Browsing the last
issue
of The Southwester, I noticed that the U.S. Army recruiting ad appeared
to have
gotten cut off in the printing process. I hate it when that happens. You’re right in the middle of a juicy
advertisement
and somehow the last line didn’t print.
In this case, I believe that entire paragraphs were omitted.
So as a public service, and since I am an instructor who teaches his students to read between the lines, I thought I’d submit the attached ad to the Southwester and grant free and unlimited use of it to the military should they require a fresh poster for their current recruiting efforts.
In
case the
original ad isn’t repeated in the current issue, I can tell you that it
spoke
of “honor, duty and loyalty”, all fine qualities to be sure. But it got cut off before mentioning
the many fringe benefits available to you
young folk looking for an alternative to a college education.
It didn’t describe the killing and maiming available to you as a member of the armed forces. I’m sure somewhere cut off towards the bottom of the ad there was a promo for the current war effort listing the thousands of “insurgents” and “terrorists” killed by coalition forces. Somebody pulled the trigger on every one of them. What if it was you?
Or how about 17,000 killed Iraqi civilians—they call ‘em “collateral damage” --since we got there. Lancet published research concluding that 98,000 Iraqis have died. Then again, they’re probably including a bunch that just starved to death or got some disease drinking bad water. And besides, what do they know? They’re just the world’s leading medical journal.
Of
course you’re
probably more interested in the 1533 (and counting) Americans soldiers
killed
in
Feel
free to
skip ahead if you’re not interested in the 108 individuals detained by
U.S.
forces in Iraq and Afghanistan who’ve died
in custody-- most
of them violently—killed by whom?
Which
brings us
to the question of what you would do if you were ordered to “soften up”
some detainees
for interrogation? What if you
refused? One young soldier was
convicted just the other day-- Roger Maynulet
said he
thought he was just doing his duty in killing a critically wounded
insurgent. Now he’s being sentenced for
manslaughter.
But the fun doesn’t end once you leave country—if
you’re allowed
to leave. Whole units have been required
to serve an extra tour even after their enlistments were up (wars don’t
always
end on schedule). Yes, war is one
experience that just keeps on giving.
You’ve heard of PTSD? Gulf War syndrome?
Agent Orange? I wonder if the
airmen who dropped those 21 million gallons of defoliant
realized how many Vietnamese
peasants would wind up dead or disabled as a result of their actions—of
course,
they were just following orders.
If you decide to join up, you may have some tough
choices ahead
of you. Many young soldiers have a
difficult time with those choices. They
wind up with that funny little problem called post-traumatic stress
disorder, forever
reliving the horrific scenes they witnessed and or took part in. Even
the marine corps estimates that 18% of their ranks are returning home
with
PTSD. How do you like them odds?
A lot of soldiers—not all but a fair percentage --use drugs to cope with their situation—and become junkies and alcoholics.
I could go on but I think you’ve gotten the gist. Although I’m sure some of you are ready to cite that one soldier you know who was a war hero and went on to do wonderful things. But then I could cite Timothy McVeigh. Yeah, that happens, too. So please, think twice and get all the facts before you make a decision which will live inside you and affect the ones you love for the rest of your life. And allow me to close with that old, oft quoted slogan made popular by liberal, Commie peace-mongers of the ‘60’s, “Join the Army! Travel to exotic, distant lands. Meet exciting, unusual people-- and kill them.”
Ron
Bell
Counseling
Faculty
(submitted
to but not printed in Southwester, Spring 2005)