/ his MOS. They decided to get rid of his MOS shortly after he completed AIT and he had to be retrained for a new MOS. Once he got stateside, they didn't have a place for him and he had to be retrained yet again (Fort Sill).

[FloridaPat]

6. One of the chicken hawks used that excuse. It was a Southerner.

Can't remember which one. He said the poor and African Americans had taken all the slots and there were none availble when he wanted to enlist.

[FunkyLeprechaun]

9. Isn't that..

what most Republicans say when they're told to enlist? That the poor had taken all the slots

[Katherine2]

14. That's a common freeper excuse.

They also like to say that they can better serve the county as patriots during the "war on terror" by remaining here and ______ (fill in the blank with something like setting a positive example for the Christian youth, or attending law school). Seriously.

[Midnight Rambler]

10. I'm pretty sure that was Tom DeLay

And the Young Conservatives of Texas regularly say that somebody has to fight against liberalism here at home.

[jmm]

11. Tom Delay

I'd love to ask him why they needed a draft if there were no slots for him.

[givemebackmycountry]

8. ANAL CYSTS

See the drug addicted pig-boy for that excuse.

[youthere]

24. That's no excuse!

He really IS an anal cyst.

[jmm]

12. If she didn't want to then the military being full is a moot point.

If she could decide she didn't want to when she was childless you should be able to too.

[Deja Q]

13. Wow. How many others left because they had families; evern 12 kids, & she

is too selfish in this land that asks us to do more for it than vice-versa? :eyes:

Yeah, I'm sickened.

[xmas74]

15. Not that I know of.

They were once a little bit pickier on who they wanted in there. And the children really don't make a difference on enlisting. She could arrange for her children to stay w/ her parents while she was in Basic and AIT. She would also need to fill out paperwork for guardianship in case she were to be deployed.
I need to ask a friend's dad about it. He's a retired Air Force recruiter. I do know of a single mother who enlisted in the Army about 8 years ago. Seems like it was mostly paperwork about what would happen to her children if she were deployed and she had to make sure that there was a will in place for guardianship issues. She enlisted because of her children. She said that she knew that they would have health insurance and that she would have some life insurance to pass on to them if anything happened.

As to the dumbest excuse for not enlisting (from a judge's son who is a college student): I don't have to. That's for the poor kids. They can fight for me. When I become a judge like my dad maybe I can help them.

Family is notorious for being neocons.

[two gun sid]

19. LOL. Yes, RW Judges are known for...

giving poor folks a break!

My favorite is: "I have a family".

If they really believed that "fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them here" bullshit, enlisting is the best thing you could do for your family.

[xmas74]

21. Exactly.

And look at all the benefits that they could get for their family if they enlist. Housing, medical, base schools are usually decent,Commissary and PX/BX-it's a good deal. Plus training and college assistance.
If they are so worried about their families than they should enlist just for the benefits that will be available for their families. Nothing better than working for the government gravy train!

[ismnotwasm]

20. I was talking to some pro war idiot last night

And asked him that very question.He mumbled something about his criminal record, stated, and I quote "I waited in line twice to enlist and they told me all I could get was a job in Antarctica" which of course is a lie. I told him bullshit, they'd send your ass to Iraq. I politely told him that my daughter is in the military, and has already served, so don't try to bullshit me. I plan on contacted a couple requiters and find out exactly was this asshole needs to do to enlist. I'm going to enjoy handing him the information, because if he can get in at all, his record is not an issue.

[two gun sid]

23. When I was in, Antarctica was a volunteer assignment...

and you had to have a skill they needed. I think you're right, that guy was full of shit.

[Pharlo]

22. "Too full" ? ... I don't think so.

Remember those 'standards' for enlistment they just lowered?

The volunteer US military uses an inversely proportional sliding scale of standards to accomodate recruiting projections. (The fewer the recruits they need, the higher the standards, and the more recruits they need, the lower the standards.)

It is entirely possible that when this Rupublican's offspring approached the US military, she was unable to meet the 'standards' they were using as a benchmark for acceptance.

I suppose "She wanted to but they were too full." sounds better than "She wanted to but she couldn't make the cut."