Having almost created one monster locked-for-eternity thread I thought

I'd push my luck, perhaps a bridge too far.

 

Rationale:

A lot of people here seem eager to fight, from what they say

in the forums - and I mean fight like go to war. Now, that's fine. I have

a two-part question - would you go to war if you could, like real bullets,

blood, mud and sh|t war, with the fair-to-good chance of death, mutilation,

disfigurement, etc., and have you ever been to war ? As we have a few

veterans floating around these here parts I thought it would be interesting

to ask, if people can be (or feel able to be) honest about their experience.

Pretty well all the people I know or have met who have been to *real* war

do not speak highly of the experience and would not advise anyone to

actually participate. It is my contention that the vast majority of those

who are eager to go to war have no idea what war actually entails and

just how violent, miserable and unforgiving it is. I am not looking for

reasons why people want to fight (or otherwise) - just for pseudo-statistics on how

eager people are to fight in war relative to their actual experience of

blood-and-guts battlefield violence. Please remain calm, I am not trying

to create an inflammatory thread - it is a genuine question and I would

really appreciate genuine answers.

 

Again - this is about whether you would want to go to war, not whether or not you have to.

 

I set this up as a poll so people can remain anonymous.

 

The Question:

So - are you eager to fight in a real war, and, have you ever seen war close-up ?

Edited October 28, 200816 yr by mandatory05

No and No.

 

I would however defend/protect my Family with any means available if they were endangered.

No and No.

 

I would however defend/protect my Family with any means available if they were endangered.

 

 

+1.

 

The only time I would ever participate in a war would be if Australia itself were invaded.

 

That is not to say whether I believe in the ethics and theories behind war in general or not, Its simply me and my own personal situation.

No Im not eager and nore have I served. Sorry just read the blueness. BUT I would go if anything happend.

Edited October 28, 200816 yr by Chrisso06

No and no.

No and No, but if my family & friends were in trouble or we were under direct threat then I would go. But for the moment no I would want to put my wife or my family under that sort of stress and anxiety

Eager no, willing yes. Im signing up for Reserves, most likely to transfer to Regulars when I finish Uni. I am prepared for the fact that I will most likely have to go to Afganistan (and maybe now, Syria lol)

 

I do not wish to kill, nor do I wish to die or be disfigured. But there is a distinct possibility of both of those things happening. If thats what happens, so be it.

 

Can I say something that is gonna make the currently serving/ex-service people really angry?

 

When you strip off the veneer of civility, the social niceties, you get an environment of almost chaos. It is here, and only here, where we find out who people really are. Having grown up in Australia, I have been pretty sheltered my whole life.

 

I would like a chance to prove myself, as a person. I think the military (and by extension, war) is a place to prove to myself that I can do it. Thats quite a personal reason, so I dont expect people to understand. I also don't want to sound stupid and gung-ho about it either. I have considered it at length, and decided it is a good course of action.

 

Again, I love you all, and I didnt mean to offend. The guys that have been there,done that will shake their heads at my naivety. Just remember, you felt the same way too once.

Eager no, willing yes. Im signing up for Reserves, most likely to transfer to Regulars when I finish Uni. I am prepared for the fact that I will most likely have to go to Afganistan (and maybe now, Syria lol)

 

I do not wish to kill, nor do I wish to die or be disfigured. But there is a distinct possibility of both of those things happening. If thats what happens, so be it.

 

Can I say something that is gonna make the currently serving/ex-service people really angry?

 

When you strip off the veneer of civility, the social niceties, you get an environment of almost chaos. It is here, and only here, where we find out who people really are. Having grown up in Australia, I have been pretty sheltered my whole life.

 

I would like a chance to prove myself, as a person. I think the military (and by extension, war) is a place to prove to myself that I can do it. Thats quite a personal reason, so I dont expect people to understand. I also don't want to sound stupid and gung-ho about it either. I have considered it at length, and decided it is a good course of action.

 

Again, I love you all, and I didnt mean to offend. The guys that have been there,done that will shake their heads at my naivety. Just remember, you felt the same way too once.

 

+1 new there was something good about ya

No I haven't and no I wouldn't WANT to go, but yes I WOULD go.

 

I'm in the Army Reserves and I train to defend my loved ones and my country and her interests. That doesn't mean I want to go to war. It does mean that if war does happen, I'll be better trained, have more experiance and more knowledge to keep myself and the people I'm with alive. If that saves one life in one battle, then it's worth it.

 

____________

 

Also, asking people if they've ever participated in war-time activities is very, very rude and can cause a plethora or personal issues for the individual.

 

You don't know what sort of memories and painful experiances simply asking that question can bring up. I've seen NCO's flip at the drop of a coin because someone said something that just made them trip.

 

I'd consider the mental health and well being that this thread threatens to any member who has served in the forces over seas and has seen active combat. Is it really worth putting those people who have already sacrificed so much more pain just to have a discussion?

 

As I know there are current and former serving ADF members, some who have been deployed over seas who read these forums, I think this thread should be locked and deleted before it hurts someone unintentionally.

Edited October 28, 200816 yr by cm.

I disagree Stabby.

 

Anyone who has such an unfortunate trauma would not be able to frequent our forums to begin with. This is a forum dedicated to a game based on (albeit a desensitized version of) war. A person with that kind of trauma would not be able to play this game, nor discuss issues regarding or associated with it, therefore they would not be reading this thread to start with.

 

So long as the thread stays to topic, and people do not attack other peoples views or drag the thread into a political/religious/nationality attack, it will stay open as I see no reason to pack it up at this point.

As someone that has gone to war it is not a lot of fun getting shot at and having scuds dropped on your head that could have biological agents in them.

 

I would only go back into a fight if it was to defend my new Home Australia from a invading force

no i havent, and yes i would either to defend Aust from invasion or if the Aust was greatly threatened and force was needed.

 

 

and if something did happened and for some reason conscription was brought in (which it wouldnt) i would volunteer before my name was called.

I havnt served, although i posses a genuine desire to serve my country, i believe the only just cause for war is self defense (a few other things can be discussed here but that's another argument ) so if Australia was invaded i would be first in line to enlist.

 

i always wanted to be a professional soldier, right through high school and all that, and i still sorta have aspirations of making SAS one day, that said my thinking on war, politics, global security and society in general has changed a fair bit.

 

i agree with what allyourbase said about testing ones self, that was my mentality awile back and i still sorta think like that.

Personally i won't go overseas to fight but i'd defend Australian soil (and even NZ soil for that matter) to the death.

No and Yes (but with conditions) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Just_war

 

I would not (could not) take myself and my men to kill other people unless there was a real and justifiable reason .

 

 

:hi:

Signing up full time Army, applying as a rifleman. So yes, I'm willing to go, eager? I wouldn't say that, rather I'd like to have a first hand experience of war, not someone else's recounting. And if I'm going into a combat job like a Rifleman, it kinda smacks of stupidity that I would apply for combat job and not be willing to go.

 

By no means though am I saying I'm all gung ho, kick ass take names oohrah, there are a million reasons I'm joining the army.

No I haven't been to war but yes I'd go if there was a need for it.

I'm not eager but I would go if asked/enlisted/needed.

 

I think life is short and the only meaning in this world is what you give it. War offers a taste of completion (death) that I find quite exhilirating. No I'm not mental, just fatalistic.. I'm going to die one day.. better to do it with a rifle in hand defending my countrymen than gasping out a heart attack on the kitchen floor.

No, No, but yes. If you **** with my happy situation I will reign hell upon you with the fullest might of myself. That honestly scares me because I know what I think of in my head, and TBH I am a bit of a closet psycho inside.

 

When you strip off the veneer of civility, the social niceties, you get an environment of almost chaos. It is here, and only here, where we find out who people really are. Having grown up in Australia, I have been pretty sheltered my whole life.

 

I would like a chance to prove myself, as a person. I think the military (and by extension, war) is a place to prove to myself that I can do it. Thats quite a personal reason, so I dont expect people to understand. I also don't want to sound stupid and gung-ho about it either. I have considered it at length, and decided it is a good course of action.

 

Not to be rude, but what are you trying to prove? I don't understand your statement. Is it that you think the only way to prove yourself is to fight and or to kill another person?

 

oh and P.S. my pop who is not 80 something was shooting arty shells at tanks right from Africa to the Pacific in WWII, I still now some 60 odd years later have never got a full sentence of things he has seen. And sadly the only time I have ever heard him talk about it was when he was in a twilight state and he started talking about a tank his arty shell penetrated. He kept saying "Where are they..Where are they??!! all I see is blood. Dear god Jack (His older brother) what have we done?"

From what I can figure of that and knowing what types of arty his unit were firing, he would had hit the tank with the shell busting the side open creating a shrapnel storm inside. Much like a blender...

Edited October 28, 200816 yr by [ZSU]Preacher

I'm not eager but I would go if asked/enlisted/needed.

 

I think life is short and the only meaning in this world is what you give it. War offers a taste of completion (death) that I find quite exhilirating. No I'm not mental, just fatalistic.. I'm going to die one day.. better to do it with a rifle in hand defending my countrymen than gasping out a heart attack on the kitchen floor.

 

 

Your certainly not mental mate, i agree with your statement 100% and its pretty much exactly how i feel.

:hi:

Edited October 28, 200816 yr by Nighthawke189

No, No, but yes. If you **** with my happy situation I will reign hell upon you with the fullest might of myself. That honestly scares me because I know what I think of in my head, and TBH I am a bit of a closet psycho inside.

 

 

 

Not to be rude, but what are you trying to prove? I don't understand your statement. Is it that you think the only way to prove yourself is to fight and or to kill another person?

 

yeah i'm there with you, have that 'little psycho' roaming around inside but through good anger management he hasn't made an appearance since a couple of guys messed with me in high school (dont mess with my mum's cheese n gerkin sangers or you'll be in a headlock you'll never escape!!!:blowup: )

 

From what i read of that view, i dont see it as them wanting to go 'kill someone' or something like that to prove something to someone. I think its more of a self knowledge that if the chips are down you could do what you had too.

 

Myself, i polled no and no, have dreamed about the RAAF and Army since i was a little kid. Dreamed of going into one or tother but as i got older, through some situations i was in, i chose not to go down that path (sometimes regret it) but now with a wife, kid and a bun in the oven while i still sometimes get the urge to just pack in the job and go off to the Regs/Res, my priorities have changed . . . I've got 2 (soon to be 3) other people to think about before myself now. Having said that tho, if the chips were down, i do everything in my power to make sure they stay safe.

not particularly eager to go to war,and no i am fortunate enought not to have experienced it first hand.Doesnt mean i wouldnt if the necessity arises.have a few friends from the former yugoslavia,so have heard a few stories as im sure we all have. War is Hell

no and no.

he hasn't made an appearance since a couple of guys messed with me in high school (dont mess with my mum's cheese n gerkin sangers or you'll be in a headlock you'll never escape!!! )

Amen to that!!! no one messes with the sanga's!

 

 

I still question now if that is the actual meaning, that the only way of proving ones self is by fighting. Wouldn't it be the opposite. Knowing that you can and still restraining because it is still the better thing to do, even knowing that the other will make you feel better. I know only on my last wits end would I fight. Knowing that is the only and last remaining option.

 

I live by two quote from a great thinker and writer by that matter. Some know her as Ayn Rand and other quote her as being Atlas Shrugged.

The Argument from Intimidation is a confession of intellectual impotence.

 

The evil of the world is made possible by nothing but the sanction you give it.

 

I find them important to me because I know whenever I feel conflicted They are the only two things which I know make sense to me. If you only ever fight with your fists, what is left of you? What is left of the world you leave for everyone behind you? If you cannot solve your problem with your head then your mouth, then maybe you shouldn't try and solve it with your fist?

Not to be rude, but what are you trying to prove? I don't understand your statement. Is it that you think the only way to prove yourself is to fight and or to kill another person?

 

 

No no no, nothing that bloodthirsty.

 

Put it this way - I work at Coles while im at Uni (you'll notice I always follow my occupation with "Im at uni" lol) and the amount of dead **** useless people I see everyday makes me sooooooo angry. I do not want to end up like some of those wasters. Also, its about a bit of National Service. Im not usually one for outrageous shows of nationalism, but I'm damn proud of this country, and feel like I owe something back.

 

Most of the Army propaga - uh, I mean, "Recuriting Materials" talk about challenges etc. That's more what I'm talking about. Proving to myself that I can do it, I can live in the boonies for weeks on end, I can survive in a hostile environment. Most of all, that I'm not a waster.

 

Maybe its a self confidence thing, I dont know. But I feel like i need to acheive something before I can feel proud of myself, and the military seems like a good way to do that.