In view of Deepcut, Gulf War syndrom, inadequate equipment, would you let your child join the army?

Question

Ok so theoretically, you don't have a choice, but you hopefully you still wield some influence.

I'm no way against the army per se, but I believe you can judge a country by the way it treats it's soldiers, and this country treats them very shabbily indeed.

A 16 year old can join the army. That to me is a child. At 30 I am probably too old.

We 'adults' are cowards who send children to fight the wars that we start.

I don't accept the 'few bad apples' explanation for Deepcut. That strikes me as complacency in the extreme. I'd advise anyone interested in this issue to read Private Eye's excellent report on it. Not only are their still questions about how those soldiers met their deaths, the whole environment at Deepcut was deeply unsatisfactory with bullying rife and security heavily compromised.

Answer 1

My son lost his father to Gulf War syndrome and the government won't do a thing. They cut veteran funding. So hell no. I would not allow my son to join the armed forces.

Answer 2

I presume you are in UK so you are talking about the British Army.

Our Army is the most professional in the world, a credit to all who serve in it, has some of the best training known to man.

ok so we get the odd bad apple in the barrel, deepcut was a sad episode but only involved a few out of the many hundreds who train there.

Who describes it as inadequte equipment? Look at what soldiers had in WW2, or vietnam, or the falklands, or gulf war 1. The equipment gets better all the time.

Gulf war syndrome, shell shock, post traumatic stress. it happens, but so do similar things in other jobs. How about traffic policeman being called out to horrific accidents every day.

To answer your main question, yes I would let my child join the Army, would encourage it even. They get chances to do and see things civilians never will.

Answer 3

There are somethings that are bigger than the possibilities of getting ill. I did not encourge nor discourage my son from joining the Navy Reserves, I simply told him to weigh the pros and cons and make a choice based on his findings.

I personally have served 20 years, 13 active and 7 in the National Guard. There are many scarifices to make in a military career, but many rewards as well. It is for my Country, my fellow man, but more importantly from my children that I choose to serve!

You may not feel that way, and that is ok, we each must choose our own. To the lady who's husband died of the "Gulf War Syndrome" I deeply regret your loss, and our nation is eternally indebted to you and your family.

Answer 4

not if i'd desire to help it. i understand too lots in regards to the way squaddies are dealt with, and how that they have consistently been dealt with in any u . s . a ., win or lose. in actuality like airborne dirt and dust, on a similar time as quickly as we've been scuffling with for our lives. what number ex squaddies finally end up on the streets? what number have nightmares all their lives, what number are crippled, and what does a 'grateful' u . s . a . do for them or their families? on the instant, particularly, squaddies are despatched to combat in the main ineffective wars for no reason different than to make some slimy swine wealthy. What are we doing in Afghanistan, working example? do you understand? I dont. Afghanistan has in no way been conquered and in no way would be, all we are doing is deliver them objectives. If the Russians have been given nowhere scuffling with them then we actual wont, and that they lost hundreds of fellows for not something, comparable to we are able to.

Answer 5

I would discourage anybody and everybody from joining any military service. Making war is an uncivilised thing to do.
It is time the world's military were disbanded, and time people grew up and stopped behaving like children. Our reason for life is to evolve spiritually, and war and military does not help that in any way.

Answer 6

Well thats a difficult one. I already have one son in the army, he joined at a late age, after not knowing what to do or where he was going, Now he has been trained as a highly proffesional photoghraper and it instuctor. My youngest son wishes to join thye army but i dont know that he should be a part of George Bushe's war on other nations making their minds up as long as AMERICA PROFITS.

Answer 7

I asked a question the other day re: GWS.....I have not heard about ONE case this time.

Which is weird b/c we are in the same set of conditions in regards to possible causes...we are in the same exact part of the world(some said it could be parasites from the sand)....or the anthrax vacc...but I believe this time there are actually more that have been vacc this time than the 1st Gulf war.

the only key difference is the possibilty that it was caused by bio/chem weapons...which we KNOW were present in the 1st war.....but yet nothing(except remnants of bio/chem) this time...and NO GWS.

Answer 8

My child would be 18 to join the military and I would have no legal say in that. I have plenty of objections. The average age of our servicemen in Iraq is 19.

Answer 9

Children only join the army in African countries where there is Tribal conflict. You need to be a little older here to join.

Answer 10

If they wanted to.. I would let them.. I do not believe there was any gulf war syndrome... no deepcut... and no inadequate equipmsent... If Hillary Clinton was to become president, I would fight like hell to NOT let my child join the army but to go AWOL someplace other than the U.S...... NEVER to serve under a thing like Hillary