Did the military get mad when people criticized the war?

Question

mainly iraq afghan modern time question but vietnam was similar

Leonharted · Accepted Answer

No. I think you have a fundamental misunderstanding of war and a soldier's place in it.

"War is not violence and killing, pure and simple; war is CONTROLLED violence, for a purpose. The purpose of war is to support your government's decisions by force. The purpose is never to kill the enemy just to be killing him... but to make him do what you want him to do. Not killing, but controlled and purposeful violence. But it's not your business or mine to decide the purpose of the control. It's never a soldier's business to decide when or where or how--or why--he fights; that belongs to the statesmen and the generals. The statesmen decide why and how much; the generals take it from there and tell us where and when and how. We supply the violence; other people--"older and wiser heads," as they say--supply the control. Which is as it should be."

If you are angry about a war, the army is not the group you want to direct your anger at. They don't care, because they don't take their orders from you. Even if they agree with you, that doesn't change anything. You want to look at the "statesmen," the politicians.

BCA6010 · Accepted Answer

It really depends on why/what exactly they are protesting over. Most vocal anti-war protestors I've encountered clearly had no clue what was actually going on in those countries (largely the media's fault but that's another story), and while I'd be one of the first to criticize our involvement in a conflict I was actually part of (Syria), my reasons aren't even on the radar of pretty much everyone back home who opposed it.

Lots of people are just going to arbitrarily hate the military and/or the federal government and the people affiliated with them no matter what. Reasons could be anything from "not aggressive enough" to "criminals" to "working for mega corporations" and more, most of which are too narrow of a view to be very accurate.

ChrisMaster69 · Answer

It greatly depends on what was said and the context.

Also how actually informed they were as well.

There is a shit ton of stuff you do while serving you don’t necessarily agree with, however you just knuckle down and get on with it.

Some people hate the military irrespective if a conflict is going on or not.

Quiet often they are the first to want help when it’s flooding, or other disasters going on.

the ‘yeah whatever’ approach is fairly common when people are having a go.

justaboredhuman · Answer

They only get mad when they are directly criticized for their part in it. They have a job to do and unlike the private sector they cannot just say I don't want to do this and quit. When you sign up it is to follow all orders from those above. You can't pick and choose what you follow.
Most civilians do not understand the things military members are trained and asked to do to the enemy. It's not always public relations even though the government likes to think of it as nation building. We cannot make other countries embrace our norms and behavior when they are steeped in a much deeper culture then our young nation.
Those who criticize have never had to spend one minute in their shoes.

loveslongnails · Answer

Some did I imagine, some didn't. There are some gung-ho military guys who just say " you don't get to pick and choose, you just go where you're told and you do your job". Well, that all changed with Vietnam, especially coming right on the heels of the Korea domino theory that didn't materialize.

Nam was a tragedy. The soldiers I spoke to who were in Nam all said the same thing to me, to a man, every one of them. They all said "we were never in it to win it". They weren't angry it was protested. They were angry that THEY got treated badly by some radical anti-war protestors. On the other hand, this article about how it may have been government instigators may interest you:
Who Really Spat on Veterans During the Vietnam War? - Salem-News. Com

EnglishEuropean · Answer

Maybe some did. It's not their job to get mad though, their job is to follow orders. I can't imagine they pay much attention to the opinions of civilians.

LegendaryIcon · Answer

some do. some don't can't generalize an entire population of people

emperor90 · Answer

Probably i mean people did insult the people who are protecting your country

OddBeMe · Answer

Usually do. Especially Vietnam

boobliker · Answer

not with us

Did the military get mad when people criticized the war?

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I'd the military a joke nowadays?

Did the military get mad when people criticized the war?

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I'd the military a joke nowadays?

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