The youngest age to be drafted just doesnt make any sense

I agree that if the US Gov believes they are old enough to kill then they should be old enough for everything else (Including not having to have someone cosign a loan for them) ....

As far as a draft ..maybe here in the US they may not need it after all.


Bad economy spells upturn for military recruiting: Pentagon officials
WASHINGTON (AFP) — The US economic crisis could well make life easier for US military recruiters, who have struggled in recent years to meet their services' enlistment goals in a time of war.

"We do benefit when things look less positive in civil society," said David Chu, undersecretary of defense for personnel and readiness. "That is a situation where more people are willing to give us a chance."

The army and marines, in particular, have had to mount extraordinary efforts in recent years to attract fresh recruits at a time when many prospective candidates were put off by an unpopular war in Iraq in which more than 4,000 troops have lost their lives.

Despite the challenges, the military recruited more than 300,000 men and women in the fiscal year ending October 1, meeting or exceeding targets set by the individual services.

In all, 185,000 people signed up for active duty, and 140,000 for the reserves, according to the Pentagon.

"This is probably the strongest recruiting year we've had overall, taking all elements into account, since fiscal year 2004," Chu told reporters Friday.
afp.google.com...

reply to post by Alexander_Supertramp


i see your point very clearly,

i think i would conclude that it would depend on the person themselves, it also occurred to me that a family man in his 30's would more likely try to keep himself alive for his family then help the whole squad out.

but then again 19,20,21 isnt that far off from 18, i think that one of those ages would suffice just fine for the military

but the main thing that pisses me off is the fact that i cant even go into a strip club and with a draft id be going to a place were rape and murder would happen right in front of my eyes.

Hello and welcome to the 21fst century where it is acceptable and even common for you to have your kids in thier mid 20's still living at home for "God" forbid you should tell them that you as a parent are not going to take care of them for the rest of thier natural lives....

And "Lord" help them if they should ever have to actually go out on thier own and try to make a living on mimium wage because they were so friggin sure that they could live with mom and dad all thier lives.

It would be a national offense if our "children" were to actually have to grow up and be "responsible" adults, IE take care of themselves without "Mommy and Daddy's" help..

wake up and realize that LIFE is not fair.... stuff happens and if you do not like it at least here in the USA you do have the opportunity to change it... not overnight but eventually...

not just by reading this thread, and the posts that are here, and thinking what the heck would have happened if everyone had this same mind set in 1941...

so yes this is ancient history, and the MSM has been trying for years to get the "60s" back and reclaim thir "glory years" well obviously they have now..

So does everyone feel better?
also back in my day when you entered the military you could drink, no matter your age... but nowadays your mommy and daddies bitchin from years ago has had the consequnces of telling thier congressmen that my son/ daughter is too young to smoke or drink while in the millitary so nowadays it is not allowed!!!

[edit on 16-10-2008 by SideWynder]

[edit on 16-10-2008 by SideWynder]

[edit on 16-10-2008 by SideWynder]

reply to post by SideWynder




your funny, this is a place to post opinions and your coming in here like you are some prophet of knowing to tell us about the world and everything that would be if things were a certain way.

well i guess you dont mind if you kid died a horrible, slow painful death, hey thats your business

but i dont think you should come in here and ask if we are happy, why would think were happy



and now i am going to very successfully counter your "lifes tough " argument:

so lets say this were true, life sucks and that these kids should learn to deal with it and should be taught it from this early an age

well then why is the government "protecting" us from drinking, watching porn, gambling, going to strip clubs, voting etc.

i thought it was a tough world and here the government is saying "oh no you cant drink its far to dangerous for you let us protect you by putting laws in place, so that if you do do it you will get persecuted. But wait we just went to war so that the global elite can push their agenda and so that many people in the government will get more money, ok suit up kid youve got to kill and be killed for our great country, but remember you still cant drink."




no but seriously please keep posting your stuff is great

Well, young men might be more impressionable when it comes to the draft, war, etc, but there's one thing that everyone has forgotten here.

War is a young man's game.

Young troops can hump longer distances with heavier loads and fight longer than some older dudes (I'm 43 and consider myself "old" for the Infantry).

Look at men who are professional infantry. They have the same medical issues as pro athletes. Bad backs, bad knees, bad ankles, etc.

reply to post by tankthinker


Hey" Iam acrually agreeing with you.. on this point that if you are old enough to kill someone for your country, you should be old enough to have a drink.. and what I was trying to say is that years ago that was true..

I was old enough to "join" the military, and back then the "drinking"age was different for each state, but if you were in the military you were allowed to drink on post...

when I was 19, that changed and you had to be 21 to drink.. but you only had to be 18 to leagaly go and kill somone... hell son by the time I was 20 I had 26 confirmed kills, 14 of them I was still Illegal to buy a beer. the rest I was just old enough to buy one..


but as I have stated earlier stuff happens.., you being from Canada.. for "christs sake" Do something" about it before it is too late!!!!

And by the way thanks for all the emoticons smart ass
[edit on 16-10-2008 by SideWynder]

[edit on 16-10-2008 by SideWynder]

reply to post by SideWynder


well now you went and disrupted the fun, it sure didnt seem like you were agreeing with me

and yes of course stuff happens but i am here giving my opinion on it, im not whining, i am saying how it should be different, besides there is really nothing i can do about it, except come here and post my opinion

i can also see that you have some youth jealousy issues although you wont admit it and i hate to have to tell you, its either that or you really hate something about your youth, but hey if i was older i would be jealous too

although i do admire your 26 kills, congratulations, mark of a true warrior

also my ass is not smart, its actually pretty dumb, dont try and have a conversation with it, although i have seen a smart ass, in that movie with jim carey it talked and everything

btw: at the age of 18 i would rather live alone but my parents wont let me go, so im stuck until i finish university

reply to post by tankthinker


Are you sure that there is nothing that you can do about it???
I may have issues with my youth, but.. as much as everyone might put down the USA.

there is one thing that we can do and argue about.. We can stand up and change things!! ;maybe it may seem ineffectual to everyone outside of the USA. but good Lord Almighty!!! We still feel as though we can make our voices heard!!!

We might be wrong, we might not be able to voice our opinions, but we have not given up yet!!! so You should not give up yet either, weather you agree with me or not, the thing that pisses me off about your attitude is that you have seemed to already given up on your GOD given right to make a difference!!!

You may call me old, or whatever, you just sound to me like you have given up your "right" to make a difference.. Canada, can not be that much different than the USA.. is it??

The USA may be screwed, now. but please tell me that you guys (Canada)
are'nt as screwed up as we are right now............

Also, yes I do appreciate your sense of humor... I saw the sublty in it. and it did make me chuckle... thank you for that sir...

[edit on 16-10-2008 by SideWynder]

[edit on 16-10-2008 by SideWynder]

reply to post by SideWynder


i havent given up my right to do anything

i just know that my destiny is going to lead somewhere else so im not going to bother trying to make difference in this particular issue

i was just saying this here casue i was pissed off that i couldnt vote, or that i cant got to bars/strip clubs with my 19 year old friends, then it got me thinking about the draft and thats why i am here

btw did u really kill 26 thats pretty crazy, were was it?

I actually just remembered that when you join the military you can drink alcohol at 18 on the base. And it's cheap to buy it there! I have a friend in the marines who was perfectly able to get alcohol legally (at least I think!) on base to do with it as he pleased.

reply to post by tankthinker


unfortunately sir, yes it is true.. again I was a young man at the time.. LOL(god I sound like my dad) I served in the military and yes they are all confirmed, and no (as many people have asked I was not in the airforce) They were all "up close and personal"

I served in Panama, Desert storm Kosovo, and a few others...2nd75 rangers,82ndif, 101ardv, etc..

[edit on 16-10-2008 by SideWynder]

reply to post by jerico65

You are so very right about the physical ailments incurred by infantrymen. ... 11 1/2 months of humping the mountains on the DMZ, has caused me to be a chronic pain clinic patient at the VA hospital for almost 10 years now. .... I served in the Marines for 20 months and was on light duty for injuries for 5 of them.

This is the kind of thread a young E-1 to E-3 would make.

Most who have gained a higher rank know it would be a bad idea and ruin it for everyone to let the young ones drink. Partly because they already tried it and it leads to foreign affair problems when young, stupid, military personnel screw around in foreign countries.

It's easier to kill someone with the pull of a trigger than it is to control yourself when you are #$%$faced, and the military is chock full of young kids, right out of high school, who have no idea how to behave - even after bootcamp. I can't tell you how many Marines I've had to save from NJP because they found themselves in a stupid situation involving alcohol, no money, and whatever else you can think of.

But, you know what? It's a non-issue. Really, it is. They get the alcohol one way or another, beit from their Sgt. or their Gunny, or just the shop down the road. When we find out they #ed up, we'd just give them weekend duty or something.

reply to post by hypervigilant


LOL try being a scout/sniper, not only do you get the privalage of humping in country, but also haulin but out ... lol....Knees gone back gone arms and eys long gone now... LOL... stuff happens.....

reply to post by logician magician


OOh friggin Rahh.. Logician magician... Semper FI

As a Canadian and some one who is training to be a politician let me just quickly end this thread right now. Yes when some one is 16 they may join the reserves but by law they are not allowed to be sent oversea's until they are 18 and besides they need their parent's to sign and approve. I hope that clears up things for Canada we have our cadets so from 12-18 Reserves which is 16-45+ and the armed forces 18-45+ To even think that any political party in Canada would be so inhumane as to send children to war is appauling.

I agree with the points made of youths being easier to "indoctrinate" into the military...

But my honest opinion is that in the case of a draft, the older ones who volunteered will be either be put into officer positions to assist the new recruits or they have already gone to see glory if you catch my drift.

Remember the draft will come about if things get really bad... when that happens they're gonna want everyone they can get...

I also agree that whatever the draft age may be that it should also be the drinking/ strip club age.

Originally posted by Copernicus

Its by design.

Young males are easily persuaded to go fight in wars, because its seen as something manly, something they are desperate to be in that age.

Its not until later that you realize how society and the military really works, and what buttons they push to get you to do what they want. Some people never seem to learn.

Since when was "war" a "game"?