From a veteran who recognizes the truth about his military “service”:
2:14 pm on April 4, 2016I am a veteran of the military, having served five years as a Navy Corpsman. I signed a four year contract, and after marrying while serving overseas, I was extorted into extending my enlistment for an additional year. “At the convenience of the government” was the term they used. I joined the military because my father served for a brief while in his youth and we were always told that the military was a noble profession. I didn’t join for noble reasons, though. I was a bright, but unmotivated young man who wasn’t ready for college and had no idea what the coming decades would bring. The military was an opportunity to get away from home, and I knew I would have a steady paycheck, some job training and I would be given a place to live. It offered some guidance, little more. I wasn’t looking to “defend anyone’s freedom”. Actually, I didn’t care much about anyone’s freedom other than my own. I don’t know a single guy who served for that reason. Not one, and I knew a lot of folks who I would consider good people. My enlisting was purely self-serving. I needed something to do and the military fit the bill. If I got the chance to run around outdoors and shoot guns (possibly at people deemed the enemy by “my” country), so much the better.
The “thank you for your service” comments are well-intentioned, but still make me cringe. I didn’t “serve” anyone but myself and my fellow Marines and Sailors.
