Soldiers, will you answer a question for me?

Question

I've tried to ask my brother this question, but he laughs if off as me just being 'hippy-trippy'. When you joined up, did you ever really think of the possibility of war? And if so, did you ever think of the consequences? War is inevitable and I know we need soldiers, and every one of you is so much braver than I could ever hope to be, but do you think you could come back from a battle, having killed one or one hundred men and be the same? Or do you think that even though you were back at home, with your same old house, and same old car, and same old partner, and same old grocery shop you would be changed in some fundamental way?

Answer 1

Nobody wants peace more than the GI in the foxhole. I too, am a veteran, and yes, it changes a man (or woman).

"Pray for peace, but prepare for war!" Slogan for a company stationed near the DMZ of Korea,

Answer 2

I'll start with the first ?
1. I never really thought the possibility of war, but I am glad I had the chance to go. Think of it like this you become a lawyer right, you go to school for what is it 5 or 6 years. You join a firm that pays the best in the world, great bennies and everything. But you never go to court, you are never chosen to defend someone. You went to school and trained and trained but never actually got to use the skills you have obtained you never got to do your job. So I am glad I got to go to Iraq and do the job I wanted to do, defend freedom, liberate a country, and defend my country.
2. There are consequences during war. You could die, you could get permenantly injured mentally and physically, your loved onces could leave you for fighting in something they dont believe in. Your friends could turn their back on you and call you a baby killer. You husband or wife could leave you for someone elese. They could be cheating on you while you are gone. Those are all big consequences you have to think about before you even join. The majority dont happen but they could and you should do what feels right for you and if fighting for your country is your calling then do. Not everyone can.
3 & 4 Yes and no one or 100, they are not human they are an object that wants to kill you, your friend next to you who has a wife, kids until they cannont try to kill you anymore then they are human and if they are injured by your hand you have the duty to save them. You do it because you have mission, if you are strong minded it will not effect you much. The only small way it will effect you is when you come home you will know what you are truly capeable of and you will enjoy your friends, family and life more than you did when you left.
I hope this answers your question

Answer 3

I'm in the military and as a young "kid" out of high school... I did not have the foresight to think down the road to what could happen. I don't believe many entering the military think along the lines of going to war. It's not something we necessarily like to do and if those among us get a thrill out of war, carnage and death... then I will have concerns. It's a necessity for a democracy to uphold its values and assist those in need (Iraq, Afghanistan...). Along the way that I have learned that our political is not without its flaws but it still is the model for what democracy should be. I am not so nieve to think that I solely can change the world. We do what we can do and I am proud of the time I have given for my country, the places I have done battle in, and the difference that I have made in the lives of the people I have helped. To answer your question.... fundamentally, I am a better person for having served, my life is richer for the compassion that I might otherwise of not had, and I am part of something that is much larger than I would ever be. Please don't forget the troops giving their lives every day. We become so complacent and tune out the news of casualties on the news... but remember these men and women have made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

Answer 4

When I joined the military in January of 2001, I never thought that I would go to war. Septemer 11th came and I realized all the certainties I had slipped away. Each experience that you have changes you in some way. Three times, I have been sent to help in the Middle East. Each time I have experienced things that changed me. You can never know for sure how an experience will change you you can only try to make the best of it and come out a better person than when you left. The thought of not returning is never in your mind. All that can be done is make it moment to moment and day to day. Courage comes in the least expected forms, and you go to war with the understanding that things happen, all you can do is try to stay alive. As far as the same old job and all those other things, After being in situations that test your abilities and test your physical and mental boundries nothing is the same. I have grown in appreciation for those same old stuff. Seeing the hardships around the globe, I now enjoy those things, the little things we take for granted. Each day I spend with my family, i treasure no matter what I have done those constants keep me fighting to come home.

Answer 5

I served in the Marines for 13 years. As a recruit, you go through steps to become a Marine. These steps take you from being a civilian with your own individual thoughts to someone that is part of a group with common thoughts and goals. Then you are trained to act, think, and achieve these common goals in a uniform manner. As for thinking about being in a war situation before joining up probably would depend on the state of foreign affairs at the time. We no longer have the draft and a majority of the time we have not had a shortage of young men and women who have chosen the course of the military. Even without the battle experience you talk of, you should not expect to receive the same person to come back as you had leave to go through this experience. Battle will change everyone differently. Just as in civilian life, battle-like experiences(car wrecks, natural disasters, deaths of those near and dear or even strangers) will affect everyone differently. But someone that has had military training in my opinion has a place they can try to put these experiences and carry on with their mission. Some can deal with them later, some cant or wont ever be able to. I, for one, thank them for their sacrifice however big or small.

Answer 6

My boyfriend just go out of the Marines. He was a bomb tech. Meaning that not only did he get into combat...but he also was responsible for dropping the bombs and killing thousands of innocent people.
Try having that on our shoulders.
He has told me, only recently and he's been out for 2 1/2 years now, that it was more weird than anything else. Of course he thought about what might happen when he enlisted, but no matter what you do in life, you always think that the possibility is far away. Like it'll happen to other people and not you.

He said that so much of the time you are seeing new places and having a blast and just being boys/girls...but he said that when it comes down to actual war...you go into like a robot mode. It becomes a job, what you were trained to do. He says that you kind of go numb to everything else and it doesn't really hit you until you have been out for awhile.
And he says he'll never be the same...while he can have fun and do the civillian things now...it is still in the back of his head...all the stuff he has seen and done.

Answer 7

Everyone who joins the military has considered that question in some form or another. In some ways it is the ultimate question of manliness, "Can I do what must be done? Am I man enough to handle it?"

When I was 25 and joined up I had a desire to go to war to see if I could "Pass the Test."

When I was 30 and had enough experience to know that going to war would be "a very bad thing" I choose to continue to serve. I no longer wanted to go to war, but knew that if it came to it I would serve proudly. A soldier's job is not to kill and destroy, those are the tools the soldier is forced to use to prevent some other soldier from killing and destroying. A soldier who enjoys war has not seen enough of it.

I left the service in 1998 after 9 years and would return if I wasn't too old.

Answer 8

My husband is in the army and I for one can tell you that he knew there was a possibility of going to war, HOWEVER like many didn't think much of it. Most people go into the services to better their lives and not think about the consequences about being in the military until they actually go through the whole deployment. Going to a combat zone most definitely can have an impact on one person. Thats why after a deployment soldiers go through reintegration training and classes.

Answer 9

While in the Anbar Province in Iraq, (Ist Marine Division) my unit lost 8 people. 4 of them I knew well. All 4 deaths were due to "Improvised Explosive Devices." 3 of them, I placed their remains in body bags. When I enlisted into the military, the thought of war was always in the back of my mind. "To defend and support the Constitution of the United States of America." Having taken that as part of my oath years ago, I knew exactly where I stood. (Consequences and all) As far as being "changed"? As with any traumatic experience, be it war, divorce, the death of a loved one or friend, one can't help but walk away changed in some "fundamental" way.

Answer 10

Even though still young, i think i found the person I want to be with in life. He plans to go the marines to be a military police or officer something like that. Im not sure what they do, but i am scared (he will be gone and i will be stuck in school still) i never know what can or could happen when he goes and how much he will or can change... VERY GOOD QUESTION!

Answer 11

Anybody who joins up knows that there is a possibility that you will be involved in armed conflict. That is what you are recruited and trained for and is part of the oath of allegiance to the reining Monarch. Conflict always changes people, for the better or worse, and leaves an indelible mark that some can cope with and some can't.