It's not as if they ever earn much compared to average salary, so why do they bother complaining?
And if you're willing to die, if you're truly THAT selfless, shouldn't that demeanour also be reflected in civilian life too, as proud ex-military?
2007-01-20 05:24:05 · 17 answers · asked by jaybeefromhiscastle 1 in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Wow. You make it sounds like I have a death wish my enlisting in the military. We don't WANT to die. We put our lives on the line, sure, but I'd love to go home to the wife and kids when I get back from a tour. And yeah we don't earn much in the way of income, so we SHOULD get a little nicer place to live. You're image of the military is skewed on the fact that you think we all want to rush out and slaughter the enemy at the sacrifice of huge amounts of soldiers. And your civilian question? Holy shiot. So even after we retire we still want to die? You have some serious misconceptions. And I hope you resolve them quickly before asking a veteran or active duty soldier these questions in real life.
2007-01-20 05:35:05 · answer #1 · answered by airbornefighter101 1 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I did Naval service from 1985-1999... and I was prepared to sacrifice my life IF NEED BE, I was a rescue swimmer and combat SAR crewman. That still doesn't remove my Constitutional right to Freedom of Speech.
Spending time at sea we lived in worse conditions than a prisoner in the California system... while our representatives in Congress kept voting themselves raises... and a garbage-man made more than a First Class Petty Officer. We deserved and expected a reasonable wage and living conditions... and yes, I wrote letters to Rep Lantos, Cunningham, and Sen Feinstein to point out the problems.
Now as to your second question regarding salary... that in and of itself is an issue worthy complaining about. But if you're smart and frugal you save quite abit.
Your THIRD statement/question... we're service men and women not freaking MONKS... selflessness only goes so far. Personally I'm of the opinion that without service, you shouldn't BE a voting citizen until the age of 21.
2007-01-20 14:45:48 · answer #2 · answered by mariner31 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm not to sure I understand this question... I volunteered to serve in the military almost 20 years ago and am very proud of my service. But as for the pay issue, I have had a family for 2/3rds of my service and they didn't sign on to be a second class citizen and receive the "left overs" of any ones table. As for selfless, I DO NOT WANT TO DIE FOR YOU!!! But I'm willing to put myself in harms way for you, Its a totally different situation. The people that serve in the military deserve to be paid for what they are prepared to do, and that is two fold. 1) To put ourselves in harms way and to 2) sacrifice time from what every one else considers a normal life. (I.E. Most people don't have to be deployed or be on a post for over 50% of their families birthdays, wedding anniversaries, children's school projects, plays, musicals. Not to mention most holidays.) We also do with less in many ways than normal families do. In many parts of the world, military members are required to receive food stamps, and other assistance due to the cost of living where they are posted and not due to their own fault. That is WRONG! Finally we have bills to pay. Food isn't free, and neither is living off base in an apartment when base housing isn't available. Nor electricity, Insurance, ETC... Just because we VOLUNTEER to serve does not make our responsibilities to support our families to the best of our ability go away, nor do we want to live as paupers just because we wear green for a living...
2007-01-20 19:15:38 · answer #3 · answered by eldertrouble 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For exactly the same reasons that everybody else does. I presume that there are some things you are prepared to die for but that does not mean you stop living.
I had a lovely day today. I went for a walk, played golf and visited a church.
At no point did I think I wish someone was shooting at me.
(Maybe just a little)
2007-01-20 22:18:35 · answer #4 · answered by BigAl 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
True, our pay is not that high as compared to civilian life, and true, sometimes the living quarters are sub par, but we serve our country proudly and honorably, and we have every right to try to secure better standards, as you do working at McDonalds when you received that raise in minimum wage and your parents let you move into the basement where you can pretend its your own apartment.
2007-01-20 15:05:31 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
If they are willing to serve they deserve to be treated decently and that's that.
Would you like to live in some of the conditions recently shown on the News, I don't think so!
2007-01-20 16:57:39 · answer #6 · answered by Roaming free 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
people will ***** and whine no matter what
you try being over 3.000 miles from home and your loved ones and get mortared every day and see if you like it
it has always been the soldiers right to *****,but when it's time for action,you don.t hear any--you just see action
what else are you going to do when you are bored to death during downtime with nothing to do?
2007-01-20 13:36:32 · answer #7 · answered by mcspic63 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's not whining. It is like any other job, where the employee ( Service person) is looking for financial gain..and more so, the benefits after discharge, like VA Medical, Loans Etc.
They are only asking for what should be theirs to start with...This is America, where we strive to improve our lifestyle.
2007-01-20 13:32:26 · answer #8 · answered by PoliticallyIncorrect 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Just because people are prepared to put their lives on the line to defend others, doesn't mean that they should have to endure sub-standard living conditions. They are brave and honourable people.
2007-01-20 13:44:13 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 5⤊ 0⤋
Shouldn't the question be why a country would treat poorly people willing to die for it?
2007-01-20 13:32:01 · answer #10 · answered by Omni D 5 · 5⤊ 0⤋