That'll be the day...

[crptcblade]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...t_040420172423

Why shouldn't we ask all of our citizens to bear some responsibility and pay some price?

Think any of his kids will be going?

[davebat]

Hagel served in Vietnam with his brother Tom in 1968. They served side by side as infantry squad leaders with the U.S. Army’s 9th Infantry Division. Hagel earned many military decorations and honors, including two Purple Hearts.

[Ex-FB]

I was also in the army. Don't want my kids to be in it though....

[PineyWoodsJimbo]

I was too, and I'd go back now if they would have me. However, why don't they start with Hagel's kids or grandkids -- right up front. As proud as I would be to see my son go, it would scare the living turds out of me.

The thought of some sort of universal service is appealing, though. A drill I once knew suggested making available a lot of options, most of which would be some kind of at-home Peace Corps, not just military. Plus, if everyone is on the hook for two or three years, then no-one gets a jump on the rest.

[Ex-FB]

I'm not sure that conscripts make particularly good soldiers. Look at the Argentinians in the Falklands. Poor kids.

I think they should bolster the size of the real army (I cannot believe that it's not big enough already) maybe this means better pay for the troops etc. to get more people to sign up.

I'm sure most of the current soldiers would rather have another proffesional soldier beside them on patrol with 5 or 6 years in the bag, than some 18 year old kid who's been forced to be there, and has just come out of basic training.

[Ex-FB]

Originally posted by davebat
Hagel earned many military decorations and honors, including two Purple Hearts.

I'm not trying to insult American soldiers, but isn't the purple heart given out to people who get wounded in combat? It just seems to be a strange thing to be rewarding people for........ surely, they should give the awards to the guys who manage to avoid being shot by the enemy.....

[demotivater]

Originally posted by Ex-FB
I'm not trying to insult American soldiers, but isn't the purple heart given out to people who get wounded in combat? It just seems to be a strange thing to be rewarding people for........ surely, they should give the awards to the guys who manage to avoid being shot by the enemy.....

They do

[PineyWoodsJimbo]

Originally posted by Ex-FB
I'm not sure that conscripts make particularly good soldiers. Look at the Argentinians in the Falklands. Poor kids.

In my mind that is, without a doubt, very true. That was why he suggested having many other options. If we as a people are truly interested in helping others, then helping kids in the Sticks get their teeth clean and their brains educated shouldn't take much extra motivation.

Originally posted by Ex-FB
I think they should bolster the size of the real army (I cannot believe that it's not big enough already) maybe this means better pay for the troops etc. to get more people to sign up.

There are two keys at the aggregate level which would make things go better:
1 -- Change the composition back to the old way with far more divisions of active service and far fewer Guard and Reserve. If you are going to call on them a lot -- like these days -- let's not pretend that the duty is restricted or temporary.
2 -- Let's not police the whole world. We may be Mr. Big-Pockets Super Power right now, but nothing gets a country poor faster than Super Powerful Spending. Our resources are limited, too. It is the responsibility of our National Executive and the Senate to be careful when extending military services to other parts of the world.

Originally posted by Ex-FB
I'm sure most of the current soldiers would rather have another proffesional soldier beside them on patrol with 5 or 6 years in the bag, than some 18 year old kid who's been forced to be there, and has just come out of basic training.

You got that right. To stick kids who really don't want to be there in a line unit is not just a cruel thing to do to them, it's also dangerous to the real soldiers. However, plenty of real soldiers are kids just out of basic. They often are very good, and the only way for them to improve is OJT -- even if that is in a war or ocupation zone.

(There's no salute smiley.)