http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4535331/



That's what they're paid for - even if they're in it for being a doc, an engineer, a cargo plane pilot, etc. I think the basis of a military training and what the military is used for has been defined since men started to define warfare...

 

They don't have to be discharged. they can be a conscientious objector, don't carry a gun, NOT be expected to kill, and still be a medic and serve. I know this from personal experience. I missed Viet Nam by the skin of my teeth. (Served In Korea for over 14 months)

 

hmm, i see. i was just curious - military is an organization designed to perform warefare, and warfare, as we all know from history, kills.

so you can actually join the military and not be expected to get into a combat situation? any contract that would guarantee that?

 

This sort of BS happens all the time and it doesn't make the news. Some "soldiers" will use every trick in the book to keep from being deployed or to even keep from going to a lengthy training exercise.

You can tell folks what they are signing up for, but some just don't listen or understand what they signed up for until they are actually in the middle of it. Personally, I think it's despicable, and I see it as merely another ploy.

 

Mingster, being a CO does not mean you won't get into a combat situation. Most CO's wind up being medics and there were hundreds (maybe thousands) that served in Viet Nam and other battle zones, getting shot at and killed. They did their duty helping their fellow soldiers, but were not expected to carry arms.
There are others that refuse any military service at all under religious or personal views, but I am not referring to them nor speaking for them.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Morris
Mingster, being a CO does not mean you won't get into a combat situation. Most CO's wind up being medics and there were hundreds (maybe thousands) that served in Viet Nam and other battle zones, getting shot at and killed. They did their duty helping their fellow soldiers, but were not expected to carry arms.

 

If a person goes to a military recruitment office and voluntarily signs up to join the service, one has to state on the application form that one is NOT a conscientious objector.

 

Indeed. The whole purpose of the CO status is for conscripts who don't have a choice about joining. The forces are all volunteer now so CO is B.S.

22 yr USN - VietNam/Gulf War I

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mingster
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4535331/

 

Many of those who fought and died for our country didn't like the idea of killing.

Send those punk-ass bitches out into the desert of Iraq without a weapon, and see how long they last!

I was a US Navy Corpsman who served in FMF with the Marines. Some believe that if you don't carry a weapon and you have the red cross on your uniform, then the enemy won't shoot you. I was taught to return fire, and to remove the red cross from my helmet and uniform - because the enemy use it for a bulls-eye.

-Pete