Flintlock wrote:
Join the federal serviceto gain citizenship? That statement sticks a finger in the eye of what America is all about and the freedoms we enjoy. That includes the freedoms to decideto serve or not.Our all-volunteer military is the most productive and powerful in all the world and would be severely tarnished with forced enlistment.
The military has been a way for people to gain citizenship for quite a while. It started with Puerto Rico, and I believe that other places are now allowed the same privilidge. While I don't entirely disagree with this practice, I don't entirely agree either. Some citizens in our service don't do the service justice, I think that can be said across all branches of the armed forces. Though you do have to question and completely investigate anyone not born on our soil who wants to join the military to gain citizenship, I'd rather have someone who is willing and wants to be in the military than someone who's just in it for the 9 to 5 and college money.
I also think that mandatory service for people is a good and bad thing. Good because I think it would give people a chance to "grow up" and really find out what they are made of. Boot camp did ( because it's nicer and gentler now days) agood job of that. Though I'm sure it's still not a cake walk today, standards have gotten lower and I don't entirely agree with that. You have standards for a reason, quality control. So now you have more sub standard people in the military IQ and physical fitness wise, and that becomes aliability to everyone around them. The problem is what do you do when your citizenry is less likely to join a volunteer force because of unpopular conflicts who's beginnings are questioned as being legitimate to begin with? It's a conundrum to be sure.
I spent 5 years in the Navy. WhenI first enlistedI thought that if you sign up to do the time, you ought to stick it out, anything less is weak and unpatriotic - I was 18 when I enlisted and was 5 days removed from graduating highschool at the time. Four years later and alot more knowledgeable, my views changed, my attitudes changed, and my desire to stay in changed. There are some people that are just not "suited" for military life, it's a hard life. Some people just don't do well at certain things, like being at sea. You can say what you want, you can take the "sea sickness" pills, but there are some folks who just get sick, no matter what. That ain't no fun at all, especially if your out to sea for months. I've been deployed and sick a few times, imagine your worst hang over lasting for days - I've seen people that sick, and basically being incapacitated. I was stuck carrying their load while they had their head in a garbage can for 48 hours or more. In certain situations, some people are just not a fit for military life. It's better to let those people out early, than make everyone else pay later on.
On the same note, if your leadership sucks, it drives people out. That's what happened to me. I was smart enough to know that things wouldn't change for me for a year and a half. Sure, I could have "sucked it up", but given the option of being free and dealing with pointless BS for a year and a half didn't seem worth it. Bad people can ruin any team, anywhere, any time. It's not a trait exclusive to just the military. Look at any group there is on the planet. Heck, Jim Sollo is a great example for the anti's, lol.
I think every citizen has an obligation to serve their nation, and you do that by being involved. Vote, pay attention to laws, get interested in your community. If you feel like serving, it has it's pro's and con's, just like anything in life, it's a compromise. Just make sure you know what your giving up, is worth what your going to get out of it.
