Female soldiers in Army special operations face rampant sexism and harassment, military report says
apnews.com
U.S. Army Special Operations Command, in a lengthy study, reported a wide range of “overtly sexist” comments from male soldiers, including a broad aversion to females serving in commando units. The comments, it said, are “not outliers” but represent a common sentiment that women don’t belong on special operations teams.
“The idea that women are equally as physically, mentally and emotionally capable to perform majority of jobs is quite frankly ridiculous,” said one male commenter. Others said they’d quit before serving on a team with a female, and that serving in such a situation it would create problems and jealousy among their wives.
Well, that's rather predictable and good news for the long run. Just retire these dinosaurs and replace them with younger soldiers. No more old boys' club.
And while we're at it, why don't we get rid of the selective service system or force women to be join it? Equal rights, equal responsibilities.
Germany used to (I think used to) have a system where, for a year, you either joined the military or did a civilian service job like work in a hospital or nursing home. I'm by no means a warmonger or interested in a bloated military, but that doesn't sound like a terrible idea to me.
There are lots of countries that have compulsory military service with alternatives for conscientious objectors (which is basically what you're describing).
I agree that it's a good idea. Moreover, it comes closer to the original meaning of that whole "well-regulated militia" thing. We should consider doing like the Swiss do: give (roughly) everybody mandatory firearms training, send them all home with an infantry standard-issue assault rifle, and then severely restrict access to ammunition except for legitimate purposes like practice at the firing range.
Here in the US I’m pretty sure our Supreme Court would rule that ammunition is speech.
They have that in the US and it’s called Peace Corps but since the 80’s the conservatives hate it and push for military instead.
The problem is the Peace Corps is totally voluntary. There's also AmeriCorps, which is similar, but domestic. What we need is to get kids who don't understand what community means, and that's a lot of them at this point, to learn what that means. It's a way out of this libertarian capitalist hellhole.
Dunno, either killing for your country or undermining wages in the healthcare sector doesn't sound that great to me.
Germany has excellent healthcare. This is things like emptying the bedpans.
Pay is still abysmal, and importing workers from poor countries or forcing young people to work in that sector is peak capitalism.
Please present evidence that healthcare pay in Germany is abysmal.
But that would mean I would need to look up data and educate myself, and then my pointless ramblings look silly!
I assume you're not German, and unable to perform a basic web search for news etc in German? Please confirm so that I can tell you what to search for.
That is not how the burden of proof works. It is not my job to prove what you say is true.
Yet you make it impossible for me to show you proof. Try this query.
It's impossible for you to show me that pay for those sorts of jobs are abysmal in Germany? I doubt that.
Of course the burden of proof is with whoever disagrees with you, you never have to show any proof for your claims. If you don't even know how to find their pay, why do you claim they are not underpaid?
I didn't make the claim, you did. You said pay was abysmal. Now you're refusing to back that up and trying to gaslight me into saying I was the one making the claim.
Love this agruement
"I claim youre a pedo!"
"No Im not!"
"Show me the evidence, else that means im right!"
Use those budding google fu skills of yours to look up what a burden of proof is, and while youre there "how to argue in good faith".
Our healthcare sector could do with some undermining
Lmao conscription service is far from "killing for your country". Its amassing a reserve the size no other country wants to challenge. I went through my service like all other normal able bodied men of my country and it was mostly learning to walk and laying in a bush. Fucking fun it was.
And even if situation arose to killing, killing for your country is the most noble and always morally correct thing to do.
I love dying for old cunts in parliament and their billionaire friends
hnnnnghhhh
And the funny thing is: Why do we die for the old cunts in the parliament? Guess what, it's other old cunts sending soldiers!
Except that in case of war we wouldn't die just for them but also the other people we protect from the soldiers of the other old cunts but nevertheless we die at the behest of old cunts.
if I ever get conscripted I am killing my officer and then myself
Nah, fuck them. I’m not fighting for the US at all. Doubly so I’m not killing for it. Why would I protect a country that hates its citizens?
Idk, try living in a country that benefits their citizens.
And US doesnt have conscription based service so what are you even on about?
Emigration from the US is next to impossible for most people who were born and raised here. Unless you have an in for citizenship elsewhere you’re fucked.
Technically we do have a conscription based service. It just hasn’t been used since Vietnam.
I’m more referring to your point of killing for country is the most noble thing, and I disagree with that on a fundamental level.
Practically we are talking about universal male conscription, you know with the amassing reserves and such, with each generation getting a thorough military training in case something goes tits up.
Killing for a country worth killing for is the most noble thing, intrinsically. The unfortunate but in some way understandable fact that you specifically don't feel like that doesn't mean every country is a shithole that ought to be overrun by barbarians and subjecting yourself and your kids to them is the right thing to do. Americans do benefit from the fact that your enemies are oceans away, while terrorism brings it to your doorstep every now and then. Some decent countries have to have universal male conscription just to exist. The more I think about it, the less noble and more existential killing for you country becomes, at least on the case of Finland.
Ah yes, kill to defend the capitalist system in your country that exploits you. So noble.
Kill to defend my home and family. And since I'm a Finn, the alternative is rus*ian authoritarianism, which is unacceptable my any means and I'd rather die than be a part of shitpeople.
It's not worth it to argue with these tankies who are from NA mostly. They're so disconnected from reality that their communist utopia sounds so good in their minds that everything not communist is bad. They have no clue what others have and are going through.
Being anti-conscription is not a tankie position - I certainly am not in favour of conscription, it's one of the more authoritarian things a country can do, even if they aren't as prone to invading other places a-la Vietnam as the US is, and I loathe tankies.
Generally speaking I'm of the opinion that if a war or fight is not something people would willingly join to take part in, it's going to be unjustified (this doesn't necessarily mean that something people join the military to take part in is justified, it often isn't, but if you have to force people, it's definitely going to be unjustified >.<).
I understand why in Finland it might be more popular cus of the behaviour of Russia in the past, but my opinion remains the same - offer the training as an option, and if people agree that the threat of Russia is large enough to prepare to fight, they can sign up (which I'd think lots would given the particular situation of Finland, and with this method, you avoid the coercion, resentment, and unwillingness that comes from conscription and from what I understand of modern militaries, those things make conscription more of a hindrance than a help anyhow)
I'll leave my issues with States, military structure, and the MIC for another time ;p
Ya I know, but its entertaining. Got a slow day at working going
Philosophically it's a horrible idea to me, being from the US. First, it's pretty against ideas of freedom and self determination. Secondly, and worse, is that conscripts often are basically an internal sabotage threat. Work to rule, no interest in anything but getting out, actively tend to hurt morale given their resentment, etc. Oh, and 1 year of training / 1 year of service is basically a little past basic training, so not really well trained for modern combat. See what Russia is getting with conscripts for instance. I suppose if you just want bodies to throw into a meat grinder it might work, but unless you have enough to take staggering losses to overwhelm better trained and higher morale troops - and you're willing to take those sorts of losses... the conscripts are just mostly a drain on resources IMO.
It was a pretty big waste of money. You'd have massive numbers of people who'd have to be half-assedly trained for a lot of money just to leave service again right when they started to be somewhat employable. There are reasons why we don't do it like that anymore.
Fair enough, you know better than I would having lived through it. I don't know about the practicalities of such a plan, I just think teaching people to serve the community when they're young is a good idea.
And having seen the other side, might make some people a lot less entitlted too.
I strongly believe that everyone should work a customer service job like retail or waiting tables early in their career. It would make a lot of people less of an asshole when interacting with employees.
If you'd spent any time around young military guys you'd know it's not just the old ones. The vast majority of the US military (especially once you get outside the ones the pluck with testing for technical schools, officer fast track etc) fighting force is from low income, low education republican areas. The US military is trailer park socialism. Jobs and benefits for Jimbob. Jimbob has some super dated ideas about how women should act.
Grew up in San Diego, which is surrounded by military bases (mostly marine corp and navy). This is absolutely the truth. There is also the whole never experiencing anything outside their bubble factor too. I've met a few pretty intelligent enlisted "grunts" who just never saw anything but their one stop sign town, that has NO diversity, and some really assbackwards ideas.
Was in Arkansas recently hiking/camping around the Ozarks. It's freaking wild out there. Heard a dude who talked like boomhower. Saw one non-white person in a week traveling around the northern side of the state. Weirdly the state that founded Walmart has a ton of independent/employee owned grocery stores. That the one I went into carried a lot of smaller brand names I'd never heard of.
Really made me realize a lot of the reasons I would never vote republican those people are never even exposed to. The state went like 65-30 for trump. When you live in a bizarre little bubble and neither party really does anything to help you, it's easier to fall into the rabbit hole of blame and hate. Those small towns are only getting poorer and shrinking. Abandoned falling down houses and barns everywhere. Aging population. They feel abandoned and will just fall in line behind some good finger pointing.
Not to diminish anything enlisted woman have gone through, but this is by no means unique to military service. I am a women, who works in a very male dominated field, and the hostility, belittling, sexism, etc I have to endure, that my male counterparts don't is massive.
Yup. Worked male-orientated jobs almost my whole life. The battle is real.
I'm in IT, the difference in how I'm treated before and after I transitioned is crazy. I haven't legally changed my name yet so I just pretend to be a guy for all my jobs solely to avoid that.
About a year ago I decided to remove my name from my email signature. It’s mind boggling how different email replies/inquiries are now. People just assume I’m a man because making cars go fast = men things. When they finally meet me, or talk to me on the phone, there’s an instant demeanor change. Some not bad, others hostile.
Get rid of the GI Bill, or at the very least, tie it to the draft. As in, you don't get post service benefits unless there's a draft going on. Otherwise you just volunteered.
Then, provide those same benefits we provided since 1944 to the legal and medical professionals. Kids enter into service at 18-20 and come out as public defenders, nurses and doctors, where they are subject to working in poor areas to help the underserved.