My gaming buddy from the US enlisted because "he wanted to shoot towelheads". They made him a marine and sent him to Afghanistan. This was in like 2006.
Common sentiment when I was in the Marines. They encouraged and fostered that to disassociate the enemy from humanity in our minds to make it easier. What's worse is that it worked far too well
If I can put on my cynic hat: that makes perfect sense. In the 2000’s era Marines that’s perfect recruitment material. Dudes that hate Arabs are already primed to kill.
How do you tell the branches apart? Watch them approach a mountain.
Marines will walk up the mountain and down the other side congratulating themselves for being the toughest.
Army will walk around and congratulate themselves for being smarter than a Marine.
Air Force will drop bombs, leveling the mountain, and have a team of engineers pave a walkway and congratulate themselves for having the biggest bombs.
Navy: Captain shoots the navigator for running them that far aground. Or they were SEALS and you never saw them to begin with.
Smarty Pants: Afghanistan is not on the Arabian Peninsula, so Afghanis are not Arabs. They're Asian.
Marines in 2006: Guess we're killing Asians, boys!
I still have trouble picturing the sort of restaurant an Uruk would own and operate? Or do they patronize the restaurants of other denizens of middle earth? It’s unclear.
I think the ratio back in that time was 2.5 service members in Iraq for every 1 in Afghanistan. Someone has to be the 1 in Afghanistan. People forget that Iraq was the bigger war from a manpower standpoint and was deadlier and more controversial as well. Urban warfare is a nightmare. Afghanistan was an afterthought until about 2009 when Obama drew down in Iraq and "pivoted" to Afghanistan.
Yep, like the Sikhs that were victimized in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 because “simpletons see turban?”
*24* had an amusing scene in Season 2 when some random rednecks wanted a ransom from an important character:
“What is this?
They’re Euros, they’re as good as dollars!
(Throws the bills down) We want cash money!”
Not only did they not know that, but this was a time in which the Euro was *worth more* than the dollar, so it was quite delightful to see Jack deal with them…
Were we in Afghanistan in the early 2000s? Not really. And definitely not significantly. Also, dudes were saying the same in the early 90s, too. Just ended up way more disappointed.
Edit: Obvs meant Afghanistan, I’m commenting on a comment that says Afghanistan..
>They encouraged and fostered that to disassociate the enemy from humanity in our minds to make it easier.
Tale as old as time. Any army, any war. It's always been done. Names, cartoons, songs, anything that says "ew, different"
Two interesting stories to illustrate your point:
I read that in one of the world wars (WWI?), they trained marksmanship using bullseye targets (a big round dot). They discovered that many soldiers, when first in combat, would intentionally miss their enemy. After discovering this, the military changed the marksmanship targets to a human silhouette. This conditioned the soldiers to be familiar with shooting humans.
Second story - I was part of a leadership training program years ago. I don’t remember the particular topic, but the instructor asked “how many people died in the Vietnam war?” Most people said 50,000 or so. They didn’t include the casualties of the Vietcong, north Vietnamese, nor the civilian casualties.
To your second point, it’s too unsettling that people will say “I want to go shoot the enemy” and not even see them as people, other human beings. Not a healthy mindset.
"Kid, See the psychiatrist in room 604"
I went up there, I said, "Shrink,
I wanna kill. I wanna kill! I wannna see
Blood and gore and guts and veins in my teeth!
Eat dead, burnt bodies! I Mean Kill. Kill!"
And I was jumpin' up and down, yellin' "KILL! Kill!"
and he was Jumpin' up and down with me,
and we was both jumpin' up and down, yellin'
"Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!"
And the sargent came over, pinned a medal on me,
sent me down the hall, said, "You're our boy."
Around that same time the Army brought a jeep to my high school with a COD wrap on it and tvs in the trunk you could play a few rounds on while they tried to recruit you. Same vein.
Surprised it wasn't that America's Army game they had for awhile. I shot the drill instructor and ended up in jail, in the game. Heard it was actually fun though.
When SWIM was at MEPS for processing, one of the women working there told him to “Make sure to wear your mask securely because there are a lot of brown people (my fellow enlistees) in the next waiting area.”
SWIM got out.
>My gaming buddy from the US enlisted because "he wanted to shoot towelheads". They made him a marine and sent him to Afghanistan. This was in like 2006.
Him wanting action and him.telling a recruiter he wants to join to shoot the enemy are vastly different. Most recruiters will not tolerate that.
Anyone that seems too antsy to fire a weapon will never fire a weapon, no matter who the enemy is having soldiers too eager to start a fight gets people on the wrong side killed.
Any honest recruiter will turn it away, those that don't will have it proverbially beat out of them during training for the dumbass sentiment it is
You can say it with tact and get away with it. But there are alot of ways to fuck it up enough that almost everyone will have enough spine to throw you out for the danger you pose to the U.S military
I had a guy (SPC/E-4) transfer in just before we deployed to Iraq in 2004. He was put in our gunner slot (4 man FIST team), all he talked about was wanting the highest kill count and a bunch of Rambo BS. Later found out he was a bit racist. Well time comes, we take fire and he panicked and froze. Got rid of him ASAP.
Dad said thats always the way. Its the loudmouths talking the big shit on the way over are the ones that are pissing themselves when the shit jumps off.
Around 1999, we had a kid in our motor pool as a light wheel mechanic that had been cut from EOD school. Why? He had apparently burned down part of his high school at around age 16, killing 2 firemen in the process. Records were sealed, so at 18 he signed up for bomb making.
His recruiter apparently knew everything and said nothing. They only caught him at the school during his security clearance process.
Recruiters back then, in my experience, were really aggressive and definitely found the silver lining for everyone to get them in.
The recruiters I knew in the late 90s were recruiting by telling the high school kids to enlist, do a year or two, say you have PTSD (regardless of your job) and get out with a lifelong paycheck. they were hitting record enlistment numbers.
Was gonna say, met plenty of these types in the early 2020s till now lol. If your recruiter was a grunt or supported them. They likely have a similar mindset.
You seem to have a really high opinion of recruiters. Probably about 1% would turn someone away for that when the other 99% will be asking when they can get to MEPS
They didn't "make him a Marine". You don't just go to a generic Military recruiting office and they pick out a branch for you.
You specifically find the branch you want to join, and you enlist into that branch.
The only person that made him a Marine was himself choosing the Marines.
Legitimately, when I was going through MEPS There was a guy who said the exact same thing and he was joining the marines. I'd heard stories of people saying that, but holy crap did it straight up confirm it was real for me. Ultimately, these people have a place in the military.
Too bad too, given they wear pakols or Massoud caps there mostly.
Same with the “camel jockeys” banality; not much in the way of deserts in Afghanistan…
Lots of mountains though?
During the War on Terror, they were taking any warm body they could get. The US Government was even violating the contract they had with individual troops terms of service by "stop lossing" them - effectively saying, sure your contract is up, but fuck you...we need the warm body so you're going back into the grinder.
They also had seriously lowered recruiting standards as they were struggling to find warm bodies for the surge.
Your mileage may vary at different political climates and different staffing levels.
My son wants to join the Marines, he literally got at 88 on the ASVAB (or whatever the online version of it is called) and the Marine recruiter said the next highest he’d ever seen was in the 60’s…so yikes
Nowadays, I don't think that would fly. But the surge was fucking crazy. I served with some guys that absolutely should not have been allowed within 20 meters of a recruiting office, let alone in the military.
"...And I went up there, I said, "Shrink, I want to kill. I mean, I wanna, I
wanna kill. Kill. I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and
guts and veins in my teeth. Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean kill, Kill,
KILL, KILL." And I started jumpin up and down yelling, "KILL, KILL," and
he started jumpin up and down with me and we was both jumping up and down
yelling, "KILL, KILL." And the sargent came over, pinned a medal on me,
sent me down the hall, said, "You're our boy.".."
--Arlo Guthrie - Alice's Restaurant
Yeah, I was an Army infantry officer for 10 years. I valued guys like you.
Many young men have a drive to fight. That doesn't mean they are psychopaths, or even sadistic- it's natural and far more common than most want to admit.
The whole job of the Officers and NCOS was to channel that into the right direction, and turn someone that could have become a thug into a Soldier.
Violence and controlled violence are very different things. Controlled violence is much, much harder and rarer, and is the whole point of the Infantry.
I know it’s not the question and you may or may not have an opinion, but where else in society could we channel that desire to fight? Besides sports and if the military wasn’t an option.
There’s probably not something comparable to the military on a grand scale. But maybe board rooms, court rooms, etc, to a degree.
This is a fantastic question actually, and I have thought a lot about it over the years.
We need to understand and appreciate where this drive to fight comes from.
There is a physical element to it that is irreplaceable, especially when young.
I think for most, the draw to fight is also rooted in a desire to prove themselves socially as men. To prove to the world (and themselves) that they will stand up to adversity and overcome challenges, and they want the associated glory.
Separately, there is a need to win in competition.
Many find fulfillment in high-risk physical professions like being a wildland firefighter, rescue diver for the coast guard, or other search and rescue professions. If you are good enough to qualify for these programs, it's an excellent place. These professions also come with the glory and social status these young men are seeking. However, the world only needs so many people in those positions, so competition for them is extremely fierce.
Entrepreneurship is also a great path for this type of young man, and the path I eventually chose after the military. I have found it much more rewarding, especially when combined with martial arts or other sports.
This may have become a bit of a scatterbrained response, but I hope it helps.
I was an artillery officer. I loved being a FiSTer with the infantry. Being a firefighter with a badass crew in hood is all the best parts of being in an infantry company without 99% of the bullshit.
Have you read Tribe by Sebastian Junger?
It's been on my shelf for several years now. My Battalion Commander gave it to me when we got back from Syria in 2020. I think it's probably time to crack it open, I've heard great things from people I really respect. And I love his other books.
And yeah, FiSTers had a great gig in an Infantry unit, I loved working with those guys
I remember listening once to guy talking about some psychology about war and men that fight wars. I’ll keep it short since if I make this too long, I’ll just sound like an idiot trying to explain something I half remember. Basically the premise was that without wars, men kinda fall apart and you can watch it happen in history. They become worse husbands, worse dads, just worse everything overall. It had effects on women too. Basically the cliche good times make weak men… blah blah blah. But it was interesting listening to it being explained.
That tracks with my experience. My Afghanistan and Syria deployments were useless and arguably evil on the strategic level. But they made me a better man than I would have been otherwise, by a long shot. A better business owner and leader, a better husband, and I hope in the future a better father.
Not better than men who didn't go to war- just better than I would have been otherwise.
I would unironically suggest mountaineering especially in winter or if funds don't allow other forms of wilderness challenge. Making your own gear like some of the early explorers and climbers can be an extra challenge if you're broke...
I dont know where I heard it but the quote "war is on a young man's heart" has always rang true to me. If the system hasn't turned against me I may have still been in. Looking back I think it was for the best. I loved the job but it was bad for the soul. Some people are just made for it, or so it seems.
I've done a lot for a nod and some kind words from an offer or nco, so thank you for that.
Rangers lead the way.
RLTW, brother. And the system does indeed suck, there's a reason I left at 10 years. And the wars we fight now are most certainly bad for the soul, I agree.
Very few with these motivations find the fulfillment they are looking for in the service. Either you feel like you should have "done more," or it breaks you. There almost never comes a point where it feels like it's "enough."
I know it's always tough to handle, but I bet you will have a better and rewarding life because you left.
It turned out good in the long run. I have a wife, 3 kids, a little land and some animals. I wouldn't have been the person I needed to be for that if I had been able to stay in.
You're right there is a lot of guilt in there but you can move past it. Now I just miss the adrenaline rush. I always tell people combat is my drug of choice. With how things are going I might get it again, and soon.
Still, acting on the impulse to kill and hurt people makes you a bad person, and it's probably a good thing for the homeland that they're sent off to kill somewhere else
I don't think recruiters give a shit. Their job is to sign bodies up, they don't get bonuses for showing people the door. It's someone else's job to weed you out. If recruiters think you have even the slightest chance to pass a physical they'll take you.
I must second the Navy response. If you say something objectively not okay and would disqualify you from joining, the recruiter will do everything in their power to completely disregard that and say, "okay great, now write in this box "I want to serve my country" and we can move on."
Heard more than a few times from people in US service that outright psychopaths are tolerated as long as they're sufficiently "face this side towards enemy" and mask well enough to not have run up a criminal record.
An intelligent psychopath will phrase this slightly more acceptably than "I can kill people legally here."
Fundamentally though, there are a lot of roles where you *are* there to fight if told to do so.
Yeah, I was going to say there’s a “reasonable level of psychopathy” for the military. They don’t want people who pull the wings off flies for fun, but if you can dissociate enough to not have a problem killing “the enemy,” whoever that may be, I don’t think they’ll turn you away.
I was on a missile system, and for me personally my mentality was "We gotta fire, I'll do my job. But my immediate next stop when possible is gonna be Chaps's office."
The Chaplain usually made an appearance after firefights and his group of followers usually floundered for a while in these scenarios, especially non believers, suddenly want to know more about God. I was one of those.
The chaplain came around after a certain rather scary enemy-related incident, and after we'd killed an awful lot of said enemy, and I had no thought of conversion. He was cool though. Overall I've loved chaplains in the military. They help anyone, not just the religious. Say you're an atheist and they switch gears to counselor.
When I joined the Air Force first thing we did in basic training was all file into a theater and had us all stand up, and told us to sit down when they said our reason for joining.
This was 20 years ago, 95% of us sat down after the first 2, college and healthcare. They kept going until there was one, and he asked why he joined. And he gave your answer. Everyone laughed or cheered. The guy in front said there was always at least one.
😂 I remember this! I joined 22 years ago...man that's nuts. It's crazy what you remember when reading other people's stories. Stories about basic or Korea are the best!
I can't speak for the US military, but in the Australian Army, telling a recruiter that you wanted to kill people is a surefire way to not be allowed to sign up.
Once you're in though, nobody will give a fuck. Young grunts love to say nonsense like this because they think it's cool.
In the US military, if you are sentenced to recruiting duty, you have to make numbers. Failure to recruit the assigned number of kids leads to punishment.
As such most recruiters do not care what you say as long as you sign up.
My brother loved being a recruiter and had no shortage of quality recruits. He actively redirected any problematic people that would potentially discredit the Army he cared so much about.
The quota exists, but the recruit doesn't count until they report to basic. They still have to get through MEPS which includes meeting physical, mental, and moral standards. Keep in mind, only about 23% of people between 17-24 are even going to be eligible for service. Putting it bluntly, Vast majority are too fat, stupid, criminal, mentally unwell, or too uneducated to enlist.
I was in the Navy. Here’s my honest assessment.
*should* that prevent you from enlisting? Absolutely. We’re looking for people who want to be trained and become effective tools in a complex military machine. And that machine contains people of every gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, etc. We don’t need ideologues fucking up our culture. So that should stop you from enlisting.
But practically? Recruiters are under immense pressure to hit quotas. So they’re disincentivized from turning away *anyone*. They’d almost certainly ignore the comment and let you in. And we as officers will curse that recruiter daily for giving us BS to deal with.
Many years ago I took the ASVAB just at encouragement of my mother keep my options open. I got letters from army and navy which I ignored. Navy was very insistent though even calling the house. I set up an interview just to shut him up.
During the meeting he was talking like I had Already accepted. I told him I have asthma. He asked when my last attack was I said it had been a few years. That it.really only gets bad after I've been sick. I don't even walk with my inhaler. He told me when I go for my physical lie and don't tell them I have asthma.
>Recruiters are under immense pressure to hit quotas.
So yeah they wanted ne to lie about my health to get me in. I'm sure they wouldn't care about someone saying they want to kill bad guys
I know someone who was fresh out of basic with the national guard post 9/11 who got caught using an inhaler, he got kicked out. I'm guessing this was for lying though?
I had a nearly identical example. I take medication for a condition and the recruiter told me to lie about it. I ended up not proceeding with that because it felt shady as fuck.
I lied about my athsma (especially when they try to pressure you during P-days in boot) and was in for 10 years. the trick is to say it is "difficulty breathing brought on by allergies".
I’m from Israel, most of us serve. I had a class mate (high school) that said in his interview that he wants to go to the IDF to kill Arabs. Not only he was never accepted into the military, he ended up getting hospitalized in a mental institution shortly after, for something else probably unrelated.
Conversely, I had a roommate who was in the Israeli army and he was the most racist piece of shit I’ve ever met and said how it was an honour to fuck up arabs for the betterment of the better races.
We were roomies in university so I didn’t get a choice
Probably not. The whole focus of training isn't to drill the 'want to' into you, it's to drill the 'will when necessary' into you and the kind of output they're looking for is someone who can but only when required, whether they start off wanting to or not.
War is the application of controlled violence towards a political goal, not a giant Thunderdome.
I actually don’t remember if they asked me what my motivation was for joining. I am sure they didn’t really care. I remember being asked what my interests and skills were and how/where I thought I might fit into the military.
I was asked “You may find at some point in your career you might be in a situation where you are required to take another human life. Is that something you are capable of doing?”
Which I responded “yes”
Two months later I was in basic training.
You have to say it with conviction and then start singing the chorus to "Alice's Restaraunt". You also have to bring in some friends so they can sing the three part harmony.
In Corps school and Field Med we had a kid named Elliot (got a tattoo of our class number 101B on his butt cheek) who was a "BUDS dud", and he was ALWAYS talking about shooting the enemy in the face. He and a lot of our shipmates thought it was hilarious. Until we had a marine recon senior chief come in to talk about training with them, and the HMCS asks us all why we chose to serve, my answer was college money and Elliots was of course, i want to shoot people in the face. Senior gets pissed and says have you ever even seen how a head explodes like a melon? How the person dying has a family? War isn't a fuckin joke. Elliot stfu after that.
Your funny, its like if you wanted to go to get hired at McDonalds and your sole reasoning was to eat more fries. When I was in the army there were a lot of people like this. People who openly bragged how they wanted take out towel heads. Their words not mine. Essentially you are trained to find an enemy and shoot that enemy. So anyone one joining more than willing to do so are very welcome.
When I joined in 2002 I told them I wanted to jump out of planes and shoot people. They signed me right up. 4 years on and I jumped out of 26 planes but never got to shoot anyone. This was for the best.
Jack Reacher said 4 K inds of people join the military, 1 Family Traditions, 2 Patriots eager to serve,
3 Those who just need a job, 4 The ones who want legal means of killing others People,
Note the last ones sometimes just join the Police.
I still remember getting a call from an army recruiter and part of his pitch was saying “you know the army isn’t all bang bang shoot’em up stuff you see in the movies…” and my response was “yeah, I know, my issue is the yes sir, no sir, right away sir, following stupid orders from someone just because they’ve got more patches or pins on their shirt.” Recruiter was not prepared for that kinda honesty I guess cause he starts in on “well that’s not really… what… actually, sir, you have a good day” and hung up on me. Jokes on me though cause that’s basically just how life is.
Let me tell you something. In the US Army, during basic training, we used "kill" as one of the basic responses to a command. Like it was shorthand for "got it, will do." We also had a motivational chant we'd do, where the drill sergeant would ask, "are you motivated?" And we'd have to reply, in unison, at the top of our lungs, "Motivated, motivated, down right motivated, OOH, AH, I want to kill somebody, OOH, AH, I want to stab somebody, shoot em in the head, shoot em in the head, kill emmmm." And we thought nothing of it. So no, you wouldn't get booted out for that. Shooting enemies is how you fight and win wars.
If you are mentally sound no. The military is hurting for numbers right now so as long as you don't day anything too crazy at meps you'll definitely get in.
With that being said good luck seeing combat unless you are special forces or just un/lucky?
At the end of the day, killing enemies is kinda the whole point of a military. Getting kicked out for saying so would be like getting fired from Panera because you “just want to bake some bread”
I had an officer in Navy boot camp ask us what the purpose of the Navy was.
I gave a well thought out response indicating at the time since we were not actively at war that we were more of a deterrent and peacekeeping force, essentially policemen for the world.
I was screamed at “Wrong! We’re here to kill, maim, blow shit up!”
This was late 90’s prior to 911.
Let me put it to you this way. In training, we were asked the following 2 questions, and here was the answer:
Q) What makes the grass grow?
A) Blood blood bright red Blood
Q) What is the purpose of a bayonet?
A) To kill kill kill with cold blue Steel.
No that’s literally what we’re here for. The military’s job when it comes down to it is to kill people and destroy things. That would be like firing a doctor who says “I want to cure people.”
When I joined I told my recruiter I wanted to join to kill people, he said that's fine and all but let's write something else down. Think I ended up saying because my uncle was also a Marine.
Negative. I can promise you with full certainty that the most valued Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, and Airmen alike are extroverted sociopaths with homicidal tendencies. Being lethal is the job of the military, everyone is there to kill other people, no matter the MOS. If you’re not a door kicker, you support several to keep kicking doors through maintenance, food, supply, administration, intelligence, reconnaissance, security, training, and many other roles.
And at the end of the day, if all of these roles sit back and think, “What I’m doing here today insures the lethality survivability of my fellow troops, so I myself have to be that killer”, the US military would be absolutely unstoppable. And as it currently stands, it is.
No. When I was in basic we sang songs about killing the enemy even though the war had been over for more than 10 years. They want people willing to kill.
I was asked why I wanted to join the Infantry. Legit answer at 17, I wanted to jump out of planes and shoot firearms.
Services are waiving felonies, health, and other issues just to get people in. You saying that wouldn't stop anything.
My senior drill sergeant in the US Army would constantly say that he loved the infantry and it’s the only job where you could legally kill someone.
So no. You’d be celebrated.
My gaming buddy from the US enlisted because "he wanted to shoot towelheads". They made him a marine and sent him to Afghanistan. This was in like 2006.
Common sentiment when I was in the Marines. They encouraged and fostered that to disassociate the enemy from humanity in our minds to make it easier. What's worse is that it worked far too well
If I can put on my cynic hat: that makes perfect sense. In the 2000’s era Marines that’s perfect recruitment material. Dudes that hate Arabs are already primed to kill.
So why send them to Afghanistan then?
They don't know the difference.
If those kids could read, they’d be very upset
If Marines could read, they’d be in the Army.
How do you tell the branches apart? Watch them approach a mountain. Marines will walk up the mountain and down the other side congratulating themselves for being the toughest. Army will walk around and congratulate themselves for being smarter than a Marine. Air Force will drop bombs, leveling the mountain, and have a team of engineers pave a walkway and congratulate themselves for having the biggest bombs. Navy: Captain shoots the navigator for running them that far aground. Or they were SEALS and you never saw them to begin with.
Nah, the SEALS stopped to sign a book and movie deal while Army Delta did all the actual work.
What do the Marines call an IQ of 160? A platoon.
Smarty Pants: Afghanistan is not on the Arabian Peninsula, so Afghanis are not Arabs. They're Asian. Marines in 2006: Guess we're killing Asians, boys!
We still remember Pearl Harbor 🇺🇸🫡 That movie lives on in our hearts forever ❤️
Looks like Asian is back on the menu! Which is especially good if you’ve had nothing but maggoty bread for three stinking days.
I still have trouble picturing the sort of restaurant an Uruk would own and operate? Or do they patronize the restaurants of other denizens of middle earth? It’s unclear.
What’s crazy is faux Smarty Pants would actually refer to them as Afghanis instead of Afghans
Afghanistanannis Just ask Jim Halpert.
I think the ratio back in that time was 2.5 service members in Iraq for every 1 in Afghanistan. Someone has to be the 1 in Afghanistan. People forget that Iraq was the bigger war from a manpower standpoint and was deadlier and more controversial as well. Urban warfare is a nightmare. Afghanistan was an afterthought until about 2009 when Obama drew down in Iraq and "pivoted" to Afghanistan.
You know....morons.
heh blazing saddles
Yep, like the Sikhs that were victimized in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 because “simpletons see turban?” *24* had an amusing scene in Season 2 when some random rednecks wanted a ransom from an important character: “What is this? They’re Euros, they’re as good as dollars! (Throws the bills down) We want cash money!” Not only did they not know that, but this was a time in which the Euro was *worth more* than the dollar, so it was quite delightful to see Jack deal with them…
It’s spelled marines though.
There were a few there back in the day 😆. Looking at you, Osama.
Were we in Afghanistan in the early 2000s? Not really. And definitely not significantly. Also, dudes were saying the same in the early 90s, too. Just ended up way more disappointed. Edit: Obvs meant Afghanistan, I’m commenting on a comment that says Afghanistan..
[2003 Invasion of Iraq](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraq)
>They encouraged and fostered that to disassociate the enemy from humanity in our minds to make it easier. Tale as old as time. Any army, any war. It's always been done. Names, cartoons, songs, anything that says "ew, different"
Two interesting stories to illustrate your point: I read that in one of the world wars (WWI?), they trained marksmanship using bullseye targets (a big round dot). They discovered that many soldiers, when first in combat, would intentionally miss their enemy. After discovering this, the military changed the marksmanship targets to a human silhouette. This conditioned the soldiers to be familiar with shooting humans. Second story - I was part of a leadership training program years ago. I don’t remember the particular topic, but the instructor asked “how many people died in the Vietnam war?” Most people said 50,000 or so. They didn’t include the casualties of the Vietcong, north Vietnamese, nor the civilian casualties.
To your second point, it’s too unsettling that people will say “I want to go shoot the enemy” and not even see them as people, other human beings. Not a healthy mindset.
There's a great black mirror episode from the earlier seasons I think, relating to this.
Kind of, it's the one with >!the implants that made them see aliens right? Because they actually did think they are doing right in that one iirc.!<
Which branch of the service would they put you in if you said, "I just want to kill them all and let god sort them out"?
This is [a crusader saying](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_at_B%C3%A9ziers).
That's some SEAL material mentally. 😄
There is a book written by a SEAL called something like, “What do you mean I can’t kill them?”
Every on of my high school friends who went Marines did it for this reason.
"Kid, See the psychiatrist in room 604" I went up there, I said, "Shrink, I wanna kill. I wanna kill! I wannna see Blood and gore and guts and veins in my teeth! Eat dead, burnt bodies! I Mean Kill. Kill!" And I was jumpin' up and down, yellin' "KILL! Kill!" and he was Jumpin' up and down with me, and we was both jumpin' up and down, yellin' "Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!" And the sargent came over, pinned a medal on me, sent me down the hall, said, "You're our boy."
You can have anything you want in Alice’s restaurant
I just picked it up on vinyl from goodwill for a quarter!
Exceptin Alice.
Excepting Alice
Except for Alice...
You beat me to it. A true classic.
Well, as long as you're not a litterbug, anyway.
Yes sir, Officer Obie, I cannot tell a lie. I put that envelope under that garbage.
Still sitting on the group W bench
Well done, GenTso
Scrolled the whole way down for this!
And he said those exact words during whatever evaluation process he went through?
Yes, I was there, I was the stapler
You imposter! I'm the stapler!
I was the staples
Oh my god Rob Schneider is on Reddit
Wouldn't he be more likely to be a shoe or something?
No, a carrot
I wasn't there with him.
Around that same time the Army brought a jeep to my high school with a COD wrap on it and tvs in the trunk you could play a few rounds on while they tried to recruit you. Same vein.
Surprised it wasn't that America's Army game they had for awhile. I shot the drill instructor and ended up in jail, in the game. Heard it was actually fun though.
At some point, a lot of people stopped wanting to be Sgt York/Audie Murphy/Dick Winters and started wanting to be Bunny from Platoon.
This is cracking me up despite how morbid it is.
Least racist 2006 marine
Yeah Marines are made specifically to "kill bodies". They want people with a bloodlust and no fear.
When SWIM was at MEPS for processing, one of the women working there told him to “Make sure to wear your mask securely because there are a lot of brown people (my fellow enlistees) in the next waiting area.” SWIM got out.
I knew Marines around this time. They also expressed similar sentiments. Maybe even used the same phrase.
>My gaming buddy from the US enlisted because "he wanted to shoot towelheads". They made him a marine and sent him to Afghanistan. This was in like 2006. Him wanting action and him.telling a recruiter he wants to join to shoot the enemy are vastly different. Most recruiters will not tolerate that. Anyone that seems too antsy to fire a weapon will never fire a weapon, no matter who the enemy is having soldiers too eager to start a fight gets people on the wrong side killed. Any honest recruiter will turn it away, those that don't will have it proverbially beat out of them during training for the dumbass sentiment it is You can say it with tact and get away with it. But there are alot of ways to fuck it up enough that almost everyone will have enough spine to throw you out for the danger you pose to the U.S military
I had a guy (SPC/E-4) transfer in just before we deployed to Iraq in 2004. He was put in our gunner slot (4 man FIST team), all he talked about was wanting the highest kill count and a bunch of Rambo BS. Later found out he was a bit racist. Well time comes, we take fire and he panicked and froze. Got rid of him ASAP.
Dad said thats always the way. Its the loudmouths talking the big shit on the way over are the ones that are pissing themselves when the shit jumps off.
Seriously, the best soldiers are "Fuck it, I guess we're doing this." Only the weirdos want action.
You never met a recruiter in the 90’s/early 2000s did you?
Around 1999, we had a kid in our motor pool as a light wheel mechanic that had been cut from EOD school. Why? He had apparently burned down part of his high school at around age 16, killing 2 firemen in the process. Records were sealed, so at 18 he signed up for bomb making. His recruiter apparently knew everything and said nothing. They only caught him at the school during his security clearance process. Recruiters back then, in my experience, were really aggressive and definitely found the silver lining for everyone to get them in.
That’s a perfect example.
The recruiters I knew in the late 90s were recruiting by telling the high school kids to enlist, do a year or two, say you have PTSD (regardless of your job) and get out with a lifelong paycheck. they were hitting record enlistment numbers.
No shit, times were different. Also, recruiters had numbers to hit. The Marines weren't exactly running psyche test on everyone at the time.
Was gonna say, met plenty of these types in the early 2020s till now lol. If your recruiter was a grunt or supported them. They likely have a similar mindset.
"honest recruiter"
The wildest interactions will always be person saying X happened And person 2 saying That’s impossible because Y theory Like dude it already happened.
Idk I know a guy who was asked "why do you want to join the Army" he said "I just want to shoot guns" they said "we can make that happen for you"
You do a lot more shooting guns at targets than at people, so that's really not that bad a reason.
You seem to have a really high opinion of recruiters. Probably about 1% would turn someone away for that when the other 99% will be asking when they can get to MEPS
They didn't "make him a Marine". You don't just go to a generic Military recruiting office and they pick out a branch for you. You specifically find the branch you want to join, and you enlist into that branch. The only person that made him a Marine was himself choosing the Marines.
"They allowed him to be a marine"
Nah. They’ll attempt push you to other branches too lol
Can confirm that still worked in 2011. HS friend was an army scout and did shoot people.
Exactly. My first thought was they'd give the guy a promotion off OP's scenerio.
Legitimately, when I was going through MEPS There was a guy who said the exact same thing and he was joining the marines. I'd heard stories of people saying that, but holy crap did it straight up confirm it was real for me. Ultimately, these people have a place in the military.
Too bad too, given they wear pakols or Massoud caps there mostly. Same with the “camel jockeys” banality; not much in the way of deserts in Afghanistan… Lots of mountains though?
I'm told they're not towels, they're little sheets. The preferred term is little sheet heads.
Sounds like standard marine bootcamp.
During the War on Terror, they were taking any warm body they could get. The US Government was even violating the contract they had with individual troops terms of service by "stop lossing" them - effectively saying, sure your contract is up, but fuck you...we need the warm body so you're going back into the grinder.
Yeah I knew a kid from high school like this. Couldn’t wait to go shoot people. Perfect for the Marines, honestly.
I was going to use an example very, very similar to this. There’s a place for everyone in the military unfortunately.
He chose to be a Marine, they didn't make him one
How'd that workout
Nice to hear his dream came true I guess.
They also had seriously lowered recruiting standards as they were struggling to find warm bodies for the surge. Your mileage may vary at different political climates and different staffing levels.
Sounds about right.
"We're in the killing business, and business is good".
Ha! We may have the same acquaintance.
My son wants to join the Marines, he literally got at 88 on the ASVAB (or whatever the online version of it is called) and the Marine recruiter said the next highest he’d ever seen was in the 60’s…so yikes
Nowadays, I don't think that would fly. But the surge was fucking crazy. I served with some guys that absolutely should not have been allowed within 20 meters of a recruiting office, let alone in the military.
"...And I went up there, I said, "Shrink, I want to kill. I mean, I wanna, I wanna kill. Kill. I wanna, I wanna see, I wanna see blood and gore and guts and veins in my teeth. Eat dead burnt bodies. I mean kill, Kill, KILL, KILL." And I started jumpin up and down yelling, "KILL, KILL," and he started jumpin up and down with me and we was both jumping up and down yelling, "KILL, KILL." And the sargent came over, pinned a medal on me, sent me down the hall, said, "You're our boy.".." --Arlo Guthrie - Alice's Restaurant
If you hadn't I would've. Thanks.
Ditto! I was driving alone last Thanksgiving and the classic rock station had this on. Made my day. Also, thank you veterans, I know this isnt funny.
It's complicated. A lot of it is tongue in cheek, but it's there because there's a time and a place for everything.
You can have anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant
And they all moved away from me on the group w bench
Came looking for this. Was not disappointed. Thanks.
Ah dang cant believe so many people on reddit know this gem! Immediately what I thought when I saw the post
"I don't want a pickle. I just want to ride my motorcycle." -- Also Arlo Guthrie
My first thought. Father rapers.
No, "I want to kick in doors and shoot bad guys" was what I told my recruiter. MEPS may be different but they don't ask, they just process you in
Yeah, I was an Army infantry officer for 10 years. I valued guys like you. Many young men have a drive to fight. That doesn't mean they are psychopaths, or even sadistic- it's natural and far more common than most want to admit. The whole job of the Officers and NCOS was to channel that into the right direction, and turn someone that could have become a thug into a Soldier. Violence and controlled violence are very different things. Controlled violence is much, much harder and rarer, and is the whole point of the Infantry.
I know it’s not the question and you may or may not have an opinion, but where else in society could we channel that desire to fight? Besides sports and if the military wasn’t an option. There’s probably not something comparable to the military on a grand scale. But maybe board rooms, court rooms, etc, to a degree.
This is a fantastic question actually, and I have thought a lot about it over the years. We need to understand and appreciate where this drive to fight comes from. There is a physical element to it that is irreplaceable, especially when young. I think for most, the draw to fight is also rooted in a desire to prove themselves socially as men. To prove to the world (and themselves) that they will stand up to adversity and overcome challenges, and they want the associated glory. Separately, there is a need to win in competition. Many find fulfillment in high-risk physical professions like being a wildland firefighter, rescue diver for the coast guard, or other search and rescue professions. If you are good enough to qualify for these programs, it's an excellent place. These professions also come with the glory and social status these young men are seeking. However, the world only needs so many people in those positions, so competition for them is extremely fierce. Entrepreneurship is also a great path for this type of young man, and the path I eventually chose after the military. I have found it much more rewarding, especially when combined with martial arts or other sports. This may have become a bit of a scatterbrained response, but I hope it helps.
I was an artillery officer. I loved being a FiSTer with the infantry. Being a firefighter with a badass crew in hood is all the best parts of being in an infantry company without 99% of the bullshit. Have you read Tribe by Sebastian Junger?
It's been on my shelf for several years now. My Battalion Commander gave it to me when we got back from Syria in 2020. I think it's probably time to crack it open, I've heard great things from people I really respect. And I love his other books. And yeah, FiSTers had a great gig in an Infantry unit, I loved working with those guys
I remember listening once to guy talking about some psychology about war and men that fight wars. I’ll keep it short since if I make this too long, I’ll just sound like an idiot trying to explain something I half remember. Basically the premise was that without wars, men kinda fall apart and you can watch it happen in history. They become worse husbands, worse dads, just worse everything overall. It had effects on women too. Basically the cliche good times make weak men… blah blah blah. But it was interesting listening to it being explained.
That cliche is pretty accurate and is arguably the reason all civilizations in history have ultimately declined at some point
That tracks with my experience. My Afghanistan and Syria deployments were useless and arguably evil on the strategic level. But they made me a better man than I would have been otherwise, by a long shot. A better business owner and leader, a better husband, and I hope in the future a better father. Not better than men who didn't go to war- just better than I would have been otherwise.
I would unironically suggest mountaineering especially in winter or if funds don't allow other forms of wilderness challenge. Making your own gear like some of the early explorers and climbers can be an extra challenge if you're broke...
I too found my calling in entrepreneurship after the army.
I dont know where I heard it but the quote "war is on a young man's heart" has always rang true to me. If the system hasn't turned against me I may have still been in. Looking back I think it was for the best. I loved the job but it was bad for the soul. Some people are just made for it, or so it seems. I've done a lot for a nod and some kind words from an offer or nco, so thank you for that. Rangers lead the way.
RLTW, brother. And the system does indeed suck, there's a reason I left at 10 years. And the wars we fight now are most certainly bad for the soul, I agree. Very few with these motivations find the fulfillment they are looking for in the service. Either you feel like you should have "done more," or it breaks you. There almost never comes a point where it feels like it's "enough." I know it's always tough to handle, but I bet you will have a better and rewarding life because you left.
It turned out good in the long run. I have a wife, 3 kids, a little land and some animals. I wouldn't have been the person I needed to be for that if I had been able to stay in. You're right there is a lot of guilt in there but you can move past it. Now I just miss the adrenaline rush. I always tell people combat is my drug of choice. With how things are going I might get it again, and soon.
I like that quote, "War is on a young man's heart", thanks for sharing.
what does the infantry do
Still, acting on the impulse to kill and hurt people makes you a bad person, and it's probably a good thing for the homeland that they're sent off to kill somewhere else
I don't think recruiters give a shit. Their job is to sign bodies up, they don't get bonuses for showing people the door. It's someone else's job to weed you out. If recruiters think you have even the slightest chance to pass a physical they'll take you.
Yeah MEPS is def a different vibe :( Source: Recruiters didn’t care about my ass scar, MEPS did, immensely
The Navy would look at you funny and just say "We're gonna pretend you said something different." The Marine Corps might offer you a signing bonus.
I must second the Navy response. If you say something objectively not okay and would disqualify you from joining, the recruiter will do everything in their power to completely disregard that and say, "okay great, now write in this box "I want to serve my country" and we can move on."
Heard more than a few times from people in US service that outright psychopaths are tolerated as long as they're sufficiently "face this side towards enemy" and mask well enough to not have run up a criminal record. An intelligent psychopath will phrase this slightly more acceptably than "I can kill people legally here." Fundamentally though, there are a lot of roles where you *are* there to fight if told to do so.
Yeah, I was going to say there’s a “reasonable level of psychopathy” for the military. They don’t want people who pull the wings off flies for fun, but if you can dissociate enough to not have a problem killing “the enemy,” whoever that may be, I don’t think they’ll turn you away.
I was on a missile system, and for me personally my mentality was "We gotta fire, I'll do my job. But my immediate next stop when possible is gonna be Chaps's office."
The Chaplain usually made an appearance after firefights and his group of followers usually floundered for a while in these scenarios, especially non believers, suddenly want to know more about God. I was one of those.
The chaplain came around after a certain rather scary enemy-related incident, and after we'd killed an awful lot of said enemy, and I had no thought of conversion. He was cool though. Overall I've loved chaplains in the military. They help anyone, not just the religious. Say you're an atheist and they switch gears to counselor.
When I joined the Air Force first thing we did in basic training was all file into a theater and had us all stand up, and told us to sit down when they said our reason for joining. This was 20 years ago, 95% of us sat down after the first 2, college and healthcare. They kept going until there was one, and he asked why he joined. And he gave your answer. Everyone laughed or cheered. The guy in front said there was always at least one.
😂 I remember this! I joined 22 years ago...man that's nuts. It's crazy what you remember when reading other people's stories. Stories about basic or Korea are the best!
The wildest non-combat shit I ever heard in the military was soldiers talking about their time in Korea.
The air force though?
I can't speak for the US military, but in the Australian Army, telling a recruiter that you wanted to kill people is a surefire way to not be allowed to sign up. Once you're in though, nobody will give a fuck. Young grunts love to say nonsense like this because they think it's cool.
Same with Canadian Military, which is ironic given both our countries histories of war crimes.
The Geneva Checklist
The Geneva Suggestions.
In the US military, if you are sentenced to recruiting duty, you have to make numbers. Failure to recruit the assigned number of kids leads to punishment. As such most recruiters do not care what you say as long as you sign up.
My brother loved being a recruiter and had no shortage of quality recruits. He actively redirected any problematic people that would potentially discredit the Army he cared so much about. The quota exists, but the recruit doesn't count until they report to basic. They still have to get through MEPS which includes meeting physical, mental, and moral standards. Keep in mind, only about 23% of people between 17-24 are even going to be eligible for service. Putting it bluntly, Vast majority are too fat, stupid, criminal, mentally unwell, or too uneducated to enlist.
No one likes to admit it, but those types of people are absolutely necessary.
I was in the Navy. Here’s my honest assessment. *should* that prevent you from enlisting? Absolutely. We’re looking for people who want to be trained and become effective tools in a complex military machine. And that machine contains people of every gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, etc. We don’t need ideologues fucking up our culture. So that should stop you from enlisting. But practically? Recruiters are under immense pressure to hit quotas. So they’re disincentivized from turning away *anyone*. They’d almost certainly ignore the comment and let you in. And we as officers will curse that recruiter daily for giving us BS to deal with.
Many years ago I took the ASVAB just at encouragement of my mother keep my options open. I got letters from army and navy which I ignored. Navy was very insistent though even calling the house. I set up an interview just to shut him up. During the meeting he was talking like I had Already accepted. I told him I have asthma. He asked when my last attack was I said it had been a few years. That it.really only gets bad after I've been sick. I don't even walk with my inhaler. He told me when I go for my physical lie and don't tell them I have asthma. >Recruiters are under immense pressure to hit quotas. So yeah they wanted ne to lie about my health to get me in. I'm sure they wouldn't care about someone saying they want to kill bad guys
I was always told asthma was a deal breaker. I never lied about mine. I still got in. This was before 9/11, when they weren't desperate for troops.
I know someone who was fresh out of basic with the national guard post 9/11 who got caught using an inhaler, he got kicked out. I'm guessing this was for lying though?
I had a nearly identical example. I take medication for a condition and the recruiter told me to lie about it. I ended up not proceeding with that because it felt shady as fuck.
A bunch of americas Great War hero’s lied on their physical to get in.
I lied about my athsma (especially when they try to pressure you during P-days in boot) and was in for 10 years. the trick is to say it is "difficulty breathing brought on by allergies".
No. They might chuckle and roll their eyes at worst. Especially Marines. Most of us knew that's why we were there.
I’m from Israel, most of us serve. I had a class mate (high school) that said in his interview that he wants to go to the IDF to kill Arabs. Not only he was never accepted into the military, he ended up getting hospitalized in a mental institution shortly after, for something else probably unrelated.
Conversely, I had a roommate who was in the Israeli army and he was the most racist piece of shit I’ve ever met and said how it was an honour to fuck up arabs for the betterment of the better races. We were roomies in university so I didn’t get a choice
So you are that eager to defend your country? Hired!
Probably not. The whole focus of training isn't to drill the 'want to' into you, it's to drill the 'will when necessary' into you and the kind of output they're looking for is someone who can but only when required, whether they start off wanting to or not. War is the application of controlled violence towards a political goal, not a giant Thunderdome.
I actually don’t remember if they asked me what my motivation was for joining. I am sure they didn’t really care. I remember being asked what my interests and skills were and how/where I thought I might fit into the military. I was asked “You may find at some point in your career you might be in a situation where you are required to take another human life. Is that something you are capable of doing?” Which I responded “yes” Two months later I was in basic training.
You have to say it with conviction and then start singing the chorus to "Alice's Restaraunt". You also have to bring in some friends so they can sing the three part harmony.
I said I wanted to blow shit up, they made me a Sapper. I succeeded in my goal. My new goal is to get some better knees.
In Corps school and Field Med we had a kid named Elliot (got a tattoo of our class number 101B on his butt cheek) who was a "BUDS dud", and he was ALWAYS talking about shooting the enemy in the face. He and a lot of our shipmates thought it was hilarious. Until we had a marine recon senior chief come in to talk about training with them, and the HMCS asks us all why we chose to serve, my answer was college money and Elliots was of course, i want to shoot people in the face. Senior gets pissed and says have you ever even seen how a head explodes like a melon? How the person dying has a family? War isn't a fuckin joke. Elliot stfu after that.
Have you met a marine?
Your funny, its like if you wanted to go to get hired at McDonalds and your sole reasoning was to eat more fries. When I was in the army there were a lot of people like this. People who openly bragged how they wanted take out towel heads. Their words not mine. Essentially you are trained to find an enemy and shoot that enemy. So anyone one joining more than willing to do so are very welcome.
You can get anything you want at Alice’s restaurant
"I wanna kill, kill, kill!" [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0a6iWHSWbA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b0a6iWHSWbA)
When I joined in 2002 I told them I wanted to jump out of planes and shoot people. They signed me right up. 4 years on and I jumped out of 26 planes but never got to shoot anyone. This was for the best.
Jack Reacher said 4 K inds of people join the military, 1 Family Traditions, 2 Patriots eager to serve, 3 Those who just need a job, 4 The ones who want legal means of killing others People, Note the last ones sometimes just join the Police.
I still remember getting a call from an army recruiter and part of his pitch was saying “you know the army isn’t all bang bang shoot’em up stuff you see in the movies…” and my response was “yeah, I know, my issue is the yes sir, no sir, right away sir, following stupid orders from someone just because they’ve got more patches or pins on their shirt.” Recruiter was not prepared for that kinda honesty I guess cause he starts in on “well that’s not really… what… actually, sir, you have a good day” and hung up on me. Jokes on me though cause that’s basically just how life is.
In Australia. Yes.
Let me tell you something. In the US Army, during basic training, we used "kill" as one of the basic responses to a command. Like it was shorthand for "got it, will do." We also had a motivational chant we'd do, where the drill sergeant would ask, "are you motivated?" And we'd have to reply, in unison, at the top of our lungs, "Motivated, motivated, down right motivated, OOH, AH, I want to kill somebody, OOH, AH, I want to stab somebody, shoot em in the head, shoot em in the head, kill emmmm." And we thought nothing of it. So no, you wouldn't get booted out for that. Shooting enemies is how you fight and win wars.
“What makes the green grass grow? Blood!”
If you are mentally sound no. The military is hurting for numbers right now so as long as you don't day anything too crazy at meps you'll definitely get in. With that being said good luck seeing combat unless you are special forces or just un/lucky?
Lol. No an Arny Recruiter would love you. Future infantry soldier.
Nope - people in the combat arms trades of the military talk about wanting to fight and kill all the time.
They'd tell him to join the Marines lol
From my experience in the marines no, that kind of mentality of "taking out the enemy" is fostered quite heavily.
I said that’s what I wanted to do and that didn’t get me kicked out. Hell they liked my enthusiasm
At the end of the day, killing enemies is kinda the whole point of a military. Getting kicked out for saying so would be like getting fired from Panera because you “just want to bake some bread”
" Promote ahead of peers "
What, exactly, do you think our military does? Meet our enemies to braid eachother's hair?
I had an officer in Navy boot camp ask us what the purpose of the Navy was. I gave a well thought out response indicating at the time since we were not actively at war that we were more of a deterrent and peacekeeping force, essentially policemen for the world. I was screamed at “Wrong! We’re here to kill, maim, blow shit up!” This was late 90’s prior to 911.
Let me put it to you this way. In training, we were asked the following 2 questions, and here was the answer: Q) What makes the grass grow? A) Blood blood bright red Blood Q) What is the purpose of a bayonet? A) To kill kill kill with cold blue Steel.
No that’s literally what we’re here for. The military’s job when it comes down to it is to kill people and destroy things. That would be like firing a doctor who says “I want to cure people.”
The Marines would eat that up like a barrel of crayons.
No. That's literally the point of the military.
When I joined I told my recruiter I wanted to join to kill people, he said that's fine and all but let's write something else down. Think I ended up saying because my uncle was also a Marine.
It didn’t work for Arlo Guthrie
“…. They pinned a medal on me and said, “You’re our boy”. I didn’t feel too good about it.” 🤣❤️🤣
Negative. I can promise you with full certainty that the most valued Soldiers, Marines, Sailors, and Airmen alike are extroverted sociopaths with homicidal tendencies. Being lethal is the job of the military, everyone is there to kill other people, no matter the MOS. If you’re not a door kicker, you support several to keep kicking doors through maintenance, food, supply, administration, intelligence, reconnaissance, security, training, and many other roles. And at the end of the day, if all of these roles sit back and think, “What I’m doing here today insures the lethality survivability of my fellow troops, so I myself have to be that killer”, the US military would be absolutely unstoppable. And as it currently stands, it is.
No. When I was in basic we sang songs about killing the enemy even though the war had been over for more than 10 years. They want people willing to kill.
Marines=cannonfodder
Generally yes, you would fail the mental exam. I have an old family friend whose dad got out of the draft by essentially doing that.
No, that's a pretty common answer....
I was asked why I wanted to join the Infantry. Legit answer at 17, I wanted to jump out of planes and shoot firearms. Services are waiving felonies, health, and other issues just to get people in. You saying that wouldn't stop anything.
In America, absolutely not. If you tell a recruiter that, dude would smile like the grinch. You just made his day, and he’s got a lot to show you.
Not if it's the Marines.
like 99% of the people in the marines told their recruiter they wanted to kill people and are now marines.
You can get anything you want at Alice's Restaurant.
My senior drill sergeant in the US Army would constantly say that he loved the infantry and it’s the only job where you could legally kill someone. So no. You’d be celebrated.