re: As I get older, I wish I had spent some time in the military

I have no issue with Vets, I have spent plenty of time talking with plenty of them about their journeys. I wish them complete safety in all their travels and hope they return healthy, and easily reintegrate following deployments.

I don't mind paying taxes, not at all, so long as they go to improving the quality of life here in America. I don't think spending twenty percent of it militarizing the planet is necessary.

Don't worry, I got 14 years in. I'll cover the next 4 for you.

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I kind of agree with Darth's age assessment of this punk, he's at least accurate with the maturity age assessment

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That's an indictment upon your maturity, not mine.

I believe in the freedom of choice, and that such freedom is what keeps our government in relative check -- holding them accountable for their actions by requiring their mission to be deemed worthy by the individual himself, not by unilateral government mandates, as you seem to believe best.

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I change my mind, I should have enlisted.

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Me too.

He's had MUCH more fun than I have as an officer.

One of my older cousins was telling how her father wanted to join the army during WWII. He went in to enlist against his wife and children's wishes but they denied him him because he was 2 years over the age limit. She said he waited about a month and went to a different office and lied about his age. This time he made it in and fought the Japanese on several of the islands. He took several pictures and I saw some of them in his album. He was a great man. He ran into problems later in life when it was time to draw his SS because the age on his military records showed him as being younger. He had to bring birth records and convice them that he lied just to get into the war.

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Its a fact that the world economy performs a lot better when there's a superpower in the neighborhood making sure nobody causes too much trouble for everyone else

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Even if that is indeed factual, how does that support the current situation we find ourselves in? Is that a free market?

Here is the world's easiest military industrial complex example illustrating absurd waste and perpetuation of budget flows.

Lockheed Martin makes fighter jets, among other things, and then sells them to the United States Government for a healthy profit. Lockheed is always developing better shite, so we buy it, too, even though it may not even be needed.

When the surplus of equipment bloats, the Feds don't want to have their scrap yards in Nevada overflowing with antiquated planes, so they give them back to Lockheed for pennies on the dollar. Lockheed takes that pig, smacks some lipstick on it, and slangs it out to a third world dictator for another nice profit; thus, perpetuating the need for the government to purchase even better products to protect everyone from these imminent threats that exist.

This is not necessary for a healthy global economy.

Those of us who returned are not heroes the true heroes are buried in distant lands and who did nt return to their families, but Thank You

Subic was the best

LOL

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I'm actually going through the motions right now. Hopefully it will all work out. I'll be 31 this month.

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Posted by Message
777Tiger
As I get older, I wish I had spent some time in the military
I think 2-4 year mil service at reaching 18 should be mandatory.

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At least the reserves or some type of public service. If you want state or federal "aid"