On Reddit, I see numerous posts about veterans being mistreated by the government, yet so many people still enlist. Why is that?
I find this particularly strange from an outside perspective, especially from Norway.
On Reddit, I see numerous posts about veterans being mistreated by the government, yet so many people still enlist. Why is that?
I find this particularly strange from an outside perspective, especially from Norway.
Comments
Most people joining the military are young, impressionable teenagers that fall for the military industrial complex’s propaganda about honor. They have little – if any – exposure to the way veterans are treated.
A lot join because they don’t know what else to do with their lives.
A lot join because it’s a family tradition (though many have started telling their kids not to.)
A lot join because of the benefits they get like free college.
Most don’t expect to ever be deployed or face injury in action.
Some feel a patriotic need to defend their country. Others join because the US military offers free higher education, in exchange for a certain period of service. Others still for their own personal reasons, ranging from getting away from their old life to following the family tradition.
Yeah, there’s a risk of injury or death, which can lead to a nightmare for them or others, but they’ve weighed the costs and benefits and decided that it’s worth the risk.
There are generational reasons for enlisting, "My family members served, so will i". There are glossy brochures, slick advertising, and manipulative recruiters who can influence impressionable teenagers into enlisting. There are probably a small group of verifiable psychopaths who want to kill, and the military allows them that guilt free murder lust.
I would guess that the majority, however, see the US military as a way out of poverty, and access to education, and healthcare. In a country where you are obliged to pay through the nose for Education, Health care, housing, utilities, and with zero safety net, and a shocking minimum wage?
As with most, un- conscripted militaries, around the world. It’s mostly poor kids, and poor black, brown, and other ethnic minorities, that see very few options in society except enlisting.
If there were several million veterans who were happy with the benefits they get and treatment they get, would they post comments and talk about how well they were treated?
If there were a a few thousand people or tens of thousands of people that had experiences that talk about or post messages about the difficulty they have, that is normal.
In all likelihood, even though this is a made up number, 99.99% of US military veterans don’t have problems with being mistreated.
From: Census.gov :
==========
United States Veteran Population
15.8 million
The number of military veterans in the United States in 2023, representing 6.1% of the total civilian population age 18 and over.
==========
If news sites or websites continuously did stories about regular average people, nobody would be interested in the stories.
If news stories are about sensational topics, good, bad or otherwise, it will draw more interest from the people who read or consume the media/news/social media.
Because they usually target poor neighbourhoods where they don’t have many options.
Propaganda and lack of options
Desperation.
I suppose the thing you need to consider is, who gets better treatment than veterans?
Imagine you’re a teenager with little education, living in an area with an underwhelming economy. What jobs are open to you? Mostly, things like shify-work stacking shelves or flipping burgers for minimum wage and no benefits.
By contrast, the military offers salaried pay, decent paid leave, free or subsidised food and accommodation, free healthcare, potential to develop new skills and opportunities to travel. When you leave, you’re entitled to a free college education, have a pension and potentially access to healthcare services for life. Military service is also regarded favourably by many people, including future employers.
If you don’t have great alternatives, the military can be a path for genuine economic self-improvement.
It’s truly shameful that veterans end up being homeless and stuff.
I completed my first year of college and decided it wasn’t for me at the time. I had a friend join and when he came home on leave, I talked to him about it. I figured, “Why not? It’s only 4/6 years?” I joined, met my husband there, and got out after my enlistment ended. I had my college tuition paid for up to 120 hours at a public university but the best perk was the VA loan for our homes we bought at various times. No down payment. We only paid inspection fees and closing costs. That alone was worth it.
A high school friend was working two jobs,and his wife one. They still couldn’t get by. Than his wife git a brain tumor. She begged him not to join up. "I’ll just die anways. Don’t join the bad guys for money." He still joined up. She got to die in hospital. I don’t know what it’s like in Norway, but people the world over join up to escape poverty.
I think we’re actually treated pretty well. The US invests way more in us than other countries do with regards to their veterans.
Ex-army here, maybe I can offer some insight.
Some here have said “family tradition” and while it’s a thing, I find it weird. I guess it was a tradition in my family, but it wasn’t talked about. My father never pushed it on me, nor did my grandfathers. My dad only started to talk to me about it after I had successfully failed out of college twice and it was apparent I wasn’t lighting the world on fire. And it was left at, “maybe you should consider talking to a recruiter”.
I was also a HS sophomore when 9/11 happened and fell for the lies, but that’s a different story.
So yeah, I failed out of college twice and pretty much didn’t do anything but smoke weed with my friends. After the second time getting kicked out I didn’t do anything for 3 months. Didn’t look for a job, didn’t really consider what my next move was going to be. My gf on the other hand was an overachiever so it made me insecure in the sense that she’d leave me because I was a loser (and she did, but it was a distance thing after I joined). My friends weren’t doing much either and I just kind of followed along. I finally had a job interview as a dishwasher and when I arrived for my interview I sat in the parking lot and thought long and hard about how I wanted to be more in life and decided to not even go inside and drove straight to a recruiting station. The rest is kind of history.
I knew of the GI Bill and knew I wanted to graduate college one day, but that’s wasn’t the big selling point. I knew I needed discipline, guidance, and motivation. The military definitely gave that to me. And then remember, this was not long after 9/11 and I was a naive kid. It was a different time.
So yeah, I got my GI Bill, I got those attributes that a person like me was only going to get in the military, and I felt a compulsion/ sense of duty because of 9/11 (though I learned better because I went to those places and saw the wars for what they were and got out my bubble and met people who thought differently than me and my parents).
So I got out, got my education for free (even though college is another lie they sell to you. Glad I have it, but glad I’m not in debt for it), got disciplined, and got a nice little thing to put on my resume which has absolutely helped me get every job I ever wanted. I got life long friends and PTSD too.
I don’t have kids, probably won’t ever. But if I did, I’d never pressure them to join unless they were turning out like I was at the time. But that also depends on the current state of the world and administration. If I were a father of a military aged kid today, I would not recommend joining. I don’t know what I could do to help straighten them out, but but I wouldn’t want them in the military today. And it’s not that I don’t support the military, I always will, but I don’t want them becoming cannon fodder for a president who wants to start bullshit wars of conquest or a civil war.
I think the extent to which veterans are "mistreated" is really just healthcare after combat, both physical and mental.
Every veteran I’ve met who didn’t see combat doesn’t really deal with the Veterans Administration and doesn’t have to worry about whether their PTSD treatment is covered or not, and doesn’t have to wait months to get their feet checked or whatever.
But they still get veterans benefits, both from the government and corporations and programs that have veterans discounts.
So really, I think the problem is just with how we serve people who actually saw combat, which is a pretty small percentage of all people who’ve been in the military.
Of course combat vets should be treated better.
One thing that has been a new problem over the last decade or so, is retention
People will join, but not stay past their initial 2-3 year contract
So it’s a revolving door of low paid, no-experience people who have such a shit time in service, they refuse to re-up
Of course, in typical government fashion, they’re blaming the "new generations" for being lazy, weak, etc. But that’s been the claim from senior members since the 1800s.
Just like how corporations are saying "nobody wants to work," blaming the workforce for being shitty and completely denying that the world conditions are just absolutely shit… Again, since the 1800s.
I think there’s a big difference between “treats veterans badly” and “doesn’t give unlimited special perks to veterans”
You live a very privileged life.
A paycheck
The U.S. does not threaten veterans, VA care is actually pretty good (minus mental health which is underunded). The VA administration of benefits side of things is awful however and that is often what brings veterans down, myself included.
People dont really join planning on getting VA benefits one day though. They join because they need a job, or training, or patriotism or education.
19 year Air Force vet.
Education, Medical, guaranteed pay (Base Pay, BAH/OHA, and BAS), training, better job opportunities afterwards (Security Clearance), ability to live in foreign countries (been living in Korea since 2020), and many others.
Because, compared to working-class people in Norway and other rich parts of Western Europe, many working-class people (not all) in the USA don’t have many job or career prospects and the military is seen as a respectable institution that will train them up.
You can learn a lot of skills in the military, and the military will often pay college fees after you leave. For some I think it’s a good move when they didn’t have many other options
The US does not treat veterans badly. We have a ton of useful tools at their disposal. Healthcare, college funds, and community. Not all veterans out there put these services to use and that is a shame. But they are offered. About the worst part of it would be the military healthcare. Long wait times is the biggest problem but that is common amongst all single payer healthcare. Nothing you can do about that. When the care is “free” people go to the doctor for every little splinter and minor physical inconvenience they have. This makes extremely long wait times for people that need actual medical care. I spent a lot of time at the VA hospitals waiting for pre and post deployment ( 11 deployments) physicals and evaluations. You wouldn’t believe the constant flow of service member wives with 2 kids walking and 1 on their hip, bringing these kids in for a runny nose. Very sad but true reality.
We’ll be seeing more of a change in the coming years of how vets should be treated. I salute them!!!
The VA has been pretty solid to me.
I joined because my life was stuck in slow mo at 23. Drinking too much, in toxic relationships, getting min wage (6.75 in California) with no benefits. I knew that if I joined the Coast Guard, I’d have a guaranteed paycheck, housing allowance(or govt housing). Most importantly, it would get me out of the location that I was living at.
I’m newly retired at 20ish years, I have a lifelong pension, and I gave my GI bill to my kid so he can go to college for free. I earned a BS using tuition assistance and was able to network to help me land a job that I’m enjoying so far. I don’t have my VA claim back yet, but I would say that most of my claims are a mix of me getting older with the wear and tear of the job, similar to any other physical career field.
Joining the army is typically a way for low-income people to raise their standards of living. A gateway for the lower class to increase in the social heirachy. Afford a car, home etc.
What is the bad treatment you are speaking of? They get money and access to jobs without qualifying for them. Sounds pretty good from that perspective.
The VA has treated my dad well for 50 years or so.
I am sure it’s not all sunshine and lollipops but if you take advantage of all the perks it offers, it’s extremely worth it.
Vet here, I’ve had nothing but good experiences since becoming a veteran tbh.
VA is kinda slow but overall nothing but great benefits
Lack of options. I joined because I didn’t want to be stuck in some dead end job in a small town.
And now I do volunteer work with veterans organizations. Today there’s a ride (typically a big group of motorcycle riders, by this includes any vehicles) for a good friend of mine who was a veteran. He ended his own life last year. All the proceeds go to a veteran suicide organization.
The vets always come out in support of each other. That bond is part of it too.
The "U.S. treats veterans poorly" is a pretty broad statement in many regards i know many young veterans that spent their time in service developing a trade or other higher skill and worked directly after service. The military offers free college, healthcare, as well as loan and credit programs for personal, business, and first time home buyers.
That said, many veterans went into the military young because they had no direction, limited education, family tradition, or had nowhere else to go. Many people I also know continued to act like immature children and treated the military as just another paycheck but did absolute nothing to better themselves. Some will abuse the loan programs offered and get themselves into debt very quickly as well.
The Veterans Affairs which helps with a great deal of health services, as any government agency does is extremely slow in processing claims and follows a stringent code (much like most of U.S. Healthcare it also gets a bad wrap on top of people in government *Republicans trying to defund it). There’s also still a terrible drinking culture amongst the services which leads to many veterans falling into hard times as a result and many getting addicted to drugs.
Almost a third of the homeless population in the U.S. (closer to 25% now i believe) is a veteran. To me and coming from a family of veterans i find that heart breaking and deplorable that the people who laid down their life to fight for our country are in such disrepair and destitute. So I think it’s there that we see "the us treats it’s veterans poorly" and I would agree with that sentiment. Ontop of the fact that the party they largely support blindly (republicans) has been working at gutting many of the Healthcare programs that veterans benefit from and need.
As an outsider (not American) it appears like the government deliberately creates situations for its citizens where the military is their best option. That combined with constant propaganda, poor education and lack of information about the outside world so many don’t realise what’s wrong.
Trust me many many veterans live great lives after they get out.
Not all have things but many are treated very well.
I joined because….
I think family tradition but also advertisements.
As my recruiter once said
“it is about planting a seed.”
I never thought i was going to be a veteran.
I thought i would die on the battlefield field.
I got out with benefits and have used it to have a decent lower middle class life for my family that used to live in poverty and or financial fear.
Yes they treat us bad.
But some days when I am thanked for my service and makes me stand taller and makes me straighten my back.
I am proud of my service.
I am ex military. I didn’t see action, but I worked four years fixing electronics and inspecting helicopters. If I liked that job, I would have used that in college. Nevertheless, I went to college for free, discovered my chosen field wasn’t for me, dropped out, and I STILL didn’t have to pay a dime. That alone, basically having a safety net so I didn’t have to commit to something I ended up hating to do and not having to pay school loans, was worth it.
I also got pneumonia (in freaking JULY) while in the military. 5 days in the hospital, hooked up to IVs, basically unconscious the entire time. Best sleep I had in years and again, not a dime spent. Would have totally fucked me up in civilian life.
So most after military benefits suck, and the politicians treat us like commodities instead of people to pass legislation, but during and right after military is great if you want to go to school.
26 year veteran, former VA medical provider here. This is bullshit. Veterans have everything. Far more than any civilian. What job will give you lifetime care for after spending 6 months to 3-4 years working for them? The vets who complain are typically those who have put in very few years are grossly overweight and are 100% service connected. They bitch because someone doesn’t come to their house and help them rub one out. No medical clinic would ever let a patient walk in whenever they want or provide care everywhere they go as they travel around the country. Vets get “bad”care in the sense that the VA and moron politicians let the patient direct their care.
They get a ton of benefits…we treat them well. In our country, if someone doesn’t get everything they want, they are getting shorted
There are a lot of reasons people join up. For myself, I was 19 and didn’t have a lot of direction at the time. I had just taken my GPA in college and ran it into the ground. I caught myself trying to rationalize working a crappy dept store job just to get by. I knew I didn’t want that. The Air Force offered me a way out, and a way to contribute. It was the first time in my life I had an opportunity to serve my country, by volunteering. I gave them four years, and they gave me training, quite a few benefits, and a chance to give back. Going in with my eyes open I was able to pick a job that suited me. I went from working part time in a WalMart to doing command and control on weather satellites. I wasn’t on the front line but I knew the data we brought down was used to forecast weather for the entire military, and some of the civilian world as well. I feel fortunate to have had a small, but important, part serving my country.
It’s not so much a choice, but coerced behavior. Socio-economic conditions often result in what’s known as a poverty draft. Joining the military provides options the market does not, so a certain percentage of the population sees few better options. It’s coercive, particularly when the political hawks also collectively work against anti-poverty policy (ensuring supply of recruits). The same leadership (sic) also supports the reduction in VA resourcing, as you’re pointing out, so it’s disrespectful to the troops they publicly support. Support-the-Troops sloganeering by these types is showing their delight at increased military spending that goes to their contracting company owners and boosts their stock dividends, not the person actually swearing the oath and risking their lives for a chance at a middle-class life.
When you’re poor or living in a rural area and don’t have a lot of options to gain a better life, the military is a great way to gain upward mobility. Even if you don’t make it a career, you still can use the benefits to go to college or the job training to get work afterward. That’s why bigots have fought so hard to keep racial minorities out, women, and the LGBTQ community.
Desperate people do what they have to do
If you’re starving and the only thing being served is a shit sandwich, whether it’s good for you or you like it are not relevant 😂
It’s called the poverty draft. Poor kids with extremely limited prospects see the military as a way to begin a career. They grow up with pro-military propaganda in the form of games and movies, they get fed a line of bullshit by scumbag recruiters, and by the time they realize what they’d gotten themselves into its too late to back out. With college being prohibitively expensive and most jobs being wage slave drudgery that doesn’t cover the cost of living, joining the military is just another tempting option offered by a predatory system that will chew you up and spit you out for profit.
My dad joined because he grew up a military brat and figured volunteering was better than being drafted. When he got out he started a family and there were no jobs to support a family so re-enlisted
He said he stayed in the second time because civilians just didn’t get it and he figured better he goes to war than some kid who has more opportunities. 20 years later he retired.
So, money, education, and figured he was already broken and didn’t want someone younger to be broken in his place.
He was pissed when I wanted to join (education money) and was really happy when I tore my ACL and never joined up.
To pay for college and not be chained to student loan debt.
It’s a legit way out of poverty and into college.
Your boss treating you like shit but you still have to go to work to make a living don’t you?
Some of them don’t believe they will be treated badly. I didn’t when I joined, but that was my first real FOFI moment in life. Some believe in the American dream and want to protect it. Some want to kill people. Some to travel the world. It’s a mixed bag. The common theme is they either don’t know or don’t care that they’ll be treated badly.
I was in the Navy for 7 years and since I’ve gotten out, the VA has been awesome. They determined that I get over $2000 a month for the rest of my life, plus free healthcare, which I use and think is great. They have a new program called "Community Care" that lets me use any healthcare provider I want, and they pick up the bill.
The year I got out of the Navy, I tore my meniscus. The VA let me go to the best surgeon in my State and I got my knee surgery 100% free. No co-pay, nothing out of pocket. I go for check ups twice a year and get vaccinations, too. They have a ton of services and they really do want to help. My brother was infantry in the Army and a few years ago, 15 years after he separated, he got cancer. The VA treated him for a year, chemo and two surgeries. He is cancer free now and didn’t pay a cent.
The problem is that a lot of people who join the military are proud and dumb. So they grow up in a system that forces you to take care of things. In the military, you are informed of whenever you need to go to the doctor or dentist, and you have a chain of command who makes sure you don’t come up on delinquent lists. Housing and food are all provided for free.
It’s so much easier living in the military than as a civilian, because everything is taken care of for you.
When these proud and dumb people separate from the military, they need to do things on their own and advocate for themselves. And a lot of them don’t. They don’t think they need it or they assume it doesn’t exist. I know a lot of veterans who refuse to use the VA.
"You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink."
I joined the military because work was hard to come by. I grew up in a very poor and small area where opportunity and job growth sucks. Lots of folks where I’m from join out of desperation to leave for better opportunities. The cost of living is so high and it costs so much to relocate. The military helped me at least leave and get on my feet. But every election cycle veterans are propped up for votes and some of them buy into that shit.
They’re poor and have no upward mobility
The Army will take almost anyone, it’s a job and a paycheck and free housing and food, and it’s a way to pay for college. So if you’re 18 and broke and don’t want to work as a cashier, the Army seems like a good option.
Because veterans are actually treated pretty well. There are veterans who have a bad experience but there are many who do not. They have some of the best benefits of any job you can get in the US.
To fuck and fight on the governments dime ngl
Personally, I had to do it to prevent becoming homeless after getting a $10k emergency medical bill while working two jobs trying to pay my way through college.
Depends. My step dad was only in the Army for 8 years, was in IT, never on a front line. Retired early and has been getting that check for 25+ years.
A pretty small amount of active duty end up in an actual fight or get injuries. Especially if theres no active involved war.
And then one of my good friends is a former Marine. He did two active tours in over seas, And then went back as a civilian contractor twice for 6 months each time. He was making $120,000 in 6 months when he was a civilian contractor. And when he finished he opened his own shop and he’s a business owner now.
That guy’s not without his issues though, he injured his back, hes on disability. He was shot once, Hes seen some shit that obviously affects him but he’s still a functioning adult and he’s living good now. He’ll never tell you what he’s done, but you can look at all the photos of him with his unit in his office And you know just based on those photos that they’ve taken lives and that has a psychological effect on you for life.
I have another friend from high school that I occasionally talk to once in a Blue Moon who was deployed to Afghanistan. He wasn’t there for very long because his entire platoon was taken out by an IED and everybody died but him. And he’s a non-functioning adult now. He still lives in his parents basement. Hardcore ptsd. I don’t think he’s ever going to be right.
I think a lot of veterans that are living on the streets would have been that way in the first place without the military. That could be a big reach right there, but I don’t know any veterans on the streets that didn’t have issues before they were veterans.
But for people like my stepdad they were never in the line of combat. They ranked pretty quickly. They got paid decently. They got free college educations. And they retired early. When he got out he got a good job in it working for the state government. He retired at 62 by choice and now has two retirement checks rolling and over 500k in the bank, plus social security.
Of the active 1.4 million people in the United States military in a given time, less than 10% to 14% of them will see active combat. And of that, only about 1% to 3% will receive injuries in active combat that are related to combat and not accidents.
So if you’re not like straight infantry in the military, the odds are pretty good that you can use all the benefits of the military to get a leg up on life.
Now these statistics change drastically if there’s a major war like Vietnam or World war II. But the current generation hasn’t seen a major war of that scale.
And I think the most troops we ever had deployed to Afghanistan at any given time peaked around 100,000. Which is not even 10% of the entire Force. But the average is probably a lot lower than that. It started out with a few thousand peaked around 100,000, And declined after 2014.
In summary …
In today’s environment:
The U.S. is not currently in a major ground war.
Most service members use the military for education, training, benefits, and career building without ever seeing direct combat.
Only a small fraction of active-duty troops are even assigned to combat roles.
Even within combat roles, actual combat exposure is relatively rare outside of specific operations or deployments.
So if you joined today, the odds are heavily in favor of you using the military as a way to build skills, get paid, earn benefits like the GI Bill, and set yourself up for the future without ever firing a weapon in combat.
That’s why many people take the opportunity.
Not to mention that if you live on base, you get free housing for a while.
Alot of enlistees live in places with few opportunities. The military opens up a world.
I always liken it to this. The military doesn’t treat you bad. In fact, for many its a chance at escaping poverty, hardship, getting a head in life, etc.
The PEOPLE treat you bad (obligatory not all). Shitty people are what can make the experience rough. Some of my best moments have come from the job and people I worked with. Likewise, some of my lowest points are due to the people I’ve worked (for) with.
military paid for my bachelor’s and masters.
We don’t hear about the veterans who get great treatment or live normal lives, isn’t news worthy
I retired from service after 23 years. I joined to support a family and college money. After 4yrs I decided to stay because I loved it. A lot of reasons I stayed such as; enjoying the work, reliable paycheck, low cost/free healthcare and dental, low cost life insurance, job security, traveling the world, living at different locations every 2-4 years. I really enjoyed helping people while serving. I served in the US Coast Guard.
I did a little bit of everything such as; Search and Rescue, Law Enforcement, Tactical boat operations, Security for high value assets, Aids to Navigation(construction on the water), train other members, community outreach, storm recovery operations, joint operations with OGAs (other government agencies), natural disaster response, DART (Deployable Assist Rescue Team) for flood response, recovered crashed planes in the ocean, Operation Iraq Freedom, Haiti uprising in 2004, migrant operations, and CD (Counter Drug) operations. Probably left some out but it was a lot.
I am now retired and very impressed by the VA and how they help those who served. I regular contact VA for various treatments and medications. That experience may vary depending on where a Veteran lives. I have multiple VA clinics in my area but most treatment is local doctors through community care.
I do not worry about my financial situation. If you serve 20 yrs in armed service you get a monthly pension for life. Also low cost/free medical treatment. In addition to any VA compensation you may receive. Everyone’s experience is different is the caveat.
Why do men marry when so many marriages are sexless or get divorced? Because in the beginning they get laid and appreciated.
Middle class income plus room and board and guaranteed employment and free healthcare and schooling
Abuse at home, no local opportunities or large poor family.
I almost joined because I was bored with life. Glad I didn’t.
Should add there is also tradition. Being good at military is a valid source of pride in some families
I joined in 2008 because I was graduated from HS and the economy was garbage
It was a way for me to ride out the recession. Then it paid for my first degree.
That’s why I joined.
Recruitment has been declining for a long time. But it is still a job that offers an opportunity for people to get out of poverty.
Post about veterans being mistreated is upvoted so much because most Americans find it unacceptable. Veterans have a lot of respect and while we can always do better, the idea they are being radically mistreated all the time is false. Most employers see veteran as a very positive, they can also get free education, and the federal government has a mandate to favor hiring veterans.
The part where we continue to fail them is with medicare and especially mental health care. Partly because health care in the US is too expensive for the VA to provide effective care to all the veterans. Veterans have special needs in the mental health care system which is even more broken then our normal health care.
We didn’t sign up with an expectation for people to treat us a certain way
As a GWOT combat vet I will say the VA does an amazing job of taking care of vets. Nothing will ever be perfect but I get all the care I need free of charge plus a generous stipend every month. The anti VA rhetoric comes from the far right who want to get rid of it and privatize it. No thanks.
Veterans are imo treated very well. Especially those that reach retirement. After 20 years in service they can retire and start a new career. The amount they get paid in retirement can be very close to what they got paid during service. In addition of course they still qualify for social security and can get a second retirement depending on what their second career is. Further I’m pretty sure any medical conditions gained through service adds on top of their retirement. This doesn’t even consider any benefits they receive from the private sector in terms of discounts and discriminatory hiring(in their favor).
Veterans are treated very well. Those that are homeless or struggling would likely be homeless or struggling regardless of what the government does because the USA is fundamentally lacking in certain services and lacking in the capability to help certain people.
I had a choice to stay in my little town and work at a pizza place for the rest of my life, or join the military and have decent pay and benefits and maybe see the world. It was the best decision I ever made. Really not excited or proud of whats happening now Im less than 2 years from retiring.
Former Marine here. I joined in ‘85 when America was booming and nobody trusted the gov’t because of the Vietnam war. At my wealthy high school I was looked down upon.
I needed money for college, I wanted to travel outside my small world (My family was not wealthy), I grew up on a steady diet of WWII movies, I totally hoped I would get to experience war, my dad, uncle and grandpa were veterans(grandpa was WWII), and when I got in I met a lot of guys just like me and they weren’t all white. Best friends for life.
As an actual veteran I can say some of us joined to do a service to our country. It’s an outdated idea these days but the concept of earning your spot as a citizen as opposed to being a civilian means we have done our part.
I come from Generational poverty. We didn’t have running water and some of our windows were plastic sheets. I could look at the sky from my bed at night because the roof wasn’t really intact. I joined the Army to get away from all of that. I was in for 13 years and I loved it. I now live in Europe, I have a college degree, I own my own business and I’ve got a beautiful family. None of those things would have happened were it not for the Army.
Economic desperation
Im a disabled veteran, and I feel that I have been well taken care of. The VA offers lots of treatments and programs. Even if your homeless, they will give you a place to stay, feed you, and help you get back on your feet.
I’m a 38yo veteran. Retired Army. The government treats me amazing. If someone isn’t getting the resources they need as a veteran, they aren’t trying or they were dishonorably discharged.
Just my individual thoughts as a veteran: The country doesn’t actually treat veterans that badly, but it’s not that great. The most vocal people have mental problems and use their veteran status as a way to garner sympathy. Most veterans don’t bring it up.
Veterans are still treated far better than poor kids without connections or prospects.
The gi bill is pretty neat
there are many very successful veterans. It opens doors professionally
The American military recruitment system is absolutely despicable. When i joined they told me i would be doing construction. I even bragged to the sergeant at Meps and she smiled like nothing i said about the job i accepted was incorrect. When i git to basic they said i was a 12B. A fucking combat engineer. They lied and allowed me to truly believe i was going in for one job when in reality they were putting me in a very different job.
If you grew up without direction, parental guidance, or financial stability, the military can be a path out of poverty and into the middle class or at least a more comfortable life. While it’s true that America has its shortcomings in caring for veterans, many do receive the support and benefits they need. And a very small percentage actually see combat so it’s not a terrible path for someone who wants stability.