I wanted to join the military beacuse I wanted to be a somebody and not a nobody also I wanted to make something of myself but sadly I never got a chance to so----crud .

This was me.

Life takes on a certain clarity when the main factoring occurrence is someone else wanting to put harm on you, on a daily basis..

And the longer I was in, the more it became about doing what you had to do, so that some fresh faced pfc schmuckatelli didn't get their face blown off on day one.

It becomes about the guy next to you, and making sure he gets home to the newborn kid he's only known from photos..

Learn skills for survival and combat.

I'm not that patriotic, you won't see me waving a flag or trying toforce my ideals on another country.

I do like what my country stands for, but I'm not going to force it down someone else's throat.

I just mainly hate thepeople running the country right now which is corporate Scumbags.

Benefits, service to your country, etc. I've always been interested in military history and respect those that serve.

Daddy told me he wasn't paying for University.

So I joined the army and paid for it myself.

Az

The entire purpose of joining the military is to become an unwounded veteran and then proceed to mock the wounded veterans for their lack of dodging abilities.

If you're serious

you're a sick [censored]



and if you're *not* being serious, and just having some fun and all, then you best edit that into your post in a heartbeat..

Wtf.

I always figured the economic side seems to drive a lot of the younger people. But then I've seen a lot who just kinda got thrown on their ass at the end of it and I can't say it benefited them much.


I just don't like the way some people act as if being unable to find a job means you should default to going and dying for some cause you don't believe in. The thing that struck me was how many veterans are blind to that concept. I'm told I should forget about the particulars and go and have fun playing soldiers with a bunch of people I don't like.


Some people enjoy that sort of thing, but they can get pretty aggressive when they find out that you don't.

I used to say that the people who work in daycare centers, and have to change the nappies of 30 babies, six times a day, every day..

now *that's* hell

He's TGS, of course he's kidding...but yeah a lot of people don't know that he is.

Well, at least the babies don't tell you you're a communist who should be put in a death camp. Not verbally, anyway.

To add to the reasons of why people join the army there is always those too who just join it so that they can kill and get away with it. It's not as noticable in the middle of combat when a few civilians go missing but it also happens that civilians get killed out of combat which brings it more to light. Fortunately it's only a few of many who join the army for those reasons but it is a mindset that hasn't been posted yet.

I don't think anyone can truly live or truly die without some sort of direct experience of war.

I was a kid during WWII which meant that nearly every family member was involved somehow and I grew up feeling obliged to do the same . We had compulsory service in the UK for a few years after the war and if you waited till you were called up, you didn't get an option which branch of the service you joined. So, I lied about my age and joined up early. I picked the RAF regiment and got deployed to Singapore just in time for the Korean war which I'll not talk about again since I've already covered that subject before.

Things were very hard for people in Post War Britain, the country was bankrupt, jobs were few and the only real way to get a trade was to join the services. Today life has improved considerably, but for some, the forces are still the only way to get a trade. I don't know anyone who joined up thinking they'd actually be involved in a war, it was always about seeing the world or getting a trade. In hindsight, the Merchant Navy would have done the same, but then I wouldn't have later learned to fly which is a passion I have still.

Pretty much every government tries to instill that idea into its citizens, because pretty much every government likes to have a military. "Because you're supposed to" is a powerful sentiment that should not be underestimated, and governs many of the most closely-defended beliefs people hold over their entire lives. There is often no specific reason "why" beyond the feeling that they should. This is both a product of simply not knowing the future and so not being able to say "join up because ____ will happen!", but also sometimes intentional as well. Not having a reason to do something can paradoxically make someone defend it much more strongly, because there's no object for naysayers to logically argue against, including themselves.

From the look of things, I'm going to join up soon. I want to join up for the experience. Handling weapons, meeting new people, going to places and most importantly, doing something. I'll admit, I'm a lazy sack of [censored] and I'm hoping the Forces will make me a better person. Once I'm out there and being part of a system, it'll be great. The only thing I'm not looking forward to is loss of sleep (waking up really early) and perhaps bullying. I live near a military base so there's a lot of people who have gone through it so perhaps I could ask them a few things.

So yeah, in a nutshell, I'd join for the experience of a lifetime and the structure.

As for your bonus question Dalek, some people just want to be part of something. Some people don't like sitting around, some people prefer action to inaction. You'd probably die a hero's death and I guess some folk would prefer that over dying all alone in bed.

College.
Career.
Glory.
Need.
Money.
Self Exploration.
Benefits.
Tradition.
Prestige.
Pressure.
Family.
Reciprocation(giving back to ones country in this sense)
Propaganda.

I would imagine these general reasons would fit the bill for most. Some would choose to do so for multiple reasons. I have considered it multiple times myself. Each time i reconsider though. I would rather not be at the whims of the military the rest of my life. It is a risk reward profession.

(Old soldier mode) - There's nothing heroic about dying and it's always something you do alone - (Old soldier mode)

But I was of the same mind before I joined, there is a certain romance about war. It doesn't survive your first battle, but I suppose that's part of why so many people join. There's a certain expectation that it (death or being maimed) wont happen to you, but that's just part of being young. It doesn't have to be war, it could just be a person smoking, or doing stupid stunts. That's the whole point about being young isn't it? You get to live without fear because you are invincible!

Sigh, it's a long time since I had that feeling...

You soon get used to the lack of sleep and you'll notice a big change once you are out of training. Sleep, or lack of it isn't the worst thing. It's the repetition. Painting grass green because a VIP is visiting, or doing endless drill because you've been dikeed to do yet another parade, now these are the things you'll learn to hate. Top tip? Join a sporting activity that you are good at (I picked mountain climbing), you'll find yourself on expeditions or sporting tours more than you'll find yourself being a soldier. While your lazy buddies are painting grass, you'll be on a six month expedition in Nepal or teaching some kids how to play basketball in Peru. If you embrace your service, it will embrace you.

And pick yourself a trade that will have a use on the outside. Loading missiles onto aircraft isn't a very useful skill to have in civvy street.

I still remember the last days of high school before graduating. All the freaking arm forces were calling me at home asking me if I wanted to join. For example, the Army were asking me on the phone if I had any missing fingers and whatnot. The Marines called me up, the woman was very persistent and told me all the benefits and whatnot, I told her I was an artist and asked her if the military had "art" jobs. She said no, but there were computer technician placement if I wanted to take that. Finally, after feeling pressured by her, I told her if I have to join. She said, "Sir, you don't have to do anything."

That was the last time I talked to a military person. Btw, I had two uncles in the military, and two cousins who went to Vietnam when they were 18; both came back more or less with PTSD.

Did you exit the womb fully armored with shield and sword?

On topic - I find it to be rampant patriotism, family pressure, or a mix of both. Don't know why someone would waste their life away protecting their corrupt governments assets while devastating the local populace.

He never said that. He posted a thread trying to think like the other side. You are taking it personally and trying to pick a fight.

Excitement, adventure and really wild things. Unfortunately I was really too young when I signed up and had a hard time, leaving after a few months; should've left it another couple of years, really. It had its good points, though.

I think my dad joined because (a) the career content was interesting (mechanic) and (b) he felt like it was an honorable thing to do. I like to think that if my country was truly threatened by an invader, I would be prepared to take up a rifle and fight back. However I would never join the military under other circumstances, it just doesn't fit my personality.

As for why people have this attitude, if humans didn't have an instinct to organize into a group, take orders from a leader, and fight against others even though it might mean their death, we never would have even made it down from the trees.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7XuXi3mqYM

There are a lot of reasons, I think a lot of younger people join just because they don't know what they are getting into. I spent some time around a recruiting station for a branch I won't mention, but they got some pretty brutal training I had a chance to participate in one of the guys that was there getting ready to deploy literal crapped his own pants because of it, I was too young at the time to think hey maybe this will be a bad idea boot camp will be exactly the same except instead of recruiters pretending to be your buddy and telling you lies to sign up so they can meet their recruitment quota, you'll have seargents screaming at you. Once you sign the contract that is it.
I think there is too much propoganda around from the various forms of media about machismo and fighting, a lot of guys think they are going to be Rambo or James Bond instead of reality where they'll probably just get splattered by an IED.