NationStates Jolt Archive

Have you served in your country's military, and if so, what branch and when?

If you have served in an "alternate" position (NHS or whatever), no extra response is required.

----------
US Navy (Cadet, Reserve) 1984-1986
Us Army (Artillery/EOD, Active) 1986-2002

No.

Yes.

US Army Rangers, 1990-1998.

USAF - Avionics Tech (AD, 2000-Present)

How about almost. The Air Training Cadets. It put me off military service for good, as I discovered that I am not capable of obeying orders that I disagree with, morally, or intellectually.

Sure. I was an A-6E Bombardier. Got 117 traps on the Saratoga. 57 on the JFK. A couple dozen on the Lexington and another dozen or so on the Roosevelt.

Except when I was at Division,when I was a Forward Air Controller. Not too many traps in that billet.

USMC 2d Marine Air Wing, MAG-14 1981-1987
COMNAVVACWINGPAC(vacuumpac) 1987-1990
1st Marine Division, 7th MEB 1990-1993

Oh yeah, First CIVLANT 1993-present.

My country doesn't have veterans.

Except when I was at Division,when I was a Forward Air Controller. Not too many traps in that billet.


I'm sure that depends on the definition of "traps" you're invoking for that phrase...lol

I'm sure that depends on the definition of "traps" you're invoking for that phrase...lol
No. Division was a giant snake pit.

No, too young, and I won't do it anyway. I'm a pacifist.

"The pioneers of a warless world are the young men (and women) who refuse military service."
- Albert Einstein

No, too young, and I won't do it anyway. I'm a pacifist.

"The pioneers of a warless world are the young men (and women) who refuse military service."
- Albert Einstein

Well, fear not, those of us that are in the military will continue to protect those of you who never understood the game of chess.

My country doesn't have veterans.
Anyone who has ever served in the Swede Military for any length of time is a Veteran. Maybe not a Combat Vet, but a Vet just the same. So, Yes, Sweden has Veterans.

Well, fear not, those of us that are in the military will continue to protect those of you who never understood the game of chess.

Understanding the game and choosing not to play are entirely different things.

Still, as a Quaker, thank you for making your choice which makes my choice somewhat more realistic.

U.S. Army, 1991-1994.

US Navy 1983-1988.

Understanding the game and choosing not to play are entirely different things.

Still, as a Quaker, thank you for making your choice which makes my choice somewhat more realistic.

LOL, very true. However, as I'm sure you've realized, if you're forced into the game (which we all are by human nature) it's not realistic to expect to survive without making any moves. No?

Anyone who has ever served in the Swede Military for any length of time is a Veteran. Maybe not a Combat Vet, but a Vet just the same. So, Yes, Sweden has Veterans.

A veteran, in the miltary sense, is usually a soldier who has taken part in a war, at least that's the consesus here. Hence there are basically no old soldiers who call themselves veterans here, nor does anyone seem to call them that either. There are no prominent organisations, no parades, no memorials...

As Sweden does participate in peace keeping missions, we have "veterans" from those, but, here again, they are rarely, if ever, referred to as such, since it wasn't actually a war they participated in.

Also the fact that the word "veteran" is used here to denote older cars or sportspeople who have retired may have something to do with the disusage of the term.

US Navy 1982-2002
Retired

LOL, very true. However, as I'm sure you've realized, if you're forced into the game (which we all are by human nature) it's not realistic to expect to survive without making any moves. No?

Well, to beat the metaphor into the ground, no one is ever forced into a game. There's always a choice. One just has to be absolutely clear on the consequences of that choice. :)

Human nature may dictate a certain inherant level of aggressive behavior, this is true. However, human ability allows us to examine our instincts, develop criteria by which to judge them and their outcomes and then act according to our value structure. We always get to choose.

No, too young, and I won't do it anyway. I'm a pacifist.

"The pioneers of a warless world are the young men (and women) who refuse military service."
- Albert Einstein

Albert had a lot of nice ideas, but like most extremely-specialized people, he commented on things he had little to no understanding or knowledge of.
Genius does not always translate across to other fields of expertise, or you'd have more PhD's quarterbacking in the NFL, or dashing up and down waxed boards in the NBA for ten million bucks a season, instead of kids who can barely read, much less understand the contracts they sign.

still and all, it's good that you aren't in the Military. Pacifists (genuine ones) should never be forced to wear the uniform or carry a weapon. Doing so merely endangers the other men in the unit, and someone needs to stay home and keep the economy moving, because the only thing worse (for everyone, including the pacifists) than fighting a war, is Losing a war.

USAF

2001-present

Royal Navy, 1995-98

I have done and will do no military service. I'm a Bahai, and thus a pacifist. I can and would gladly serve my country in a non-combat capacity. Just because I refuse to kill, does not mean I refuse to help.

My country (Canada) has very high number of Veterans because of all the Peacekeeping operations our military has been involved with. Today is VE Day in Europe. The people of Holland are lavishing attention and heaping praise upon the Canadian Veterans, for freeing them from Nazi Occupation. The veterans are all very old and soon they will be gone entirely. What is going to happen as all those who fought in a World War pass on and aren't there to remind us what they mean when they say "Never again."?

In any case, Peace and Respect to all Veterans out there.

Tried to join the Marines back in- oh never mind.
Unfortunately they require you to be able to see. I couldn't get around that little obstacle.
Though I was in the Texas State Guard. They'll take anybody. I think they even take dead people and imaginary friends. :D

Understanding the game and choosing not to play are entirely different things.

Still, as a Quaker, thank you for making your choice which makes my choice somewhat more realistic.
Quoth the Quaker at an assault hearing:

I'm here, your honor, because after I fulfilled the Obligation to turn the other cheek, I proceeded to beat the Hell out of him... :D

Quoth the Quaker at an assault hearing:

I'm here, your honor, because after I fulfilled the Obligation to turn the other cheek, I proceeded to beat the Hell out of him... :D

Hmm, that Quaker must go to an even more liberal Meeting than my own. :)

I was born in the US, but as a first Generation Greek over here, I plan on moving back in the future, going to the Uni of Athens (Free of charge) and join/be drafted in the military there. All male citizens from 18-45 must serve for at least 12 months. If you want to go to University first, they grant you extensions and so on. But college there is automatically free I'm pretty sure, so long as you pass the tests.

US Navy 1973-1977

Yep.

US NAVY (AT2) '92-'98
IL ANG (ADA) '98-'01
US ARMY Res. (DI) '04 - present

Have you served in your country's military, and if so, what branch and when?

If you have served in an "alternate" position (NHS or whatever), no extra response is required.

----------
US Navy (Cadet, Reserve) 1984-1986
Us Army (Artillery/EOD, Active) 1986-2002
[ See signature below ] :)

http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/fields/2024.html
Good link for comparing conscription, worldwide.

Me? I'm a US citizen that is also dodging the Slovak draft:

Slovakia 18 years of age (conscripts serve nine months of basic military service; term of service will be reduced to six months effective 2004) complete transition to an all-volunteer professional force is planned for 1 January 2007; 82% of Slovak armed forces will be volunteers by December 2004; volunteers include women, with minimum age of 17 years; 18 years of age for compulsory military service; conscripts serve 9 months of basic military service; service obligation reduced to 6 months effective 2004 (October 2004)

...so no, I'm not a veteran.

I have done and will do no military service. I'm a Bahai, and thus a pacifist. I can and would gladly serve my country in a non-combat capacity. Just because I refuse to kill, does not mean I refuse to help.
<snip>
In any case, Peace and Respect to all Veterans out there.
Sort of OT, but are you Pacifist because you are Bahai, or Bahai because you are Pacifist? One implies moral certitude, the other calculation. (Not denegration, just a question...)

Nope.

My grandfather was a captain in the New Zealand army (25th battalion) and was wounded in northern africa in the second world war. My other Grandfather drove a troop truck in Italy. Various Great uncles of mine also fought in the second world war.

Since then, none, and I don't plan to break the current trend.

Usmc 1975-1995

Yep!

U.S. Naval Corpsman during Desert Storm part 1. I like having a totally volunteer military. I don't like the idea of the selective service though. Some of the best militaries in the world are non-compulsary. Forcing someone to fight just doesn't work, besides with the a volunteer military you can get people who want to fight as opposed to people who are forced to be there.


Rob
Libertarian Gun Owners :mp5:

Yep!

U.S. Naval Corpsman during Desert Storm part 1. I like having a totally volunteer military. I don't like the idea of the selective service though. Some of the best militaries in the world are non-compulsary. Forcing someone to fight just doesn't work, besides with the a volunteer military you can get people who want to fight as opposed to people who are forced to be there.


Rob
Libertarian Gun Owners :mp5:
RAH & I agree with you on this one. The Draft is involuntary Servitude - Government authorized & implemented Slavery. (I'll post the RAH cite later)

My grandfather was in the Egyptian Air Force. He's the only person I know in my family with a military background.

Canadian Infantry 1994-2000

RAH & I agree with you on this one. The Draft is involuntary Servitude - Government authorized & implemented Slavery. (I'll post the RAH cite later)

From RAH "Expanded Universe"

RE: "Starship Troopers"

1. "Veteran" does not mean in English dictionaries or in this novel solely a person who has served in military forces. I concede that in commonest usage today it means a war veteran . . . but no one hesitates to speak of a veteran fireman or veteran school teacher. In Starship Troopers it is stated flatly and more than once that nineteen out of twenty veterans are not military veterans. Instead, 95% of voters are what we call today "former members of federal civil service."

Addendum: The volunteer is not given a choice. He/she can't win a franchise by volunteering for what we call civil service. He volunteers . . . then for two years plus-or-minus he goes where he is sent and does what he is told to do. If he is young, male, and healthy, he may wind up as cannon fodder. But there are long chances against it.

2. He/she can resign at any time other than during combat—i.e., 100% of the time for 19 out of 20; 99+% of the time for those in the military branches of federal service.

3. There is no conscription. (I am opposed to conscription for any reason at any time, war or peace, and have said so repeatedly in fiction, in nonfiction, from platforms, and in angry sessions in think tanks. I was sworn in first in 1923, and have not been off the hook since that time. My principal pride in my family is that I know of not one in over two centuries who was drafted; they all volunteered. But the draft is involuntary servitude, immoral, and unconstitutional no matter what the Supreme Court says.)

4. Criticism: "The government in Starship Troopers is militaristic." "Militaristic" is the adjective for the noun "militarism," a word of several definitions but not one of them can be correctly applied to the government described in this novel. No military or civil servant can vote or hold office until after he is discharged and is again a civilian. The military tend to be despised by most civilians and this is made explicit. A career military man is most unlikely ever to vote or hold office; he is more likely to be dead—and if he does live through it, he'll vote for the first time at 40 or older.
* * *
"That book glorifies the military!" Now we are getting somewhere. It does indeed. Specifically the P.B.I., the Poor Bloody Infantry, the mudfoot who places his frail body between his loved home and the war's desolation—but is rarely appreciated. "It's Tommy this and Tommy that and chuck him out, the brute!—but it's 'thin red line of heroes' when the guns begin to shoot."

My own service usually doesn't have too bad a time of it. Save for very special situations such as the rivers in Nam, a Navy man can get killed but he is unlikely to be wounded . . . and if he is killed, it is with hot food in his belly, clean clothes on his body, a recent hot bath, and sack time in a comfortable bunk not more than 24 hours earlier. The Air Force leads a comparable life. But think of Korea, of Guadalcanal, of Belleau Wood, of Viet Nam. The H-bomb did not abolish the infantryman; it made him essential . . . and he has the toughest job of all and should be honored.

Glorify the military? Would I have picked it for my profession and stayed on the rolls the past 56 years were I not proud of it?

I think I know what offends most of my critics the most about Starship Troopers: It is the dismaying idea that a voice in governing the state should be earned instead of being handed to anyone who is 18 years old and has a body temperature near 37°C.

But there ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

Democracies usually collapse not too long after the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses . . . for a while. Either read history or watch the daily papers; it is now happening here.

Sort of OT, but are you Pacifist because you are Bahai, or Bahai because you are Pacifist? One implies moral certitude, the other calculation. (Not denegration, just a question...)

Thats a perfectly reasonable question. I'm a Pacifist because I am a Bahai.

Yes.

United States Navy, Submariner. 1991-1997 (6 year enlistment, 1991-1995 (standard) + 1996-1997 mandatory extension frm ATF/AEF), Firecontrol Technician.

I leave next month for Marine Corps Basic Training, therefore, I have not yet earned the title of a Marine, so, technically, no. But get back to me in September, and that will change.

USAF ROTC did that for my 4 years and then they said they didn't need me.
So no but i'm trying again next year.

Alternate service...

Does that include the Foreign Service(Y'know, diplomats? Because they are just as important as soldiers.)