Rafael Caetano wrote:

> Eric Takabayashi <etakajp@yahoo.co.jp>
> > No, and they don't keep that in mind. Even Japanese police
> > do not necessarily have a large risk factor. JSDF personnel
> > even less. So now, another generation of Americans is
> > learning the hard way that joining the military is not
> > simply a way to pay for school, gain a skill, travel, or
> > earn money, and among themselves, anyway, many probably
> > regret being there now or joining up, particularly the
> > reservists who've had to leave regular jobs as well as
> > their loved ones for an untold duration. And as last time
> > in the Gulf, I feel sorry for such people.
>
> Really? Why do you feel sorry?

Because despite any claims of officials, people don't REALLY know the
chance of going off to war or coming home dead. The military promotes
itself as giving people opportunities for employment, education, and self
improvement, or in the case of the national guard, a second income. They
don't say, come join up and we'll ship you off to the Middle East for up
to a year or more at a time, and maybe come back dead.

> But I didn't know reservists were called.

Yes, tens of thousands of them. And the national guard, too - the one
weekend a month, two weeks a year people. For duty of up to a year or
more without their regular jobs or families.

I feel sorry for them.

> Is it that the US Army doesn't have enough active soldiers?

That could be one reason. And according to their own surveys, a
significant proportion in Iraq don't want to reenlist, and many want to
go home, which will reduce numbers further.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/031016/43/28ihr.html

Thursday October 16, 10:10 PM

Many U.S. troops in Iraq not to re-enlist: poll
By Indo-Asian News Service

Washington, Oct 16 (IANS) A significant proportion of U.S. troops
deployed in Iraq said they are not satisfied with their situation there
and do not plan to re-enlist, Xinhua reported Thursday quoting The
Washington Post.

The report in the Post, quoting a poll of U.S. troops in Iraq by the
Pentagon-funded newspaper Stars and Stripes said half of those questioned
described their unit's morale as low and their training as insufficient.

The survey, which was conducted in August, recorded about one-third of
respondents complaining their mission lacks clear definition and
characterising the war in Iraq as of little or no value, and found 40
percent said the jobs they were doing had little or nothing to do with
their training.

In the survey, 34 percent of respondents described their personal morale
as low, compared with 27 percent who described it as high and 37 percent
who said it was average. A total of 49 percent described their unit's
morale as low, while 16 percent called it high.

A total of 49 percent of those questioned said it was "very unlikely" or
"not likely" that they would remain in the military after they complete
their current obligations.

The findings, drawn from 1,935 questionnaires presented to U.S. service
members across Iraq, conflict with statements by military commanders and
U.S. administration officials that portray the troops as high-spirited
and generally well prepared.

[snip]

Their own survey found this, and they reported this themselves.

I feel sorry for them.

> > Officers again insist that recruits know the risks upon
> > enlisting. I doubt they realized it would occur so soon
> > or frequently.
>
> You mean, guys enter the US Army as soldiers and don't expect to go to
> the front?!

Yes, despite the claims of any military officials. Believe it or not,
many people who join the US military are not Rambos, but people who want
jobs, training and opportunities.

> Weird.

Not at all.

"Expect to go the the front"? How often do wars occur? Always? Once
during a period of a four year enlistment?

No, only about once a decade, or once in three decades.