Day #22 - Veterans of War

I need to apologize yet again.  For one, I got behind on my day again, and I just hate it when that happens.  I am now doing yesterday's post today, and I will definitely do tomorrow right now as well, so when I post and share this day's subject, tomorrow's subject (that's now today's subject) will follow it immediately.

For two, any comments that you may have made on any article in this series, before today never made it to my moderator board, because I'm  pretty new to this, and didn't have a clue on how to enable my comments (who in the hell has the kind of time needed to read help files in this busy world?).  This problem is now resolved (please see the post previous to this one for more information).

So, today's subject is Veterans of War.  This is one most definitely close to home, since I myself am a Veteran of the U.S. Army.  Fortunately for me, I was not involved in any of the senseless wars of late, but sometimes that fact does tend to make me feel a bit less of a defender of the United States.  This is not just a personal thing, this particular feeling stems from other things as well.

You're 18.  You feel that, after 18 years of parents and school that you deserve a much needed rest, and yet you don't just want to camp out in your old room with your football trophies and your Disturbed posters, for what could be up to 2 or 3 more years, living with your parents...a sentence to Hell, in a lot of young adults' eyes.  I'm sure that your parents would happily agree with the reverse of that sentence.  So, to avoid receiving that list of household chores that you will be stuck with, if you give both parents enough time to talk about it; and are hard-pressed to design and print them up, you quickly run over your options.  You may, if you're halfway bright, decide that the Armed Forces might just be the way to go.  This is, regardless of anything your parents or your peers may say, a pretty bright idea on your part.  Here, you'll learn respect and discipline, get into the best shape you'll ever be in during the course of your life, as well as earn money you can save up towards college (depending on the G.I. Bill that's currently in force during the course of your service), you'll get world experience and see other countries, you'll get free room and board, free food, free health and dental benefits, and maybe even learn some valuable skills that will translate to good jobs in the outside world.  Better yet even, if you manage to stay in and stay alive for more than 20 years, you can retire!  Your benefits when you're done are pretty much endless.

There are, however, some real setbacks to this logic.  Let's address each in turn.

1.  Sure you get paid, but it ain't much.  Oh sure, it hardly costs you anything to exist in the service. Everything's pretty much paid for.  Even with all of that, you don't get a whole heck of a lot to live with, let alone save up.

2.  This one's a biggie, and affects every other benefit I just got done listing.  During the course of your enlistment, you may be called to serve in a deadly war.  This wouldn't be such a bad thing for most countries; yet American Presidents have this bad habit of seeing opportunities to get what they want somewhere, then getting us into senseless wars and sticking their big democracy into places it never belonged...like little extensions of the United States.  United States Mini-Me's.  What these places really are could be defined as strategic U.S. footholds in other areas of the world.  And when somebody big gets froggy, it's OK, because Afghanistan?  Iraq?  Hell, we practically own 'em.  I can hear the President now, if Putin is a real problem?  "We can whomp in with our troops there, because we got Democracy put into those places, and, since they don't really know how to operate, and aren't really sure what they're doing, we can "Offer Our Help" and put troops there, and they won't be able to say much about it.  What're they gonna do, fight us off?  I doubt it!"  Whenever our President gets a wild hair up his nostril, the first thing he tends to do is bring you in to enforce whatever stupid idea or reason that we had where we felt "justified" to invade.  The chances of bein' in a war these days, when you join up?  Odds are pretty damn good.  There's some incentive to join up, right?

3.  Free health and dental benefits don't do you a whole hell of a lot of good if you're killed in the line of duty.  There goes every other benefit.

4.  Free Rent & Board?  Oh thank you armed forces!!  A tent in the desert.  That's where I've wanted to live my whole life!!  It's the American Dream come true!!

5.  Retirement?  Fat chance these days.  We're so trigger happy we can't keep out of a war at all!

6.  Let's say you're just one lucky sonofabitch.  You survive all those wars, and you're a decorated first sergeant by the time 20 years hits.  What do you think the chances are that you're going to come out complete, 100% whole?  Looking at our propensity to fight these days, the chances of you not physically fighting somewhere are almost nil.  If you don't lose a limb or two someplace on your person, it's almost guaranteed you'll lose some part of your mind.  PTSD cases  (as well as a host of other mental diseases) involving vets these days are quite numerous.  But it's OK right?  My government will take care of that, there's service-related disability, right??  C'mon guys...I've seen people that were in the service for ten plus years and have been out another ten years that are STILL trying to get that...and they're in wheelchairs paying for everything themselves as we speak.

7.  Here's one I really love(d).  These little crap benefits they offer you when you get out.  You think you  have it in the bag.  Guaranteed home loans...I'm still trying to get that, and it's been almost 34 years, and I still haven't gotten that.  But here was the real kick in the ass when I got out.  Because I DIDN'T serve in a war?  My benefits level was cut nearly in half.  Yeah, that's changed SOMEWHAT since I got out, and got somewhat better...probably because there was a lot of people like me that did a  lot more to get it changed...and this last war happened and probably made things better.  I just remember hearing this sentence a lot back in the day:  I'm sorry sir.  We only offer those things to Wartime Veterans.  REALLY????  Come on Unc.  I expected to fight, and was ready to serve anyway!!!  Doesn't this COUNT???  I had just as much chance of being in a war as a war-time vet did when he joined, didn't I???  And I don't get what he does because the dice didn't come up against me?  Get real!!

8.  Last, but certainly not least, there's the fact that, now that you've joined?  You belong to Uncle Sam.  They say that almost once a day every day that you're in.  What does it mean, now that your Uncle has chosen to adopt you?  The Army and Uncle Sam, as well as any other Defense Department Yahoo can now do with you what they want.  Experiment on you.  Stick drugs and other wonderful things into your food and drink.  Set up your base on 100% toxic land, and hope for the best (I was an MP in the service, and I was based in Ft. McLellan Alabama...in Aniston, Alabama.  Look it up.  It was a former nuclear waste dump back in the 40's and 50's.  Has the government done one damn thing about this, for the people stationed there, or for the town of Aniston camped nearby??  NOTHING!!)

Now, if those aren't good enough reasons not to serve your country?  Let's just look at the way Veterans of our wars are treated these days.  Since the last world war, U.S. Veterans have never been celebrated in any way.  You know why that is?  Because we never belonged in ANY of these wars.  People have been against us being in every war since the big II.  We HATED those wars, they were all totally UNCALLED FOR.  Korea.  Vietnam.  Guam.  The war in Afghanistan, and the Middle East farce back in 1992.  Bullshit wars, all.  So when you're back on U.S. soil?  Don't expect a ticker-tape parade...ain't happening.  Get over it...and good luck!

America, the 26 major sins are about finished...and there's oh so much more to cover.  Day 23, on the way.