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I'm relatively confident I can, even as an outsider, give you some insight on their situation. All my closest friends were in the military in different branche

by toolz 11y ago

I'm relatively confident I can, even as an outsider, give you some insight on their situation. All my closest friends were in the military in different branches even and they all shared a pretty similar story. They spend years of their life excluded to mostly just people in their team. They chant words of brotherhood and tell tales of hardships and emotional struggle. They daily reaffirm to each other that their only hope for life is to rely on their brothers inside of this team they are on. They are given uniforms, they are given mottos and they are regularly put through emotionally and physically demanding situations. This is just the training phase. The sign-up for such a job is promised acts heroism and tales for the grandkids, but then after all that hard training and attitude altering for this promised adventure, you end up sitting on your ass and doing mundane crap in another country. In an attempt to keep your dreams relevant you start making up hardships and talking about your brothers who died in combat (usually people they've barely even met) and then you come home and find out people don't think you're quite the hero you we're promised you would be. You come home and find employers pissed they had to make special accommodations for you and you come home expecting people to pat you on the back. You come home with promises of bonuses you never got because the military lied to you and the VA doesn't give a shit about you. You joined up as a bright eyed young man looking for adventure and spent so much time being fed that bullshit that when you come back home it's hard to cope with the fact so many people lied to you.

LanceH 11y ago
What a load of bull shit. The above post reads like someone who never served but has read about it. Your confidence is misplaced.
- toolz 11y ago
  Exactly which part do you disagree with, or do you even have anything more than an emotional objection?
Bahamut 11y ago
I'm not sure where you heard this, but the military experience is not your exaggerated guestimate. Plenty understand what their chosen jobs entail, and the possibilities are. Plenty also understand that nobody owes them everything, and it is all about what value can be provided now. I am in the process of getting admin separated from the Marine Corps as a result of a bureaucracy circle I was put in when changing units, but I have no reason to slam the military, especially since it is highly unlikely to affect my career. It was a great experience, even if I never got to deploy (I am a reserve infantryman). I only had an issue with one employer holding something against me despite me being completely transparent about having reserve duties. Otherwise, they were perfectly accommodating. If anything, the military service should instill in people to not take anything for granted - at least, that was my experience in the Marine Corps. Hard work never changes, inside the Corps or outside, and the mentality is to work harder to impress, since no one can fault you for showing tremendous work ethic.
scott_usa 11y ago
Based on your comment below, tool, it appears you have a real axe to grind. "So I'm supposed to pay tax dollars for your salary and then give up my seat on a plane because you're working just like the rest of us?" Your 'closest friends in the military' are giving you a skewed view of reality, and I am sorry for it. 1)It sounds like your friends were not in combat so their experiences are not comparable to the author's experiences. BTW, the author plays into the narrative of 'veterans are victims' perfectly. 2) If your friends are fabricating their relationships with servicemen who were killed, it sounds like they will fabricate anything they tell you. 3) The military is like any other organization, with good employees and less than good employees. Your friends appear to fall into the latter category. 4) In my experience, there is a population of service members who got to do what they signed up to do (pull triggers, of course) and who have reintegrated into society such that you would not know that they served, nor would they advertise that fact. I believe that these 'good employees' comprise the majority of veterans but they aren't a vocal group (unlike the author) so you will probably not hear their opinions.
- toolz 11y ago
  It's interesting how easily I can point out the willing bias in both of our comments. Either way, you're probably right about the majority of veterans doing just fine. That's why I lead with the qualifier of veterans who lead with their title. No one leads introductions with "I used to service vehicles.", except in very relevant situations. While being a veteran for some people (as you say likely a small minority) is a token to deserved respect. "I didn't fight for your freedoms so you could do XYZ" is not an uncommon phrase on social media for me. I've never heard "I didn't build houses for 20 years so city council could draft up unsafe regulations" or anything resembling the veterans mantra.

by toolz 11y ago

LanceH 11y ago

What a load of bull shit. The above post reads like someone who never served but has read about it. Your confidence is misplaced.

toolz 11y ago
Exactly which part do you disagree with, or do you even have anything more than an emotional objection?

Bahamut 11y ago

I'm not sure where you heard this, but the military experience is not your exaggerated guestimate. Plenty understand what their chosen jobs entail, and the possibilities are. Plenty also understand that nobody owes them everything, and it is all about what value can be provided now. I am in the process of getting admin separated from the Marine Corps as a result of a bureaucracy circle I was put in when changing units, but I have no reason to slam the military, especially since it is highly unlikely to affect my career. It was a great experience, even if I never got to deploy (I am a reserve infantryman). I only had an issue with one employer holding something against me despite me being completely transparent about having reserve duties. Otherwise, they were perfectly accommodating. If anything, the military service should instill in people to not take anything for granted - at least, that was my experience in the Marine Corps. Hard work never changes, inside the Corps or outside, and the mentality is to work harder to impress, since no one can fault you for showing tremendous work ethic.

scott_usa 11y ago

Based on your comment below, tool, it appears you have a real axe to grind. "So I'm supposed to pay tax dollars for your salary and then give up my seat on a plane because you're working just like the rest of us?" Your 'closest friends in the military' are giving you a skewed view of reality, and I am sorry for it. 1)It sounds like your friends were not in combat so their experiences are not comparable to the author's experiences. BTW, the author plays into the narrative of 'veterans are victims' perfectly. 2) If your friends are fabricating their relationships with servicemen who were killed, it sounds like they will fabricate anything they tell you. 3) The military is like any other organization, with good employees and less than good employees. Your friends appear to fall into the latter category. 4) In my experience, there is a population of service members who got to do what they signed up to do (pull triggers, of course) and who have reintegrated into society such that you would not know that they served, nor would they advertise that fact. I believe that these 'good employees' comprise the majority of veterans but they aren't a vocal group (unlike the author) so you will probably not hear their opinions.

toolz 11y ago
It's interesting how easily I can point out the willing bias in both of our comments. Either way, you're probably right about the majority of veterans doing just fine. That's why I lead with the qualifier of veterans who lead with their title. No one leads introductions with "I used to service vehicles.", except in very relevant situations. While being a veteran for some people (as you say likely a small minority) is a token to deserved respect. "I didn't fight for your freedoms so you could do XYZ" is not an uncommon phrase on social media for me. I've never heard "I didn't build houses for 20 years so city council could draft up unsafe regulations" or anything resembling the veterans mantra.