Would you join the British Armed Forces?

[tinfoilhat]

So why is it estimated that 10% of homeless people, and a similar %age of prisoners, are ex-soldiers?

 

Couple of reasons - ptsd and other mental health issues being one of them for sure. They leave with skills but not always useful ones. I spoke to a weapons specialist the other day and he had no idea how he'd cope on the outside. In the military you are told what to do and when to do it. You have a massive support network. Once you leave, you're on your own and some don't cope very well. Officers do pretty well though I think when they leave, I think the regimental tie thing/network still goes on.

[I1L2T3]

I'd join as part of a territorial defence force and fight hard to defend our land against aggressors, but to fight in a war of aggression abroad started on the whim of somebody like Cameron or Blair no way.

[GLASGOWOODS]

So why is it estimated that 10% of homeless people, and a similar %age of prisoners, are ex-soldiers?

 

As tinfoilhat stated PTSD, poor forward planning and just damned bad luck.

 

I'm actually struggling to think of any forces career that would hold you back on civvy street. Oh, don't forget the sheer numbers in the forces who enrol, drop out, or leave after serving whatever time. A high turnover of staff and government cuts.

[betterman]

Couple of reasons - ptsd and other mental health issues being one of them for sure. They leave with skills but not always useful ones. I spoke to a weapons specialist the other day and he had no idea how he'd cope on the outside. In the military you are told what to do and when to do it. You have a massive support network. Once you leave, you're on your own and some don't cope very well. Officers do pretty well though I think when they leave, I think the regimental tie thing/network still goes on.

 

No differnt to most jobs, and they don't tell you what to do and when to do it when you aren't working.

[Stoned]

No. We dont fight for what is right any more. ISIS is a western construct in an attempt to get Syria to fall so the Saudis (same saudis who have destroyed Hundreds of Yemeni hospitals) can have an oil pipe through to Turkey. We are told its humanitarian this and that. We are told Assad is a brutal dictator when in fact its just about oil, gas and control. Why would i want to fight and die for a lie?

[monkey104]

Couple of reasons - ptsd and other mental health issues being one of them for sure. They leave with skills but not always useful ones. I spoke to a weapons specialist the other day and he had no idea how he'd cope on the outside. In the military you are told what to do and when to do it. You have a massive support network. Once you leave, you're on your own and some don't cope very well. Officers do pretty well though I think when they leave, I think the regimental tie thing/network still goes on.

 

I left after 22 years with a clear idea of what I was going to do. If it hadn't been for the forces I wouldn't have the skills necessary to carry me forward in to the career I went in to and the job I have now.

There is still a massive network after you leave and education grants in place prior to leaving and Up to 10 years after leaving.

The regimental tie thing really doesn't go that far in today's workplace.

[NigelFargate]

I s

 

Why should anyone join up now and risk injury or death when many many people back home do not appreciate the sacrifices that they make and some would even wish them harm.

 

 

It was ever thus. Immediately after the Charge of the Light Brigade, the surviving cavalry men were feted as heroes when they returned home. Years later, over 20 of them were found to be destitute and living in workhouses. A public subscription was raised for the, which raised the princely sum of £24 in total. Kipling was so disgusted by this that he wrote a long poem, deriding the fact that a hero's welcome is soon replaced by public indifference.

[MAC33]

“Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.”

 

 

― Henry Kissinger

 

 

 

After reading this.....think not.

[Eric_Collins]

Who'd want to join the army when you can be a member of the elite SF keyboard warriors counter discussion elimination team ?

[JFKvsNixon]

“Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.”

 

 

― Henry Kissinger

 

 

 

After reading this.....think not.

 

I think that the context of that statement is important, and how the statement was reported.

 

The context was that Kissinger was reported to have made the statement to belittle General Alexander Haig who was working in the Whitehouse. So I think the statement is a fine example of Kissinger's feelings towards his subordinates as opposed to stating any Whitehouse policy towards the military.

 

It is also important to note that the claim that Kissinger made this statement was made in a book by Woodward and Bernstein, and no witness has ever backed up the claim made in the book, including Kissinger and Haigh.