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In an effort to start a little friendly conversation I wanted to discuss with you guys what you thought of the current state of our military. I know a few of you are former military and many may have served during the Vietnam war. At a time when the only thing more unpopular than the war was the military, most guys did only 1 tour to the combat zone, at least that is what I have been told.
Fast forward to today and look at our current state. I personally have been to Iraq 2 times, 7 months the first time and 12 the second time. I am preparing to go back again sometime this next year for 8 months. I want to put out now that I am not complaining in the least bit. I love my job and will continue to deploy in support of my country for as long as I believe that it is the right thing to do. I will also acknowledge that different services deploy for different amounts of time, fortunately for me the Army is the longest (I love the Army, almost as much as my wife ;D).
In a time when our military is stretched thinner than ever and military personnel are spending more time away than they are at home there has to be a better answer.
I lived in Italy for 2 years and was able to see first hand what mandatory military service does for someone. It seemed to me that it instilled discipline, patriotism, confidence, and all those other cool adjectives that describe someone WHO has spent time honorably in the military.
I know we have people on this forum from abroad and welcome their insight in the matter. I am not sure that mandatory service is the answer for us, nor a draft. An all volunteer Army is a great thing, one of the most powerful things a commander can have on his side. I know as a commander I would much rather have 5 guys that wanted to be there than 50 that didn't.
I know there is lots of debate about this and most would just say that we should pull our military back home and sercure ourselves here first. I have seen first hand the good we are doing in Iraq, especially during the initial invasion in 2003.
I am sure I will have more thoughts on this later and welcome what you guys have to say. I was just sitting around thinking and thought I would share.
Fast forward to today and look at our current state. I personally have been to Iraq 2 times, 7 months the first time and 12 the second time. I am preparing to go back again sometime this next year for 8 months. I want to put out now that I am not complaining in the least bit. I love my job and will continue to deploy in support of my country for as long as I believe that it is the right thing to do. I will also acknowledge that different services deploy for different amounts of time, fortunately for me the Army is the longest (I love the Army, almost as much as my wife ;D).
In a time when our military is stretched thinner than ever and military personnel are spending more time away than they are at home there has to be a better answer.
I lived in Italy for 2 years and was able to see first hand what mandatory military service does for someone. It seemed to me that it instilled discipline, patriotism, confidence, and all those other cool adjectives that describe someone WHO has spent time honorably in the military.
I know we have people on this forum from abroad and welcome their insight in the matter. I am not sure that mandatory service is the answer for us, nor a draft. An all volunteer Army is a great thing, one of the most powerful things a commander can have on his side. I know as a commander I would much rather have 5 guys that wanted to be there than 50 that didn't.
I know there is lots of debate about this and most would just say that we should pull our military back home and sercure ourselves here first. I have seen first hand the good we are doing in Iraq, especially during the initial invasion in 2003.
I am sure I will have more thoughts on this later and welcome what you guys have to say. I was just sitting around thinking and thought I would share.