Military Basic Training Question- Trying To Understand The "Normal" Response

[ironwolf]

I don't know, if anyone can be talked out of joining based on him talking to them they probably would be better off not signing up. Then he can finally find an outlet for his issues... Seems win/win imo

True. If you can be talked out of it by a crazy guy I. Front of a recruiting center then yeah....you probably shouldn't join anyways.

 

[MikeHolmes]

Honestly, I do not understand some of you. So, instead of continuing to "whine" about the military, I decide that maybe that I should help someone who might be ignorant of the military. Wouldn't you guys want people not to join if they did not truly understand what they were/are getting into? I thought this whole brotherhood of the military is about having people that "want to be there." Why wouldn't there be universal support for any endeavor that enlightens and helps people make fully informed decisions? Granted, I'm biased against the military, but recruiters are biased IN FAVOR of the military. It's just evening the odds.

And I'm not naive about my chances of success. I know I likely could never make a difference. But it would probably do a world of good for self healing if I were able to talk just ONE person out of joining the military. One person that was idealistic and ignorant, but would have hated the reality.

 

[LilMountain]

Honestly, I do not understand some of you. So, instead of continuing to "whine" about the military, I decide that maybe that I should help someone who might be ignorant of the military. Wouldn't you guys want people not to join if they did not truly understand what they were/are getting into? I thought this whole brotherhood of the military is about having people that "want to be there." Why wouldn't there be universal support for any endeavor that enlightens and helps people make fully informed decisions? Granted, I'm biased against the military, but recruiters are biased IN FAVOR of the military. It's just evening the odds.

So far only two people replied to this idea of yours and the one who voiced any sort of negativity agreed with me when I pointed out the benefits of it, stop painting with a broad brush

 

[MikeHolmes]

So far only two people replied to this idea of yours and the one who voiced any sort of negativity agreed with me when I pointed out the benefits of it, stop painting with a broad brush

Eh, your reply was condescending and not really supportive. I can admit there's people that benefit from the military. Why can't you admit that some shouldn't be there and would be helped if talked out of it?

 

[LilMountain]

Eh, your reply was condescending and not really supportive. I can admit there's people that benefit from the military. Why can't you admit that some shouldn't be there and would be helped if talked out of it?

Jesus you do have issues. Sorry I wasn't "really supportive" you special precious little snowflake, it's a brilliant idea, congratulations on your victory for humanity, where do I sign up for a chance to shake your hand and buy you a drink? (now THAT'S condescending)

For the record; some people should be talked out of it, but I doubt your story applies to many, I imagine very few potential recruits are completely ignorant of how the military works or have emotional problems, but I welcome you trying which is why I suggested where you would be most effective attempting to do so when you asked.

 

[MikeHolmes]

Jesus you do have issues. Sorry I wasn't "really supportive" you special precious little snowflake, it's a brilliant idea, congratulations on your victory for humanity, where do I sign up for a chance to shake your hand and buy you a drink? (now THAT'S condescending)

For the record; some people should be talked out of it, but I doubt your story applies to many, I imagine very few potential recruits are completely ignorant of how the military works or have emotional problems, but I welcome you trying which is why I suggested where you would be most effective attempting to do so when you asked.

There's a big part of me that is fascinated by psychology, which might be why I raise the issue so much; I want to learn about people's cognitive processes.

For instance, you hit on something. I notice that the military mocks people for thinking they are a "Special Snowflake," which is certainly because they want uniformity. However, my issue with this line of thinking; isn't that basically supporting Communism, the thing that the military was trained to fight against throughout the 20th century? If none of us are special, which is something I agree with, why does the military have ranks and structure instead of a straight team environment? My whole problem with the military was there were people there THAT THOUGHT THEY WERE SPECIAL.

I dunno, I guess we can all contradict ourselves if we delve into our brains enough. But the military philosophy of nobody being special is basically the antithesis of capitalism and democracy. So why fight for it?

 

[MikeHolmes]

For the record; some people should be talked out of it, but I doubt your story applies to many, I imagine very few potential recruits are completely ignorant of how the military works or have emotional problems, but I welcome you trying which is why I suggested where you would be most effective attempting to do so when you asked.

Well, I saw a lot of people that wanted out when I was there. Sure, maybe their reasoning was different, but my last experience was leaving behind people that wanted out. That didn't feel good

 

[Renard]

You have some kind of saviour complex. People in the military don't want or need to be 'saved'. The military is an institution that exists to wage war, literally to kill people. 9 years ago you knew you were signing up to wage a stupid war in the ME, from which you could return maimed or with PTSD. What the fuck are you expecting?

 

[georgekillian]

It was good and bad for me. I truly did NOT know that I was mentally ill until that experience. Thus, at least I was able to get on anti-depressants and stop viewing myself purely as weak (which ironically was what the moron First Sergeant Weatherholt ignorantly screamed when I was being counseled) The bad was I developed such a fundamental disconnect with humanity, between not understanding why others were going along with the bullshit and the very existence of the system in the first place. It's my cross to bear, I guess.

Yes your cross to bear. Poor you.

 

[KoreanZawmbie]

Mean while...I just graduated Fort Leonardwood a week ago, from the Military Police Corp

OSUT, Basic through AIT non stop, and I'd like to add, none of which the TS wrote about could be farther from the truth. Must be a very very fragile mind

 

[jdionio]

I don't know how to approach this other than share my experiences in the military. Basic at Knox in 2000 was still where you could be yelled and screamed at, while being forced into muscle failure. We had a ragtag platoon with one guy being a honest to god section 8. To the point he found a live round at the weaponeer practice site, hid it, put it into his rifle and fired it in the barracks and hit a fellow soldier in the leg, with it going through and nearly hitting every major nerve and artery in said leg. That's not including his fraudulent enlistment due to mental issues, going AWOL, and other shit. The soldier that got hit made a recovery and got through basic pretty much on a waver due to it. Had another guy that said he got tricked by an army recruiter to join to go to summer camp. He would get us in trouble all through basic, and to really shock everyone, put boot polish on his class A dress shoes. Needless to say, he didn't get to do the graduation ceremony. Oh, and our main drill sergeant was dealing with his marital issues, to include a divorce.

So that's my basic, not to include AIT at Fort Sill, being in my unit, my 2 deployments to the Middle East, or being on Operation Jump Start in Arizona, assisting the Border Patrol in Yuma and Tuscon. I've met plenty of people I love, plenty I despise, and lost a few brothers in arms. Do I regret it? Hell no, but this is hindsight being 20/20.