This is getting a little interesting, and I agree with Mr. Fitch that this is not the appropriate forum for extended debate. There are a couple of points made in the last post that I would like to address, however.

I am a “simple soldier�. I made the statement that I have received no sales training. That is a true statement. I am a logistics officer by trade. I have not been to a recruiting course, etc. I am not a production recruiter. I do, however, command a recruiting company at the present time. Does this make me a recruiter? You can look at it however you choose. Josh, although I appreciate his input, missed the point that I was speaking about my own career and myself.

It seems as though quite a few opinions expressed on this website are fraught with hyperbole. I’ll give you an example. The statement about female soldiers that “1/3 get raped� is just outrageous. I’ve heard it before from “activists� that want to have something big to say. In FY04, there were 72,683 women on active duty in the US Army. Josh, are you trying to say that over 24,000 of them were raped? “90% report sexual harassment.� That would be over 65,000 complaints? In FY04 (this is from the latest reports released by the Army G1) there were 119 sexual harassment complaints filed with the Army Inspector General or Equal Opportunity Advisors. Should there be any? No there should not be! But it is something that the Army takes seriously and spends a lot of time and effort training on to eliminate. Any commander worth his/her salt works to eliminate any type of behavior that undermines the morale or unit cohesion of ALL soldiers under their command- male or female. I’m curious to know what the source is for those incredible statistics. Furthermore, I would say that anyone that disregards the alarming number of assaults that take place on college campuses every year (where alcohol is an overwhelming factor) is on shaky ground when making a comparison to the military. I’m not trying to downplay the seriousness of any assault that takes place anywhere or say that college campuses are unsafe. My point is that sweeping generalizations are not compelling arguments when viewed from a basis of fact.

I find many of the sweeping generalizations made in the previous post interesting, to say the least. My point about using mass media methods to communicate a message was taken out of context. I would seriously doubt that any college recruitment coordinator targets advertising dollars to dissuade young people from joining the military. The intent was not to compare joining the military with going to college. However, I can tell you as a soldier AND a college graduate, I’ve learned as much about people and other cultures from being deployed to different countries as I ever did in a classroom. I can’t say that others graduating from my university have spent time all through the US, Canada, Japan, Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East, etc. Obviously, according to Josh’s way of thinking, I’m a bad person now because I serve my country in the Army during this time of war. Was I a bad person when I was caring for Kosovar refugees? Or peacekeeping in Bosnia? Or fighting wildfires in the western US? I’ve done all of those things as a soldier. In Iraq, were my soldiers “perpetuating injustice� when we rebuilt the irrigation system for a village that had been inoperable for 20 years? I’ve had enough life experience to recognize that broad statements like Josh’s often fail to capture the whole truth of the matter.

Is everything about the Army rainbows and sunshine? In that respect, it’s no different from other careers. There are positive and negative elements to any profession. From my perspective, though, I’ve gotten a lot out of my time thus far in the Army. A college degree and skills that I can use in just about any major corporation are just a couple of things. I would imagine that my skills as a logistician are useful, since I am routinely solicited by corporate recruiters to leave the Army and work in the civilian world.

It comes down to the individual and what he or she chooses to do with their future. The Army is not for everyone. As Mr. Fitch urges (and I have said before), anyone considering joining the Army should weigh the pros and cons and MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION after they have gathered information. The information should come from a variety of sources, not just one Army brochure or one anti-recruitment handout.

By the way- I’m in total agreement with increasing funding for education. Both of my kids go to school here in California!