04-14-2014, 10:33 PM
stanc Wrote:Who would make this decision? The child? How many American youths would choose this warrior path? In my entire life, I've only known one individual who knew as a child that he wanted to become a combat soldier, and was dedicated enough to train himself in applicable physical and mental skills before enlisting in the Army.
I knew I was going to be in the military since I could walk, but there were limited options, and even fewer appropriate venues for learning any martial skills once I became a cadet when I was 13. Instead of learning anything of value toward martial skill sets, we were run ragged doing uniform inspections and drill & ceremonies.
As such, the first few weeks of Basic Training were an absolute waste of time for me, and quite boringly painful, aside from the constant smoke session I was subjected to, along with my platoon.
In every Infantry unit I was in, I would say at least 50% of the kids had military service in their sights since childhood, but it would be interesting to see a formal survey conducted across the combat arms. There certainly is a large presence of adventure seekers in Airborne and Light Infantry units, as well as those who have a sense of duty to the Nation, whether from family tradition, or a personal sense of obligation to their Country (patriotism). Very few were in it for the college money.
Quote:The private sector operates on the basis of supply and demand. What evidence exists to think there are enough customers willing and able to pay for this type of training, so that a private company would supply it?
The abject failure of public and many private schools to adequately address the educational needs of boys is all that is needed. I wonder where I would have to look to find any of that going on....