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

#541

Post by pasabagi » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 3:22 PM UTC

notadev wrote: post #535

pasabagi wrote: post #527

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How does basic training even work now in this post yelling world? I was called “Porky the Pig” in basic. It forced me to exercise much more than threat of some fake arrest. As a non-military guy, this is what I've always found really nuts about military institutions. In normal life, people do an extraordinary array of difficult and uncomfortable things, and generally learn a whole lot for specific roles in their wo…

The point of bootcamp isn’t just for you to learn how to do this or that, it’s also about breaking you of your individualist civilian mentality and molding you into a soldier/sailor/marine/airman who can put the mission and their fellow service members above themselves. Being yelled at is negative reenforcement and quickly helps you understand your mistakes. Camaraderie also flourishes when you all hate your drill in…

I know the logic, it's just, I don't think it makes that much sense any more. Fighting wars has become an increasingly technical occupation in the last couple of centuries. Therefore, a technically capable soldier who is cowardly, individualistic, and occasionally insubordinate would be, in some roles (say intelligence) superior to one who was none of those things, but didn't have the technical skills or aptitude.

Realistically, a ship is a big machine, so it would make more sense to prize people that fit the typical 'conscientious engineer' profile, warts and all, even if those people are going to be pretty awful at traditional soldiering. These kind of roles have absolutely proliferated over the years, and it makes zero sense to prize physical fitness and ability to follow orders in a lot of them.

Imagine if you were a hiring manager for a gigantic industrial complex with cutting edge technology, producing a delicate and high-stakes product, in a environment that often demands extreme creativity and imposes severe timetables. Except all your hirees have to be able to do twenty pushups and be OK with being shouted at by some guy in a big hat. That's the literal situation of human resources on an aircraft carrier, and it's insane.

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

#542

Post by jjj123 » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 3:27 PM UTC

EdwardDiego wrote: post #520

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…

> a lot of Americans are disconnected from members of the military, especially in the upper classes where people do not need to serve Why do Americans need to be connected with the military though? What do you think the benefits of being more connected would be? Many of us are disconnected from members of the constabulary, from members of the ambulance services, from members of the United Association of Journeymen an…

From a leftist perspective, it’s beneficial to have something like a draft because it forces all classes to confront the reality of our wars. Instead of how it is now when it’s mostly the lower class that goes to war.

The last draft we had was Vietnam, which was a PR disaster for the US military because middle class america saw (and experienced) the war for what it was: destructive and unnecessary.

I guess the difference is the sprinkler fitting industry doesn't result in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths the way a war does, so I don’t really care how the general public perceives it.

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

#543

Post by chrisseaton » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 3:42 PM UTC

YATA1 wrote: post #454

relaxing wrote: post #359

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

> “Upper class starts at $65k/yr” is peak Heritage Foundation. Yes, peak facts that don't care about your feelings. $65k is where the richest quantile for neighborhood median household income starts, by census tract [0]. The linked report was compiled by Dr. Shanea Watkins, a policy analyst specializing in empirical studies. Unless you have sources that claim otherwise, my original claim stands. [0] http://s3.amazona…

But ‘class’ isn’t income quantiles.

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

#544

Post by pphysch » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 3:42 PM UTC

adewinter wrote: post #228

pphysch wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It does make the statement less true, because it is evidently not based in reality. In actually-existing 21st-century "democracies", the people do not choose who gets bombed. Those choices are made by unelected officials in the MIC and rationalized by think tanks and communications firms funded by the same MIC. > Implying that people who do believe in the system are stupid or "lesser," is perhaps something you should…

Hey fella, you're the one moving goal posts here. First you say it was "used by the executive branch to dictate any military operation"... ie the executive branch are the ones calling the shots. Now all of a sudden it's "unelected officials in the MIC" who are choosing who gets bombed. So which is it? The author clearly believes elected officials are in charge and he trusts them. Emphasis here on "believes". I'm not…

No goalposts have been moved. The executive branch sans the president/VP are all unelected officials, and the State/Defence departments are part of the MIC.

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

#545

Post by freedomben » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 4:07 PM UTC

germinalphrase wrote: post #539

causasui wrote: post #538

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For sure, speaking for the Navy (though I'm sure the same applies for the other services as well). Cryptologic/electronic/nuclear fields are all known to be cash cows after getting out. Granted, you need to score well on your ASVAB, especially for nuclear fields. But the ASVAB can be studied for and is probably the easiest of all the standardized tests someone that age may face in my experience.

Thank you. Can anyone comment with regard to the Air Force? Not asking for myself. I am a high school English teacher, and I am currently helping a young man with his application to the academy. He is committed to the Air Force either way, but I try to pass along any information that I come across (with the caveat, of course, that I don’t know what I’m talking about).

I joined Air Force active duty for a 4 year hitch when 9/11 happened, and was in the Air National Guard for a few years after my initial enlistment. I mention that because some things may have changed since I've been out more than a decade, but I don't think they have. Individual job descriptions do change though, so I will only give high-level advice rather than specific AFSC/MOS.

I went into Satellite, Wideband, and Telemetry Systems, commonly called SATCOM (although we did have wideband terminals like the TRC-170 and the GRC-239 TSSR). It could be lucrative with the right experience, but for most people it wasn't (although I was able to get a civilian job pretty easily with the skills/training but it wasn't highly paid).

The Air Force has deepened their cybersecurity expertise quite a bit, and even has some great opportunities for enlisted airmen. That can be a very lucrative field when you get out (and is also badass while you're in, from what I'm told). This is a very lucrative field if you're good at it, and still a good living even if you suck. Before doing this, be confident that the person considering this would be able to get a TS/SCI clearance. Read the requirements and make sure they aren't disqualified. If they've smoked pot before but no longer do, they have never smoked pot ;-). If can't get a clearance, opportunities in the service will be limited and some specialized training will not be accessible.

Some people will say "linguist" but it has not been my experience that that is all that usable outside the military unless you want to work for State (US State Department). If you are really, really good you can find lucrative opportunities though.

Anything nuclear is also pretty good if you can get it. Aircraft mechanic can be good, but the number of employers isn't huge and you'll work your ass off while still in the service.

Probably not super helpful, but that's my advice.

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

#546

Post by germinalphrase » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 4:24 PM UTC

freedomben wrote: post #545

germinalphrase wrote: post #539

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thank you. Can anyone comment with regard to the Air Force? Not asking for myself. I am a high school English teacher, and I am currently helping a young man with his application to the academy. He is committed to the Air Force either way, but I try to pass along any information that I come across (with the caveat, of course, that I don’t know what I’m talking about).

I joined Air Force active duty for a 4 year hitch when 9/11 happened, and was in the Air National Guard for a few years after my initial enlistment. I mention that because some things may have changed since I've been out more than a decade, but I don't think they have. Individual job descriptions do change though, so I will only give high-level advice rather than specific AFSC/MOS. I went into Satellite, Wideband, an…

Thank you for the comment!

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

#547

Post by blobbers » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 4:45 PM UTC

UncleEntity wrote: post #489

blobbers wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 A…

Yeah that’s what I’m saying. If you’re going to do it and head into a dangerous situation you’d likely want to be with a bunch of people of professional mindset, not people who thought this would be an easy paycheck + health benefits.

Being in a transport group sounds horrible. Possibly taking orders from someone who doesn’t know where they’re going etc etc.

At least you survived.

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

#548

Post by oneoff786 » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:27 PM UTC

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #468

oneoff786 wrote: post #402

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Media literacy seems like it was a lot worse back then. I’m not convinced I would ever support the invasion of another country. I’m not supporting the invasion of Russia. I’m supporting the defense of Ukraine.

I'm fully on board in supporting Ukraine, but the quality of the coverage is no better. I don't often watch TV, particularly American TV, but I was down at a friends recently and he had CNN on and I was like... yep, same old same old, just as bad as it was in the early 2000s. Sensationalistic, simplistic, and highly biased. Beats the Fox News bias, but still bias. But, I'm neither liberal or conservative. I'm a socia…

As much as people want to shit on social media echo chambers, they pale in comparison to television news. Television news is just pathetic.

Understanding this is step one of media literacy.

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

#549

Post by oneoff786 » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:29 PM UTC

periphrasis wrote: post #466

oneoff786 wrote: post #401

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bring it motherfucker Edit: but bravado aside, I think no, it would not. I think Russia would just back down. If they were willing to escalate, I think we would have seen a nuke in kyiv by now Edit edit: and it is worth it to show we are willing to stand up for such things. We cannot afford to roll over to anyone with nukes

You are advocating conflict escalation and expansion that will drastically shorten the decision tree that ends in the permanent end of human civilization in its present form. Given that the Ukrainians -- with Western material, financial and intelligence support -- appear to be capable of destroying the combat power of the Russian Army in the field without a direct NATO intervention, what you're in effect asking for i…

You can’t simultaneously claim I’m risking nothing while also encouraging a path with the potential for nuclear war. If the latter is true, the former is not.

I am strongly in favor of military intervention.

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

#550

Post by oneoff786 » Tue, Apr 05, 2022, 5:30 PM UTC

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #469

oneoff786 wrote: post #431

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The United States is capable of getting involved even if Ukraine is not a treaty ally. I am stating a geopolitical policy preference. Yes, that involves some US soldiers dying.

It doesn't just involve US soldiers dying, it probably means some cities turned to cinders. There's a line you cannot cross, and wasn't crossed in the entire cold war as bitter as things got-- and that is NATO troops on Russian soil or vice versa.

Ukraine is not Russian soil

I understand the risks