May 04, 2004

Military training

The guy who installed my Comcast connection yesterday seemed to really know his shit about electronics and computers. I asked him whether he went to school to learn what he knew or if he just picked it up jackleg-style.

"The Army taught me," he explained. "I was a radar tech, so this stuff is a piece of cake."

Aha!, I thought. Here's another one. I know a LOT of people who have very good jobs now because of the training they received in the military. In fact, some of the finest millwrights and E&I techs I ever worked with learned their skills in the military, especially the U.S. Navy.

Face it. If you're on a ship at sea or a boat under the water and something goes wrong, your ass BETTER be able to fix it, or the entire crew is up shit's creek.

"Brian" is my cable-guy's name. He is a big, burly fellow with tattoos on both forearms. He's out there plying a trade and he makes a good living at it. I watched him work and wondered what he would be doing today if he hadn't chosen to enter the service and take advantage of the training he received. He's another reason why I don't believe in bringing back the draft.

If you want to enlist to fight, the military has a place for you. If you enlist to learn a skill or to rack up some money for college, the military has a place for you. If you're 18 years old and you don't have a clue about what you want to do with your life, the military has a place for you.

It's not a bad deal. Of course, it's not for everybody. If my daddy owned the local bank and I was being groomed as his successor, I wouldn't want to serve in the military. I've got a golden road already paved for me. Why drag my ass kicking and screaming into uniform?

But if I'm a kid with no prospects, I see a different picture. Somebody is offering me a door out of where I am right now. Plus, they'll PAY ME (although not a fortune) to step through it and take advantage of what I find on the other side. Yeah, I'll have to go to God-forsaken parts of the world and I may be shot at while I'm there, but I still see the deal as a fair trade.

The military is willing to spend a badzillion dollars training me in a valuable skill and I can walk away to the open market when my enlistment is up. Who else offers that kind of opportunity? A volunteer military is pure tit for tat. You serve, and we'll teach you. Yeah, it's dangerous work sometimes, but that's the risk you take for the rewards you reap later.

It damn sure beats a welfare check.