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Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

chrisseaton.com

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Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#91

Post by systemvoltage »

> I meet a lot of people in tech who tell me with a straight face that they genuinely think we should just unilaterally disband the Army right now, and cannot comprehend why I’d have anything to do with it. At RubyConf 2014 someone in the lunch queue asked what I did before I was in tech and asked me if I enjoyed killing babies when I explained.

I think Silicon Valley has a lot to learn from this. I worked with a defense contractor (one of the largest ones), designed parts in military airplanes and always found it uncomfortable to share this history of mine after moving to SV. What I did was so cool and always wanted to contrast it with software engineering (which is also cool sometimes but in a totally different way). I was met with tremendous guilt, disdain and unfair judgement of my character. The whole thing would flip after I explain to them that the airplanes I worked on were used for search and rescue recon. SV is myopic and politically fraught, sorry to say.

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#92

Post by giantg2 »

sputknick wrote: post #8

I spent five years in the Air Force. Posts like this are really helpful, a lot of Americans are disconnected from members of the military, especially in the upper classes where people do not need to serve, or in fields (like tech) where people can often find less intrusive ways to pay for college. My favorite part of the article is dispelling the myth that in the military senior people bark orders, and don't ask for…

"My favorite part of the article is dispelling the myth that in the military senior people bark orders, and don't ask for feedback, and subordinates dutifully carry out those orders. None of those is true. There is a time to "shut up and color" but that is by far the exception."

Based on my limited knowledge, I think it's highly dependent on the leaders in the unit. I have a friend who always dreamed of being an naval aviator, went to the academy, and served for several years as a pilot. They are leaving due to the political BS of the organization and poor leadership by those in command. My relatives' experience back up similar experiences - up to and including the extreme example that an XO overrode a maintenance officer in order to bark orders that work needed to be done in a way that was contrary to documented procedures and resulted in loss of life (in training no less). Basically 9/10 leaders range from decent to excellent. That other 1 is the one that can make your life hell or get you killed with little to nothing you can do about it.

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#93

Post by micromacrofoot »

abduhl wrote: post #36
toomuchtodo wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't a positive. It is a tragedy that these services (education, healthcare) are difficult to obtain without military service in a supposedly developed country.

You’re just complaining. The world exists as it does now and broad generalized complaints like yours are often used to support positions which actively harm those you purport to help. Say we take away the military on-ramp to class mobility. What can we do for those trapped in poverty whose only ticket out was enlistment? Your answer should be focused on what we can practically do as the world stands now, not in your…

> What can we do for those trapped in poverty whose only ticket out was enlistment?

You just give them the fucking food, education, and healthcare. Look at the current US military budget and tell me that's impossible.

The military is not offering "good" — it's offering the roll of a dice. Sure, one side says "good" but you've got a "death" side too. Wealthy people do not have to roll this dice at all.

The majority of our lives has featured a "war" almost entirely based on false pretenses. Thousands of soldiers died. Do you think their families were happy about having this on-ramp to class mobility?

I had recruiters coming to my house and deriding my living conditions to get me to enlist when I was 17. It's predatory, abhorrent, and not even remotely "good."

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#94

Post by freedomben »

basisword wrote: post #62

>> I originally joined the British Army full-time after finishing my masters in computer science at Bristol in 2007. At the time, the campaign in Afghanistan was in full-swing, and the campaign in Iraq was still running. All my peers were going into office jobs in London but I still wanted more fresh air at that point in my life. I just cannot understand this mindset. "I wanted to see the world so instead of taking a…

Your privilege is showing. Most people can't afford to take a month off, let alone a year. Paying for world travel is out of the question.

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#95

Post by adewinter »

PoignardAzur wrote: post #68

The author is... very nonchalant about the ethical aspect of his calling. From the sanitized language (the "destroys the enemy through mounted close combat" euphemism kind of glosses over the killing part of said combat), to the almost smug dismissal of pacifists, I'm seeing a lot of rhetoric being put into deflecting the criticisms of the military without actually addressing them. Like... the author mentions the Pet…

This article was about the author's reasons for joining the military, not sure why you expect it to also be about the detailed history of a particular unit or the general ethics of being a modern soldier?

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#96

Post by dogman144 »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #37
abduhl wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re just complaining. The world exists as it does now and broad generalized complaints like yours are often used to support positions which actively harm those you purport to help. Say we take away the military on-ramp to class mobility. What can we do for those trapped in poverty whose only ticket out was enlistment? Your answer should be focused on what we can practically do as the world stands now, not in your…

Things don't get better if you don't complain. All of my siblings have come back from military service (marines, army rangers, navy) worse off, and the benefits in no way compensate them for what they lost. I recommend it to no one. The best military service is the service you did not perform. The VA is notorious for being terrible. The US has non profits for wounded/disabled veterans because care and support (most i…

Sounds like your siblings had tough deployments or unit issues, which is certainly a thing and the ugly side of the tradeoff of service.

But, most of what you point out is a veteran issue, and I 100% agree, but that's not the military's fault, its the VA and the executive/legislative branch.

Arguably no branch of the government is more invested in a strong veteran support network than the military itself, as the dynamic you point out is well known, and keeps people from service for probably good reasons.

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#97

Post by brimble »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #25
jmyeet wrote: post #14

So one of the things I like about Tiktok is you get exposed to something you normally wouldn't and it can be fascinating. One example of this I had an Air Force recruiter pop up on my fyp. This is obviously US-centric (as opposed to the article, which is the UK) but here are some things I've learned: 1. The difference between Reserve and Guard? Reserve is Federal, Guard is State (this was news to me); 2. Signing up f…

This isn't a positive. It is a tragedy that these services (education, healthcare) are difficult to obtain without military service in a supposedly developed country.

The US military is largely a blue-collar jobs program that lets you opt in to service in exchange for something resembling standard European social benefits (retirement, healthcare, housing, education). Which sucks for a bunch of reasons, including that some are excluded from eligibility, but it's what we've got. That's obviously not the whole reason we have a military, or even close to it, but it's become a big part of its role in society.

As far as I can tell, the closest we have to a white-collar jobs program is the health insurance industry and insurance-related jobs elsewhere. Keeping millions employed while being a drag on the rest of the economy.

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#98

Post by scruple »

JoeAltmaier wrote: post #74

My son was Army Reserve (US), did a tour in Iraq back in the day. He reported that Reservists didn't get the respect of regular Army, at least in his unit. They got shot at, shot back, did convoy duty, got blown up (twice). But somehow not 'real soldiers'. His unit got no commendations or promotions from the regular army base commander. He returned, still had enlistment period left, went straight to the Army Recruiti…

The treatment of reservists, in OIF specifically, across the board -- from active duty service members all the way up the chain to top military leadership and the GWB admin -- was disgraceful. I saw a little bit of it first hand when I was enlisted. FWIW, they're all real soldiers in my eyes.

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#99

Post by YATA1 »

sputknick wrote: post #8

I spent five years in the Air Force. Posts like this are really helpful, a lot of Americans are disconnected from members of the military, especially in the upper classes where people do not need to serve, or in fields (like tech) where people can often find less intrusive ways to pay for college. My favorite part of the article is dispelling the myth that in the military senior people bark orders, and don't ask for…

>especially in the upper classes where people do not need to serve

This is a often repeated myth. The upper class serves more per capita than the lower class.

Re: Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech

#100

Post by AdrianB1 »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #37
abduhl wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You’re just complaining. The world exists as it does now and broad generalized complaints like yours are often used to support positions which actively harm those you purport to help. Say we take away the military on-ramp to class mobility. What can we do for those trapped in poverty whose only ticket out was enlistment? Your answer should be focused on what we can practically do as the world stands now, not in your…

Things don't get better if you don't complain. All of my siblings have come back from military service (marines, army rangers, navy) worse off, and the benefits in no way compensate them for what they lost. I recommend it to no one. The best military service is the service you did not perform. The VA is notorious for being terrible. The US has non profits for wounded/disabled veterans because care and support (most i…

What are the services people should be entitled to and who should pay for it? I am just curious how this works.
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