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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

#351

Post by micromacrofoot »

dogman144 wrote: post #348
micromacrofoot wrote: post #314

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's the responsibility of the government and by extension, the military. I suppose you could blame society at-large because we elect our representatives, but the majority of Americans already support single-payer healthcare and free or reduced college tuition. It's disturbing to me that it's normal to concentrate efforts on recruiting poor teenagers to fight wars. The focus on the poor also has the effect of disprop…

Guess I'm unclear what policy you think the military could do. Not recruit?

Specifically abandon recruiting methods that target the poor would be a start.

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

#352

Post by dagw »

YATA1 wrote: post #321
losvedir wrote: post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you have a source for that? The nearest I could find was this[0] and it doesn't support your assertion. [0] https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/demographics-us-military

"Enlisted recruits in 2006 and 2007 came primarily from middle-class and upper-middle-class backgrounds. Low-income neighborhoods were underrepresented among enlisted troops, while middle-class and high-income neighborhoods were overrepresented." [0] "Military recruits mirror the U.S. population and are solidly middle class. A recent report shows that more recruits come from middle-income families, with far fewer dra…

My point stands: upper class serve more than lower class.

While that may very well be true, it i worth highlighting that the reports you are citing as evidence is looking at the years 2003 and 2006-2007, and a lot has changed, economically and politically, since then.

Also their cut off for "high-income" seems to be significantly lower than what most people would consider "upper class".

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

#353

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

brynx97 wrote: post #146
oaxacaoaxaca wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>None of that is true. All of that is true about my Army experience lol. If I could go back and do it again, I'd definitely choose Air Force. I agree that the military can be a positive experience and it's a good idea for some people, but the caveat with my endorsement is that you gotta carefully choose the branch and the job. I almost chose linguistics, but for some silly reason chose mechanic and paratrooper, and w…

> All of that is true about my Army experience lol. If I could go back and do it again, I'd definitely choose Air Force. Yes, it varies wildly based on branch, different units or battalions/brigades etc, and which MOS (job) you are. Or if you are enlisted or officer. I had a leadership change in my company over a period of like 6 months where all senior enlisted and officers changed, and it was like night and day dif…

Space Force will be ramping up hiring as it takes over AF roles it's inherited.

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

#355

Post by Fomite »

qgin wrote: post #185
photochemsyn wrote: post #131

The most important thing to realize about military service is that you sign away all your citizenship rights (free speech, etc.) when you sign up for the service. Hopefully you won't be used in ridiculous debacles like the 2003 Iraq Invasion, based on lies about WMDs pushed by Washington (and see British role as well), but you'll have no say in the matter. The other thing to realize is that, at least in the USA, they…

https://news.gallup.com/poll/186527/americans-government-hea... > Americans' satisfaction with the way the healthcare system works for them varies by the type of insurance they have. Satisfaction is highest among those with veterans or military health insurance…

https://www.rand.org/news/press/2018/04/26.html

RAND found that the VA typically also provides higher quality care.

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

#356

Post by golemiprague »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #209

If I knew my country's armed forces were 100% a domestic defense and emergency response force, I would absolutely have considered signing up when I was young. You learn good skills, and I see great value in some larger-than-self contribution to community there. My father is German and left Germany for good not long after doing his compulsory 1 year service. He hated it, and it was one of many factors that led to him…

No post body was provided.

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

#357

Post by notch656a »

ylkjt2 wrote: post #13

Is there anything similar in US for non-citizens? I am an immigrant (H1B) and would love to serve regardless of pay or other incentives.

I believe French foreign Legion, YPG, and possibly the Georgian National Legion (operating in Ukraine) accept non-citizens, although none of these are in the US. There is at least one foreign legion protecting Yazidis that does as well.

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

#358

Post by Analemma_ »

brandmeyer wrote: post #329
oneoff786 wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah. I’ve grown up starkly anti military due to the kinds of fights the American military has fought in my lifetime. It’s been evil. Plain and simple. And yet, I’m glad we have a strong military given happenings in Ukraine. I would strongly support putting boots on the ground. To have the training necessary to join the volunteer defense forces in Ukraine or something similar resonates as a valuable, important skill.…

In the US, the military doesn't choose the targets. Elected civilians do. The way to square those feelings is to direct them at the people who give the top-level orders, and the rhetoric used to support those orders to the public. There is an entire branch of ethics and philosophy dedicated to the topic: Just War Theory. The US interventions in Serbia and Kuwait were both well-justified in my eyes.

You're not responding to the point the OP is making though. They (and I) are aware that the military isn't making these decisions, and I'm not blaming the military for them. But who gets the blame isn't the question being asked here, it's whether we as individuals should join, and for that the question of blame is irrelevant. I would also serve if there was some kind of guarantee that I would only see deployment in self-defense or against another Hitler. But what I absolutely will not do is be cannon fodder in another imperialist war like Iraq or Afghanistan, and part of serving in the military means you don't get any choice in the matter. So I don't join.

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

#359

Post by relaxing »

dagw wrote: post #352
YATA1 wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Enlisted recruits in 2006 and 2007 came primarily from middle-class and upper-middle-class backgrounds. Low-income neighborhoods were underrepresented among enlisted troops, while middle-class and high-income neighborhoods were overrepresented." [0] "Military recruits mirror the U.S. population and are solidly middle class. A recent report shows that more recruits come from middle-income families, with far fewer dra…

My point stands: upper class serve more than lower class. While that may very well be true, it i worth highlighting that the reports you are citing as evidence is looking at the years 2003 and 2006-2007, and a lot has changed, economically and politically, since then. Also their cut off for "high-income" seems to be significantly lower than what most people would consider "upper class".

“Upper class starts at $65k/yr” is peak Heritage Foundation.

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

#360

Post by jmyeet »

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.

I really hate this kind of argument because it's an argument that springs from privilege and entitlement.

We can sit around and say that education should be free and accessible and that would be nice but it's not the world we live in. The fact of the matter is that life isn't fair and some people get substantially better or worse starting hands.

Yet you would seemingly rather remove opportunities from those with the fewest options because of how the government chooses to use the military.

It's pretty easy to say that others with fewer options than you should make sacrifices that that are at best symbolic when it requires no such sacrifice from you.

What are you doing to effect change? I guarantee you that influencing the government that sets policy is going to be a whole lot more effective than a few disadvantaged people sitting out a Reserve program where they might otherwise just be doing admin work.

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