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Why nobody is joining the military
[notthebee.com]military-isa-must-read

lawrenceblair 8 Sep 24
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I enlisted in 1975 and started Boot Camp in 1976. The political climate of the day was to call all members of the armed forces, "baby killers," because of the actions of a few planted to cause mayhem and the exaggerations and lies of the operatives like Kerry who saw no treason in giving the communist government of North Vietnam aid and comfort while they were engaged in killing American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines for fun and profit. He has never paid for that treason because the people who have been running the government, both Democrat and Republican, also identify more with those who want to destroy the country than the Constitution they swore to uphold.
Yet when I enlisted there were still some real generals and admirals who wanted to have the finest force possible with the resources allowed. Not so today. If I were 17 years old today and a high school senior, I would accept one of the college scholarships I turned down to be a Marine like my stepfather, and like Leon Uris, John Bassilone, Dan Daily, et al.

Some great officers at that time . . . up to the rank of colonel. A very good book on the Viet Nam war and the way it was fought: [amazon.com]

@lawrenceblair My Commandant, Lewis F. Wilson, Gen. USMC, was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions as a captain on Iwo Jima in 1945. He commanded a battalion in Korea, a regiment and later a division in Vietnam and was appointed to the top billet in 1976 under Jerry R. Ford. He served the Peanut Farmer for his entire tenure and was never listened to by the Oval Orifice.

I was blessed to have served in the U.S. Navy during the Reagan administration (1984-1989). I was on the tail end of the Lebanon Peacekeeping Force and then part of the Libyan Expedition in 1986. We had a good Commander-in-Chief, we were well-equipped, and morale was high.

@FuzzyMarineVet He may well have been so. The majority of higher-ranking officers were not. Read the book I mentioned written by a man who served as an officer in Viet Nam.

@KeithThroop I lost a lot of friends to the truck bomb in Beirut in 1980s. It still hurts. I'm going to raise a toast to them. To absent comrades and fallen friends, fair winds and following seas until we stand watch on the streets of gold together.

@FuzzyMarineVet Sorry to hear that, brother. Many people don't realize that the war on terror was actually going on as early as the 1970s.

@lawrenceblair After a bit of research, I can't afford to buy anything for the next few months, I found that all the bad officers were members of the "Ring Knockers Club." They all attended one of the academies that were formed to turn out professional officers. Since most Marine Corps officers at the time in question were mavericks, having first been enlisted and getting a commission from the ranks, they tended to identify more closely with the men in the ranks below. The best Army officers were also mavericks.
@KeithThroop, were there many mavericks in the Navy?

@FuzzyMarineVet Not when I was in, there weren't. At least I never came across one. But we had mostly good officers, though. They all knew enough to let the Chiefs do their jobs without interfering too much, and, when they did involve themselves, they usually knew what they were doing and lead very well.

@KeithThroop I met a Lieutenant Commander in 1978 who had risen through the ranks and was commissioned an ensign from CPO. For a Lt. Cdr. he was OLD! But he garnered respect from both directions in the chain of command. His skipper, a full bird captain, thought the sun rose and set on the man.

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There were definitely some good points there.

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