calm their feelings of guilt

I do get that impression also.

i didnt serve but you did so i'll call u a hero and it'll make us both feel good (they think)

That is media talk. A little appreciation goes a long way.

Right now we only see 1% serving and those numbers are more white, more lower to middle class and more southern and western when compared to American demographics....We need more people, not less to truly represent this country.

....We need more people, not less to truly represent this country.....

we have almost no one coming home dead now versus the bad days of Shrub. We need a military that reflects our society entirely, not one that reflects the south, the west and white America more than the rest of the country. Therefore we need more Blacks, more Hispanics, more upper middle class whites.....we need more people reflecting this nation in service, rather than what we have now, a predominantly white, southern and western military that is dominated by Conservatives. Sure there are plenty of liberals in uniform, but there are plenty more conservatives and libertarians. And it is getting worse.............we need more.

According to this report it looks like blacks are overrepresented quite a bit at 16+% and Hispanics very slightly underrepresented at 11.8%. Page 24 starts the racial demographocs stuff

http://www.militaryonesource.mil/12038/MOS/Reports/2012_Demographics_Report.pdf

The ten states with the highest Active
Duty military populations are California (155,985), Texas (130,425), Virginia (119,870), North
Carolina (111,611), Georgia (72,976), Washington (69,125), Florida (59,357), Hawaii (49,110),
Kentucky (41,798), and South Carolina (38,091)

Southern and Western



Whites make up the largest percentage of Active Duty enlisted members
(68.0%), while members who report themselves as Black or African American make up 18.3
percent. Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
enlisted members make up 3.6 percent, 1.7 percent, and 1.1 percent, respectively

Whites make up 61% of Americans, a 7% over representation is more than 10% of a deviation from reality. Nearly 70% of the military is white. Just over 60% of the population is white. I stand by my demographics.

The 68% in the military includes Hispanics . Whites in the US are 72% counted the same way.

I misremembered blacks too - at 18% they are very overrepresented in the military.

... and we shall do as we like...

used and enforced in our culture, there might be a backslide into the low levels of respect and care for those who served in Vietnam. Of course they're not all heroes--you're not a hero just for enlisting or being commissioned. The heroic actions should be properly recognized, the sacrifices must be remembered and honored, there should be an acknowledgment and gratitude of service, but I get uncomfortable with anything more than that.

how the right had cheapened the word "hero". Not everyone in the military is. If someone won the Congressional Medal Zof Honor or an award for valor or some other such award, they are a hero.

Now we look down on one contract wonders......Times change.

Times change, society changes, military culture changes. It is no better or no worse than when you were in, it is just different.

Soldiers that brag about getting out after one contract are looked down on by everyone else. They are not considered team players and in many cases are considered worthless with bad attitudes......

Not judging, just informing you that military culture changes.

My dad was career, but did Korea when he was young and single. Later he did Vietnam in 1966.

Vietnam was more than bad enough for our family. If he would have had more than 1 TOD in Vietnam he probably would have gotten out and foregone his retirement benefits.

He planned to do the 4 year stint, but they promised him much more if he stayed. They sent him to flight school and made him an officer.

He did it for the benefits which at the time were the best of any career.

Retirement benefits @ 20 years = 50% pay
Free medical
Champus medical after retirement
Free on-base housing
Free burial

He was 40 when he retired. Afterward, a civilian career in aviation awaited him. He's 85 and still does consulting work in aviation. He's drawing his military retirement pension, private sector pension and social security. He's living quite comfortably.

Growing up on military bases kinda sucked. But it also had it's good moments. It really sucked when my dad went to Vietnam. I complained about military life alot.

Nobody idolizes my dad, he was not a hero, but he made some good career decisions. He's a pretty shrewd guy.

he first enlisted in the marine corp in 1946. he did fight in korea, but he met mom in 1954, and she talked him into moving over to the air force, as the marine corp was not a family friendly branch of the military. we then spent some time in japan, but dad was last stationed in upstate new york, and he retired after 20 years. he would've stayed longer, but they told him that in order to get a promotion, he'd have to go to vietnam, so he declined. he loved aircraft, and ended up working for an aviation firm for quite awhile.

dad passed in 2009. semper fi, marine!

Or any person working a dangerous job for not great pay.

This country does worship the veterans. They should not be treated any different than any other person IMO.

Except they should get the medical treatment they need, just like any other working person.

And you didn't have to worry that much about the future. Jobs that paid a living wage were available with just a little bit of work to get them. Careers that guaranteed a lifetime of employment until you wanted to retire and a pension or enough savings for reasonable retirement annuity or account were available. Cost of living was manageable, and if you had gotten in injury or developed a condition while in the military, there was a chance at disability and free health-care to take care of your problem.
Now, the average soldier, sailor, or airman is looking at fewer careers, higher housing, education, and in general, cost of living, and few options for a secure retirement.

Being a lifer in the military enables you to retire with dignity and survivors benefits if you can keep your nose clean, remain physically fit, and continue to advance on schedule with your time in rate. If you're smart, you buy your home and get it paid off while you have your active duty military housing allotment that will generally kick in after the fourth or sixth year you're in - once it's determined you're "good enough" for the military to start really investing in supporting your career.
When you retire, you keep your Tricare, commissary, MWR, and exchange privileges, which are huge discounts in many locations. And you still get your GI bill to pay for any additional education or certification if you don't want to just retire, and work after your 20 to 40 years in service that it took to gain your retirement.

If you want to dabble in the world outside the military and decide to leave early, you can always finish up in the reserves; though that gets you less than the minimum retirement (only 45% max of Time in Rate baseline based on your retirement points and year of retirement - mine will be based off E-7 over 20 on the 1999 pay-chart - with COLA advances only starting the year you start receiving your retirement - i.e., 2019), no housing allowance or medical care, and you have to wait until you're 60 to get any retirement or benefits other than the VA, commissary, exchange, and MWR. (Hey, MWR has some really nice camping and hotel accommodations that are very, very inexpensive in some really nice locations...and you can rent boats and RVs there without credit checks.)

So, being a lifer isn't so bad any more.

As for being a hero...phhhttt. That's like saying someone who does their job competently is a hero. Now, CMH and the "Star" winners can be considered heroes. People who go out of their way to diffuse tensions or save lives can be heroic, and are most likely somebody's hero.
But everyone else in the military is just an ordinary jane or joe who is at most, an ordinary hero when needed to do something extra to make the situation better. Someone who is just as much a hero as a firefighter, teacher, or a paramedic. (Or honest politician actually doing their job and taking care of a community or constituent problem.)

Haele

. . .why does the military provide commendations and medals for heroism?

I enlisted in late 67 and retired in 2008, 40 years and 3 months.

I'd guess that any perceived worship or idolatry (real or imagined-- anyone's guess) is, at worst, merely benign and has no real consequence whether good or bad.

we are being conditioned to accept war as a fact of life. I'm a Vietnam-era vet. I never went but was in (68-72) and there is a most definite shift in the way the media and average citizen talks about servicemen(and women) now.

Like all this 'warrior' crap. The United States hasn't really be threatened since WW2. The places troops have been sent since the end of Vietnam serves only to preserve/expand the Empire...........