• kvasir476@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Two things not mentioned it that article:

    1. Why would anyone want to fight for a country that is so callously disinterested in the welfare of it’s citizens?

    2. In the last quarter-century it has become extremely apparent that the US Military is not the “global force for good” that it wants to portray itself as. Most young people probably aren’t interested in joining up to commit war crimes in the name of making money for the military industrial complex.

    • SkybreakerEngineer@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago
      1. Every branch of the military has become increasingly toxic, cutting things like training and cleaning up black mold in favor of new uniforms every 2 years
    • Grumble@techhub.social
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      1 year ago

      @kvasir476 @throws_lemy Suggested edit: After “In the last quarter-century” insert “I’ve finally noticed”.

      Butler saw the scam first-hand, 100 years ago. Every generation seems it must relearn the lessons of our grandparents.

      As for young people not enlisting for wars of convenience - exactly. That’s partially why a draft was around, and why it was so unpopular. And why the money each service pays for college benefits goes way up when there’s a shooting war and goes down in peacetime.

      My time in the Navy overlapped with the VEAP program, which would give me a 2-to-1 match for college - up to the maximum contribution of $2700. What a joke.

      Compare that to the current GI Bill plus extra money each service pays directly.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smedley_Butler

    • littlewonder@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      \3. Pay hasn’t kept up with civilian work.

      \4. They stopped offering student loan repayment as a benefit.

      • CADmonkey@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago
        1. They stopped offering student loan repayment as a benefit.

        What really? That was the biggest reason anyone joined when I was in. Wow. So the headline should be “Military reduces benefits of service, less people willing to serve”