People like to say the military isn't a social experiment, but isn't it?

2017-12-11T16:23:42-05:00

I've always been of the opinion that the military is perhaps our countries greatest and longest running social experiment. Start at the very basis of the military. Can you take a group of young, inexperienced boys, and convince them its in their best interest to obey an order than could get them killed instantly? Can you get them to become one cohesive unit, and not 40 individuals? Can you get them to recognize the objective is the most important thing?

There are also the cultural experiments that have occurred. Long before integration was uniform across the country the military showed that white, black, yellow, red, brown and any other colored men could work side by side. When the war was over they went back to a country that was 10 years behind them in terms of social advancement.

The military has pushed forth some of the biggest advancements in history, the telegraph, the phone, the radio, the vehicle, the plane and the helicopter just to name a few all became common or became better than what they were almost overnight to facilitate war efforts through out our history.

To be honest I only thought of this because of the transgender question arising in the military today. Im not going to give my opinion about that because that's not the point of the post I know there are lots of variables in the arguments being made on both sides that make sense, but when people say the military isn't a social experiment I have to respectfully disagree.

Response by SGT Frank Pritchett made Dec 11 at 2017 4:47 PM

2017-12-11T16:47:42-05:00

You take people from all walks of life, throw them into a cess pool, take them out and teach them how to act as a team; some can, some con't. then you teach them a trade and as a team they do things no one can dream of. Now if that is not an experiment then nothing is.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Dec 11 at 2017 5:20 PM

2017-12-11T17:20:01-05:00

IMHO, the military is like sports , Cub, and Boy Scouts, and other worthwhile groups to be members of, just the military is a little more intense, and builds long lasting character.

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Dec 11 at 2017 6:42 PM

2017-12-11T18:42:14-05:00

SPC David Willis Most Definitely, I was the Shy, Quiet, Geek, Nerd that had a Love of Radio Equipment and the Navy/NSA Put that to Good Use.

Response by A1C Ian Williams made Dec 11 at 2017 7:42 PM

2017-12-11T19:42:19-05:00

Using constants to direct the exponential growth of the dependent variables SPC David Willis

Response by Maj John Bell made Dec 11 at 2017 8:46 PM

2017-12-11T20:46:16-05:00

I've always thought that, unlike anywhere else, the military offers the greatest opportunity to control the variables in a social experiment.

Response by SP5 Larry Morris made Dec 11 at 2017 10:04 PM

2017-12-11T22:04:58-05:00

it is more of a dicktator ship but it has to be

Response by A1C Ian Williams made Dec 11 at 2017 10:12 PM

2017-12-11T22:12:19-05:00

4 elements forced to live on a base. Let's see what happens when people stop being polite and start getting real. Basic Training. The Real World: Air Force SPC David Willis

Response by LTJG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 12 at 2017 8:09 AM

2017-12-12T08:09:21-05:00

It is a complete social experiment. Think about it. Years a go, no women. Then they allowed women to serve and now they serve just as openly as men and we are better for it. Same for every other aspect of society. Women werent allowed on submarines, then they were and it was all fine. Look at the media as well. Transgendered entering the military freely now. No big deal. Just part of the social experiment to make the military as precise of an example of society as possible.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Dec 12 at 2017 1:08 PM

2017-12-12T13:08:50-05:00

SPC David Willis -- very well stated case. I truly appreciate your point of view. I agree the military led the way in racial integration in the 1950s and 60s. To some extent even before that. They also led the way in equal treatment for women. In the early 21st Century, the challenge has been to end sexual harassment and assault--possibly as big a challenge as racial integration.

The social experiment complaint comes when people believe the military is being forced to accept rules or standards for behaviors that may be a detriment to mission accomplishment and readiness. I know the capability of black people to fully participate in military missions was questioned throughout the 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries. Black military members proved they were more than capable of fulfilling all specialties by the end of WWII. Similar story for women who started with their own segregated corps doing mostly administrative jobs. Over the years women have proved their detractors wrong and demonstrated competence in specialties from admin to astronaut. These attributes, race and gender, are not personal choices. Discrimination against or for people because of these characteristics is immoral and illegal. Follow-on social experimentation with the military involved characteristics involving personal choices including religion or belief systems and sexual preference. The freedom of religion is a Constitutionally protected right. It was inevitable that various religious beliefs, or the lack thereof, would be incorporated into the military. In general it has been done smoothly and fully supporting the mission. Beards and headdress associated with some religions have been an issue. I don't always agree with the way the military is handling these issues in so far as they impact readiness. The right of persons of certain religions to refuse to "bear arms" has been effectively handled since WWII. Sexual preference is another area where the Services were directed to revise their standards. The long-term effect of openly homosexual people serving hasn't been fully determined in my opinion, but it looks as though it may work out okay. Transgenderism appears to be the next challenge forced on the Services. It's main problems from my viewpoint are its cost and the blurring of lines between male and female because of the self identification characteristic. Can the new recruit be male one day and female the next? If she claims sexual harassment one day, is the claim negated by identifying as a male the next? The whole issue can detract from readiness and President Trump is right in prohibiting transsexual people from serving.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Dec 13 at 2017 8:17 AM

2017-12-13T08:17:50-05:00

The difference between racial integration and the tranny thing is that race doesn't = mental illness.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Aug 6 at 2018 7:40 PM

2018-08-06T19:40:04-04:00

The military is one step beyond society pertaining to equal rights.