Don't Join the Military | Renegade Cut
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- Seriously, don't join the military. There are so many better options, and you aren't fighting for the reasons you think that you are. Support Renegade Cut on Patreon: / renegadecut
#military #trump #obama
BIBLIOGRAPHY AND FURTHER READING
Articles:
centeronconsci...
peacefulcareer...
nnomy.org/en/a...
www.thesoldier...
www.thesoldier...
www.operationm...
mndaily.com/22...
www.goarmy.com...
about.bgov.com...
phc.amedd.army...
www.nytimes.co...
Books:
Military Recruiting in High Schools
Military Recruiting in the United States
10 Excellent Reasons Not to Join the Military
[provides facts and statistics, cites sources]
"Well, that wasn't MY experience, so you must be lying. My experiences are universal!"
yes
We all know the only way to counter an argument backed by well cited sources is anecdata, duh
😂😂 smarty 😂😂
From a veteran, thank you for putting out this video.
Classic American Individualism/Libertarianism at work. Everyone lives in a vacuum! Anti-scientific at its core.
I almost joined out of high school. An old guy I was close with told me it was a bad decision. He was a Korean War vet who saw firsthand MacArthur get 80% of his unit killed before Truman kicked him out.
I have not heard this story?
@@Semfer_ I think he's referencing MacArthur being beaten back to the 38th parallel by China, the casualties were absolutely disgusting. The Chosin Reservoir alone saw MacArthur lose almost 60% of the units under his command. It literally wiped away any success he had up until that point even with things like the Inchon landing.
don't forget the 20% of Koreas entire population wiped out by US strategic bombing
My younger brother died at 19 in Iraq because he was recruited at his high school at 17. I almost signed up also and was in the JROTC program at my high school. So fucked up that the recruiters lies to kids to die alone a far away country. I miss my brother.
Sorry about your brother man.
I am sorry for your loss, man. I was there in ‘08 as a 19yo, so this story hits really hard.
Exactly. All the dirty work by the young who is tricked into it
Sorry about that .kinda makes me feel lucky that I grew up an anti patriotic dad and civil rights activist grandmother. I was in rotc but never payed any of the recruiters any attention altho they always wanted to talk since i was by far the most active in the class ..
I’m very sorry for the loss of your brother. I’m sure your a bright young person whose potential can be used in a civilian job that offers room for career growth and critical thinking skills. The military offers very little of these.
My dad had fallen for the propaganda. One of my older brothers was in the US Navy but left early. My dad kept chirping that if my brother had stayed, he could have retired in a few years. He suggested it to me, citing the tuition reimbursement and all of that jazz and my mom had absolutely none of it. She told me that we only get one life, and asked if I really wanted to die. Solid advice from a mom who sometimes was not the most solid of parents.
If he would of done all 20 years to retirement he would of been in the in-active reserve for the rest of his life. Dodged a bullet.
Yep and if you came back with no limbs, he’d be blaming you for listening to him.
You were never going to die in the navy. You wanted an easy excuse to stay home and you took it, and there’s no shame in that honestly.
@@11broomstickkyou never know it’s a different world
@@11broomstickkthats. No matter what branch of the military you joining. You are risking your life for bs amerikkka country. You signing a peper contract with your name. Literally signing your life away to death. She did the right thing leave her alone. Women are abused and raped the most. Military and going to war is for men NOT women
I'm glad the military is panicking over recruitment. It's hard to hide the damage they do to their own members in a country that refuses to provide healthcare to its people. Younger people can at last see that, and even if it's the only angle they swiftly and obviously understand, it is enough to knock the knees out from under recruiters.
My local recruiters office sexually harrased high school girls. Maybe their training is crap on purpose. Maybe it's done in hopes to fine recruiters or snag away their bonuses.
It's nothing like they portray it through propaganda
How about the damage they do to other poor people overseas, all for the benefit of military industrial complex and oil companies?? Huh?? how come you don't question that??
For people that hate being "PC" they sure did come up with a lot of PC terms for things like torture
The way powers weaponize language to obfuscate immoral actions is insidious. It's what cowards do.
"Enhanced Interrogation Techniques".
Hahaha these are the same guys that have the Punisher logo attached to their truck and their bulletproof vest.
And I oop
@@audreymaize Not realizing or simply not caring that the punisher is a PTSD ridden broken man who hates crooked cops lol
Female veteran here. I signed up April 2001. Graduated HS the following month. Went to USAF basic in late July. Then 9/11 happened. The world changed. I was a Services Airman. I was not SA'ed. I was harassed and treated horribly. My active duty enlistment ended in 2005. IRR ended in 2009. I was called up for one day in 2006. That was just 3 hours of catching up with one Airman I used to work with and making sure my info was correct. Today, I don't recommend military service. Especially if you're a woman. If you want kids, motherhood and military don't belong in the same sentence. I watched the military moms missing out on their kids mile stones. They have babies and get deployed 6 months after having the child. No! Not worth it! I wanted children. I had my oldest son in 2010. I could never imagine leaving him to deploy somewhere for months. Hello depression. Had my youngest son in 2012. My life is better now. The recruiter will not go near my boys!
What about enlisting in the USAF with the intent to do Cyber Security? And also having done 4 years of AF JROTC and being in mid-late twenties with a masters degree already done?
I’m a veteran, and both my parents are veterans. Now that I’ve been out of the service about 10yrs, I understand why my parents didn’t want me to join.
Anytime I know someone who wants to join, I do my best to advice them against it, especially if they are a woman.
Everyone women I served with had been SA’d, raped, sexually harrassed or some combo of all three, and none of their predators got seriously punished.
I know marines that got kicked out for smoking weed and being too out of shape. But never for victimizing another human being
Doesn’t the DOD(Department of Defence) know that all these sexual harassment and abuse will get more people to leave and or not join.
in 2009 I was broke, couch surfing, and depressed. got hooked by a recruiter that promised my money problems would go away if i joined. I was sexually harassed, socially ostracized, and failed by the va. my fellow soldiers spent about as much time bragging about the atrocities they committed in afganistan than developing some sense of commraderie. after i got out, I became one of the many homeless veterans in our grand USofA, with exacerbated mental health and substance abuse issues. it really, really wasn't worth it.
literally. like 5 female soldiers were complaining about my csm SH-ing them all the time to no avail, but a guy had to go through a halfyear remedial course for doing shrooms T_T
I'm surprised the other male marines who *weren't* sexually harassing their female comrades didn't wrap the offending marine in a blanket and beat the snot out of him with a stern warning to cut that shit out.
@@Otherwise88 what a joy, get shot at to have the ability to fix the wound…
Got a call from a recruiter two years ago, laughed my ass off and said. Dude, I'm 40, how desperate are you? Then hung up.
Lol
As someone who is currently living in a military town, you have no idea how refreshing it is to watch this video.
As someone living in an American vassal state (an Australian in Australia), I'm sick of us obediently following America into illegal and immoral conflicts. These conflicts are never about our, or the invaded people's, freedom or safety.
This song is from an Australian band, 41 years ago! Australia is now even more entrenched in the American military machine.
ua-cam.com/video/30k2uMwBLM8/v-deo.html
@@andrewwright6898 nobody in America cares about Australia fam, if yall dont want freedom then stay slaves to the Monarchy. All we did was try to help yall get your freedoms and you didn’t want them, so not only do we not want to help anymore we dont want people like you that want their freedoms gone in any way connected with our country.
I feel sorry for you
Lots of STDS there no
What town?
I recently got an email from a Marine recruiter that was like "I'm not going to lie to you unlike previous emails you've gotten: you will still have a lot of college debt and you probably won't get the job you want." I doubt it worked. They lie for a reason because when they tell the truth, it's even less appealing.
Saying the quiet part out loud
I'm so glad I didn't follow through with signing up for the Marines out of High School. My recruiter told me because I was one of the top students in my class I'd get fast-tracked to go to officer school. It was 2007 and I was almost certainly going to be sent to Iraq during one of the worst upticks in insurgent activities of the entire occupation as a grunt that would get chucked into the meat grinder
Heh, we talk about dodging bullets but you seem to have done it literally! That or an IED.
Yes of course, back out because of concerns for your own safety, not because you have any moral problems with invading another country and contributing to the massacre of civilians. Just ignore that the US military is the most genocidal organization in human history and make the 1930s and 40s Germans look like a joke by comparison. 🙄🙄
@@LiShuBen 100%
I can't believe there are people out there that defend what happend during the "war or terror". All that death and destruction and evil, for what?
Recruiters always try to convince you that you’re special. They told me that I would be military intelligence. I was intelligent enough to see through that bullshit.
Marine Corps reservist here, great video. If any of you are still considering, don’t.
Seriously, don’t.
I can vouch for the sexual assault bit. I enlisted in the Marines at 18, and got SA'd my second month in the fleet during a field day. Now I have PTSD, and can't clean my bathroom without having a panic attack.
It isn't just women that are SA'd in the military. The group therapy sessions I've been to that are specifically for men who were SA'd was fucking huge.
My sister's husband was sexually abused in the army
or you’re brainwashed into accepting the sexual abuse. yup.
My SO was assaulted too.😔 Shit is so sad because a lot of the men are terrified of coming forward because of retaliation or "not being seen as a man", as my SO put it. Even though it says that retaliation can get the perpetrator in more trouble, they will still risk it just so the victim will never speak out.
I’m so glad you found a group though. I encourage all survivors to find a safe group.
Same, also my knees, hips and hands hurt all the time
As a disabled veteran I approve this message...
Me too. OIF VET 05-06!!!
These are the 2 reasons why I didn't join the military. Reason 1 I was in JROTC during my freshman high school year. I absolutely hated it! Reason 2 my dad is a Vietnam vet. He was drafted into the army. Army infantry with multiple tours. He witnessed a lot of death and destruction. He told me "don't join the military and get caught in a white man's war like I did." I went to college instead. I'm glad that I did
My oldest brother is why I didn't join. He did two tours in Iraq. He was infantry. Left the army with Nazi tattoos and CPTSD. Didn't take him long to find neo Nazi organizations to pal around with once he got out.
@@bradley-ck2nb That's so sad, did he show any signs of having interest in Neo Nazis before joining?
@@bubblybubbles4023 when he was 17 he was robbed at gunpoint by a black dude and it kinda sent him into a very sad racist downward spiral
@@bradley-ck2nb Dude was robbed by one guy and automatically assumes every black person is like that. Really crazy, but I guess that's just human nature.
@@Saturnia2014 very crazy
My father graduated High School during the height of the Vietnam draft. He did not want to go to combat so he thought "Hey i'll join the Navy. I will hang out on ships and travel the world!" That was before he was voluntold to a special river unit and ended up getting wounded by multiple RPGs and being ordered to attack villages from his 35 mm gun turret. Now he is 100% disabled due to TBI and PTSD. DO NOT JOIN THE MILITARY they always find a way to get you in the end.
Just goes to show what a few extra years of life experience gets you. My dad was older, but still draft age. He joined the coast guard and just hung out in San Francisco.
@@arbeitmachtfries so would coast guard be better?
@@pepelepepe The coast guard has had to deal with climate change over the past few years or so and a ton of rescues due to hurricanes and flooding...extreme weather is a serious problem these days.
I was a river rat and everyone on our boat was living in fear 24/7.
Well said! I wasted 22 years of my life in the UK military! From 16 to 38, best years of my life gone and for what? I’m now 43 and have arthritis, tinnitus, zero interpersonal skills. I’m on my third marriage which is barely holding on, I have four kids i barley know due to not being around for their entire lives because of multiple deployments. I struggle to hold a job down because of complex PTSD and the associated depression and anxiety. I drink far too much for my own good (though apart from a slip last night I had managed to stay sober for the previous month! Yeah me!) and you know something? I know I’m one of the lucky ones! I live in the UK so have free healthcare (for now) and am getting help for all my physical and mental ailments, I’m not homeless, I can find work (though not using any of those “skills” I learnt in the Marines)
So yeah, sorry for the rant but I would like to reiterate the point of the video, DON’T JOIN THE MILITARY!
Congrats on the drinking! Despite the slip, you got this!
I'm in the uk as well and considering joining the navy reserves because I need the extra cash. (I'm 29 now and am still living with my parents) Even though this video is US specific, I can't help but think this will apply to the UK for the most part.
This was a great rant and I hope things get better for you in the future.
@@Threxis it very much is related to the UK military, the world over in fact. They treat you like s**t and brainwash you into actually liking it (I’ve learned it’s a form of Stockholm syndrome) and once they’ve used you up they just dump you back into civvie street without a care. There has to be better options for you mate, though I know in the current job market in this country there probably isn’t!
Good luck for your future, and please please please don’t join up 🙏
@@freddogrosso9835 thanks mate, baby steps and all that 👍🏻
My ex-marine dad lost his 💩 when I was eighteen and the Marines called me trying to recruit me. He said, "I already served and was brainwashed so you didn't have to be"
I thought you said at 8 LOL
Based dad
My dad said the same thing to me I didn’t listen and now regret it
I grabbed my nephew and shook him billy Madison style when he said “Tio I want to be a soldiers like you!”
Good dad right there!!
As someone who recently graduated high school, I couldn't tell you how many times a class was subject to speeches from a military recruiter. I couldn't tell you how many times I've been called by marine/army recruiters. I couldn't tell you how many times my parents urged me to join the military. It's disturbing how normalized it is to harangue kids about killing kids overseas. Very grateful that I never signed up.
When I was struggling with my ADHD and scholastic expectations, my parents suggested I "switch tracks" to join a military school, thinking they'd fix my discipline problem
I cried for hours the night they suggested that. I felt so broken.
Your parents urged you to join? After decades of Iraq and Afghanistan, your parents urged you to join?
I was in the Army. If I was 18 again, right now, I'd tell the recruiter that the instant a foreign power lands an invasion force on America's shores, I'll be the first to sign up.
In the meantime, I will not join in order to fight conflicts in other countries.
@@ashcarrier6606 urged me to join after my brother joined the National Guard and got sent to desert training in Oklahoma and then got deployed to Kuwait
I am so tired just relating that fact
Oof. It's even worse now. I'm 30 now. Sorry kid
The US is f**king weird, man. My Dad was briefly in the army and has been in the navy for my entire life (and well before). I don't think he ever once urged me to consider a military career. Might be because I'm blind, but I don't think my sighted siblings really got pushed that way either.
I do not understand why any young woman would ever want to join the military. I grew up in a military family and the Army, at least, legitimately hates women and always has. My entire childhood was hearing every female soldier in my dad's units be maligned and denigrated while it was known how many of the officers beat their families and cheated on their wives. It was worse when we lived overseas. The daughters of soldiers were preyed on by other soldiers as early as 7th grade. The offenders would not be disciplined but high-fived by their buddies while the wives called these children whores, all while failing to protect them. Movies make it seem like the general's daughter was always off limits, but she wasn't so long as the guy had a high enough rank.
Wow, 😮That’s so horrible 😢
I believe you!
True. Seen it.
Or even worse: dads going after daughters and mom allows it 😨😨no fucking joke
if you need authority in your life and want to "defend your country" join the forest service or fish and wildlife 👍
Honestly that is a fantastic idea. You even have a hierarchy that is not based on how cruel you can be.
National Park service teaches history, they're awesome
Legit advice. They’re also the only cops that spend most of their time helping people.
Aww❤
You can always work for Uber or Chipotle!!!😂🎉
I was scouted hard for military service in Highschool due to my grades and being multi-lingual, I thought it would be a good way to 'see the world' (AKA leave a less than hospitable impoverished home life). Recruiters came in frequently to the school and gave out free food IF you signed up. Only thing that stopped me was because they finally realized I was legally Deaf (despite being mainstreamed) and they stopped IMMEDIATELY.
The military only wants to recruit the young and 100% healthy, only to wring them out to be broken when they leave.
Oh yeah similar thing happened to me, he’s a customer at my place, want me to join cuz I’m bilingual, said I can work for the linguistic department, handed out pamphlets and all
That's damn near impossible with gen z
@@COrraThereal0nenah we still got some bootlickers in gen z
I was an electrician on an aircraft carrier. A few months after I deployed, I came across a news article detailing an incident where jets from my ship bombed a school. 50+ civilians murdered, including children. Evem though I didnt drop those bombs myself, I'm complicit in a war crime, and I'll never forgive myself for it.
One thing that all people need to learn is to forgive your self. Life passes by quickly. there is not an alternative path back into the pass to correct errors made. Learn to let the past go. After making a mistake makes solid choices moving forward. Yet understand that making mistakes is a part of the journey. God bless. You were not complicit in war crimes any more than I was as a military policemen. One of the guys in my company saw a West Point cadet's car in a parking lot - it was same car as his with new tires. He jacked the car up .....took the cadet's tires off and replaced his old tires with the new tires. Was I responsible for his criminal actions because I served in the same company?..... even though I wasn't an active participant nor had any knowledge of the crime? Obviously no I was not a participant. It may seem a bad example but it's the same .. you did your job served your country with honor. I wouldn't join the military knowing what I know today but good men women have and will serve in the military - men.. women who will get out and have the knowledge that they served their county with honor
Were all taxpayers. We're all complicit to some extent.
bro it wasn't your fault
My father was an electrician on CV X (Yorktown II) during WW II. While I am thankful for his service as well as that of all other Allied veterans in bringing this world war to a favorable conclusion, I also note that he never recommended the military as a career for my brother or me. Thank you for your comment as it reaffirms my father's perspective on joining the military.
My best friend's dad joined the Army shortly before the age cut off because he felt he had to do something after 9/11. He finally was allowed to retire a few years ago. It's been so hard on him and his family.
How old was he
Allowed to retire? Why did he stay in that long?
As someone who fell for it himself, this is 100% correct. If you're graduating high-school or just got out of high-school please don't sign that contract. At least live on your own and get a normal job first just to see how it feels. When you join at 18 years old and have never lived alone, the military will prey on that to keep you. Few years later, you're 25 and now you're thinking about staying for life because you're used to the Army providing your housing, food, medical care, and wages. I've known many bright, strong people who can make it on the outside but chose to stay in just because they never learned to live on their own. If you're 18, just live your life, get your first apartment, and see how it feels before you enlist. I promise it will be okay.
As much as i want to agree because you’re correct in most of this i just dont feel the civilian sector is any better than the military because ultimately, I was in for six years and went overseas as well but I feel like even with a in demand MOS I still can’t find jobs out here that can support myself and my family not even close to the way the military ultimately did .Sometimes i find myself wanting to go back in but after being out for a bit it seems tough.
The fact that you think an 18 year old can afford an apartment in this economy is hilarious and sad.
@@ErinRSUwe all fcked bruh. 😂
@@ErinRSU That's probably the main reason that someone right out of high school joins the military. Its the only way they could be out of the house. Many times its because of desperation, their parents tell them they have to live on their own.
I live on the Florida panhandle surrounded by military bases and 9/11 was a real turning point for the atmosphere. Military is a "way of life" cult around here. It's really bad because the military economy (housing benefits mostly but also job selection priority) has really screwed over the non-military population to the point that it pushes more people into that pipeline out of desperation. Mixed with recruiters on all campuses and school lunch rooms (pastors and recruiters) and many retired military and military parents make it almost impossible not to join. Thankfully I didn't join but it's a real struggle financially while my sister's military husband will be retiring in his late 30's.
You can't say anything negative about the military here unless you want to be blacklisted from social life because everybody knows at lest one person currently serving and to speak ill of the military is to wish death on all the troops. Already pissed off the wife's family a few times... I have endless stories off family, friends, and neighbors about their struggles. Why so and so is a day drinker or why so and so can't watch war movies anymore.
The worst part of it all is they see I am a leftist and speak out against the military and they just assume I don't "care about the troops" but I care about them, as people. I know nothing really good comes from joining and that the longer they are in the worse they will be spit out (assuming they live long enough to get out).
Guess I should watch the video now 😂
Damn bro, you really got it bad. Move north. Better economy. Diversity. People who can think for themselves. Don't look back
I spot a P-cola pal. 😂 In all seriousness I know what you mean
@@TheCastedone people from the south would say the same thing about the north.
This video is 100% accurate. I was in the army as a medic, and I'm very fortunate to have walked away relatively injury free. I have a couple friends that have committed suicide and a bunch more that have died on the job training or in combat. Not worth it. Especially for how much they pay. Great video! Don't join, shithead! Learn how to weld or drive a truck instead. Join boxing or muay thai to fulfill that masculine void if that's what you need
Good points
I'm really glad I went to welding school instead of the army when I finished community college. I'm not even finished with welding school and I'm already making 20/hr building boats and it's badass.
I'm having a lot of fun, but I still want an adventure, and part of me wants to go Coast Guard, but I don't want to drink the Kool-Aid and get myself stuck in a 4 year shit show. Finishing welding school no matter what, but it seems really nice to not have to pay rent for 4 years.
This was oddly timed. Running out of options in my town and fear moving away from family and friends without a plan. Brother who's in the Navy told me to join the air force
Dude, don't. Don't. Watch the video, especially the conclusion. There are so many other options.
I don't know you but I know you deserve better!
The best thing you can do is learn and get certificates online in areas you are interested in.
I love you too much as a human being to let you go into the military.
Do not join
I wish Leon had made this video when I graduated. When I was a little kid I wanted to join the military bc of a very popular -war based- video game. My dad who never made it past his first year in the military (bc of a medical oversight in the military’s part ) and never left the mindset that the military was the way to go. So when his ten year old daughter told him she wanted to join when she was old enough HE WAS ELATED. They (my dad and step mom) put me in JROTC, fat shamed me until I lost a bunch of weight in very unhealthy ways, shamed me (and punished me) for not wanting to be in the class during my sophomore year and when I graduated and decided I didn’t want to join they threatened my living situation.
I did join and I want to add a few things Leon missed.
No one is your friend, that spiel about brother hood and camaraderie is pure fiction, the military is full of people who will rat you out for the smallest mistake if it means they gain favor of leadership. This isn’t unique to the military but unlike a normal job where you’ll just be fired the military will instead punish you by either shaming and belittling you, ostracizing you, or punish you under an article 15 where they can and will take half your pay for a not so insignificant amount of time, they will take your rank (you pay again) if you have any, and they will essentially put you in jail for a month.
If you’re any flavor of LGBTQ+ you my friends are fucked (trust I know from experience) Because although the military wants you to believe that they’re 100% okay with that, they will not protect you if one of their older service members, who still remembers DADT, belittles your marriage or they will make it clear in no uncertain terms that they do not care about your gender identity, this might seem small but it’s hard working every day in place where people just don’t care.
There is no work life balance/ over time pay. You can be at your job for 12+ hours, and still have to come in early in the morning.
Even if you’re working a desk job it is so FUCKING exhausting. Imagine being a service employee but you really can’t snap or be snarky to a “customer” bc they’re a higher rank than you.
And speaking from experience, if you come from an abusive house, you will not find any kind of solace in the military. The military is just a toxic relationship that you can’t get out of until your contract is up. But please keep in mind that they do no prepare you for life outside the military there exit class is a JOKE, they don’t teach you anything about money saving, they don’t teach you anything about how to apply your “skills” outside and might pick up some very unhealthy habits to cope like smoking or alcohol.
For example, young males in the Marines Corps have the highest rate of heavy alcohol use, at 38.6 percent; among males in the Air Force, the rate is 24.5 percent. Young men in the Army and Navy have similar rates of heavy drinking (Army: 32.8 percent, Navy: 31.8 percent) (pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh284/252-257.htm#:~:text=For%20example%2C%20young%20males%20in,%2C%20Navy%3A%2031.8%20percent).)
There’s so much more I could get into but please if you’ve made it this far, listen to Leon. He knows what he’s talking about, the military isn’t the way out of whatever situation you’ve found yourself in.
Thank you for such insight.
THISSSS
Facts
I've been in for over a year now, and I'm gonna tell you guys straight up, if you think joining will give you any kind of meaning and self-worth in the military, Your living a fantasy. This is not the movies or like the books either. Tbh, it feels like a joke. I will not let any of my family members even consider the idea of joining for money or for those reasons, regardless of benefits. I screwed myself over believing in a fantasy when I got in. Now I have severe anxiety and depression because of it. My recruiter lied to me and got injured twice. My body is already breaking down. I was 21 when I joined. Im gonna turn 24 soon. It is not worth it. If you really want to join the army and know what your getting yourself into. Go for it. If you are joining for the wrong reasons, it is not gonna be easy for you. Two recruits off themselves here in my unit and the guys played ouija board a week later like what. Disgusting, and leadership didn't criticize them for it. It is not for the faint hearted
As a wise man once wrote: “I will serve crack before I serve this country.”
Amen
I'm not so eager to give my life to a hard drug, I do share the sentiment of "fuck Uncle Sam, he can fight his own shitty pointless wars"
See that's the misconception - serving the military ISN'T serving this country. It's serving the billionaire vampire-squids and corrupt politicians who are sucking this country dry with their blood-funnels.
As for serving your country plenty of ways to do that - volunteer etc.
I'm unfamiliar, who said that?
source?? genuinely interested
I served 8 and a half years and did three deployments and none of it was worth it. I'm now on disability and got my bachelor's degree on my G.I. Bill and still tell my kids and my students that the Army/military will ruin you and think twice, especially if you have happen to be a female.
Recruiters were in my middle school talking to literal 11 year olds. I’m not joking. It starts before highschool
grooming
We need an old school punk rock revival for the youth to counter the indoctrination.
Even in kindergarten they came to my school and had "assemblies" in the library. They'd bring in bomb sniffing dogs and lady soldiers to show us girls back in 1989 women can do anything! 😂
I'm a part time wheelchair user and attended high school in a town only about five miles from a base, there were recruiters and military families everywhere. The only times I was ever verbally insulted or harassed were by military people who saw me in my wheelchair. A recruiter straight up told me that I was better off dead because I'm in-eligible to serve (not for the wheelchair specifically but other related issues). Sure, other people made thoughtless jokes, one or two grabbed the handles of my chair, or added to the countless list of micro-aggressions I went through in some other way. But military associated people were the only ones who called me slurs and quoted eugenics talking points straight to my face, if they're still committed to the ideology they don't care how you got that way, as soon as you're no longer eligible to serve you're better off dead in their eyes.
Wow in sorry to hear that, people can be so disappointing.
F those angry sad **cks, best of luck in all you do 👍🏾
People are valuable because they are human. How difficult is that to see? In addition, one’s abilities are not only physical. There are many who have changed the world with intelligence empathy and ideas. Physical strength is not everything. That sort of military thinking is not only cruel but it reductionist and and frankly stupid.
That is absolutely horrendous! How dare they speak to you or anybody like that! All I can say is "aww gee I'm sorry I can't get up to go with you brave soldiers to go burn down villages and murder women and children so Bush the first can get pay back on Saddam Hussein, that must mean I'm worthless! " (Dripping with sarcasm) Good on you for being the bigger person even today. I'd rather hang out with you than some jerk recruiters any day.
I can support your claim with my own personal experience in the Army. Once I was on a profile that reduced the amount of duty I could take for a few months. This included me having to move exclusively on crutches. I was told by some fellow soldiers that I shouldn't be allowed to get as much rations as I did, since I was short and I "didn't need the calories" like they did. They would refer to you as "broken toys" when you weren't aorund (both fellow soldiers and superiors). Don't even be on crutches when a SGT MGR is around, even if you have a profile on hand they'll harrass you for not "doing your part". A Sergeant Major digging into a lower enlistedman for being injured. Amazing for morale.
That’s all incredibly f***ed up. I’m sorry you’ve had those experiences. There are some real morons in the military.
Actually I have a small correction: it IS a lifelong commitment. Once your name is in those roles unless you are 100% disabled? They can and will call you back. I was married to a veteran who is now 100% disabled. My brother just outprocessed from the Navy. I studied political science before said veteran's job was lost and I had to drop out to take care of our kid.
I know someone who broke her back in basic training. My stepmom has permanent health impacts from her service in the airforce. It is a LIFE ALTERING negative committment.
Did I mention it broke my relationship with my brother? Because it did and I haven't spoken to him in half a decade now. He became a totally different person and it sucks because our parents are terminally ill and I won't be in the United States much longer so idk how he's going to get hold of me to let me know anything's going on (he probably won't).
Anyway the military is trash and preys on the poor and BIPOC esp. I'm both Indigenous AND Black. We get fucked over in every arena but esp this one. It negatively affects immigrants especially hard as well.
Fuck the military and what it does to people. The brainwashing is real.
I'm in Canada but also considered joining near the end of Highschool. I was a miserable, confused queer guy who liked martial arts and hated living with my conservative parents. I thought it would be a good way to sort out my philosophy and earn some money while not worrying about room & board.
One of the few times my Dad did something particularly good for me with his advice. He talked me out of that, out of being a cop, out of pursuing medicine too (too much stress in his opinion). Now I'm an anarchist. Go figure
Have you found a way to make anarchism a living wage job yet?
Half serious asking for advice here :D
My biggest trouble is applying for jobs... too many formalities, too many incentives to lie about myself, when i just want a paid job...
Thank fuck… I served in the Canadian Military and it was a shitshow. I was in the same boat and I joined… I became someone I didn’t like very much and it took me until now to get my mental health in check. It turned me into a leftist.
@@nos9784 I work in film so it's a bit easier to just be honest. "My dream is to be a screenwriter, I have X amount of experience and really just looking to build up my skills and connections while learning the production pipeline."
Most people in film avoid talking politics like the plague and like to style themselves as "not your boss"
Hope you stuck with the martial arts, at any rate. That kind of thing can be great for instilling the discipline the military is *supposed* to give you, in a far healthier way.
@@auroraborealass Is turning into a leftist a bad thing?.. haha
I'm a linguistics major and relatively young, so whenever I mention my degree to someone they always assume that I need advice in life. Without fail, they recommend that I join the military. "They need translators! They pay well! I knew someone who got so many opportunities from the military!" I would rather gouge out my eyes than join the military. It is disgusting how the military industrial complex infects not only students, but those of us with degrees completely unrelated to warfare.
back in cold war days I knew a guy with a degree in Russian. He enlisted and they made him an airplane painter. pretty typical .
@@johnthompson7420mmmm that makes me think of my fren who told me to never join cuz the military is a scam. I was 17 at the time but never thought on joining. So I felt a little strange when she’s said that cuz I was like, huh? I don’t think this applies to me? Then a year later, a customer at my place tried to get me in cuz I’m bilingual and I was very tempted by all the so called benefits.
To keep it short, I didn’t
As a veteran, I'm gonna go ahead and cosign everything Leon is saying here. Anyone denying it is either a recruiter or full of shit (but I repeat myself). My experience with the military was a machine that destroyed me and all my friends. Do not become destroyed. Please.
WOW!!
I was thinking about joining I got two 3 kids 24 but I wanted to join for hvac and I’m an egale scout too
@@cortayzlewis3794I had a great experience in the army. Don't join combat. Join intel
I joined and it was probably the best choice made. I've never been paid so much for doing so little work. I don't make much as an enlisted, but for the amount of work i put in rn I'd say I'm over compensated. It's lit!
@@operez6519what’s your job?
When I worked as an EMT I saw a lot of veterans and spent a fair amount of time at the VA hospital. One of my most vivid memories is of a vet with terminal cancer that was suspected to be caused by agent orange exlosure who kept saying he just wanted to live to see Christmas (this was a few days before). The VA doctors and nurses were usually amazing people but it was chronically underfunded and understaffed. I brought a lot of vets to the state run psyche facility where you would usually see at least one rat in the hallways because the VA wouldn't pay for nicer ones. I'm genuinely convinced that the most pro-veteran position you can take is to be vehemently anti-military.
Thank you this. I’m 29, married and have 2 babies. I have been heavily considering joining the Space Force as I was always told it would “provide me an amazing life”. I believe God brought me to this video as an answer to my prayer of what I should do.
The space force employees many technical jobs that pay very well on the outside. Many people go into space force and leave when their time is up because of the skills they have. Cyberspace operations being one of the big ones. The space force won’t pay you but a fraction of what you can earn in the private sector.
@@bbiggsthat’s exactly right my brother in law does it and has deployed 1 time and it was to California lol for a few months if any branch is worth being in it’s that one.
I was in the Civil Air Patrol Cadet Program which was run by veterans and post-9/11 dads and I ended up joining the US Navy for 4 years. I won’t exactly specify what I did because I could be prosecuted for it, but the lives ended due to my conduct weigh on me every single day of my life. I got out 4 years ago and I’m only 26 years old. DO NOT ENLIST. YOU WILL REGRET IT.
@@TATERplaysGAMES Facts.
Thank you for your honesty. I know it's never easy to talk about these things but I appreciate your candor. All you can do is be kind and help spread the word because people listen!
I have honestly been thinking about joining the navy nurse corp as a female. It's that bad? Are there like secret operations going on by the corrupt government to kill innocents?
I've heard of people who don't regret going. Some say they never even deployed in over 20 years.
So I'm old now but back when I finished high school, after being through JROTC I was planning to join the military. My father, a Vietnam veteran, was adamantly against it. He did everything he could to convince me not to join, citing his own experiences and he wasn't too happy when he saw recruiters show up at my door to talk to me.
Well, despite some teenager back talk I did to him he convinced me not to join and as I got older and saw everything happening with things like 9/11 and how the US handled that and such I was really glad I listened to him. Sure I did rack up student debt for college but I didn't have to go through any of that and he was really happy that I listened to him.
He's no longer living but I still thank him every day for managing to talk me out of what I would consider a regretful decision today.
I have always found it darkly funny how someone at the US Military clearly heard talk of violent video games causing school shooters and their eyes went wide at the notion.
As a wise man said to a reformed monster, “you don’t need to have a patch or stripe on your arm to have honor.”
I always thought it was strange how my entire class was forced to take the ASVAB junior year of high school. I know a few of my classmates tried to get out of it and were scolded by our class sponsor and forced to take it anyway.
What could the "class sponsor" do if a student refused? Did any students actually refuse to take it? What could the punishment be, suspension for a day or two. Were any of the students smart enough to deliberately get every single question wrong on the test?
Was yall parents made aware?
I thought about joining the military to pay for college for about an hour when I first started. Two years before 9/11. SUPER glad I didn't.
dodged that bullet like neo from the matrix lmao
This made me think of when conservatives were PO'd about Starbucks hiring refugees over veterans when they should have been mad at the government for the poor treatment and care of veterans
Why would they be mad at the government when this is more than likely the way they wanted this to work. Veterans, though being humans with lives, personalities, and social realities, will usually only serve as a political tool for conservatives (and others honestly) to trot out for clout and political points. With the event you are talking about involving Starbucks, it is the exact way they want it to be to further their agenda.
rare starbucks W
As a Veteran who has Major health issues due to my time in the Army I agree with this .
My biggest fear is that one of my children join .
So far they've listened to my advice .
I've had 21 surgeries on my spinal cord and brain stem .
Tumors " magically " have grown inside the Nerve Sheath in my spine .They have also grown in my brain stem .
Supposedly because I was
" exposed " to something that caused my genetics to change .
I'm not alone .
Look up " Gulf War Syndrome " and other lovely new health issues facing service members .
There are some underhanded things going on .
My medical board had to be held in a special counsel , behind closed doors , and my Neurosurgeons from Walter Reed had to go with me . They had to explain that my
" Illness " was not a naturally occurring issue .
Jesus Christ don't join .
Basically I was there to defend the Corporate Establishment.
I was told " now that you're Injured and ill you're no better than a broken down jeep " ....
So now the same Bean Counters and Politicians who said that tell me " thank you for your service ".
It's all lip service .
That sounds awful
Gulf War Syndrome is linked with the series of anthrax vaccines that they gave to service members.
Veteran here. Don't do it. There are an infinite number of ways to find *some* kind of future that don't involve you literally supporting imperialism.
I wouldn't recommend it either.
I joined the Army in 1981-1984. I joined again in 1998-2001 and hated it. It had changed a lot for the worse. BRAC replaced lots of jobs with military contractors as well as downsizing the military overall.
The first time I was in was much better and folks weren't as racist and right wing. There was also more hazing the second time.
@@scoot4348why you went in for 2nd time?
The funny thing is, I've just watched a 1980s motivational video title We Were There. Sure it can be said that it's not all fun and heroic, but near that video's end when they were giving aid to needy people, I was like "maybe serving is not that bad after all depending on what you're fighting for". That is like helping others for a noble cause instead of destroying something in the name of hegemony.
The military in my country is strictly a defence force, we don’t invade other countries. We mostly protect our boarders from extremist insurgents, delivery aid to natural disaster areas, search & rescue and wildlife conservation.
I never understood the thesis of invading other countries.
Remember kids: just say no. To joining the US military
And being signed up for selective service? What if they try to forcefully mobilize you?
Not to mention that the 25% of women in the service who report sexual assault is an underreport because of the risk of retribution from their commanding officers for reporting, so the actual statistic is almost certainly much higher.
When I first got into Judo, that made me want to become a cop. And only a few months ago, Modern Warfare 2, if only briefly, made me consider joining the military. And I was always a left-green anti-authoritarian. But I'm still not immune to propaganda.
The last couple minutes hit me hard because growing up in a military family 18yo me could've really used that advice because the fear of disappointing them crippled my growth as a person.
"working retail. . . you have almost no chance of committing a war crime (unless you work at Hobby Lobby)" dark lmao
What does Hobby Lobby do that could be considered a war crime?
As someone who fell for it way back when. All of this and more. Your signing bonus won't be fully paid out until you're at least half way through your active term. The skills you will gain, even in the best jobs, will likely not help you as much as the mental trauma will hinder you in life later on. My guess is, if you're watching this, much less reading comments, you don't need convincing. Hopefully you can convince someone you know who's considering joining to take that job at jiffy lube without 8 years of soul and body crushing servitude.
My little sister felt like she was running out of options a few years back and joined the Army. One of the best days of my life was about a month later, when she flamed out of boot camp and got discharged.
There aren't many young people in my life, but my partner is a teacher and if any of their high school students is ever considering joining the military, I'm gonna have them show the kid this video!
As much as that would be awesome, they could actually lose their job if they teach at a public school. As the video said, School-funding is reliant upon how chummy the school gets with the military, so anyone who "ruins the mood" could be seen as a "killjoy."
This is some of the best advice anybody has ever posted to the internet. When I was in high school, during the peak of war in Iraq, I was heavily sought out after by the recruitment officers in school. I was looking to go to the military because I came from a poor background and I wanted money to go to school. They offered me sandwiches and Hardee's and rallies and whatever to push me to sign a contract. Thankfully, I work that the Kmart nearby, and it was frequented by Vietnam war veterans. Veterans. More specifically, African American Vietnam war veterans. And none of them suggested I enlist to go to this war. War. Not one of them said it was a good idea. And every last one of them pushed me into gaining my higher education. After I graduated from NSU, I found a program that allowed me to teach abroad. I traveled thanks to these programs. I saw the world thanks to the friends I met through these programs.
Leon is insanely brave to do a vid on how much it sucks to be in the US military. The US military does _not_ fuck around when it comes to PR. If he vanishes into a blacksite, we'll at least know he went down fighting.
For the injuries part. This is so true. You forgot to mention the military ruins EVERYONES back!
I'm a vet and I agree with every point in this video. If you want another good read, I suggest War is a Racket by Smedley Butler, 2-time Medal of Honor recipient and the most decorated Marine in history, about his experiences being used as a tool of state-backed coercion for United Fruit and others in Central and South America.
One thing that wasn't touched on here in the video, but I feel is important to mention, is that the personal quality of life for your average lower enlisted servicemember SUCKS BALLS. They touched on pay, but they didn't mention that if you aren't married and not a non-commissioned officer (sergeant/E-5 or greater for Army), your ass gets to live in the barracks, where you get to be basically on-call 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, available to fulfill the whims of whatever duck fucking idea your leadership comes up with when outside of duty hours. You also have no privacy, as daily barracks inspections aren't uncommon and they can, and WILL, decide to dig through all your shit on regular occasions under the guise of "health and welfare" when it's just another way to enforce the idea that you are the Army's property and they can treat you however they like.
I would seriously consider eating a bullet before ever reenlisting. Don't do it kids, there's better ways to earn a better paycheck, like your local trade unions.
Alot of men in the military become insecure and raise their kids poorly, preventing them from getting a trade.
Imagine how much tangible good could be done with USA military budget channeled instead into education. Green energy. Affordable housing. Hecking NASA.
Not from the US, but I lately thought about "defending my country" due to current politics. I came to the conclusion, that I do not care enough. I own nothing, no land, no house and I do not have a fortune. If anyone has to take up arms, maybe my landlord should do his part.
My family has a history of getting forcefully mobilized like this. We got nothing for serving countries like Serbia and Ukraine in this fashion, only death and health/mental problems. We're done being cannon fodder and meat for the politians, we had enough. I refuse to ever fight, and would do my utmost to avoid any war and service.
Wait, you're from Germany? What do you man by current politics? If you are from Germany, that's one of the countries where I want to go to and live there, so I'm surprised to hear about all this. Germany is a NATO member and some NATO members have nukes (U.S.) so there's no way anyone in their right mind would attack Germany...
I never knew.Good education.I live in Africa.The military here are just psychotic thugs so they don't have a good reputation.But people join because of serious hunger.After their service, they are a shell of who they were.I APPROVE OF THIS VIDEO.
It physically hurts me when I'm pressured to say "thank you for your service". I will never willingly say that.
Most vets hate it anyway
@@user-mh4wl1zc9i most awkward feeling to me sometimes is the "thank you for your service" statement. In my head I'm going "Bro, I'm in this for the pension, TSP, and free American Express Platinum and Gold cards".
9 year veteran of the Marine Corps here - please don't say it, and don't ever feeled compelled to do so. I guess it's a nice gesture /if/ it's sincere to begin with, but it only really makes most of us uncomfortable.
Best response if it comes up is to try and have a human conversation about it like you would anyone else about their job. Only difference we probably have much stronger feelings about it.
imperialists
Just reminds me of something my stepdad told me: Navy stands for Never Again Volunteer Yourself.
I’m a Navy veteran, it sucked. Only thing I got from the Navy was athletes foot
I almost joined up when "Iraqi Freedom" was in full swing. I had just turned 18 and was hard core propagandized by liberal warhawks. My family were all democrats, and therefor *still* support the MIC and the concept of American hegemony. Except my Uncle who did two tours in Vietnam. He sat me down one day and gave me a short talking to that stuck with me to this day. He said, "your dad says you wanna go fight. Don't. You'll be forced to kill women and kids and if you refuse, they'll beat the shit outta you or kill ya if they think you'll make too big a stink of it. Stay home. Do something better." Changed my life to have someone who *actually* served in the military be so blunt.
Sent both of our kids to a Quaker school. I’m so glad we did. They are both in their twenties and anti war as well as anti military. They are both politically aware as well. Everyone needs to see this video. ✌🏼
Every vet or active duty person in my life, be it a relative, friend who served or is serving, or youtuber I watch; they have ALL told me not to join and have given me plenty of examples to back up why.
Last year my best friend mentioned wanting to join the air-force and I had to sit her down and go over all of it to talk her out of it.
I hope no one joins militaries in the future and the world elite has no one left to play games of chess with people's lives anymore.
Support your local militia
lol no
I got a call from a military recruiter waaaaay back in school. My mother happened to be in the same room, realized after a few of my answers what was going on, grabbed the phone, said, "Not interested" and hung up. Never got a call again.
My friend had a late in life Schizophrenia trigger in the Air Force. He's doing alright bow but there were several times I felt like I should drive all the way to Arkansas to make sure he was okay. This is without him seeing combat. I can only imagine the hell.
My dad has severe trauma behind a lot of what he has done. He realizes now how he was used and lied to and I can see the turmoil in him whenever it's brought up. Stories of gunning down households and dumping piles of bodies out of windows in South America. He used drugs for a little and was an alcoholic for a short time in my life. He has severe anger issues and overall a lot of my life was ruined by his untreated traumas. He's finally working through these things years later now that we are forced to live together again. This stuff is hard to hear sometimes. Makes me sick to my stomach tbh.
I used to love DCS and Arma but I can't play them the way I used to, having seen the hell that I'm attempting to gain fictional entertainment from. Motorsports and Civil Aviation are great outlet hobbies to get your mind away from unnecessary violence.
Had to add Skyrim in there. Violence against the Thalmor is perfectly acceptable.
I broke up with my fiance in 2010 and joined the army reserves. I thought it would be the most grueling, tough experience I needed to make me a man and get over my relationship. It was the biggest fail session ever. The hardest part was the general dog and pony show, hurry up and wait mentality, and just wanting to go home as I felt what I was doing was no value to anyone
first of all i joined the military when i was 17 with my parents consent . second we were poor so i was not going to collage. third i lived in a neighborhood that was like doge city i dont think i would have made it to 20 years old. so the military was my way out of that poverty and that violence . it was the best idea i ever had.
It might not be as bad where I am like it is in the U.S. but I personally never considered joining the military. I decided to work at a retirement home instead because I wanted to help someone.
Currently in the Army and currently hating my life. Before I joined, so many people told me not to do it, but I was positive thinking I’ll be okay. Fast forward to now, i want to get out so bad. Toxic leadership, horrible work environment and just bad in general
I wanna play this video in all public squares around the globe. Always brilliant and straight to the point, Leon!
I'd rather show everyone this comment section, if people who were in say it's bad then you know what's truly up.
In high school me and my friends made a reservation that if we all can’t go ahead and get our dream jobs then we’d all sign up into the military as a last resort job option for the rest of our lives. 9 years later and turns out all but 2 (me and another guy who I don’t speak to) have joined the military and 2 of them had been severely injured in some way in service, both of them have been wounded in a way so they can’t function normally again.
I was paranoid of all of this ever since I went to high school and military recruiters were just hanging out all over the halls which made no sense to me. I guess my fears weren't unfounded.
As a former Marine, I actively speak to my children about never joining the military. I joined the Corps thinking I was serving my country only to realized I was being used as goon for transnational corporations. Then I saw how they forced the poisonous jab on the military. To top it off now there military has gone woke especially with sexual depravity within the ranks.
The military sponsored the ASVAB test for my entire junior class in the late 90s (another time when there was a "mission gap") under the guise of it being a "career aptitude test." We all took the test en masse in the cafeteria, under the watchful eyes of recruiters, and got our results back in a few weeks with recommended military careers and, oh yeah, civilian ones too. They gamified the whole thing too, with our results printed with star ratings next to them but we had to use a ~special marker~ to show the stars. The entire process was woven into English lit classes that year with a "my future career" research paper due at the end of the year based on the results we got from this test. No one I know took the whole ordeal too seriously but it definitely put us all on the recruiters' radar--pun intended. (For the record, the military side of my test results said I should go into military intelligence, that great oxymoronic department.)
"my future career" Eeeeewwww!!
I spent all 4 years of my enlistment desperately wanting to get kicked out, but they do a really good job making you feel like anything other than an honorable discharage will basicallly ruin your life. There's also an enormous amount of social pressure once you're in. The fear of looking like a failure to your friends, family, and coworkers can be overwhelming. 15 years later and my biggest regret in life is joining, my second biggest regret is sticking it out. It's often a horribley abusive and toxic eniovrnment that can enable awful and sadistic people to thrive, and can be traumatizing regardless of whether or not you see combat.
Oh and I still ended up with 25k in college debt because I had to work while going to school. Nothing about it is worth it. Don't join.
As a combat veteran and grandson of a recruiter, I concur with this assessment. I joined to earn the freedom I enjoyed as a kid... I heard all the hubba wubba about the VA and avoided it for several years after getting out, but I can confidently say the VA is light-years ahead of the horror that is navigating civilian healthcare and insurance.
I'm about to get out of the Navy, in less than 6 months. I wish I had seen this video many years, ago when I was a desperate kid who had no where else to go.
I wish you all the best.
I hope you’re doing ok now.
A 50% casualty rate is massive by most standards. Are most of these injuries in combat, training, other duties? Why are there so many?
The nearly 50% injury percentage is cumulative. Training and combat. All sources are cited in the description for more information.
Everyone I know has back issues, hearing issues from not even being deployed. Its very common to have injuries
Shoot, there was a helicopter crash just yesterday...I think like 8 soldiers died
They issue you back and knee pain at CIF in basic training
The military just ages you. Depends on your job in what way, your hearing is most likely to degrade. Sea duty will absolutely fuck your legs. Not to mention the number of times one friend or other acquaintance almost got their arm ripped off cause of some idiot. Or that one time a naval gun misfired in our direction (technical error + negligence).
My Dad served in Desert Storm and my Great Uncle In Vietnam. I did consider joining the Navy but they both talked me out of it based on their experience and what they went through. A lot of recruiters told me that we have to serve to ensure the freedom for future generations… if I serve and the next generation serves then what generation gets that freedom?
Joined the Navy in '09 and got out in '15. I've got two Ivy League degrees but I will be in a wheelchair by my mid 40s. Before my arthritis issues were diagnosed, I told my dad my bet was time. Would I be able to pay off my student loan debt in six years? No. At that time, I thought I had won the argument. But now, I can hardly walk comfortably. Son in the long run, it was probably a bad bet. Being in pain all the time and having to go to therapy all the time is crappy.
My grandfather and both uncles served, WW2 and the American war in Vietnam, they influenced me not to join
Also hearing loss is practically universal even in people who are physically unscathed and manage to never see real combat. Turns out that even with earplugs, spending that much range time is really bad for your ears.
High school?? Pleeeeease. I had recruiters in MIDDLE SCHOOL tell me that going to collage without military funding was stupid, getting anything above a core 40 was unnecessary, so just do the bare minimum in school, join the military and ONLY THEN will the military get you to your potential.
Nowadays, a good chunk of my current friends are vets or are in inactive service. They don’t like the military. Evidently.
So I come from a military family. One of my grandfather's was a medic in Vietnam which screwed him up greatly as his alcoholism led to him abusing family with them leaving him and dying in the 1980s. The other was a Korean War vet who transferred to NATO and the Ai Force and became the Chief Flight Surgeon. That being said from what my mom told me he was a man with extreme anger issues and only mellowed out when I was born. I used to idealized the military. I was a huge WWII buff and bought into the "Good of America" and I wanted to join. My parents were a little hesitant and wanted me to do college first and I joined the ROTC. Mainly due to job security, continuing a family tradition and I'll admit trying to get girls. What I got was pain. I realized it wasn’t shit. Monday, Wednesday and Friday we just did PT, the main class didn’t teach us jack aside from leadership skills and during my first year we just saw clips from movies and tried to connect them to the real world! And the Labs for the most part were skills that were freaking useless! My time in ROTC was horrible, I was mocked, isolated and humiliated, those who I thought were my friends actually used me and talked shit behind my back. So much so that I had a mental breakdown and they kicked me out due to that and my poor grades at the time. When I got out, I realized how much people hated the organization! When I got out people were like “Hey you still in ROTC?” I was like nope’ Everyone’s reaction was "good". I found out the ROTC cadets did some real fucked up shit on campus and managed to get out due to their connections. Also they have this cult like personality. Once your out most pretend that you don’t even fucking exist anymore. Makes me so happy that I never actually joined. I've heard horror stories from many friends and people I definitely dodged a bullet (Pun intended)
I almost joined the ROTC program in my school. Some kid nearly sold me on it at my barbershop. I was so taken I got as far as calling the Colonel overseeing the program. Something felt off, though, and I called it off. Formed a Video Game Club instead.
I’m glad I got a medical discharge from the Marine Corps. Although I do miss it from time to time, the bad definitely outweighed the good. Embrace the suck folks. Life is hard as it is already, no need to self inflict more by enlisting.
I spent all of high school prepared to join the military. My senior year a girl I was dating convinced me to go to college. the relationship didn't work out and college got too expensive to stay but I'm grateful I never joined. All my peers who did enlist are not the same people and have never seen combat. The talkative ones are now the stoic ones. The sweet ones now manipulate their wives. And all of them brag about the nice cars they have and refuse to eat anywhere that won't give them a discount. It's really fucking my boys up.
My middle school science project won an award from the Air Force. Although I was only 11 at the time, they sent me all kinds of propaganda in the mail, hoping I would sign my life away six years later. Thankfully, my parents cared enough to intervene. Almost four decades later, I'm still a civilian.
Did six years in the Navy. Stupid mistake.
I thought about this a couple of years ago. I thought about joining the Air Force back when I was living in Tallahassee (and still do), and I thought about joining because I had no opportunities. I remembered talking to the recruiter and they actually turn me down because, and I'm paraphrasing, "We [the US Air Force] aren't in the business of accepting people in the service that are down on their luck." (And there, me and the military actually agreed on something). Moreover, my dad was in the army for thirty years (he was in the 1991 Gulf War) and came a broken man (he never mentioned what he did, nor did I ask.) And he was pretty adamant that me and my brother do not join. He was a broken man who suffered PTSD and had some serious alcoholism. He was also verbally (and sometimes physically) abusive towards me (I have autism). Long story short, my childhood was pretty terrible. Back to the present, I had asked former dear friend (who was a Republican/Conservative) to accompany me to the recruiting office. She told me no because she said, "This is something only you can do". So, I took it as "I don't care if you die in some distant land. As long as you die to make me feel "free" and "comfortable." Basically, out of sight and out of mind. In the end, the powers that be often send those who the deem undesirable or unwanted to either die in some distant land or end up being caught up in a bureaucracy that takes away their dignity. The fact that they're people who fight, protect, and defend the biggest wasters in society is beyond me. Although, I do have a theory:
Like anything else in humanity, the military is a place to seek community and camaraderie. People need mythological stories of heroism and courage to give meaning to their mundane existence (between birth and death). We all want to belong to something, and we will do whatever we can to accomplish that feeling, even if it means joining morally dubious organizations; all with hope of doing a job that will reward them with a place with the higher-ups. Of course, this rarely ever happens.
The best thing about being on the spectrum is not being able to join the military.
If you or a spouse are military, please understand that living on base is very much living in a cult environment. It's where you'll find the biggest America Fuck Yeah jingoists who insist our system is the best... While living on base because its as close to socalism you can get on US soil. No rent, no utilities, provided child care and education at no cost, tax free stores to shop at and the USO gives away food constantly, and functions as a community center with common space for play and socialization. On Guam, living on base gives you access to multiple playgrounds and 2 beaches, as well as the marina and rental center.
So you live on base where you don't have to pay any of the regular things other people live with, in close proximity with other military folk, ALL OF WHOM WILL CONSTANTLY GRILL YOU ON WHEN YOU'RE GONNA MAKE BABIES TO JOIN THE SYSTEM.
The national anthem plays twice a day, sunrise and sunset. There's an unspoken rule on base that you stop doing what you're doing during the anthem. If in a car you're supposed to pull over. If you're on foot, you are to stop and face the nearest flag or speaker the song is playing from. If you're a member in uniform outside, you must salute during the entire anthem.
No one tells you this, and civilians can be detained for not doing it and possibly lose base access ( meaning becoming suddenly homeless AND getting exiled from your neighborhood and stores you rely on for cheap food and goods )
Don't live on base if you can manage it. If you must, get a good set of earplugs.
And, on top of all of this, you will be asked to join myriad MLMs.
@@LittleMissLounge I managed to avoid that, but I'm also someone who is willing to sacrifice the social interaction and support of FRG meetings unless it's an information meeting about When And Where I Need To Be to pick up my spouse when the boat comes back... And I don't stay for anything beyond that.
Really hard for anyone to make a sales pitch when I don't exist in their sightline for more than a few minutes at a time 😂
He didn’t even speak on the quality of life for service members. The living quarters would fail any civilian inspection
Being from Argentina (where our own military fucked us a few times), I always struggle with the notion of "supporting the troops". I mean why don't support truly useful people like teachers, doctors and weed farmers instead?
Replace weed farmers with FOOD farmers and add janitors to this list!
I drew an anarchy symbol on my asvab test back in high school , refused to answer, and i can't remeber what else. That didn't go over well