Re:The Vietnam War Was Already Lost, but I Had to Go Anyway
by nradov on Monday July 15, 2019 @10:37AM
(#20441222)
US military recruiting now targets more middle class than poor people. The poor people too often fail to meet entrance standards due to not having a high school diploma, low test scores, history of drug abuse, criminal record, or medical problems.
Re:The Vietnam War Was Already Lost, but I Had to Go Anyway
by b_tterc_p on Tuesday July 16, 2019 @12:18AM
(#20447427)
I’m not sure this is true
I found this article which sort of suggested it, but the math didn’t match my intuition.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/the-recruit...
Obesity and intelligence are certainly problem factors, but I just don’t believe middle class millennials are the ones going to the military. I have to believe it’s still the poor who aren’t disqualified. Open to contradiction though.
Re:The Vietnam War Was Already Lost, but I Had to Go Anyway
by C1sc0cat on Monday July 15, 2019 @10:30AM
(#20441149)
Is that surprising your not going to get many young people with skills and qualifications joining up as an infantry man.
One of my mates signed up and said that he enjoyed his 7 years but then it was time to get a job that paid a living wage.
Which is why the military and related orgs have such a hard time recruiting people experienced technical skills.
Re:The Vietnam War Was Already Lost, but I Had to Go Anyway
by b_tterc_p on Monday July 15, 2019 @10:33AM
(#20441180)
It’s ok to recruit poor, unskilled people. Honestly it makes a lot of sense and is good allocation of resources if you’re acting under the premise that we need soldiers.
It’s not ok to claim that they’re there because of their values and to lie in saying that they’re a treasured part of the society.
Our military recruitment model targets people who are primarily just poor. Then we call them heroes and treat them like shit.
But by calling them heroes it implies they signed up for purposes like patriotism and honor. Not the reality that a lot of them are just shifted into it for lack of better options. It’s a grave disservice to soldiers to hide their struggles with bullshit praise.
There may well be heroism involved in military service, but it’s used as blinders to avoid the fact that we have screwed over vets for years ever since, idk, the bonus army; and fully intend to continue doing so.