Should the Armed Forces be allowed to recruit in high schools?
 

So my friend's son school down south had recruiters for armed forces come to his HS and give a presentation on volunteer military life and beyond. hey talked about various zones of conflict, how the military will pay for university etc.

As a Canadian this is mind boggling to me that grooming for military life starts this early in the US. For those of you in the US, how do you feel? Is this a tradition that should be honoured or are you in favour of scraping it?

its wrong but no surprise it happens. nothing better than recruiting lost and confused kids.

in my personal opinion, the military should only take candidates who have graduated high school or went beyond that.

They recruit in the poor areas too, they are taking advantage and going for young and naive people who've been exposed to some Hollywood war propaganda

Not a thing in the world wrong with it. They've been doing it since the 70's at least.

Believe me, most of today's fucked up kids could use the discipline and motivation they will learn in the military.

Gunny Highway'll beat some sense into the little shits


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it's not "grooming for military life"... it's presenting another option, which for many is actually not that bad... likely beats going to some minimum wage dead-end job, which for many is the only other realistic choice...

Why not?

The military can be an entry level job and a way to fund a college education after enlistment.
The military is a bootstrap up for a lot of HS grads whose parent(s) can't manage financially to send them to college. We should have paid continuing education in the US -- we don't now. I would prefer that new enlistments be after their 14th year of some schooling (community college or trade school).
The military can offer some technical training and more importantly -- self discipline. People with self discipline achieve more in life.

A lot of countries have mandatory military or government service (as an alternative) for all youth for 2 or 3 years.

Do you object to girls that are 18 being in porn -- what is the difference really? Being "damaged goods" in society or maimed or killed?

Free World ...

Young men have the stamina for combat -- can you force march 30km that well when your are over 40 :upsidedow

i sure as shit wouldn't want to die for the bullshit agenda they are pushing today. its not like anyone is fighting for freedom anymore. its more big business than anything else.

so only the lost and confused join the military?

well i don't think most rational intelligent people would want a job where you get paid like shit, sleep in a dorm with a bunch of other dudes, get treated like shit and possibly will be killed for a no good reason.

Hit the nail on the head! :thumbsup

Lol, discipline. Not in the dutch army. When i had to go there 12 months it was only playing monoply, cards or Risk, drink and smoke weed and party. Every night everybody was drunk. No respect for the colonals, corporals, sergeants and so on. They where seen as losers, risking their lives from some euro's cause they couldn't succeed in normal life. I wouldn't want my children go in the army, if i had them, getting shot for some political lies. My brother was not smart not listening to me when he went an volunteered for Bosnia. He regret that the rest of his life. I told him, only losers with people who can't think themselves. Sent by some politicians who thought it would be a peace keeping missions and didn't support them when it went wrong.

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I see nothing wrong with it. I myself, and many others I know, joined right out of high school and it was the best thing in the world for me. Took me far away from home and made me into a man.

It's not just poor areas, but also small towns where the kids want a way out. Almost as bad as credit card companies handing out cards at college move in days and at spring break events..

yes, and if everyone were like you we wouldn't have any of the rights and freedoms we have today--including the right to be a coward who disrespects and belittles the military.

When I was in high school military recruiters were a common thing to see on campus. Most of my friends joined the military and, honestly, I might have too if I didn't have asthma.

Here is my worry about it. These recruiters are under intense pressure to hit recruiting goals. Many of them lie to your face and tell you what you want to hear knowing that what they tell you has no chance of ever actually happening. If you read and fully understand the contract, you might catch this, but the contracts are complicated and likely a person would need a lawyer to fully understand them.

Of all the people I know who have gone in the military only a couple of them have actually ended up doing the job they were promised when they signed up. Most of them either ended up in a combat zone or doing some job they hated that would not help them better themselves after the military.

So, I guess, I wouldn't have a problem with it if the contracts were more clear and concise and they recruiters were forced to tell the truth.

I see no issues in this at all.

Don't look at the military and think "We are sending kids off to war". The military has jobs in nearly every profession - Doctors, pilots, mechanics, computer IT, law enforcement, cooks, engineering, maintenance, aerospace... Even writers, marketing people, and photographers.

LOL. For a while when I was in the military I was assigned to a unit called "Special Services". Sounds super elite, but... It really means "base services" - I cut grass, ran a gym, and even worked as a bartender at the eclub.

A few times a month I go running with the local Marine recruiter and his recruits and they are all high school kids.

the military is the way of life for many and the south produce little other opportunity for the average high school graduate. military life has traditions that reach back through the generations. I'm not sure why you find that so objectionable? since high school is now the battle ground for gender identity, any 16-17 year old should have the option of a military life just as they are now being forced to decided of they want their dicks cut off. :2 cents:

I don't think this is the case any more.

(Please don't laugh but....) When I signed up I signed up as a cook. My buddy and I had it all planned out - We did two years of the culinary arts program at high school (the culinary arts program ran a full restaurant open to the public), and worked nights at a local restaurant as cooks, severs, catering, and then managers. Our goal was to do four years in the Marines as cooks, and then onto culinary college, and then we wanted to work in Vegas at the hotels there. I ended up in the Marines and was told in boot camp I was infantry, 0352, TOW Gunner. No complaints. My buddy too - He followed me into the Marines about three months later and also ended up in infantry.

I don't think they have "intense pressure" to hit recruiting goals. Our military is sizing down and has been for the past four years.... They are being a bit more selective now.

when a young man of 17 or 18 decides to be a fighter piolet for example, they are neither lost nor confused :2 cents:

at some point 'server your country' has real meaning :1orglaugh

right, because troops today are fighting for the exact same reasons and freedoms as they were 60 years ago.

Most of my experience came back in the late 1980's when I was in high school so a lot could have changed since then. What I know for certain is that, back then, I knew at least 10 people that joined various branches right out of high school and, If I remember correctly, only two of them actually ended up doing what they were "promised" as jobs.

As for pressure with recruiting, it likely comes and goes. I graduated high school in 1989 and it wasn't long after that we were involved in the Gulf War. A few of my friends were in combat there so they likely had pressure to ramp up. I know there was a lot of pressure in the early to mid 2000's with Iraq and Afghanistan. There was a story recently about recruiters committing fraud and giving bonuses to people that shouldn't have gotten them in order to meet heavy recruiting goals.

Where should they recruit then? They need young 18 year old boys, and the schools are the real Klondyke for cannon fodder seekers :2 cents:

In the US the one can't buy even a bottle of beer in 18, but he is mature enough to kill and to be killed in the name of freedom and democracy.

If you add up the base pay, allowances (which are tax free), bonuses, food, housing, medical care, and other benefits, it's actually not bad pay. But most people are short sighted and dont consider the whole picture.

Not everybody "sleeps in a dorm". Married people get housing with their families. Even the single guys can get off-base housing if it's deemed necessary for their job. And even if you do "live in a dorm with a bunch of other dudes" modern military quaters really arent bad, normally you share a room with a roomate. The barracks parties can be pretty legendary, and a lot of those other dudes end up being your closest and best friends for the remainder of your life.

You dont get treated like shit unless you actually are shit. Basic training is rough, they stress you out on purpose. Big deal, life is hard. Combat is harder. Dont be a pussy about it. Basic training is just a few weeks and it's really a very short period in your life. Become proficient at your job and be professional, and you'll be treated with a lot of respect.

And lastly, the dying part. Guess what? The vast majority that serve dont fucking die! And dying isnt the worst thing that can happen to you whether you've served in the military or not.

I joined when I was seventeen and a half. I couldn't legally drink in a bar, but legally I could drink on base. Then again, back then... No one ever really carded anyone. No one cared.

I joined when I was 17 and waited an entire year before I could leave. First and best major decision I've ever made.

I disagree with Americans fighting civil wars in other countries with out pay from the countries. we have a great military, hire us to stop the bullshit, we will do it for half.

We had AirForce recruiters come to our school and give presentation when i was a freshman. I though it was fucking cool.

Well it just seems to me you have much less control of your life than you would being a civilian. they can make you move uprooting your kids if you have family, etc. And I'm not trying to say its 100% bad but i see little appeal. To me it seems kinda like prison. of course most don't die, at least not now but if you are the unlucky ones, well its little consolation. Also I disagree that dying isn't the worse thing that could happen because once you're dead, thats it, nothing else really matters. game over forever.

Your ignorance in thinking the military is nothing but war is mind numbing. Feel free to take the time and educate yourself on what more we get from people that join the military or are smart enough to be selected for the various military academies.

i disagree with you. The perks and benefits can be outstanding.

On paper, the pay sucks. However.... You don't pay for rent, medical, dental, vision, food, and transportation. You even get a clothing allowance. Anything and everything you need to buy is dirt cheap at the PX. You also get a free gym, free movie theater, free pool, and free day care. You can even get free plane flights - They were called MAC flights.

Not only do you get free training in your respective field, but also free college courses.

Of course, you get discounts on everything both on and off base.

I lived in the barracks for two years, and frankly it was fun. It was like summer camp except we got to blow things up and shoot machine guns. Eventually I moved off base, but I got a housing allowance.

For an eighteen or nineteen year old kid with limited opportunities it's perfect.

I wish I stayed in. I joined at 17, and could have retired when I was 37 - over ten years ago.

For a lot of people, especially those who grew up in small towns like I did, the military is a good option. For many it seems like a better choice than getting a shitty job or spending a lot of money to get a degree you either don't like or may not use. If you are 18 and don't know what you want to do with your life the military can be a way to do some traveling and have some adventure while earning money to pay for college after.

A buddy of mine went into the Air Force out of high school. He was "promised" he would be a mechanic that worked on planes, but he got screwed over on that. He ended up working construction which he enjoyed, he shared a nice two bedroom apartment off base with a friend and 2-3 times a year he got to travel to other countries to work on the embassies or bases there. He made enough to pay his bills and leave him about $10,000 in savings when he got out plus he bought a new car when he went in and it was paid off and still in like new condition when he got out. So, he learned a trade he enjoys and is still doing 25 years later, saw some cool parts of the world, and made a few bucks. Not a bad deal.

Discipline, i call that brainwashing. Obeying stupid orders and dying for big companies interests. I didn't study much before i went, but i saw immedeatly that all the 'professiona' sergeants and corporals where plain stupid, liking that they could get some 'power'. I am in favour of a professional army, cause tere where some fanatics (maybe 5%) that really wanted a career in the army and would fit very well.

If you need an army to see things and kill people everywhere in the mean time, i don't see that as 'seeing something from the world'. Than you better join an Island gethering in Vietnam, i can assure you that that is much much much nicer than when you would have gone there with the US Army. You can travel the whole world and make money online if you want to see the world.

In Holland they where also loooking of everybody had to join the army gain for 6 - 12 months. They saw that for most people it could cost more money. You start working one year later, what cost you money and will retire one year later. Wasted time people better spent in school. And now they start in Holland the discussion again, while the army doesn't have bullets to practice (too expensive) and they use bad helmets cause the best are sooo expensive...

I know some of my brothers friends, a lot have PTSD. Some peple commited suicide, a lot have problems in their family. For me is 1 thing clear, don't trust the governement and politics.

And if there is a real new word war and you need all forces. Train them in 4 weeks. I had training 8 weeks and the other 10 months did nothing. Well, they did nothing. I just went away and worked to make extra money working, and paid the fine. I remember one colonal shouting at me that i should adjust, that when i got back to real life companies would ask if you fulfilled your 'duty'. I said, you must be stupid thinking that 12 months smoking weed, drinking and partying will look good on my resumee.

Ps, when i was 17 i was already sailing fulltime on a sailing ship cause i wanted to see something. If you want to see things, you don't have to go in the army and treated like a dog that has to listen to his boss.

I was active member of a union for people that has to go to military service. I looked up all borders to break them. That picture above i put in my room. In the 70s it was forbidden, we tried in the nineties and i had to go to court, but we won and the cartoon wasn't forbidden anymore.. Realy, i could make the green man start looking red. Most angry you could get them by saying you would go to South America when a war with Russia would start... Deserters get shot, bla bla bla,. I am in South America now, the Russians can come ;)

It's free to you, but the taxpayers have to pick up the bill :2 cents:

The powers that be know that this could end up a world war very fast with all the changes and bitterness between super powers. Teens and youth today are radically different than in the late 30s early 40s when they were called to serve in world war 2. The players are different but the premise is the same - fight for the freedoms we take for granted.

So yes Armed Forces should be allowed to recruit but the problem is that few people today actually trust the government the way it was back during WW2. Just looking at the way government looks after their Vets shows that any sacrifice isn't counted. My father and others like him in Canada all received homes etc. when they returned as a show of their sacrifices during the war. Not today.

A buddy of mine back in the 80's joined the military, and came out 5 years later with his mechanics papers. Top level training. Dude has had a good paying job ever since, working on cars.

It idn't all about getting shot at.

If you join the officers group...come out a captain or better server your time you can usually quite easily get a job at a large corporate us based company

Fucking hippies