Looking at Joining

[JessicaAnn]

But I thought that, once you join, you are automatically trained. I thought you trade your civilian life for an obligation to join when they call you up, and that could include training sufficiently for combat or going to prison or something. I guess not, huh?

Are you talking about basic training that all new recruits go through?

Others who are more knowledgable about this can address this better than I, but I don't think that basic training is "combat training." You learn some basic things about combat, but would not necessarily be ready to go to the front lines.

 

[Muldfeld]

I have no idea where this idea is coming from. It's not like some countries that require mandatory service and they assign you. You can't pick anything, for example an acquaintance of mine wanted to do tank repair but he's dumb as nails and doesn't know the first thing about proper auto repair, so they said no to that. The military does not exist just to reinforce combat zones. They take care of national security in general, so most people never leave the country. Out of everyone my age I know that's joined, I only know on person who served in Iraq and that's because he volunteered. He drives supply trucks and is also a chaplain, so he's not really even a combat soldier. All the others I know are Honor Guard (stay here and represent at political funtions), Special Forces (that kid is doing something involving planes), Coast Guard (my uncle is a ship captain and has never left domestic waters), and some boys I went to school with that I don't know exactly where they ended up, but they were specially trained to be higher ranking officers and do very technical jobs.

I got the idea from all those news reports about National Guard people and others who've had their tour of duty extended beyond the normal timeframe. They don't want to go, but I thought they do because they'd face prison time or something if they didn't.
Isn't that why recruitment is at an all-time low?

 

[Liesje]

I got the idea from all those news reports about National Guard people and others who've had their tour of duty extended beyond the normal timeframe. They don't want to go, but I thought they do because they'd face prison time or something if they didn't.

Well yeah, when you sign up and get all the training, you kinda have to put in the time. The same goes for a contract you might sign with a private employer. I haven't read any such news reports lately or heard any complaints from friends in the military. I'm sure there's always a few that try to change their minds or didn't fully understand what they were committing to.