This isn't your Grandpa's military - By UWOTM8

 

Many of us here in the US, and the west at large, grew up thinking that we had a civic duty to serve our military. Moreover, that it was nothing short of patriotic to serve the country. This mindset was a holdover from a golden era in which our nation at least maintained the illusion that it cared about the people and we had an actual physical enemy in the world that sought our downfall.  It is my sad duty today to explain to you why those days are long behind us and why you should not let your sons serve in the military.

The Illusion:

When you think of the military and the reason why it's so romanticized today, you often think of depictions in media. Band of Brothers, Lone Survivor, Top Gun and others flood your mind with patriotic fever dreams of heroism and camaraderie. Despite their separate themes and settings, not one of those movies captures what the military is like today, nor the reality of serving. You are not shipping out with a platoon of your best friends to embark on the "Great Crusade" and you're not going to be doing barrel rolls over the tower at MCAS Miramar. You're going to sit through a SAPR (Sexual Assault Prevention) brief taught by a frumpy civilian on a power trip and pretend to be interested long enough to get signed off. "Alright", you might think, "maybe it's not all glory and Medals of Honor, but at least you can have good experiences and shoot guns?". Even this isn't particularly true. Reading Starship Troopers, you may think that enlisting in Combat Arms will guarantee you harsh lessons taught by capable men that will last you a lifetime. The reality is that if it's peacetime, or deployments are winding down, you're going to be mopping floors and picking up cigarette butts in the parking lot 8 hours a day. Shooting guns? Why? Bullets cost money, and you only need to be trained to a bare minimum before you deploy. Otherwise you're just a janitor and a source of labor for the government, and you have no union to negotiate your hours. Also, disregard all the stories of your Boomer pal who served back in the 80s and would tell you about his days of slipping the company armorer a 6-pack for an hour alone on the range with a couple belts of 7.62. If you get on the range to shoot, you're going to be treated like a child and shoot a boring course of fire that you will be berated and punished for deviating from. Every round of your ammo will be documented while you're surveyed by cameras and range instructors. Fun it is not.

Propaganda example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDVT-8tUfiE

The Organization:

The once-proud institution of the United States military is little more than a shell of its former self in "current year". The United States Air Force Academy in CO Springs once had an arch at the entrance for new recruits that read "Bring Me Men" as a reference to one of the founders who was questioned on the individuals he wanted attending that school. It was removed in 2003 due to critics decrying it as a symbol of a "male-dominated" era that had to go. It has since been replaced with a "Core Values" ramp displaying lifeless buzzwords that can be found anywhere in corporate America. This should give you a hint of where we're going with this. The modern military will allow a wholly unsuitable woman, "POC" or both to command a unit they are not fit to lead and then commend them while the wreckage of their unit's morale and retention is still burning behind them. The military also has absolutely no problem allowing members to "transition" or undergo hormone therapy while at work in uniform. You will have a biological man show up to work wearing a bra under his fatigue shirt, still wearing the earrings he forgot to take out. If you want additional nightmare fuel, look up military maternity uniforms. Next, imagine yourself having to salute or even remotely take seriously anybody wearing it. Oh, and they usually wear tennis shoes with it.

The People:

This is a mixed bag. The people inhabiting the military today are a combination of the hardest working patriots that this country doesn't deserve and the absolute scum of a decadent society. Master Sergeants who work 16 hour days without a complaint will have to answer to a pompous Colonel who just got back from a "business trip" to Switzerland on the company's dime. There is no justice and you will be equal parts inspired and horrified. I'm proud to say that I worked alongside some of the finest men I've ever known in the military, but I can also say I was depressed by the toll their job took on them. Sharp, diligent and tough NCOs in my unit were ground down endlessly by the micromanaging commanders above them who were completely detached from the situation and should have spent their days as coffee-fetching secretaries. I never thought that these married, competent 40 year old career men would come to me, someone half their age, to vent. But they did. Over time, the only help I could offer them was a way out, asking them "why are you continuing to stay here and do this to yourself". They unanimously would stare off for a moment before saying "I don't know". All of them called in favors from friends to work cushy office jobs where they would never be crushed under such responsibilities and madness again. This doesn't take into account the fact that most of the career men encountered in the military have had at least one divorce and the dysfunctional children to prove it.

The Foreign Policy and the Enemy

The US is currently in "peacetime", but that doesn't mean the military is. Even though bin Laden is dead, the Soviet Union is ended and nobody yet has the balls to stand up to China, you will never stop being rotated out on deployments. Why? To support Operation InherentFreedomEagle 20-3 of course! But what for? To protect US interests in the region goy-I mean, citizen! But what interests do we have there? We're no longer dependent on Arab oil and most of the people there hate us more the longer we stay there! It's about this point that you will either be told to stop asking questions or be told something even less helpful. The US military is not being used to actually defend the US mainland or its true allies, it's being used to prop up an empire that won't admit it's an empire and to benefit people who are not its citizens. Being complicit in this and knowing it does not feel good, even if you were duped into it with feelings of patriotism and loyalty.

The true allies of the US, going by loyalty in conflicts:
S-tier: Australia, NZ and Canada
A-tier: South Korea and the UK
B-tier: France, Taiwan and Japan

Everybody else is just using us or is too insignificant.

The most likely enemy for us in the future: China
The US has spent the last 20 years emasculating and destroying its military with political correctness and diversity quotas. China has spent the last 20 years preparing to challenge the US on the global stage. For what it's worth, I don't hate China for doing this. The US has had it too good for too long and refused to maintain the principles that assured its dominance. It is only natural.

The Redemption:

You may think I hate everything about the military or that there is literally no reason to possibly join. This isn't quite true. There are a number of scenarios in which the military can give you a leg up or a benefit.
-The High Speed: The upper tier of military operators is still largely free of bullshit, though that is waning as well. These are the spec-ops and pilot types who MUST be competent and cannot be diversity hires (usually). If you go for this, you must know your goal and be totally resolved to achieve it. No half measures will succeed and the smallest weakness will wash you out. If you succeed though, you will have skills, experiences and connections that 99% of the world can only dream of, and often does.
-The Babymaker: hey kids, Tricare pays for your deliveries. Get in, get busy, get out.
-FReE eDuCAsHun: Yes, the GI Bill as well as Tuition Assistance will help you pay for school. Also, going to school after four years in the real world with actual stories and experiences will make you an irresistible stud in the eyes of college girls (if you did something cool or got in shape while you were in).
-Trades: you can learn skills in non-combat jobs that defense contractors and other companies will kill for. I knew avionics and stealth techs who were being offered $90k a year at the ripe old ages of their early 20s. No, being a combat medic and getting out to be an EMT will not make you money. It will probably get you shot though.
-The Traveler: This is REALLY a gamble. In the modern day, the only deployments you will go on will be to a shitty sandbox in the Middle East, a shittier sandbox in Africa, or a remote island in the Asian pacific. However, you may get lucky with an overseas assignment to Italy, the UK, Korea or Japan. I've known people assigned to each of those locations. Failing that, you will likely get sent to a bullet-riddled city in the south or a wind-swept outpost in the Great Plains.

The Alternatives:

If you truly want a life of adventure and can't vibe with any of the things listed above, it's more than understandable. If you want to live a life that gives you the best of what the military offers without the bullshit, I would counsel the following:
-Immediately join a tight-knit martial arts gym
-Begin waking early everyday for strict fitness routines or join a barbell gym that takes itself seriously and is full of regulars
-Join your local shooting club and take carbine and pistol classes. Join 2-gun and competitive shooting
-Take Stop the Bleed and other medical care classes, available almost anywhere
-Use your remaining money on traveling wherever you want

Boom, the above will certainly cost you money, but it is far less likely to cost you your marriage, sanity, physical integrity or life.

The End:

Now is not the time to join the military. We tenuously edge closer to either A. Civil War or B. War with China. Neither of which the military is prepared for. In fact, should we fight China, the military is due for a hard reset. Do not be part of the first wave of tranny-riddled social experiments that gets sent over the wire to be destroyed by a determined foe who is not shackled by such delusions. The system as it stands benefits certain people in this country, it's time they had the honor of dying for it instead of those who always have.