You don’t really know much about the military it seems.
Air Force - Avionics engineers, working on aircraft advance aviation and weapons systems, including working with industry on research and development,
Airframe and Propulsion engineers working on maintenance and repair of aircraft hydraulic, engines structures, including repair of carbon fibres.
, Weapons trade, working on airborne weapons, including ejection seat maintenance. Also maintenance of small arms (rifles, pistols, etc. Also bomb disposal duties, responsible for safely making safe complex IEDs etc.
Communications, Information Systems, everything from PC’s, Servers, satellite communications, satellites. Then you have defensive and offensive Cyber Warfare.
The Navy have similar but on ships and submarines, including nuclear reactors - maintenance etc.
Also the Army have a large number of trades, including all the Air force types as they operate helicopters. A modern attack helicopter is a complex system.
Then there is new technologies such as working on UAV’s, developing the technologies in conjunction with the defence industry.
the list of trades for Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and the Army is pretty big lol and those eventually leaving the services bring all that experience.
if anything working on some kit is at times more complex and you need highly intelligent people.
as technology increases, then the skill set needed changes. Battle space management is now further down the chain, with platoons, squads etc having their own UAVs which add to the overall battle space visible to command.
An army mechanised unit, needs to be able to fight, maintain and repair its equipment, often complex technology systems, feed itself, use technology such as UAV’s, have Forward Air Controllers to manage various air assets on call.
WW1 and WW2, it was a guy with a rifle etc.
these days based on Afghanistan, it’s an infantry squad, with the following being EITHER male or female, bomb disposal, medics, dog handlers, IED detection operators, communications personnel etc.
the average infantry squad, platoon also carries a fair bit of complex kit from communications, night vision equipment, UAV’s (one person usually operates), anti air and anti tank systems, navigation systems.
During peacetime or periods where there's low demand for new recruits, standards are maintained and waivers aren't granted. When this is the case, it's often a lot harder to join the military than go to college. Recruiters will actively tell prospects they aren't worth their time when this happens. To the best of my knowledge, the last time the US military was this selective was during the sequester toward the end of Obama's term in office.
When there's demand for increased numbers, standards get lowered or waived, and idiots who shouldn't be anywhere near the military get in. There's a few points in an enlisted soldier's career that they can't get past if their ASVAB scores aren't high enough, which prevents some of the worst from getting somewhere they can really screw things up, but the reality is that while NCOs can have a major impact on the development of soldiers, they have basically no impact on the direction and development of their military branch as a whole- that is senior officer territory, and that's also where the most devastating (or beneficial, once in a blue moon) decisions are made, often by staffers who have been too far away from the line for too long and are more concerned about career advancement than warfighting or preparedness. The US has a pretty serious problem with military leadership right now, because a lot of its seniors are products of the GWOT recruiting sprees that saw a prolonged reduction in both recruitment and retention standards. This is a problem that likely won't dissipate for another 5 years or more.
As far as reasons for joining go, most of the people I knew in the Army joined because they hated whatever they were doing before (usually a college student with an unfinished degree, some boring job, or burned out with wherever they were leaving), and maybe ~25% were just patriotic and/or were keeping up a family tradition. I don't recall any particular guy being there out of "desperation," although there were several who had wives leave them, so they stayed in to support themselves with a stable career while their exes cleaned them out, so I guess you could chalk up a disproportionately large percentage of retention cases as "desperation." "Why I joined the Army" stories almost never had any dramatic, book or movie-worthy answer.
I believe it can be either one, some have hit rock bottom and are told either join the military or you will be kicked out. Others I'm sure want to serve their country and protect. I know someone who joined as last resort and someone who wanted to protect our country both were happy they joined.
Well, it’s both. Where I’m at, my specific job and branch, people have other stuff going on so it doesn’t appear to be a last resort for them at all.
For me, I had my bachelor’s and a upper middle class position and upbringing before going in. I went in specifically because I had one goal in mind, not because of the pay or benefits.
I would say, in my unit, the majority are similar to me in this respect.
Neither. Most people join the military because they want to do some good in the world. There are other reasons as well, including: military helps them get their act together, get a college education without having to pay for it, post-military benefits (ex: VA loans), and others.
I don't know for most people but my mom is in the navy and brother just joined the marines last year and i know my brother didn't do it as a last resort. Im not sure about my mom but i dont think so either.
11.6K opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.
With a very few exceptions, as a last resort. A lot of men join the military to avoid the humiliation and poverty of fast food or retail jobs after high school. The military can be very dangerous, but at least if you get through it there are some benefits, and nobody looks down on you.
I’m not sure, my dad only joined the military to get money for college so I guess that would be last resort but I’d never join no matter what because I’m not going to put my life on the line for a country that doesn’t give a fuck about me
Why would you be worried if you’re not in the military yourself. Honestly the dumbest shit I’ve read all week. And I’ve read some dumb shit the past few days.
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