Posted on Nov 25, 2014
Is an All Volunteer Military creating a New WARRIOR Class?
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The draft ended almost 40 years ago, and even though the U.S. population has grown, the size of the military has declined.
The service is now all-volunteer and often staffed by members of so-called "military families." According to a Department of Defense 2011 Status of Forces survey, 57% of active troops today are the children of members of the armed forces.
Are you first, second, third or fourth generation military?
The service is now all-volunteer and often staffed by members of so-called "military families." According to a Department of Defense 2011 Status of Forces survey, 57% of active troops today are the children of members of the armed forces.
Are you first, second, third or fourth generation military?
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 18
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Like CW2 Joseph Evans it skipped a generation for me. But there is a warrior class, without a doubt. The good news is that ours is a voluntary one. The bad news is this class separation is very real and if uncorrected in the long term portends very negative consequences.
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CW2 Joseph Evans
SPC D W.,
There is an argument that the evil was spawned by the advent of evangelicalism in America. The widespread belief that sin can be absolved by faith and that the end of days will see those with faith, regardless of sin, shall be rewarded by the father. This absolves an individual of their responsibility to just and moral action, yet bequeaths the entitlement of faith.
The failure is not in the class that exercises its entitlements, the failure is in the culture that absolves people of responsibility for their actions.
We have had great men in the past that knew what their responsibilities were and bore heavy burdens as a result. LT Audie Murphy, SGT Alvin York, GEN Robert E. Lee, GEN Ulysses Grant. Some of these men were religious, some were not, some sinned, and some abstained. But they all understood what they had to sacrifice to be leaders of men, they had to sacrifice themselves. And that is the responsibility that we have forgotten in this day of entitlement.
And yes, Jesus knew this responsibility better than any, He is the way, the truth, and the life... His is an example to follow if we are to find our way.
There is an argument that the evil was spawned by the advent of evangelicalism in America. The widespread belief that sin can be absolved by faith and that the end of days will see those with faith, regardless of sin, shall be rewarded by the father. This absolves an individual of their responsibility to just and moral action, yet bequeaths the entitlement of faith.
The failure is not in the class that exercises its entitlements, the failure is in the culture that absolves people of responsibility for their actions.
We have had great men in the past that knew what their responsibilities were and bore heavy burdens as a result. LT Audie Murphy, SGT Alvin York, GEN Robert E. Lee, GEN Ulysses Grant. Some of these men were religious, some were not, some sinned, and some abstained. But they all understood what they had to sacrifice to be leaders of men, they had to sacrifice themselves. And that is the responsibility that we have forgotten in this day of entitlement.
And yes, Jesus knew this responsibility better than any, He is the way, the truth, and the life... His is an example to follow if we are to find our way.
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Capt Richard I P.
SPC D W I wasn't really driving at entitlements or benefits. More the direction LTC Paul Labrador was going with his Roman Empire analogy. As I wrote in a different discussion:
"Empires never start out evil, their expansion is always a response to external threats. As Republics or monarchies grow in power they naturally extend that power further and further afield from their borders. Eventually they span the globe, or as much of it as their power can support, funding, training and equipping client states, deploying regular forces when clients are ineffective. The Empires insulate their citizens from the danger of the world at the price of their militaries' blood (which inevitably becomes a separate class from other citizens). Slowly the freedoms the citizens once held as their most dear possessions are eroded to better support the unending wars necessary to support their 'safety.' The last phases of this cycle are always bad, the gulf between militaries and citizens has widened to where they no longer share goals or recognize eachother as fellow citizens. The nation, once united becomes divided and the Empire employs the military in furthering its goals with less and less regard to the wishes of the former citizens (now subjects.) Eventually this includes the use of the militaries against the subjects. After a time of great pain and fear the subjects take up arms, aided by splinter groups of the militaires and sometimes outside militaries eager to destroy the Empire, and execute a successful rebellion.
This is the fate I fear."
As the self-selected members of the military find their views, values and goals diverging from those of the population, they each slowly feel like separate nations (groups that share common history and values). This is partway down a path that is often a dangerous course of events.
"Empires never start out evil, their expansion is always a response to external threats. As Republics or monarchies grow in power they naturally extend that power further and further afield from their borders. Eventually they span the globe, or as much of it as their power can support, funding, training and equipping client states, deploying regular forces when clients are ineffective. The Empires insulate their citizens from the danger of the world at the price of their militaries' blood (which inevitably becomes a separate class from other citizens). Slowly the freedoms the citizens once held as their most dear possessions are eroded to better support the unending wars necessary to support their 'safety.' The last phases of this cycle are always bad, the gulf between militaries and citizens has widened to where they no longer share goals or recognize eachother as fellow citizens. The nation, once united becomes divided and the Empire employs the military in furthering its goals with less and less regard to the wishes of the former citizens (now subjects.) Eventually this includes the use of the militaries against the subjects. After a time of great pain and fear the subjects take up arms, aided by splinter groups of the militaires and sometimes outside militaries eager to destroy the Empire, and execute a successful rebellion.
This is the fate I fear."
As the self-selected members of the military find their views, values and goals diverging from those of the population, they each slowly feel like separate nations (groups that share common history and values). This is partway down a path that is often a dangerous course of events.
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Capt Richard I P.
SPC D W Exceptions to every rule, but Spartans supported their society through slavery, a recognized and regimented class system that held together until conquered by a stronger outside force-mostly due to a more distributed power structure (the Romans). Japanese Samurai similarly sat atop a rigid class system, again, it sustained (despite a few internal uprisings) until a society more distributed defeated it (ours).
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Capt Richard I P.
SPC D W Raw force or any power naturally flows from societies that are stronger. Stronger societies arise from greater freedom. The Roman people though still possessing slavery were far more open and accepting and integrating of foreigners. One could become a citizen of Rome, not so of Sparta.
The Samurai were not truly defeated until the US did it. Yes, there was internal decay, and various partial revolts, there almost always are in the fall of empires. The decay is a symptom/corollary of the divergence in values between the military and non-military classes that's part of how you get Ceasari instead of Cincinnati.
The Samurai were not truly defeated until the US did it. Yes, there was internal decay, and various partial revolts, there almost always are in the fall of empires. The decay is a symptom/corollary of the divergence in values between the military and non-military classes that's part of how you get Ceasari instead of Cincinnati.
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I'm first generation US Army....kinda. My paternal great uncle served with the USAFE under Gen MacArthur during the Bataan campaign in 1942. He was a Death March survivor. However, I'm not sure if he was Philippine Army or a member of the US Philippine Scouts.
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Family military service dating back to the Civil War . Would have ended with my father until I decided to carry on the family tradition and joined at age 40.
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SSG(P) (Join to see)
Thank you and your family for their indomitable spirit, and the US Army for their very lax age requirements.
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