Bob's Links and Rants

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Friday, July 09, 2004

Why just learn a skill and get an education...

When you can get shot at or blown up, too? The army "will soon begin aggressively recruiting thousands of sailors and airmen who are otherwise scheduled to leave the Navy and Air Force because of cutbacks," according to the NY Times. I mean, since World War II, unless you were unlucky enough to be stationed on the Mayaguez or the Stark or the Iowa or the Cole, and assuming you also weren't a woman or a homosexual, the Navy and Air Force have probably by and large lived up to their recruiting ads: Give us a few years, and we'll give you a marketable skill and money for college. Aside from sending off a few cruise missiles and the like now and then, you probably won't be on either the sending or receiving end of lethal violence. Chances are very good that you won't be killed or wounded, that none of your buddies will be killed or wounded. Chances are you may not see anyone, friend or foe, get killed or wounded. You'll come back home with four limbs, a skill, a college fund, and the ability to get to sleep at night.

Meanwhile, Army and Marine recruiters have had to be at the very least highly optimistic in their promises, as shown in "F-9/11." (Sure, you can be a rap star like Snoop or a basketball player like David Robinson; heck, the Marines will help you get there!) Much more likely, of course, that you'll get blown up by a car bomb in Samarra or killed by friendly fire like Pat Tillman, but no, you'll probably just get sent to Korea.

Lori Piestawa and Jessica Lynch signed up for a supply unit in the army. Lori's dead and Jessica has permanent injuries which will be with her for the rest of her life. But you sailors don't need to worry about all that--just sign here.