19 y/o on The Verge of Homelessness

[annamoon720]

@hurtingsara Because rich people don't need it but it's a great option for those without money and connections and skills?

 

[hurtingsara]

@annamoon720 I work in mental health, and I am literally begging you to think harder than this.

 

[annamoon720]

@hurtingsara I'm a rational thinker and I noticed that instead of presenting a credible argument or analysis you instead resorted to what is essentially a veiled insult.

 

[wonder896]

@annamoon720 But you don't get it, military bad, even if it exists as an avenue to escape poverty. Like the military used to be viewed as a chance for someone to help elevate their economic class, but too much 'military bad' trying to change that.

 

[cnme363]

@hurtingsara Those recruiting practices are fucking disgusting and there isn't an ethical excuse for them.

That said, you do not have to go into a combat role when you join the military. You can work in a finance office, or in logistics, or take a medical role, or any number of non combat jobs. You choose your job when you join, they cannot force you to take a specific job unless you go in "Open General" and do not specify the job you'd like to have.

I completely understand having reservations against joining, and I would discourage anyone who doesn't truly want to be there from signing up. But it is a viable option for those who are short on options, and can set you well ahead in life if you take advantage of every opportunity available to you.

 

[hurtingsara]

@cnme363 I invite you to consider that PTSD isn’t just sustained in combat. The sexual assault rates on domestic bases are staggering - and underreported. That’s more my wheelhouse, anyhow. We’re drowning in just as many files.

 

[cnme363]

@hurtingsara Unfortunately, I'm more familiar with that than I'd like to be, and it isn't isolated to domestic bases. You're right, it's absolutely a very serious issue in the military, and worth considering when joining. Whether or not it's a complete deterrent in joining is up to the individual but everyone should be more aware of it.

 

[aliaconnors]

@cnme363 This. The vets who have PTSD have gone through and seen some shit. Most do not end up that way. My entire family has been educated, skilled, great pay (even though it doesn’t look like it on paper), their kids went to college FOR FREE and they had no mental health issues. They weren’t in dire need. They joined and enjoyed their time. Traveled the world. Made friends all over the planet. They got PAID housing money. I mean cmon..for a 3 or 4 year commitment.

 

[cnme363]

@aliaconnors Yep. If you've got no particular reservations against it and need some direction after high school, the military can be a great thing. I only did 4 years, and I made some mistakes along the way in not taking advantage of the opportunities offered, but the opportunity was certainly there.

I know people who get out after 20 years, get paid a pension + disability FOR LIFE, have multiple degrees, 20 years of experience (a lot of it in management), substantial savings in their TSP, and they're less than 40. Hypothetically you could join up at 18, separate at 38, pick up a high paying job and retire before you're 60 with more than enough to coast on and generational wealth for your kids. And you never have to see combat to do it.

 

[aliaconnors]

@cnme363 I wish more people understood these benefits. If anyone on this thread has questions they can reach out to me.

 

[quentinlwilliam]

@hurtingsara Lmfao, if you don’t think that the military is a better option than staying homeless and trying to figure shit out is insane. He has a broke down car and he can’t fix the engine. Even if he Ubers to work, say at a retail store or fast food place, $15 an hour, if he has no place to stay, were you going to provide him a shelter, food, and necessities? If not, the military does. Obviously you haven’t been broke, if you were broke at one point in your life, the military would’ve been an option you considered. I’ve personally seen people turn their lives around by joining the military, to say it 100% doesn’t is just a lie.

 

[hurtingsara]

@quentinlwilliam I’m the one who gets to try to help them when they come home with PTSD, our most urgent waitlist is almost nine months. If the military damages you beyond repair, you’ll be in the same place you started, or worse. They require a supply of people in dire enough straits to take the risk of being chewed up and spit back out, it’s why higher education will never be affordable in this country again. It’s why they don’t want to raise wages. It’s literally all to maintain the supply, you seriously still don’t see that?

 

[quentinlwilliam]

@hurtingsara Okay, cool story. However in his situation, the best step forward would be to take the risk if he has nothing left. I guess he could go through retail, fast food, and other jobs while living in his car. But I mean, how realistic is that? I’m not sure, at this point I would join. The damages to my mental health is not comparable to the damage to my financial and basic necessities.

 

[oldwoodsman]

@quentinlwilliam Yes, and sometimes the health insurance and career skills change lives

 

[dutchesseve]

@hurtingsara

Because it’s true, Jarhead Jerry.

Ouch.

Why do you think high schools in wealthy areas send recruitment opt-out forms home with first-day paperwork,

Rich areas tend to be liberal and rich, either skewing the area to dislike the military or afford opportunities to their kids instead of needing the military to do it.

but schools in poor areas don’t?

Because those kids would benefit more from the opportunity? This also has nothing to do with military and is entirely up to the schools. Many poor school districts don’t even allow recruiters on campus.

Why do you think the first comment on every post from a young kid in poverty with limited options is “join the military?”

Because they can join with zero skills and few qualifications, but will pay them an above average wage, free healthcare, virtually unlimited opportunities, free college while in and after when they’ll pay you to go to free college.

My university had to bar the recruiters from setting up in the free food pantry.

Why?

IN IT.

Heaven forbid they come to the people that could benefit the most?

So they could shill at you while you got some peanut butter to survive finals week.

Better you never hear about the options? If the peace corps did it, would you call it shilling?

The US military is a death machine that eats poor kids.

Not really. Most people that go into combat arms just be are middle class white kids. Most poor and or people of color pick support/skills based jobs that are less likely to see combat.

The rate of combat deployments has dropped to an incredibly low level, with the intensity matching suit. A poor kid joining the military today is almost guaranteed to not see combat in their initial enlistment, they can get out and get paid to go to free college.