On the nature of military service in the USA

       We should be pleased as new world USA humans, is my bottom line. Most polls I read or hear about say much the same, like many other USA people think the same way.

            First the human aspects, then the business aspects, and then the professional aspects.

            As to the human aspects, military service seems to be a younger person's advantage.  Mostly it is dedication to country.  Other factors also play in, like happiness, a desire to serve,  pay, and even retirement as an incentive to stay in. Most importantly, and as an ex recruiter, I learned in my way over time that while I may recruit a person, I also want to retain his or her family. That's a big human deal, to me at least. In that regards, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, or so was my dilemma.

            And on the human side of things, statistics I trust suggest an awful lot of sharp humans join the military, don't like it, and get out after their obligation is done. The results include that our USA country benefits by their presence, and in their way, and over time, where ever they return to.

            One last human factor that also benefits our USA Country. All those in the military are mentally, morally, and medically able to serve. Now that is a good deal for both the military, and the USA Country. Last time I checked, about two thirds of us didn't make the cut. Hence this military "group" is not too shabby in many ways, to include leadership in their own places.

            Now for the business aspects. Mostly, to me, it is the retention efforts, like retirement benefits. In my time I was also going to bail out at ten years, but the retirement benefits kept me in in spite of all the crap I had to put up with. Now that was a personal decision, well calculated at the time, or so I thought. And the benefits were not that great, though now in hard times they do seem better.  And I am watching like a hawk (I am now age 64) just what the present generation of political leaders do to my "promised" benefits I believed in decades ago.  Bottom line to me, we are on our own.

As to the professional part of the military job, I can report I always thought I was well trained. That's a big deal in terms of trust and confidence. Now I did have to perform, like use my training. In other words, I did pay attention during my training time and used it later. One could say I applied myself.  More importantly, I was also taught, and believed in ideas like integrity, and honesty, especially when in leadership positions.  Now that is a big deal these days, or so it seems to me, and should be always, to include raising a Family.