My Military obligation

Posted byrfcan Leave a comment on My Military obligation

What they used to call it back-in-the-day.  Every American male (without disqulifiers like fallen arches) had one.  I think it meant six years or so we owed to Uncle Sam.  The fact that it no longer exists results from technology and demographics.  In the Census taken just after I was born the population of the USA was officially counted as (about) 140 million.  It has more doubled doubled since then, to around 320 million.  Technology has produced weaponry during this time ranging from the ridiculous (think drones) to the sublime (thermonuclear bombs).  What we don’t need are all the guys who served as cannon fodder.  Not to mention women, several of which are senators and representatives (who have replaced brothers in their parents’ basement playing video games and smoking pot…). Just kidding.

Fast forward backward (you might say) to the 1930’s.  My father served a stint in the French army.  My uncle Alfred answered Uncle Sam’s call and enlisted in the U.S. Army. Neither man ever said much.    My younger brother served in the Navy.  We were not exactly a military family, although considerably more so than la famille Trump. (Ain’t sayin much there.)

As you readers know, my “military obligation” was addressed by joining the Navy.  As I have often said, it was one of my highest privileges.  I got so much more out of my service than I invested or deserved. 

As many guys of my generation know only too well, the attitude toward vets has undergone lots of changes in past decades.  Did not our Leader trash most of us vets as “suckers and losers” not too long ago?  I can remember when I was honorably discharged, we were advised not to wear uniforms out in public.  Granted, our current attitude toward vets and the military has much to do with our proximity to several bases.  This era-of-good-feeling will undergo many more changes as we lose more of us to the grim reaper, not to be replaced.

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