Should we have a law preventing anyone under the age of 21 being sent into combat?

[yourout]

Just looking to start a dialog about the idea.

I know it is probably not practical but I feel very few people under the age of 25 fully comprehend what combat is.

[obliviously]

1. your idea has merit.

It is worth giving thought to.

[dgibby]

2. Yep. If you're too young to drink, you're too young to die or kill someone else.

[RB TexLa]

10. You do know not everyone enforces the 21 year old drinking age

[Lasher]

14. That's my philosophy.

When I was drafted in 1969 at age 20 I was not yet old enough to vote. After I had turned 21, along came the 26th amendment, which lowered the voting age to 18, which is also the minimum draft age. That was good. If you are old enough to serve in the military in any capacity, particularly if you do so against your will, you should be entitled to every single right and privilege of other adults. If 18 is such a tender age that you can't be allowed to buy liquor, then you shouldn't be in the military.

One way or the other.

[Soylent Brice]

51. wasn't that the argument in the UK?

they could be drafted into the army at 16, but couldn't drink until they're 18, or something like that.

[defendandprotect]

3. Yes, yes, yes . . . anything less is really child abuse . . .

[Posteritatis]

4. I don't like cherrypicking which rights/responsibilities adults can and cannot have (nt)

[juajen]

5. Absolutely. No one that young makes good decisions, even though older people aren't immune

from bad decisions either; it's just that impetuosity is rampant in teenage years.

[imdjh]

6. no

[ThomCat]

7. I think anyone who votes for war should serve in it.

I like your idea that people too young to understand war shouldn't be sent into combat. Send the old hawks who keep screaming for war. If they want war so badly they should go.

After them, anyone who publicly promotes war should be required to serve in some capacity. After the politicians we get the pundits and talking heads, the media people who promote the war.

And all the people who profit from war. If you're getting rich from the deaths of others you should be up there risking your own too.

Then all the couch-potato patriots who talk about how easily the war could be won should be rounded up and handed uniforms and guns. They go next.

[ManiacJoe]

8. No.

The age of legal adulthood is 18. If an adult want to enter into that type of work, he should be allowed to make that decision. Along the same lines, the legal drinking age should be brought back into alignment; but that is a different discussion.

The problem is not that they do not comprehend what combat is. The problem is that they still think they are bullet proof at that age.

[dgibby]

9. Whoever said that old men start wars and young men fight them really hit the nail on the head.

[imdjh]

16. Is the lack of a draft, military training and opportunity undermining the middle class?

WWII brought hundreds of thousand of "first to go to college" families into the middle class. With Korea and Vietnam that included black men for the first time in a significant way. The middle class in general and black middle class in particular was greatly expanded by military training, which few would argue is without value in terms of goal setting, self-discipline, and working hard in a merit based system. I certainly wish I had done it.

Many people who have ambition in their teens have absolutely no idea how to get there, and their parents aren't much help either because they don't know or they won't direct their kids with the level of instruction and authority that the military can bring. Of course, there are those in the military who punch the clock and never amount to much, but there are a whole lot who learn how to set goals and use their military benefits in a way that generates success.

[Historic NY]

11. It a volunteer military, if there was a draft then you go at 18-29.

its been like this from the time military service came into being. In many cases youngsters under the age of 18 were located an sent home. Many countries like Israel have mandatory military service at age 18. Most of the WWII generation were young and many over 29yrs old were taken. A great majority of the deaths have actually been a lot older that 25 they were guard & reserves.

[leftofthedial]

12. why not make it 45, or 55?

[westerebus]

13. The majority of the population has no concept of what combat is. n/t

[GA_ArmyVet]

30. Too right.

And may they never have to find out...No one who has not actually been in it will understand how you feel in combat and how what it is really like..

The mixed emotions, the rush of adrenaline..the fear, the smell of smoke, how badly you want to be anywhere else but there, how when you are not there, you want so badly to go back...anyway, let em stop before I begin rambling too far.

[aquart]

15. At 23, my uncle was too old to be a fighter pilot.

Warrior-age males are NOT 25. They're 18. And nobody wants a soldier who can "fully comprehend what combat is."

[sandnsea]

18. I think that's kind of the point

But I also think the best soldiers are the ones who fully comprehend what combat is, hate it, and go anyway. Then you know you have a war that needs fighting.

[aquart]

29. Dear sweet Lord, what romantic drivel.

Mind boggling.

[cabluedem]

19. Have to be 21 to drive interstate trucks too. nt

[nadinbrzezinski]

43. That's odd, since no fighter pilot starts their A school UNTIL they

get their commission, that is at 22... so 23 would be the right time to be in fighter jock school.

There is more to that story that your uncle is not telling.

[sandnsea]

17. At least past the "Age of Invincibility"

Maybe if there was some kind of psychological test...

[Badgerman]

20. Move the voting age back to 21 and you have a deal! n/t

[Mike Daniels]

36. Bingo.

If you're too young to comprehend battle until 21 then you're probably too young to comprehend most issues until then as well and shouldn't be allowed to vote until you reach 21 either.

Good luck rolling the clock back on that one.

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. You've been in combat? Unless you have. you have no fucking

clue what combat is....

By the way, this means that about 5% of the population knows, and the rest don't, nor do they want to hear it either.

[cliffordu]

24. Yep - You are exactly right.

[telmerc]

26. I've been

No I don't want to talk about it, no I don't want to share, no I won't tell you how many people "I killed", so nobody ask.....................However, I do believe if you are allowed to vote you are allowed to serve your country, buying a beer doesn't do crap for defending your country or making sound voting decisions..........If it did they would serve Miller at the voting booth and on the C-130 before a jump............... :D

[nadinbrzezinski]

35. Ah miller before a combat jump... yeah that's the ticket

by the way... most combat vets don't want to talk about it, and one reason is that them civies don't want to hear it, the real stuff, the fear and all that crap that goes with it, literally in some cases.

The other... well the nightmares are night become way too intense

But some of us do... and the reception we get usually ranges from "what did it feel to kill..." insert bad guy here. For me I was a medic so no killing involved just lead mosquitos, plenty of them. But my husband did and goes into intense detail on it. Usually we see people lose all kinds of color.. and once their lunch.

But usually ti is the sick curiosity of what did it sound like? Not the actual details.

by the way... thanks for your service... and no jumping out a C-130 after a beer young man!

:-)

[TahitiNut]

27. But, but, but ...

... they's seen it in MOVIES!


:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[nadinbrzezinski]

37. Ah my favorite story about movies

we went to watch saving private Ryan. You know the first half an hour is somewhat intense. We went with my sister. I love her dearly, but she has no idea, bless her heart.

We come out of the theater, and she said... "I mean it could not be that bad."

We both said, in unison... you're right, it is far worst.

Talk about a conversation killer.

I respected them for making it that graphic, but I still remember the screams that it was TOO GRAPHIC..

Yep

:banghead: indeed.

[TahitiNut]

54. Yup. Worse. That said, the soundtrack of 'Saving Private Ryan' had me sorta flashing ...

... since the speakers in the theater were apparently pretty good. It's not often that the sound matches the real deal that closely. Apparently I wasn't alone in my reaction.
:scared:

[bdab1973]

39. At 18 you're an adult and can vote...you can serve in the military if you want as well...

And I've been in the military for almost 18 years. And yes, I joined when I was 18.

[nadinbrzezinski]

40. You have an issue with the OP not me

[bdab1973]

42. At 18 you're an adult and can vote...you can serve in the military if you want as well...

And I've been in the military for almost 18 years. And yes, I joined when I was 18.

[nadinbrzezinski]

44. I'll say it again, you got an issue with the OP, NOT ME

[LooseWilly]

22. I think we should just allow soldiers to drink at 18.

I mean... I'm personally not going into combat sober... why would I ask anyone my son's age to do so?

What? Are we afraid that there might be an auto accident?...

[TahitiNut]

28. The last thing I'd want is a drunk next to me when under fire.

It'd be a sure way to die. Sorry. I'd much rather have a stoner. :shrug:

[cliffordu]

23. I'm thinking no one under 50.

[telmerc]

25. If you can vote, you can serve your country.

Alcohol is not a right.

[KharmaTrain]

32. Bingo...What We Fought For In 1972...

In Vietnam there were people in uniform who couldn't vote. That was very wrong. If you can die for your country, you should be able to vote for who sends you to that fate.

As you say, drinking isn't a right and I've never seen the comparison (other than for some 18 year old to find another reason to drink).

[tammywammy]

41. Agreed n/t

[zbdent]

31. used to be that you had no say in whether or not you could be sent into battle

after 18, but before 21 ...

[yourout]

33. Thanks for everyones input......I would love to hear more from combat vets on this.

[ensho]

34. yes

nt

[kiva]

38. Only if you change the age for military enlistment to 21 also. n/t

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

45. We should have a law preventing anyone being sent into combat who doesn't want to be sent.

[GA_ArmyVet]

47. We sort of do,,,We don't draft people so

they all volunteered to go...I know when I enlisted there was a clause in there that I might go to war...I mean my first stop was Basic COMBAT Training...You don't train for combat unless they are planning to use you if we go to war...It is pretty simple..and Nobody wants to go, but if you are not willing then you don't volunteer.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

52. Yeah, me too. But, I changed my mind and would have liked the option.

Fortunately, when they asked me to extend my enlistment and go kill people I was able to tell them, in rather obscene terms, what they could to with that idea.

[bushmeister0]

46. That would kind of take the "infant" out of infantry.

If the old men had to go in first, then you'd see a lot less war.

[GA_ArmyVet]

48. well, it would certainly happen slower anyway..

I know I dont move as fast now.

[Dr. Strange]

55. So then it would be adultery?

That might actually increase interest in the armed forces.

[Mari333]

49. send only politicians who vote for war , military industry CEOs, and all the other chickenhawks

leave the young people alone.

[Lyric]

50. No, but we should have MUCH better resources for PTSD, anxiety, and other

conditions that can be caused by combat-induced fear.

The way we treat our returning veterans right now is absolutely shameful.

[orleans]

53. my first thought is that if someone isn't old enough to drink a fucking beer

they certainly are not old enough to fight and be killed in a fucking war.

it's that simple.