The armed forces, of many countries, really have to address their drinking culture. Whatever challenge life throws at you after your service, alcohol doesn't help. I read story after story about former soldiers coming home with problems. They are always exacerbated by alcohol. It's right there in the first sentence of the OP.
I've got family in three different armed forces, and a couple clients. Too many of their anecdotes begin with drinking. Some of it is certainly them self-medicating, but much of it is also boredom. Lots of soldiers just aren't happy with their daily routines. I remember chatting with a kid in the US navy on his way to Japan (connecting flight through seattle). What he was most excited about was the lower drinking age. He had his first weekend all planned out ... complete with pics of bars emailed by buddies. I wasn't going to lecture the kid. A new job in a new country and that's all you are happy about? (I wont say what the kid was tasked with as he likely divulged more than he should.)
I really liked this article. I enjoyed the writing style and the subject is one that interests me a lot, as I've also managed to have a lot of fun traveling-and-working by Amtrak. But I guess I'm going to violate the entire moral of the story with the rest of my post. Because I kind of stopped and had to ask myself what the author was thinking with this line:
>> I didn't know how to reconcile his witless alcoholism with his tremendous sacrifice.
You must not know many soldiers. Or just people in general.
I know there are a lot of different people out there and a lot of different experiences, so I really don't need anyone replying with "my buddy did it for such-and-such and has never touched a drop of alcohol in his life". Not interested. But judging from literally every ex-soldier I've met, "witless alcoholism" is what defines and unifies military service. To some extent, that even includes my own parents, who I suspect didn't drink very much when I was a kid specifically because of their experiences in the military. And really, in a lot of respects that's just being young, sowing wild oats and whatnot. What is the difference between kids in the military and kids in college (and do not forget for a second that soldiering is mostly done by adults-in-name-only)? I suspect not much, other than a generally higher degree of physical fitness in the military.
Also judging from these ex-soldiers, joining the military is as much about "serving one's country" and "making a sacrifice" as going to college is about "learning", i.e. that's not really actually why most people do it and it only happens out of circumstance. I can't tell if any of the soldiers I've met had given any serious thought to the concept of injury or death before they volunteered. Because really, how much serious thought on such concepts is an 18-year-old even capable of? As a society, we literally force some of the most life-changing decisions on the people who are almost universally unprepared to evaluate their full set of options correctly. Most people seem to do it (both college and the military) because they're expected to, because they aren't aware of other options, and/or because they think it will be a good time. Or, at least in peacetime, I'd say that was the case.
Today, I don't know. Being 18 year olds, it's probably the same motivations. But we've been in active shooty-stabby-bomby action for thirteen years straight (I also really don't need any pedantic replies about official declarations of war). Living in DC, it's kind of hard to not notice the 11th of September pass by, thus my wife and I tend to avoid being in town on that day. And it's kind of hard to remember what day it is just about anywhere else. It's been a long time. Vietnam was slightly longer and I doubt anyone thinks we'll be done soon. Is this what Pearl Harbor felt like in 1953? Hell, we'd already been into and out of Korea by that time.
My point here is, if you're in the military now, you're volunteering for war. If you're an injured soldier, I'm sorry you got hurt. You didn't deserve it, because nobody deserves war and mayhem. But you volunteered for it. We need to stop saying "support the troops". We need to start saying "prevent kids from joining unjust war".
When I joined the military in 2004, it was because I was near suicidal and felt that I needed to change something or I might die. ...I was young and stupid. I'm probably still stupid. :)
See, I was poor. I had done very well on standardized tests and received a full-ride scholarship with a stipend, but then I failed out of college, probably due to depression... So there I was without a lot of prospects in front of me, and I chose that moment to start drinking, for the first time. 2003 went by in a blur.
I woke up one day and realized that here I was in a small town in Arkansas, working in some approximation of a box factory which paid just enough for rent and nothing more, never anything more. I knew that I must alter my path dramatically.
So, I walked in to the only place in the world where I knew I'd get hired on the spot.
To their credit, they did make a man of me. That was what I wanted. To be changed. You know, discipline and all that.
(It wore off after a little while, and I can't say honestly that I don't miss it.)
Back to my point: young white American men that enlist in the military aren't a random selection of young white American men.
A strong majority of the members of that demographic in my Flight who I spoke with about why they joined had similar stories: the military is widely known as an option, and for many, it's the second to last option.
I think the article got it close that it's really to do with being: Male, Young, White.
When I was with the firm, we had a spate of suicides on base over a short period of time. Enough for 'management' to implement an in-loco parentis type arrangement for the young, single servicemen (and women) who were housed on base in barracks.
It meant great adventure trips away - and did help give some sort of support network for those posted away from families. A better option than just drinking in the bar, at least.
There are help options available (career suicide or not), but if you're depressed/suicidal, it's actually quite difficult to reach out to those options. In a well-run workplace environment, I found the Sergeants (and up) to be both a wealth of knowledge/experience and most were quite actively involved in taking care of the well-being of us young skins.
This is bad but not in the way most people consider. The US military has contributed to popular media since about the time I was born to get young people interested in military service, so nothing new there. What has changed most over the decades is lifestyle choice.
People exercise less and focus less. The result is artificially induced ADHD and more physically fragile people less capable of completing initial entry training without severe or catastrophic muscle/bone injuries. Initial entry training is never meant to be that physically challenging, it’s not special forces selection.
In the very near future only a tiny percentage of the American population will be capable of serving in the military due to fitness limitations mentally, physically, emotionally, and intellectually. That will become the new elite: something that money and late preparation cannot restore.
I have not even tried to join Army because I saw them as people doing pointless shit to quote you.
Wearing weird clothes, weird rituals, self importance and keeping the brain locked up at home is how I describe general the Army people. You cant smoke or drink until 21 but sure you can die lonely death in a middle eastern desert so some impotent old man in pentagon could show his dick is bigger than others.
> More than half of the young Americans who answered the survey — about 57% — think they would have emotional or psychological problems after serving in the military. Nearly half think they would have physical problems.
> “They think they’re going to be physically or emotionally broken after serving,” said one senior U.S. military official familiar with the recruiting issues, who believes a lack of familiarity with military service contributes to that perception.
I was speaking from some lived experience, so I'll be a bit more clear about what I meant by "underlying problems":
There were little activities to do on my base other than drink. I was paid very little, little enough not to afford a car. The cities I was stationed in were sounded by all kinds of loan sharks as a result. There were very few activities funded by the military that weren't somehow childlike or oriented for people with families. I was forced to live in a very old barracks that at times, frankly, barely functioned. While living in the barracks you can be summoned for duty at any time, unlike people who live off-base (married people). My life was as a Marine, so I'd be curious to hear an Airman's perspective. The services also tend to attract people who are actively attempting to leave home, so read from that what you will. None of these things are really unknown to the military or military leaders.
I signed up for 4 years for the US Army in order to finish college. Ended up doing 5 years for being stop lossed due to a deployment that got extended. When I joined I had 72 hours college under my belt, went in as a PFC. The reality of service is it is both the good as portrayed here and the shit experiences I know we have all had in the service. Would I change anything, no. Was it all cake, hell no. But I wouldn't change anything. The single best thing about service, that I think most people actually need in life, is the forced mega dose of reality, and how the military deals with it, especially when as a person you've refused to, and made it the militaries problem. Everything about my time in has helped me in my civilian life, except how to explain to people that they are denying reality.
To be clear discipline in the military is a couple things that are pretty good basic life skills that a lot of people at that age especially lack, i.e. go to sleep at a reasonable hour, show up to work on time, exercise daily, eat well, avoid alcohol abuse, follow through with assigned tasks. These are real challenges for people at that age and who come from many walks of life, sometimes unhealthy environments. The military immediately rewards and punishes for lack of that discipline and it’s a pretty good environment to develop young people. But absent the persistent structure the military provides won’t happen on its own.
You're overgeneralizing. The vast majority of people in the military are quite young. A few developed the habit when they were young. None have significant health problems, or they wouldn't still be in the military. It's a bit different when you're dealing with an older, less fit demographic. Consider the fact that your bubble does not represent the whole world.
Probably. It'd have to be a pretty egregious offense with more serious attached charges to bar that.
> I'd go for being a fighter pilot
Requires a college degree, periodically requires a technical degree (that condition changes based on USAF/Navy needs).
> maybe a submariner
Be aware, this is a very isolating career field, and also broad, as there are many jobs on a submarine (or any naval vessel).
That all said, if you've got the emotional aptitude (by this I mean stability, especially if you go enlisted), it's a good way to get started or restarted. 4-5 year commitment, end up with training and a signing bonus socked away and access to funds for college. Employers also seem to have a strong preference for former military. If you find the military satisfactory you can stay in career, or go reserves (worst case is being called up for another war like Iraq/Afghanistan, normal case is a few weeks of wearing a uniform a year and collecting an extra retirement check at 60).
I spent five years in the Air Force. Posts like this are really helpful, a lot of Americans are disconnected from members of the military, especially in the upper classes where people do not need to serve, or in fields (like tech) where people can often find less intrusive ways to pay for college. My favorite part of the article is dispelling the myth that in the military senior people bark orders, and don't ask for feedback, and subordinates dutifully carry out those orders. None of those is true. There is a time to "shut up and color" but that is by far the exception. For the young people on here, I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you serving in the military was a positive experience for me.
I teach many folks that have just left high school, and entered the military. Their being content with doing pretty much nothing shocks me. Seeing the military enabling the behavior, even more so. All because recruiting is so hard right now. Many of the recruits do join the military because they have exhausted other options. It's sad to see how productive society once was, versus where we are now. It legitimately makes me nervous about what the future might hold.
I tell my son, his friends, and anyone who will listen: don't join the military unless this is your calling, indicated by God's finger touching your heart.
Because the military will treat you like shit if it's merely inconvenient to do otherwise. VA. Guard units called up to combat for one day shy of the time that would qualify them for combat pay. The linked article. Institutional abuse. Forced reenlistment during questionable wars. Etc.
USN, E6, 1975-1981. Not that that gives me any particular place on the moral ground. And for the record, I had a relatively easy time in the Navy. But even if I'd never been in, I'd be as outraged as I am now.
Can you join the military with a DUI? Man, if I were 26 again and single, I'd go for being a fighter pilot or maybe a submariner. Put off the "mid-life crisis" until you're actually middle aged!
A friend of mine I met while serving in Afghanistan,
He was working for the Department of Agriculture, trying to get the Afghan farmers to grow saffron instead of poppy. He was a professor in agronomy and would help his students back home in the US with their assignments.
He had signed up for the US army and ended up serving in the Special Forces in Vietnam for 2 years. He dropped out of school when he was 13.
In my opinion, the military should be a second chance for a country’s citizens, who have for some reason slipped through the cracks.
I've got family in three different armed forces, and a couple clients. Too many of their anecdotes begin with drinking. Some of it is certainly them self-medicating, but much of it is also boredom. Lots of soldiers just aren't happy with their daily routines. I remember chatting with a kid in the US navy on his way to Japan (connecting flight through seattle). What he was most excited about was the lower drinking age. He had his first weekend all planned out ... complete with pics of bars emailed by buddies. I wasn't going to lecture the kid. A new job in a new country and that's all you are happy about? (I wont say what the kid was tasked with as he likely divulged more than he should.)
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