"one capacity or another" could mean a lot. In my mind there's a _big_ difference between "military service" (as soldiers) and most other kinds of service.

In my town there was a Mennonite church and some of the Mennonites were Conscientious Objectors. And I heard that some Conscientious Objectors did some kind of service, it just wasn't a soldier kind of service, and I don't think it was any kind of military service.

I wish that it were never necessary to do violence. But I think sometimes it is necessary to do violence. And there will always be soldiers.

Did you go through boot camp? What do you think about it?

"one capacity or another" could mean a lot. In my mind there's a _big_ difference between "military service" (as soldiers) and most other kinds of service.

In my town there was a Mennonite church and some of the Mennonites were Conscientious Objectors. And I heard that some Conscientious Objectors did some kind of service, it just wasn't a soldier kind of service, and I don't think it was any kind of military service.

I wish that it were never necessary to do violence. But I think sometimes it is necessary to do violence. And there will always be soldiers.

Did you go through boot camp? What do you think about it?

I think compulsory service should absolutely be called. A good whiff of that military patriotism can be quite stunning.
Sobering almost. Compulsory for all .
No Daddy Outs
No Bush special plans.
No chhitting in your panties 2 weeks for an easy out.
2 years for all in one capacity or another.
Everyone that lives in this country should have their ass up for grabs just for the humility of it all. We’ve gotten away from the blood of Patriots mostly because those at the top don’t care and will never understand.
A shrug, means you don’t understand .

I think the biggest reason we are in this place is because of the Erosion of Trust.
We had trust here for a long time. You could go to sleep at night trusting you wouldn’t be robbed while asleep, not anymore.
Trust is gone. I can’t trust anyone I do business with anymore. Doing business here in this country is is like trying to get through a wet floor supermarket without slipping and falling in every aisle.
There’s no trust. You take out a loan and th fine print creates a hole for you to fall into that will cost you more money.
It seems everything has these conditional attachments that create a minefield for the consumer to get through.
Trust is gone.
Lies abound. Liars can’t believe other people are capable of telling the truth, so they lie because they are incapable of believing the truth.

I am not a veteran. My draft number was high, and I was told that that meant I wouldn't be drafted. Then I just attended college.

1. What do you think about your military service? Did this change from how you thought before or during it?

A comment from me: Lately I've been thinking about "collective action" or "collective responsibility" which typically involves leadership and a large group of people's coordinated response to something (or even, sometimes, just behaving themselves and not doing bad things to other people, or maybe following a rule or rules). I think that military service is an example of collective action or collective responsibility. I did not serve in the military, but there are other collective responsibilities, and some of us do more of one, and others do more of another. Even just following the law is often a kind of collective responsibility.

The way I see things, a person has an obligation or obligations, to a group. So, for example, we behave in civilized ways, not just for our own benefit, but also because we're respecting other people too. More than that, we actually care about what happens to other people, to some degree. I care about what happens to my family. Also I try to behave responsibly because I "should care" about what happens to everybody.

2. There is an idea about "every man for himself". What do you think of that?

3. Are there some forms of service which should be compulsory, and for whom? Back in the early 70's there was a draft. What do you think of it? What is there now: some kind of compulsory registration? And what do you think of how things are done now? (This could be about the military, but it could be about other, non-military things too.)

4. What group, or groups, do you think you have an obligation or obligations to?

5. Aside from military service, what other collective actions or collective responsibilities are there, and what do you think of them?

6. This last item is about respect. More specifically, I am thinking about respect and rules. Like this: Sometimes there is a rule, but I might think it's an unnecessary rule, but I follow it anyway. Or maybe I don't follow it. But sometimes I follow a rule, not because the rule itself seems good, and not even just because I'll be punished for not following it; sometimes I follow a rule just because other people care about it. This is a form of respect. Or, I might think: "What if I'm mistaken, and they're right?" and then I follow their rule, just in case I might be mistaken about it. This is also a form of respect. What do you think?

I am not a veteran. My draft number was high, and I was told that that meant I wouldn't be drafted. Then I just attended college.

1. What do you think about your military service? Did this change from how you thought before or during it?

A comment from me: Lately I've been thinking about "collective action" or "collective responsibility" which typically involves leadership and a large group of people's coordinated response to something (or even, sometimes, just behaving themselves and not doing bad things to other people, or maybe following a rule or rules). I think that military service is an example of collective action or collective responsibility. I did not serve in the military, but there are other collective responsibilities, and some of us do more of one, and others do more of another. Even just following the law is often a kind of collective responsibility.

The way I see things, a person has an obligation or obligations, to a group. So, for example, we behave in civilized ways, not just for our own benefit, but also because we're respecting other people too. More than that, we actually care about what happens to other people, to some degree. I care about what happens to my family. Also I try to behave responsibly because I "should care" about what happens to everybody.

2. There is an idea about "every man for himself". What do you think of that?

3. Are there some forms of service which should be compulsory, and for whom? Back in the early 70's there was a draft. What do you think of it? What is there now: some kind of compulsory registration? And what do you think of how things are done now? (This could be about the military, but it could be about other, non-military things too.)

4. What group, or groups, do you think you have an obligation or obligations to?

5. Aside from military service, what other collective actions or collective responsibilities are there, and what do you think of them?

6. This last item is about respect. More specifically, I am thinking about respect and rules. Like this: Sometimes there is a rule, but I might think it's an unnecessary rule, but I follow it anyway. Or maybe I don't follow it. But sometimes I follow a rule, not because the rule itself seems good, and not even just because I'll be punished for not following it; sometimes I follow a rule just because other people care about it. This is a form of respect. Or, I might think: "What if I'm mistaken, and they're right?" and then I follow their rule, just in case I might be mistaken about it. This is also a form of respect. What do you think?

We can thank our past President for spreading lies and conspiracy theories where no one knows truth from fabrication anymore. The press also abandoned seeking out facts and truth in favor of sparking shocking headlines to sell publications to a gullible public. We reap what we sow and especially in a free democratic society where cheats and liars can use legal tactics to make easy gains with impunity. It's important to raise our kids with morals so when we give our solemn word or commitment to a task we follow through without having to lean on lawyers to bail us out. Justice, Justice shall you pursue sayeth the Lord - now that's a commandment we must all follow!

I volunteered for the Navy in 1963 during Vietnam. Went through boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Training Station, in Illinois. Then went to school in Florida for a year in communications then to Edzell, Scotland for a year. From there to the USNS Jose F Valdez stationed in the Indian Ocean for another year. From there to Naval Radio Station Cheltenham, Maryland for two years then to Kamiseya, Japan. During my two years there I was sent on a special operation via Okinawa, & Da Nang, Vietnam to the carrier USS America CV66 stationed in the Tonkin Gulf. The carrier was going to transit the Sea of Japan, the first time a U.S. carrier had ever been in the Sea of Japan. We (there were 7 in our group) were on board to provide early warning to the carrier Combat Information Center (CIC) if any Soviet aircraft took off from Vladivostok, the Eastern command center for the Soviets. We were able to monitor Soviet air communications so we knew when a plane or planes were scrambling and heading for our position. We would notify CIC and the ship would launch fighters to go meet the Soviet bombers and fighters. After two and a half years at Kamiseya, they converted the station from an Activity to a Detachment and sent about half of us to Misawa, Japan which they converted from a Detachment to an Activity. I stayed there a year then decided it was time to get out. In hindsight I should have stayed in.

I have since gone back through my ancestry with ancestry.com and in doing so, discovered that my fourth great grand father was a 1st LT in the Bergen, N. J. Militia during the Revolutionary War from 1776-1778 when he was killed.

Something that every veteran should tell you is that when they enlisted they took an oath: "That I would protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice So Help Me God."

And that to this day NO ONE has released them from that oath. I have a sticker on my car to that effect. As far as the.orders from the President and officers appointed over one go, those orders MUST be legal and Constitutional otherwise they are null and void, at least as far as I'm concerned.

Sorry, I told my whole life story, almost, but I have a tendency to do that.

Rip Van Winkle
Purcell, Oklahoma

Quote Reply me if you want my email

My simple answer is: "The purpose of a nation's armed forces is to be prepared to use force, if and when it is necessary and ordered to do so, to defend the nation."

But really, there's a complication even in just that simple sentence. "force" should really mean "appropriate force". I think most people today would agree that the "Mỹ Lai Massacre" was a wrong kind of force or a wrong way to use force.

In a more complex answer, one might first consider this: "What should be the first question or questions?"

How would you answer the question that you posed?