Military Service
- Thread starter Attog
- Start date
Oldbased
> Than U
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Speaking of blacks and Vietnam and tanks.
My uncle who passed away roughly 15 years ago from cancer from what doctors said was likely chemicals from Vietnam used to work with us building houses sometimes. He could never hold a real job and was drafted back in that war. One day my brother ( whom is also dead, wtf me ) made a racist joke and my uncle and brother were tight as fuck but my uncle punched him square in the back of the head and said cut that shit out.
My father mentioned how racist my uncle used to be laughing at the exchange.
My uncle lifted his shirt and for the near 30 years I knew him had never seen or heard of what I saw. He had 3 skin deformations AKA bullet wounds.
Turns out he was hit 3 times and fell off a tank in front of the tracks. He had been a black hating man up till that very moment when a black man jumped off and pulled him out of the path of the tank tracks, held pressure on his wounds until he got medical treatment and shipped back home.
He ended the story with he had told the guy not a hour earlier he was a no good igger.
He never liked the gov and he never cared for the military. He did choose to have the concrete tomb thing at his funeral but passed on the gun salute/flag stuff.
Damn, now I miss them both.
My uncle who passed away roughly 15 years ago from cancer from what doctors said was likely chemicals from Vietnam used to work with us building houses sometimes. He could never hold a real job and was drafted back in that war. One day my brother ( whom is also dead, wtf me ) made a racist joke and my uncle and brother were tight as fuck but my uncle punched him square in the back of the head and said cut that shit out.
My father mentioned how racist my uncle used to be laughing at the exchange.
My uncle lifted his shirt and for the near 30 years I knew him had never seen or heard of what I saw. He had 3 skin deformations AKA bullet wounds.
Turns out he was hit 3 times and fell off a tank in front of the tracks. He had been a black hating man up till that very moment when a black man jumped off and pulled him out of the path of the tank tracks, held pressure on his wounds until he got medical treatment and shipped back home.
He ended the story with he had told the guy not a hour earlier he was a no good igger.
He never liked the gov and he never cared for the military. He did choose to have the concrete tomb thing at his funeral but passed on the gun salute/flag stuff.
Damn, now I miss them both.
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Mudcrush Durtfeet
Hungry Ogre
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I was in the Navy in the 80s. I've probably forgotten more about nuclear power than most people will ever know.
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Borzak
Bronze Baron of the Realm
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I was medically unfit for service. I graduated from school the year after the fall of the wall and the start of the downfall of Soviets. The people I knew that did join the service were faced with the RIF's (reduction in force) at the start of the Clinton years and reduction in training and such. Friend said they shot Beretta pistols with a .22 adapter and that was it the entire time they were in. A lot of people were of the opinion reduce the military the cold war is over. All that is behind us.
Siliconemelons
Avatar of War Slayer
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Not to be that guy, but with my cousin just now reitiring from the Corps and going to his ceremony etc. it had me thinking of this.
Was it just that I could have had a good 20+ year career and essentially see zero real danger combat now that I look back?
Was it that I did not objectively look at military service as a career as a kid?
I think a bunch of kids would sign up if they knew 100% no combat... but that's not the MILITARY there is always a chance of death and war.
So...roll the dice? Easy to say yes looking back... even with the middle east bullshittery
Hateyou
Not Great, Not Terrible
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I really had no idea. To me it sounded scary, and I had it in my head that it would be like full metal jacket. In reality my buddies who joined just went on to become recruiters or alcoholics and never really left bases. It probably would have been good for me at the time, but I wanted nothing to do with it back then. Looking back I did feel some guilt when 9/11 happened, as I saw coworkers my age leaving immediately from work to get deployed and I was doing nothing to help. The education and benefits sure would’ve been nice too. Ah well.
Erronius
Macho Ma'am
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Maybe it's just me, but I feel like the military isn't for you if you only join because you're guaranteed to never see combat. (not you specifically, but in general)
I never saw combat and wasn't a combat MOS, but I didn't join to avoid it and I would have fought if needed.
The weird thing about getting flak as a non-grunt, is that there was a lot of non-combat MOS people who would have jumped at the chance to 'get out there'. I knew people who used their reenlistment option to change to a combat MOS because they hated whatever support MOS they signed up on. Had I ever been deployed, I would have probably jumped at the chance to get out of the motorpool, except that it may never have happened because they need certain MOSes 24/7 and they can't just let you wander off to do other shit.
And who knows...maybe seeing combat would have had a negative impact on me. No way to tell. But I wouldn't have avoided it, you know? Hell, it may very well have changed my entire perspective on the military had I gone through that.
But to me...joining the military because you'll never see combat is kind of like paying for porn and then never fapping to it.
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ZyyzYzzy
RIP USA
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Siliconemelons
Avatar of War Slayer
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Right... I am saying that as a statement.
Also I am saying - many "kids" graduating HS do not know there are "low / no risk" career paths in the military.
I personally believe, and part of why I did not enlist- is that YES any and ALL military personal should be ready willing and able to perform in an active combat role and that ANY "job" could see combat.
Yes the military needs doctors and researchers and vidya game players for Obama drones. But every one of them need to know and be willing to pick up a gun and shoot.
I did not have a specific skill set out of HS, sure I knew tech- but as a user and normal nerd... sure I was in the band... all things people said "I could do" but honestly... I was not "good" at them then NOR focused. I would have been a grunt and 9/11 happened right after my graduation so - I had a coin flip chance of combat deployment.
I would not have attempted to skirt combat as I personally believe - as I said - all military need to fight and fight to win if called. Also I am not the best athletic shape (while I am sure military would have helped!) Etc etc- aka I am sure I would have gotten killed. I am 6 foot 8, and do not hide in sand dunes well.
Also I am saying - many "kids" graduating HS do not know there are "low / no risk" career paths in the military.
I personally believe, and part of why I did not enlist- is that YES any and ALL military personal should be ready willing and able to perform in an active combat role and that ANY "job" could see combat.
Yes the military needs doctors and researchers and vidya game players for Obama drones. But every one of them need to know and be willing to pick up a gun and shoot.
I did not have a specific skill set out of HS, sure I knew tech- but as a user and normal nerd... sure I was in the band... all things people said "I could do" but honestly... I was not "good" at them then NOR focused. I would have been a grunt and 9/11 happened right after my graduation so - I had a coin flip chance of combat deployment.
I would not have attempted to skirt combat as I personally believe - as I said - all military need to fight and fight to win if called. Also I am not the best athletic shape (while I am sure military would have helped!) Etc etc- aka I am sure I would have gotten killed. I am 6 foot 8, and do not hide in sand dunes well.
Flobee
Vyemm Raider
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A lot of people that didn't see combat, or any service at all romanticize what it is. I did before I joined, and I served with a ton of people that didn't feel like they were *really* in the military if they didn't deploy. It is complete horseshit. If you served then you played a critical role to keeping the whole machine running. Besides, almost everyone I know that saw combat is fucked up from it. Easily 80%+ of them. It isn't fun or cool at all. Unless you're SF or end up in a specific type of role you spend your time waiting to get attacked and reacting to the enemy. It puts so much mental pressure on these guys.
I have some marine pals that spent their entire tour fighting in Afghan. They're all alcoholics, they can't move past what they saw and did. It isn't their fault either because we fucking suck at decompressing these guys. How do you go from blowing people up and posing with their heads to sitting in rush hour traffic on the way to your office job with a bunch of chuckle heads that have never left their hometown? Let's not forget the actual health problems you end up with just for being over there. Plastics from the water bottles, burn pits, MREs, fuck man you can have serious health problems for the rest of your life without even seeing an enemy combatant.
I guess my only point here is there is no good reason to romanticize military service. It COULD be a noble sacrifice for the betterment of society but it honestly isn't in most cases. Not on an individual level at least. You can argue he validity of the actual conflicts themselves if you want.
Full disclosure: Closest thing to combat I saw was being shelled daily. I also loved the time I was in and miss it daily. Doesn't deserve to be put on a pedestal though. It isn't for everyone, or even many people.
I have some marine pals that spent their entire tour fighting in Afghan. They're all alcoholics, they can't move past what they saw and did. It isn't their fault either because we fucking suck at decompressing these guys. How do you go from blowing people up and posing with their heads to sitting in rush hour traffic on the way to your office job with a bunch of chuckle heads that have never left their hometown? Let's not forget the actual health problems you end up with just for being over there. Plastics from the water bottles, burn pits, MREs, fuck man you can have serious health problems for the rest of your life without even seeing an enemy combatant.
I guess my only point here is there is no good reason to romanticize military service. It COULD be a noble sacrifice for the betterment of society but it honestly isn't in most cases. Not on an individual level at least. You can argue he validity of the actual conflicts themselves if you want.
Full disclosure: Closest thing to combat I saw was being shelled daily. I also loved the time I was in and miss it daily. Doesn't deserve to be put on a pedestal though. It isn't for everyone, or even many people.
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Chanur
Shit Posting Professional
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I joined in 2002. I joined the Coast Guard to help my idiot fellow Americans. But a year later we declared war and guys from my unit were deployed. Shit can change in a hurry.
ZyyzYzzy
RIP USA
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At least you would have died eating steak and lobster tails to the bitter end
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SeanDoe1z1
Avatar of War Slayer
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On our $2500 chairs.
I could live at my last unit if I wanted to. Full Bathrooms/Kitchen/Gym/Laundry/UPS+Generators
Definitely a zombie fortress.
Gravel
Mr. Poopybutthole
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This sums it up pretty well for me. Similar to you, I was never in a firefight, although I definitely had plenty of mortars and RPG's fired at me (had a piece of shrapnel fall above 1 foot in front of me, without a helmet on, that probably would've killed me).
Fuck all of it. Not worth it. And I became especially jaded as the deployments went on that I was only there for some bullshit political reasons. Worse is that one of the roles of SF is training the indigenous population, and when you see how even Iraqi SF is worthless and has no heart in it, you really question why you're there.
Romanticize nails it. When you're 20 years old and forced to drive a convoy down Route Irish, watching the buildings for snipers, the side of the road for any trash that might an IED, and your asshole puckers up going under every bridge waiting for a barrel of flaming gasoline to land on you, I'd say it's something you never want to experience.
I don't regret it as it's gotten me to where I am today. But if I were reliving my life, there's not a chance in hell I'd do it again.
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Big Phoenix
Pronouns: zie/zhem/zer
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Not necessarily. There was that incident in 2011 or 2012 where attackers made it to the camp leatherneck flight line and all the maintenance crews ended up a firefight with the attackers. iirc a pilot and crew chief died in the attack.
I find it hard to relate to all of that. I spent 13 months in Iraq, went on 300+ missions and so far perfectly healthy. Granted I didn't see combat, but I did hear someone blow their brains out in the middle of the night in the can next to me and had a plethora of ied scares. Honest to god truth is I've never had a single nightmare or bad dream about the place.
IMO I think the problem is people are using ptsd or their time overseas as an excuse for just being a shitty person. I can't count the number of people I came across that where just plain old assholes and loved to game the system anyway they could while in the military. I know a guy who never saw combat or in anything horribleyet claims ptsd as the reason he committed dv.
Society looks favorably on vets, especially if you have some sort of injury due to service and having a ptsd rating gets you a nice fat check from the VA. Is it any surprise so many people have issues?
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Gravel
Mr. Poopybutthole
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Oh, yeah, I'll agree with
Big Phoenix
on that one. But by nature, SF guys generally know what they're getting into. So the whole depressed alcoholic who abuses VA benefits doesn't apply. But the rest nailed it.
Big Phoenix
on that one. But by nature, SF guys generally know what they're getting into. So the whole depressed alcoholic who abuses VA benefits doesn't apply. But the rest nailed it.- 1
Fadaar
That guy
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I wish. Seymour Johnson was a shithole and I never went TDY or deployed anywhere nice. Only deployment was to Djibouti which is about as much of a deployment as Kuwait but smellier and hotter. Plus side it was a navy base so we did our best to piss them off as often as possible.