Incognito said:
Not really, you ignoramus. Military personnel retiring from the service are utterly clueless when entering the civilian workfoce and quite honestly, many private companies don't want to hear about what you did in the military repeated thirty times.
I've watched my father(a military man himself -- 20 years) prep clients and remind them not to bring up their military history unless specifically asked. I've also watched him speak in military auditoriums filled with hundreds of outgoing retirees the basics of entering the civilian workforce.
So it's not as simple as "Hey, I was in the military! I'll get a job the instant I leave, nothing to worry about!!".
Technically speaking, the ability to be hired in the civillian world really depends on your experience in the military combined with your area of expertise. Naturally if you spend your entire 20 year career as an eleven-bravo with the US Army (infantry) then you're not going to be very marketable aside from your rank. Granted, this is good if you're a captain, major, colonel or general... but if you're a 2LT doing a 4 year stint, than naturally your four years as a lieutenant in the infantry won't compare to somebody who's got a year of experience doing data entry.
On the other hand, there are people, quite a few, who do get PLENTY of jobs upon retirement. Usually, though, these people have to have a rank in a field accordant with their time in. If you've been in for ten years and you're only an E5 when you come out, well, you won't look very good. But if you're in for 15 years and come out as an E8, or as a full colonel, well, your chances at finding a job are pretty good.
I know of both situations. I know of people who were in for 8 years and picked up by a headhunting firm and given a job for 100K a year. I know people who've been recruited to be Presidents of places as high as IBM straight from the military. But I also know people who've put in 20 years and come out being happy with their job as a shift manager at Home Depot. So you really make of it what you will... same as any other job. It CAN greatly influence your future if you want it to.
As for the OP, there is some validity to it. If there are so many 18 year olds who voted for Bush and support the war, then they should have no problem standing by their choices. To me, and mind you i've had 3 years of ROTC training, too... if you're going to send other people to die for your cause, you should support the cause too. Otherwise, you're a fucking coward and really don't deserve anything in life. If you're too chicken to fight, then you shouldn't send others to do it for you. The only real caveat to this is if you're unable to fight, in which case, you should probably find a way to get into a market of the country where your labor can help the troops.
Plus... can we just drop this charade of a 'just war'. War has never been just... there's just different reasons people feel good about fighting. World War 2 really wasn't 'just' for the US. We had no business in Europe.... but we won, so nobody talks about that, do they? The only time people whine about jus bellum is when they're stuck doing something they don't want to do. We didn't intervene in Rwanda... is that really just? We watched the Russians massacre millions during the Cold War, and we did nothing, is that just? Of course it isn't 'just', and we have never had any sense of justice beyond our borders (and usually not much within our borders either). The only times Americans really care about justice outside of our country regarding war is when bodycounts are seen.
