i'm not going to read all those words, but a lot of what i skimmed seemed coherent so i doubt i'd be wasting my time pointing out the indisputable...
historically, ever since the classical age (rome), the vast majority of conscripts in any army have been people with lesser means. not landowners and their relatives/ allies, as was the case in the "uncivilized" remainder of the world, where the power to govern came almost exclusively from the ability to personally kill one's enemies.
not to ride a historical sidenote all the way back to babylon...
just look at the way of the world as it always has been. you have those able to afford university training in the rotc, thus guaranteeing them officer status. and you have those enlisting because they would LIKE TO ATTEND A UNIVERSITY IN THE FIRST PLACE. i've known people that have joined solely for lack of gainful employment... when the bills come a-knockin and you've quit your last job on bad terms, military service seems much more enticing (it is no secret that even rome granted otherwise "untouchable" barbarians, ex-slaves, and drunkards a paycheck and land in return for service, when the empire was in dire need of soldiers due to prolonged foreign conflict). even a library of selective statistics doesn't change the way things work in this world.
yeah, there are people who join for some more personal reason, some feeling of socio-spiritual inadequacy or obligation, or even to pad their resume if the MOA is cushy enough, but the vast majority of those in the service will tell you,
historically, ever since the classical age (rome), the vast majority of conscripts in any army have been people with lesser means. not landowners and their relatives/ allies, as was the case in the "uncivilized" remainder of the world, where the power to govern came almost exclusively from the ability to personally kill one's enemies.
not to ride a historical sidenote all the way back to babylon...
just look at the way of the world as it always has been. you have those able to afford university training in the rotc, thus guaranteeing them officer status. and you have those enlisting because they would LIKE TO ATTEND A UNIVERSITY IN THE FIRST PLACE. i've known people that have joined solely for lack of gainful employment... when the bills come a-knockin and you've quit your last job on bad terms, military service seems much more enticing (it is no secret that even rome granted otherwise "untouchable" barbarians, ex-slaves, and drunkards a paycheck and land in return for service, when the empire was in dire need of soldiers due to prolonged foreign conflict). even a library of selective statistics doesn't change the way things work in this world.
yeah, there are people who join for some more personal reason, some feeling of socio-spiritual inadequacy or obligation, or even to pad their resume if the MOA is cushy enough, but the vast majority of those in the service will tell you,
it's a job.
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