4 ms·

Perhaps it's a deeper reflection on the level of commitment most of our society currently shows towards most causes. We "like" a page and suddenly we've helped

Perhaps it's a deeper reflection on the level of commitment most of our society currently shows towards most causes. We "like" a page and suddenly we've helped the problem go away. We pour a bucket of water on our heads, video tape it, and this is somehow equivalent to donating money to charity. I was going to push back on the veteran portion too. I received my MBA for free thanks to the GI Bill. I got someone to actually look at my resume on Wall Street simply for being a veteran. My generation is getting a lot more public attention than the Vietnam vets I know. Couple other points: 1. Service may be voluntary, but it is still mostly the poor, both rural and urban who have few options out of High School. 2. Disability money may take a while to arrive, and yes it sucks, but the standards are pretty loose for a disability now. I have a torn ACL from service for which I receive about $400/month. I really hate that I can't run anymore. I miss playing sports, but do I deserve $400/month for the rest of my life? I don't know. I plan to save it and get a new knee at some point. 3. The VA does suck, just not for the reasons outlined. The truly wounded/traumatized veterans out there are being neglected and need more attention. 4. I don't disagree with the thrust of the writing. Coming from Afghanistan, the U.S. in general sometimes feels unreal. A dating app that vettes people based upon their Ivy League cred? This is what I fought for?

andyfleming 11y ago
To be fair, the ice bucket challenge was effective in both marketing and donations. They raised well over $100 million across multiple charities. I do agree that there is a false sense of contribution with "liking" and sharing. Sharing can be effective, but it can't be effective without those who actually take action beyond sharing.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
someguydave 11y ago
I suspect one problem the military has is that its superficial popularity sharply limits actual accountability. For instance, Congress is happy to continuously approve pay raises for all the troops. While this looks like motherhood and apple pie from the outside, is rewarding the incompetent and competents alike a serious personnel policy? Unfortunately, it seems that everything the US government does has been turned into a public relations exercise.
- wavefunction 11y ago
  The best sort of comparison of pay raises between the military and civilians is: http://www.defenseone.com/management/2014/09/heres-chart-showing-30-years-military-pay-raises/94124/ http://www.defenseone.com/management/2014/09/heres-chart-sho... It doesn't seem like either civilians or the military are getting much of a pay raise, especially when one considers the inexorable inflationary rise of prices.
  - someguydave 11y ago
    ah but you must consider that most military based in the US receive "BAH" which can easily double their total pay, tax free. For example, an E-5 with a high school diploma in Maryland can get $2k per month tax-free: http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm
    - deleted 11y ago
      [deleted]
  - someguydave 11y ago
    But to your point, I readily grant that the government mismanages civilians as much as military personnel.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
icebraining 11y ago
1. Service may be voluntary, but it is still mostly the poor, both rural and urban who have few options out of High School. Is that still true? I thought it had changed post-9/11 (per [1]), has it reverted? [1] http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2008/08/who-serves-in-the-us-military-the-demographics-of-enlisted-troops-and-officers http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2008/08/who-serves-...
- dforrestwilson1 11y ago
  That's an interesting point. I had not seen that. I can't refute this with stats, but I would not say I have seen the same thing either. I would be curious to know if different branches of the military have widely disparate demographics. I suspect the Air Force takes in the most highly educated and also wealthiest recruits, and that the Army takes in the least educated, least wealthy. In the Marine Corps I saw big differences in backgrounds based upon MOS. My boot camp platoon was roughly 50% Hispanic and most of them ended up 0300 - infantry.
  - someguydave 11y ago
    I remember when the PBS news show would list the causalities in Iraq every evening along with their hometowns. I perceived that most military members who died were from rural areas in the South and Midwest.
    - icebraining 11y ago
      Well, not in absolute numbers, at least. State Fatalities California 478 Texas 420 Florida 196 Pennsylvania 196 New York 191 Ohio 188 Illinois 162 Michigan 160 Georgia 142 ... http://icasualties.org/iraq/uscasualtiesbystate.aspx http://icasualties.org/iraq/uscasualtiesbystate.aspx
      - someguydave 11y ago
        Interesting. It would be interesting to see this table normalized by the state's population.

andyfleming 11y ago

To be fair, the ice bucket challenge was effective in both marketing and donations. They raised well over $100 million across multiple charities. I do agree that there is a false sense of contribution with "liking" and sharing. Sharing can be effective, but it can't be effective without those who actually take action beyond sharing.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

someguydave 11y ago

I suspect one problem the military has is that its superficial popularity sharply limits actual accountability. For instance, Congress is happy to continuously approve pay raises for all the troops. While this looks like motherhood and apple pie from the outside, is rewarding the incompetent and competents alike a serious personnel policy? Unfortunately, it seems that everything the US government does has been turned into a public relations exercise.

wavefunction 11y ago
The best sort of comparison of pay raises between the military and civilians is: http://www.defenseone.com/management/2014/09/heres-chart-showing-30-years-military-pay-raises/94124/ http://www.defenseone.com/management/2014/09/heres-chart-sho... It doesn't seem like either civilians or the military are getting much of a pay raise, especially when one considers the inexorable inflationary rise of prices.
- someguydave 11y ago
  ah but you must consider that most military based in the US receive "BAH" which can easily double their total pay, tax free. For example, an E-5 with a high school diploma in Maryland can get $2k per month tax-free: http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm http://www.defensetravel.dod.mil/site/bahCalc.cfm
  - deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
- someguydave 11y ago
  But to your point, I readily grant that the government mismanages civilians as much as military personnel.

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

icebraining 11y ago

1. Service may be voluntary, but it is still mostly the poor, both rural and urban who have few options out of High School. Is that still true? I thought it had changed post-9/11 (per [1]), has it reverted? [1] http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2008/08/who-serves-in-the-us-military-the-demographics-of-enlisted-troops-and-officers http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2008/08/who-serves-...

dforrestwilson1 11y ago
That's an interesting point. I had not seen that. I can't refute this with stats, but I would not say I have seen the same thing either. I would be curious to know if different branches of the military have widely disparate demographics. I suspect the Air Force takes in the most highly educated and also wealthiest recruits, and that the Army takes in the least educated, least wealthy. In the Marine Corps I saw big differences in backgrounds based upon MOS. My boot camp platoon was roughly 50% Hispanic and most of them ended up 0300 - infantry.
- someguydave 11y ago
  I remember when the PBS news show would list the causalities in Iraq every evening along with their hometowns. I perceived that most military members who died were from rural areas in the South and Midwest.
  - icebraining 11y ago
    Well, not in absolute numbers, at least. State Fatalities California 478 Texas 420 Florida 196 Pennsylvania 196 New York 191 Ohio 188 Illinois 162 Michigan 160 Georgia 142 ... http://icasualties.org/iraq/uscasualtiesbystate.aspx http://icasualties.org/iraq/uscasualtiesbystate.aspx
    - someguydave 11y ago
      Interesting. It would be interesting to see this table normalized by the state's population.