Why do people join the army....? and why should we honour them?

[LittleRedSparke]

Ok - i have my tin hat at the ready, and am ready to be flamed.....

This is genuine (i post a bit so you can see this is not my first and i havent nc'd)

First off - I appreciate those who fight for the rights of my country.... but I am not sure why we should raise them to a 'god-like' status, like you see on facebook etc

Yes, they're doing a good job - but no one forces them to do it, as far as I know (prepared to be told i am wrong of course) they join up of their own free will? I read 'how wonderful they are, and how they only do it because of some saint like calling they have'

I dont mean to offend anyone - but I have a friend who is ex-forces, and on occasion he mentions stuff about forces being let down by the government - even though he wasnt there for long, only joined up as he didnt have anywhere to live and no prospects, he's come out - and now has no prospects and has some kind of (non army related) injury, and I just got to thinking.....

I joined because I wanted to, I turned down an engineering apprenticeship to join. I loved my time in the Army, it shaped me and made me the strong independent woman I am today.

I was in a very male job and I had to prove myself all the time but I loved it and stayed.

I'm now married to a soldier and we're posted overseas, I don't get to see him that often but I love the life out here and enjoy the fact my 3 bedroom house costs £80 a month.

I wear my veterans badge with pride and will continue to do so until I die cause I'm never going to be a proper civvie I'll always be an ex soldier.

This is a pretty nuanced and thoughtful piece on the deserters issue. Again, it was rather more complex than the 'bad Irish' line you seem intent on pushing.

Note: it was 'deserters' from the Irish Defence Forces ie serving soldiers who were punished for their act of desertion, not ordinary citizens.

I'm sure this thread was about why people join the forces and why they are hailed as heros, not about wether or not we should have gone to war blah blah blah!!!
I joined the forces at 16, because I wanted to, because I thought it would be enjoyable and I did get a sense of pride from it too. I left to be a mother as I wanted to be home to bring up my child.
People in the forces don't think they are heros (apart from the odd knob jockey!!) it's the press that put that across. Most just want to do their job and be good at it. I have a lot of respect for the sacrifices they make, but then I have the same respect for police and fire etc.

I hate war. War now is for financial political gain. However I believe young men and women are being fed propaganda about how they will be a hero. These people truly believe they are doing it for their family ,their friends and this country. I have nothing but respect for members of the armed forces they are being used as pawns and are losing their lives. I think they deserve the hero status. It can't be easy leaving family or friends nobody would do that unless they feel it was making a difference. Now my oh is not in the army due to injury he says he see's it isn't for the same cause as ww1 and ww2. When he signed up he truly believed that it was for 'the greater good'