>>Tom
>>
>>Well you were either forced into it (seems likey: WW I, WW II, Korea and Nam) or you wanted to do it. Not everyone would want to be a soldier or is cut out for it. Fighting to defend the nation - right on - I agree with you. But serving in Iraq, or Afghanistan? Nam was hardly defending the nation (allowing for the "stop the spread of communism" argument) and I'm not so sure about Korea
>>
>>And which service/war were your pioneering ancestors dragged into immediately they landed?
>>
>>Terry
>
>Hi Terry,
>
>Not all jobs in the Military are fighting, all have to be ready for it, but it takes, I think, 5 to 10 support personnel to support one fighting soldier. I held three different jobs as support for the Infantry soldiers. The only time I have to fire my weapon was at the firing range. I admit that I got lucky in all of my assignments. I went to Suadi Arabia for Operation Desert Storm, but I never had to fire my weapon or get close to a situation to need it. I needed my NBC Mask and gear more for those scuds.
>
>Back to the issue, Joining the Military will also get training for the person, if they pick a good job, for later, when they get out of the military. The Military has almost the jobs that civilians have. Come on, free training! ;-)
>
>Have a good day.
>Beth

Have you seen "Jarhead"? Pretty close to the truth, I suspect. It ought to be, it was written by a Marine grunt who was there. One thing that surprised me was how much humor there is in it.