On Wed, Feb 28, 2007 at 08:55:28AM +0100, Dan H. wrote: > > I think in any society, no matter in what system, it's always the stupid > and poor that end up in the military, at least in those ranks that > actually have to do the dirty work and risk their lives. > Please stop perpetuating this myth. It only makes *you* look stupid. I gave a very thorough example [0] using the U.S. Air Force, to show that both officer and enlisted personnel are on average *far* more educated than the average American. Now, perhaps that is because it is an all volunteer force. Andrew even brought up the US Army as an example of a branch of service with more minorities and less educated personnel. Of course, they offer the best college benefits of all the services. So, if I had to have a guarantee of money for college once I got out, I'd seriously consider the Army. So, to sum it up, people in the military (at least in the US) are there because they *want* to be there. Granted, some people have fewer options and so choose the military (nearly every job is considered entry-level, except for perhaps engineer, doctor, lawyer or other jobs that carry specific academic criteria). I had a neighbor who is a facial surgeon who has aggressively recruited by the Army while he was in residency. They offered to pay off all his loans, signing bonus, the whole deal. He turned them down and went into private practice. He told me that he oftentimes wished he had taken then up and done a stint of a few years. There are a few army veterans in my church. Most served in Korea or Vietnam. When I ask them about their service, they said that their main regret was that they had not stayed in. This is from people who went in with draftees or were drafted themselves. I mean, the 50s-70s were not exactly the high water mark for the US military. I mean heck, the new US commander in Iraq is putting together a group of officers [2] with the following qualifications: * combat experience in Iraq * PhD from top university * critical of the war These are the people who will be making recommendations to the new US commander. Now, if the Congress, the Secretary of Defense and the President will let them do their jobs remains to be seen. But then again, maybe you and John Kerry are right [3]. Regards, -Roberto [0] http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2007/02/msg03913.html [1] http://lists.debian.org/debian-user/2007/02/msg04336.html [2] http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/04/AR2007020401196_pf.html [3] http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/interactive/allpolitics/0611/kerry.sign/pop.sign.620wtmj.jpg -- Roberto C. Sanchez http://people.connexer.com/~roberto http://www.connexer.com
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