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

#591

Post by YATA1 » Thu, Apr 07, 2022, 11:32 PM UTC

chrisseaton wrote: post #543

YATA1 wrote: post #454

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> “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.

The OP specifically mentioned "upper classes". It is a fact that the lower classes (lowest quantile) are underrepresented, and the higher classes (highest quantile) are overrepresented [0].

[0] http://s3.amazonaws.com/thf_media/2008/pdf/cda08-05.pdf

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

#592

Post by YATA1 » Thu, Apr 07, 2022, 11:36 PM UTC

wolverine876 wrote: post #479

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…

It's sad to see the discussion turn to an attempt to shut down conversation. I have so many things to do in my day, why would I read that comment?

>It's sad to see the discussion turn to an attempt to shut down conversation.

I'm not shutting anything down, you're just throwing in the towel because...

>I have so many things to do in my day, why would I read that comment?

You won't, because you know you've been proven wrong.

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

#593

Post by Shocka1 » Fri, Apr 08, 2022, 4:27 PM UTC

blaser-waffle wrote: post #558

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…

> If I could go back and do it again, I'd definitely choose Air Force Aye, I hear that. Mixed experience, overall. I did signals intelligence stuff in the USMC and if I'd have to do it again I'd go back and be blue-water Navy.

Rah. If I had to do it over again I would have definitely picked Navy or Air Force.

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

#594

Post by TMWNN » Sat, Apr 09, 2022, 3:54 PM UTC

pasabagi wrote: post #562

blaser-waffle wrote: post #561

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 workplaces, without anybody raising their voice. I've worked at large orgs, to include F500s and national-tier multinationals with plenty of yelling. > In normal life, an orga…

I take your point, but if somebody called me a 'porky pig' in the first month of a new job, I'd probably a) quit, and b) assume the organization was seriously messed up. I'm not a particularly sensitive person, but I don't want to waste my time on an organization where high levels of interpersonal aggression is normal. Intuitively, you'd expect organizations that have management styles that make everybody miserable t…

>I take your point, but if somebody called me a 'porky pig' in the first month of a new job, I'd probably a) quit, and b) assume the organization was seriously messed up.

Even if that job requires physical fitness?

As another stated, it's a good thing that such people quit basic training.

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

#595

Post by TMWNN » Sun, Apr 10, 2022, 4:43 PM UTC

YATA1 wrote: post #452

wolverine876 wrote: post #395

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks for providing some citations. The military.com link is to a military recruiting ad, and Heritage's business is generating talking points and 'research' for conservative/Republican policy (look at their front page). Here's a report saying that 79% of US Army recruits come from families with service members. [0] IIRC, the military is overwhelmingly rural and does not recruit in major urban areas - which matches…

>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…

>Whites are slightly overrepresented in the officer corps.

This is why whites were overrepresented as a percentage of troops killed in Vietnam, because so many young officers were killed leading platoons in the jungle.

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

#596

Post by YATA1 » Mon, Apr 11, 2022, 6:58 PM UTC

monocasa wrote: post #462

YATA1 wrote: post #455

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because that is reality. $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.amazonaws.com/thf_media/2008/pdf/cda08-05.pdf

Or that just means that upper class doesn't start at the boundary of the top quantile. I'm sorry but no stretch of the imagination has upper class as a couple making 33k/yr each. That's absolutely absurd. That's $16.50 an hour with no overtime. Looking at it, upper class typically is the top one or two percent of the population. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_upper_class

The OP specifically mentioned "upper classes". It is a fact that the lower classes (lowest quantile) are underrepresented, and the higher classes (highest quantile) are overrepresented [0].

[0] http://s3.amazonaws.com/thf_media/2008/pdf/cda08-05.pdf

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

#597

Post by analognoise » Tue, Apr 12, 2022, 4:47 PM UTC

YATA1 wrote: post #590

analognoise wrote: post #519

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just define "upper" class at 65k/yr household income, and boom! Lots of upper class households serve!

$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. Facts don't care about your feelings. [0] http://s3.amazonaws.com/thf_media/2008/pdf/cda08-05.pdf

...that actually supports my point though?

Facts don't care about feelings, but this doesn't support your point at all.

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

#598

Post by Tepix » Wed, Apr 13, 2022, 2:44 PM UTC

notch656a wrote: post #182

Tepix wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is ample historical evidence that having an army to send into war makes the world less safe, not more. If the US army in particular had a clear conscience, why would the US oppose the International Criminal Court in The Hague? Telling your soldies that their war crimes will go unpunished is a great way to invite them.

I was against the war in Iraq and still am, but IMO the jury is still out whether the war in Iraq made the world less safe. Saddam was a brutal dictator including gassing and genociding the Kurds. The Kurds now have a fairly stable government in Northern Iraq thanks to the invasion and are a center of prosperity in the region. ISIS has been largely suppressed, and there's been no repeat of the Iran or Kuwait wars of…

The aftermath of the Iraq invasion led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians. It doesn't seem unlikely that Saddam would have killed fewer than that.

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

#599

Post by YATA1 » Wed, Apr 13, 2022, 4:14 PM UTC

analognoise wrote: post #597

YATA1 wrote: post #590

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$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. Facts don't care about your feelings. [0] http://s3.amazonaws.com/thf_media/2008/pdf/cda08-05.pdf

...that actually supports my point though? Facts don't care about feelings, but this doesn't support your point at all.

>...that actually supports my point though?

It actually doesn't.

>Facts don't care about feelings, but this doesn't support your point at all.

It 100% supports the OPs point: lower classes are underrepresented. Upper classes are overrepresented.

QED.

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

#600

Post by pyinstallwoes » Fri, Apr 15, 2022, 8:55 AM UTC

notadev wrote: post #528

pyinstallwoes wrote: post #403

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you’re allowed to choose your job? I thought it wasn’t guaranteed what interests you had vs what you are placed in.

A few things in play here. Each job has certain quotas they have to fill. Too many of one job will make advancement nearly impossible which prevents people from moving up into leadership positions and will eventually cause a shortage when those that can’t promote decide to leave. Recruiters have quotas too, like 2.5 recruits this month or at least one female this month, etc. Your ASVAB score and likelihood of qualify…

Is "IT" in the military the same as citizen professional/corporate? As in, mostly "administrator" level work or is it more expansive? I'm just curious in the sense that it either may be all encompassing like programming too, or perhaps things I never heard of. Just curious, thanks! I appreciate the reply.

I'm guessing you can do the ASVAB before "signing on?"