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>I know I sure as hell wasn't mature enough at 18 or even a decade later to be in a position where I could be deciding to kill someone in combat You could easi

>I know I sure as hell wasn't mature enough at 18 or even a decade later to be in a position where I could be deciding to kill someone in combat You could easily be a non combatant, and most are not combatants jobs. Its one of the greatest misconceptions of the military. Wars and battles only occur during a failure of diplomacy and negotiation.

atlasunshrugged 6y ago
Sure, I could easily be a non combatant and likely would be (although I scored in the high 90s on the ASVAB and the recruiters said I could pick my role...) but my understanding is that you don't really get a choice. When you sign the papers they own you and you wouldn't have much of a choice if they decided to put you in that position. I'm not sure I agree that those are the only situations where wars and battles occur - maybe in great power conflicts but was there really much diplomacy or negotiation before the U.S. invaded Iraq?
- Waterfall 6y ago
  I cannot say for sure, but it wasn't the only place with conflicts. I also got high on the ASVAB, but I didn't end up joining because I was too nervous and scared like you.
- cbozeman 6y ago
  I scored a 96. I was supposed to go Navy Nuclear Power School and become a nuclear power plant technician of some kind. Either a Machinist's Mate (MM Nuclear), Electronics Technician (ET Nuclear), or Electrician's Mate (EM Nuclear). Turns out I'm color blind. I already had the top secret clearance, ended up as a quartermaster (QM) for Patrol Coastal Crew Charlie at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek in Virginia Beach, under command of SOSCOM (Special Operations Support Command). A lot of driving around spec ops units on a RHIB (Ridged Hull Inflatable Boat) up and down the Um Qasr river (which is actually more an estuary and canal system, and actually has a lot of different names as it shifts... but that's another story - everyone just calls it 'Um Qasr'). Bottom line, the military will put you where they need you most. Smart people get put into advanced training for very technical ratings. I would probably be working in a nuclear power plant today had I been born with normal color vision. Such is life. Smart people are too rare to waste on shit like infantry. There's plenty of people that can hold a rifle.
  - CapricornNoble 6y ago
    >>>Smart people are too rare to waste on shit like infantry. Nitpick: the infantry needs intelligent people too, especially in the officer ranks. McNamarra's Morons suffered massively-higher casualty rates than "normal" draftee infantry, for example.

atlasunshrugged 6y ago

Sure, I could easily be a non combatant and likely would be (although I scored in the high 90s on the ASVAB and the recruiters said I could pick my role...) but my understanding is that you don't really get a choice. When you sign the papers they own you and you wouldn't have much of a choice if they decided to put you in that position. I'm not sure I agree that those are the only situations where wars and battles occur - maybe in great power conflicts but was there really much diplomacy or negotiation before the U.S. invaded Iraq?

Waterfall 6y ago
I cannot say for sure, but it wasn't the only place with conflicts. I also got high on the ASVAB, but I didn't end up joining because I was too nervous and scared like you.
cbozeman 6y ago
I scored a 96. I was supposed to go Navy Nuclear Power School and become a nuclear power plant technician of some kind. Either a Machinist's Mate (MM Nuclear), Electronics Technician (ET Nuclear), or Electrician's Mate (EM Nuclear). Turns out I'm color blind. I already had the top secret clearance, ended up as a quartermaster (QM) for Patrol Coastal Crew Charlie at Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek in Virginia Beach, under command of SOSCOM (Special Operations Support Command). A lot of driving around spec ops units on a RHIB (Ridged Hull Inflatable Boat) up and down the Um Qasr river (which is actually more an estuary and canal system, and actually has a lot of different names as it shifts... but that's another story - everyone just calls it 'Um Qasr'). Bottom line, the military will put you where they need you most. Smart people get put into advanced training for very technical ratings. I would probably be working in a nuclear power plant today had I been born with normal color vision. Such is life. Smart people are too rare to waste on shit like infantry. There's plenty of people that can hold a rifle.
- CapricornNoble 6y ago
  >>>Smart people are too rare to waste on shit like infantry. Nitpick: the infantry needs intelligent people too, especially in the officer ranks. McNamarra's Morons suffered massively-higher casualty rates than "normal" draftee infantry, for example.