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Study: 77% of young Americans too fat, mentally ill, on drugs to join military

americanmilitarynews.com

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Re: Study: 77% of young Americans too fat, mentally ill, on drugs to join military

#131

Post by BobbyJo »

lurquer wrote: post #36
toomuchtodo wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quite literally survivorship bias. Anecdotes aside, the statistics are damning. https://stopsoldiersuicide.org/vet-stats > Over 40,000 veterans are homeless on any given night > Veterans are at 57% higher risk of suicide than those who haven't served. > "Depending on branch, up to 31% of service members develop PTSD after returning from combat." ; "The rate of suicide for veterans in the LGBTQ+ community is up to 7x…

> You would recommend something that leads to these outcomes? An inability to provide for oneself or to self-motivate are factors that lead to enlistment. You have it backwards. For the most part — particularly the Army — the service is very expensive daycare for would-be homeless bums.

> For the most part — particularly the Army — the service is very expensive daycare for would-be homeless bums.

It's unfortunate you feel that way about young men and women who are looking for direction and a path to a better future. Whether or not it works out for them, most people join the military expecting to work hard and get something in return, which doesn't conjure "bum" to me.

Re: Study: 77% of young Americans too fat, mentally ill, on drugs to join military

#132

Post by hakfoo »

CogitoCogito wrote: post #101
hakfoo wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have to think that especially the China/Taiwan issue has quite a bit of historical baggage, because it can be read as the slow-motion failure to finish the prosecution of a very "internal" political process. Can we imagine such a scenario applied to a Western nation? Imagine if the US Civil War ended up with a "stub Confederacy"-- a few counties in Virginia still answering to Jefferson Davis. Or if one German state…

Taiwan was only "unified" (if you can call the China of that era "unified") with the mainland for about 4 years since 1895 and even that ended close to 75 years ago. > it can be read as the slow-motion failure to finish the prosecution of a very "internal" political process. This is just propaganda to lay support for irredentism. The Chinese civil war ended long ago and this process is certainly not "internal" by any…

> Taiwan was only "unified" (if you can call the China of that era "unified") with the mainland for about 4 years since 1895 and even that ended close to 75 years ago.

I will admit to having only a highly cursory knowledge of the history, but I was under the impression the PRC/ROC split was directly connected to the ascendance of the Communists; they drove the Nationalists to the sea but were unable to achieve a complete surrender because their enemies remained holed up in Taiwan.

How can you say "an independent Taiwan must be preserved" without making it sound to both the Chinese state and people like "You can never finish the job your grandparents started?" or worse yet "you sold out our national pride and honour for shiny economic baubles?"

Re: Study: 77% of young Americans too fat, mentally ill, on drugs to join military

#133

Post by CogitoCogito »

hakfoo wrote: post #132
CogitoCogito wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taiwan was only "unified" (if you can call the China of that era "unified") with the mainland for about 4 years since 1895 and even that ended close to 75 years ago. > it can be read as the slow-motion failure to finish the prosecution of a very "internal" political process. This is just propaganda to lay support for irredentism. The Chinese civil war ended long ago and this process is certainly not "internal" by any…

> Taiwan was only "unified" (if you can call the China of that era "unified") with the mainland for about 4 years since 1895 and even that ended close to 75 years ago. I will admit to having only a highly cursory knowledge of the history, but I was under the impression the PRC/ROC split was directly connected to the ascendance of the Communists; they drove the Nationalists to the sea but were unable to achieve a comp…

>> Taiwan was only "unified" (if you can call the China of that era "unified") with the mainland for about 4 years since 1895 and even that ended close to 75 years ago.

> I will admit to having only a highly cursory knowledge of the history, but I was under the impression the PRC/ROC split was directly connected to the ascendance of the Communists; they drove the Nationalists to the sea but were unable to achieve a complete surrender because their enemies remained holed up in Taiwan.

> How can you say "an independent Taiwan must be preserved" without making it sound to both the Chinese state and people like "You can never finish the job your grandparents started?" or worse yet "you sold out our national pride and honour for shiny economic baubles?"

My post was pretty short and (I'd claim) quite clear. When did I say "an independent Taiwan must be preserved"?

Re: Study: 77% of young Americans too fat, mentally ill, on drugs to join military

#134

Post by zoklet-enjoyer »

beebmam wrote: post #69
zoklet-enjoyer wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes

Do you think the US was not justified in destroying the terror camps that Al-Qaeda was operating in Afghanistan after the US was attacked on 9/11?

Imagine the federal government invading Idaho after the OKC bombing because McVeigh was up in the woods by Coeur d'Alene

Re: Study: 77% of young Americans too fat, mentally ill, on drugs to join military

#135

Post by rascul »

landemva wrote: post #126
rascul wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you not have the right of free speech in the military? This does not match my experience. Edit: My experience in the military is of course not complete. It's very possible I'm missing something.

Even when on leave, a person can be reprimanded for publicly speaking against a commander order. Write a letter to a newspaper editor about a policy you find disagreeable, and get ready for a reprimand. And the courts aren't civilian.

I did note that there are more rules and responsibilities. I would be interested to see the article in the UCMJ or any court cases which cover your examples, though.

Re: Study: 77% of young Americans too fat, mentally ill, on drugs to join military

#136

Post by friend_and_foe »

93po wrote: post #123
JeremyNT wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Having to balance domestic recruitment PR to be politically correct while also wanting to reach tough young men and entice them is an impossible task. Can you explain what you mean by this? I feel like you're referring to something obliquely but I don't have the context.

i assume he's saying people who join the military are racist misogynists and because the military can't appeal to this anymore, people don't want to join anymore

You seem upset, as if what you said is blatantly false.

I wouldn't say racist (?? Black and white men fighting together are racist?) mysoginists, but tough men that aren't posterboys for your designated driver would probably be a good description.

If you want a competent fighting force, you have to appeal to tough young men. You don't do that by putting a dude in a dress on your promo material, to put it crassly. Men don't want to go into an environment supposedly to "get shit done" only to have to file paperwork and tippytoe on eggshells with everything they do or say. You don't have to like it but these are the facts. The military gets weaker when you alienate the most able bodied in your society, it's pretty straightforward.

Re: Study: 77% of young Americans too fat, mentally ill, on drugs to join military

#137

Post by wrp »

mopsi wrote: post #114
wrp wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I don’t fully understand what you mean with ‘negotiated settlement’. He may be thinking of the agreement that Putin and Zelensky almost came to in the 2nd week of the war. The Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, initiated contact between the leaders and thinks they were nearly at a settlement when Washington/London intervened to block it. (From about time 2:20:00, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK9tLDeWBzs )

That has been taken out of context. He later clarified that Washington and London were nudging Ukraine towards a peace deal, but after Bucha massacre was uncovered, they stopped doing that and instead increased military support for Ukraine. Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/israel-bennett-walks-back-cl...

That article misrepresents what he said in the interview. He did not "later clarify" that Washington and London were supporting a peace deal. He insisted they were very cool to the whole idea. Also, in the interview, he said that the negotiations were killed at the 2-week point, and then Bucha happened at the 4-week point. He said that after Bucha, it was impossible to resume the negotiations (which had already been blocked).

Re: Study: 77% of young Americans too fat, mentally ill, on drugs to join military

#138

Post by friend_and_foe »

JeremyNT wrote: post #102
friend_and_foe wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the decade long wars in the middle east are a huge part PR wise, but theres more to it. The military is a shitshow. The messaging alienated it's core recruitment base, namely white and black teenagers and young men. It alienates young American men in general, but those demographics in particular are historically the core of America's fighting force. Having to balance domestic recruitment PR to be politically…

> Having to balance domestic recruitment PR to be politically correct while also wanting to reach tough young men and entice them is an impossible task. Can you explain what you mean by this? I feel like you're referring to something obliquely but I don't have the context.

Military service people are killers first and foremost. They're put through grueling test and training processes. It doesn't matter what kind of world you wish this was, those people are primarily going to be aggressive men. When you target other groups of people with your advertising, when you make such an environment that those type of men aren't welcome in the military, the military suffers, it's that simple.

Re: Study: 77% of young Americans too fat, mentally ill, on drugs to join military

#139

Post by beebmam »

zoklet-enjoyer wrote: post #134
beebmam wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think the US was not justified in destroying the terror camps that Al-Qaeda was operating in Afghanistan after the US was attacked on 9/11?

Imagine the federal government invading Idaho after the OKC bombing because McVeigh was up in the woods by Coeur d'Alene

In that analogy, what do you think would happen to Idaho if the Idaho government tried to refuse the feds from arresting the terrorists responsible?

Re: Study: 77% of young Americans too fat, mentally ill, on drugs to join military

#140

Post by nothrowaways »

arroz wrote: post #127
nothrowaways wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still, China is in much better shape, if you compare general population.

doesn’t really matter when you have nukes Also, China doesn’t consider mental illness a thing (depression, bipolar disorder and so on) And they are not transparent

I can agree about the nuke. Physique doesn't really matter
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