Why I'm in the Army Reserve – an explainer for my friends in tech • Hacker News Board

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

#481

Post by chad_strategic » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 4:07 AM UTC

I spent 20 years in the USMC reserve, I enlisted while I was at high-end west coast liberal arts college in the first trimester. I felt college was a little too easy and lacked challenge. I went on to reenlist, become a chief warrant officer, start an MBA program, activate for OIF, become the first Combat MBA in Pepperdine History and retire after 20 years.

I brought 2 ESGER complaints, due to harassment for being in the reserves. I missed out on civilian promotions, weekend parties, social events, etc.

I still don't think I would have changed a thing. The experiences I have had shaped me into what I am today. The only thing close to my experience in the Marine Corps vs. the civilian world would be working on a start-up because they are fun and exciting and everyone is working as a team.

Shout out to 5/14!

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

#482

Post by wolverine876 » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 4:12 AM UTC

weakfish wrote: post #465

YATA1 wrote: post #452

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The military.com link is to a military recruiting ad military.com is a news and information website that covers topics such as benefits to military members, veterans, their families and those with military affinity. Even if there are links to recruiting, this does nothing to refute the facts. >Heritage's business is generating talking points and 'research' for conservative/Republican policy Reality has a conservativ…

I think it’s fair for the person you’re replying @ to point out the heritage foundation is a self professed conservative think tank if you point out that you believe the NYT is not trustworthy. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being a conservative think tank but it’s important to consider how data presentation might be impacted by the person(s) presenting the data. Which is in line with your suspicions of the NY…

I wouldn't be so even-handed. Asserting something is biased doesn't make it so; assertions aren't taken as fact or truth. Assertions are worthless and two assertions are equally worthless. I talked about the factual basis of my claims and the parent claims, not assertions.

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

#483

Post by weakfish » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 4:16 AM UTC

wolverine876 wrote: post #482

weakfish wrote: post #465

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it’s fair for the person you’re replying @ to point out the heritage foundation is a self professed conservative think tank if you point out that you believe the NYT is not trustworthy. There’s nothing inherently wrong with being a conservative think tank but it’s important to consider how data presentation might be impacted by the person(s) presenting the data. Which is in line with your suspicions of the NY…

I wouldn't be so even-handed. Asserting something is biased doesn't make it so; assertions aren't taken as fact or truth. Assertions are worthless and two assertions are equally worthless. I talked about the factual basis of my claims and the parent claims, not assertions.

Honestly, I agree with you, but I was attempting to be diplomatic in case that would help drive the point.

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

#484

Post by wolverine876 » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 4:23 AM UTC

remarkEon wrote: post #432

wolverine876 wrote: post #400

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently read an article where Army Chief of Staff, Gen. McConville, said that 79% of recruits come from families with service members, and how they need to expand the pool. https://www.defenseone.com/policy/2022/03/about-face-army-ex... As far as the rural, the military focuses their recruiting in rural areas and barely touches major cities - an odd choice given where the population centers are and the efficiency…

I don’t have the links handy, but yes many are fully aware that the AVF (All Volunteer Force) is in some ways sectioning themselves off from the rest of the population. In other ways I could argue it’s almost becoming a “warrior caste” situation, where fathers serve, (at least one of) their sons serve, and so on. I’m not ready to say this is unhealthy, necessarily, but it’s a very real trend. The only way to fix it i…

> The only way to fix it is to bring back the draft, in either full or some modified form.

One idea is a draft for the reserves, not for active duty. That gives us the benefits of an AVF - the professionalism, etc. - and also gives Americans 'skin in the game' when at war, when reserves are called up. It's hard to imagine Afghanistan dragging on for 20 years if, for the whole time, civilians were being sent there to drive trucks, make dinner, even do some skilled labor, etc. And it would solve the civilian-military divide.

But how much effectiveness would we lose with draftee reserves? I believe that volunteer professionals are far superior to draftees in active duty, but reserve jobs frequently seem different.

> I could argue it’s almost becoming a “warrior caste” situation, where fathers serve, (at least one of) their sons serve, and so on. I’m not ready to say this is unhealthy, necessarily, but it’s a very real trend.

I've seen that phrase many times, but how can that be a good thing, especially in a democracy?

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

#485

Post by exdsq » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 4:34 AM UTC

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

Weird! In the UK the army is very cross-class

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

#486

Post by UncleEntity » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 4:42 AM UTC

master_crab wrote: post #252

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…

Your biggest issue was choosing to be a light wheel mechanic in an airborne unit. If you think survival rates for combat dropping troopers are bad, I'd hate to show you the actual percentage of HMMWVs that drive away from a drop zone. YMMV, but I was Army too. And everyone I dealt with was an adult.

Oh, fun story time…

At the absolute end of the Cold War we were on the ground crew for a demonstration jump for some Soviet generals. The wind was too high for a safe jump but, Soviets, so they jumped anyways.

Two arty cannons and a Sheridan tank burned in because they got swaying enough to collapse their shoots. Plus three chalks ended up in the trees also due to the high winds.

They (luckily I wasn’t on the hook and ladder crew) spent the rest of the day recovering the parachutes from the trees while we just tried to not draw attention to ourselves so we didn’t have to help with the recovery operation.

Only time I ever saw heavy drops go wrong and I was on ground crew many a time — there were a couple times we did have to scatter because one was landing right where we were standing but those things are easy to see even on a night jump.

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

#487

Post by ak217 » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:01 AM UTC

Diesel555 wrote: post #438

throwaway675309 wrote: post #425

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's not totally wrong. If you enlist in the army and later during your service they tap you for a conflict which you have ideological differences with, YOU ARE GOING irrespective of your convictions... unless you want a military tribunal and possible jail time.

> they tap you for a conflict which you have ideological differences with, YOU ARE GOING irrespective of your convictions Your statement is not entirely true, it is not irrespective of convictions. A conscientious objector is defined as either: A member who, by reason of conscientious objection, sincerely objects to participation in military service of any kind in war in any form. or A member who, by reason of consci…

I think you're being deliberately obtuse as to the parent poster's point. In 2003 the military was abused to start an illegal war that many knew from the start was wrong and had ideological objections. The Iraq war had a grievous effect on morale and on our moral standing in the world. Most of us are quite willing to defend our country by force, the question is how to avoid being sent into another pet project like that. If we want the military to be respected and prestigious, we need more robust protections against what happened in 2003.

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

#488

Post by joshsyn » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:02 AM UTC

formvoltron wrote: post #373

nradov wrote: post #366

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Putting American military boots on the ground in Ukraine would likely escalate to WW3.

So says Putin. So you better give him what he wants.

No post body was provided.

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

#489

Post by UncleEntity » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:06 AM UTC

blobbers wrote: post #319

tempnow987 wrote: post #139

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One issue with reserves, especially army. Through the iraq/afghanistan deployments BOG time was way up (ie, your service commit is not just that weekend a month). BOG = Boots on ground time. In afghanistan Army deployments (both active and reserve) were far higher than other service branches. My quick understanding is that normally they would like to target 1/4 BOG/Dwell time. So if you are thinking of reserves, part…

Is there data on how much real service one might be doing? As in incoming mortars, bullets flying over your head, in a place with IEDs or mines etc. I feel like if I wanted to be put in that specific situation, I'd want a whole lot more training than a reservist.

> Is there data on how much real service one might be doing?

Not really ‘data’ but the last time I was in a combat zone there were mortars/rockets flying in on a daily basis, usually around chow time.

Also ‘safe’ jobs weren’t a guarantee. We were going out on a convoy mission and the reservists unit escorting us was short handed so just found a warm body to ride in the gun truck in the form of an office girl in the Air Force who had been in country three weeks and probably hadn’t touched a weapon since basic training.

Mission takes priority and if you need a body you find a body.

Also my last ‘real’ deployment was in a reserve unit and I wouldn’t recommend that to anyone. Zero discipline and we were a transportation unit so mobile enough to get into all sorts of trouble. We got out of there before things got really bad (our mission was over so they just sent us home) so there’s that.

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

#490

Post by cjbgkagh » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:23 AM UTC

ramesh31 wrote: post #423

Terr_ wrote: post #417

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The flip-side is that with mandatory manpower for military adventurism, politicians and the military leaders who advise them have fewer reasons to temper their aspirations. > Part of the problem is the narrow population from which the military recruits. I wonder if this relates to how military service (not civilian-contractor roles) appear to have a bit of an, er, "sign your soul over and hope for the best" mechanic.…

>The flip-side is that with mandatory manpower for military adventurism, politicians and the military leaders who advise them have fewer reasons to temper their aspirations. That's not really true. Open democratic societies that still practice conscription like Israel for instance, have a much higher level of civic engagement and understanding of foreign affairs amongst the average people. The population is ultimatel…

Israel? AFAIK Israel is increasingly radicalizing itself. Starting as an experimental European Socialists complete with communes and ending up rather jingoistic. Not an example I would use at all. I wouldn’t put all the blame on conscription as there are many other factors at play, but I also wouldn’t use Israel as an example less war mongering via conscription.