Would you make the ultimate sacrifice?
Discussion
Yes, but I'm ex-forces and joined during the falklands war.
Every day there were images of buring ships etc on the news, and I was 16 still to do my O Levels. A few months later I was in uniform. By then the conflict was over but the possibilty of being in another conflict at some point was now very real.
Every day there were images of buring ships etc on the news, and I was 16 still to do my O Levels. A few months later I was in uniform. By then the conflict was over but the possibilty of being in another conflict at some point was now very real.
No.
I started on the journey of becoming an officer when I was 18 however after spending 12 hours at Grantham, realised I was a) far too much of a wimp to continue and b) didn't like being shouted at when a simple, non-shouted command would have sufficed.
It's immaterial anyway as the next WW - here's hoping we don't have one! - won't involve the number of troops that require conscription to become active again.
I started on the journey of becoming an officer when I was 18 however after spending 12 hours at Grantham, realised I was a) far too much of a wimp to continue and b) didn't like being shouted at when a simple, non-shouted command would have sufficed.
It's immaterial anyway as the next WW - here's hoping we don't have one! - won't involve the number of troops that require conscription to become active again.
Edited by MrBarry123 on Friday 11th November 08:42
toasty said:
It depends on the situation and assumes there would be a choice.
In a WWII situation, where your immediate locality is imminently threatened then yes.
In a Vietnam or Iraq situation, where it's all 1000s of miles away then no, leave that to the professional soldiers.
+1. Exactly this.In a WWII situation, where your immediate locality is imminently threatened then yes.
In a Vietnam or Iraq situation, where it's all 1000s of miles away then no, leave that to the professional soldiers.
I'm not sure many would willingly sign up nowadays as we are all too soft.
I do remember reading a piece in the Times where they interviewed a young guy in iraq who was planting IED's against our troops. I remember thinking I'd do that if Saddam's troops were on our streets.
I see myself as more of a spy / activist than cannon fodder but I guess everyone does!
I do remember reading a piece in the Times where they interviewed a young guy in iraq who was planting IED's against our troops. I remember thinking I'd do that if Saddam's troops were on our streets.
I see myself as more of a spy / activist than cannon fodder but I guess everyone does!
I can highly recommend the documentary series- the first world war, on BBC i player.
Never knew how little I knew about WW1. eg we all wrongly think it was a war fought in France/Belgium.
But as many people died in Africa, as in the Somme, or that the Turks murdered 800,000 civilan Armenians.
But yes, becoming a soldier was one of the few ways of escaping poverty back then. Our national health service was partially built on the notion of our troops being so physically unfit to fight, thus we needed a better, fitter nation. I think there was even a substantial height difference between the officer classes and squaddies, such were the poor diets of the working classes.
anyway, we'd never be battle ready now as a country, every is too fat or wouldn't have time to fight between updating social media or getting a new tattoo to celebrate being a soldier. "I'm not going to fight innit bruv, I ain't got 4G on my network so I can't live stream it"
Never knew how little I knew about WW1. eg we all wrongly think it was a war fought in France/Belgium.
But as many people died in Africa, as in the Somme, or that the Turks murdered 800,000 civilan Armenians.
But yes, becoming a soldier was one of the few ways of escaping poverty back then. Our national health service was partially built on the notion of our troops being so physically unfit to fight, thus we needed a better, fitter nation. I think there was even a substantial height difference between the officer classes and squaddies, such were the poor diets of the working classes.
anyway, we'd never be battle ready now as a country, every is too fat or wouldn't have time to fight between updating social media or getting a new tattoo to celebrate being a soldier. "I'm not going to fight innit bruv, I ain't got 4G on my network so I can't live stream it"
MrBarry123 said:
I started on the journey of becoming an officer when I was 18 however after spending 12 hours at Grantham, realised I was a) far too much of a wimp to continue and b) didn't like being shouted at when a simple, non-shouted command would have sufficed.
Similarly, I passed my RCB and got a bursary to go through university, but at 18 years old I had a brief moment of clarity and realised that I had 3 years of uni, a year at Sandhurst, and an 11 year commission ahead of me. I got cold feet. I was an army kid growing up though, so the thought of having to serve for queen and country is not alien to me. As someone said above, it would be a difficult call to make without being in the situation at the time, but thankfully as I'm now the wrong side of 40, the chances are I'd probably be part of the Home Guard or such like, rather than front line cannon fodder. If indeed the front line would even exist in a modern theatre - maybe drone fodder is more apt?
hacksaw said:
toasty said:
It depends on the situation and assumes there would be a choice.
In a WWII situation, where your immediate locality is imminently threatened then yes.
In a Vietnam or Iraq situation, where it's all 1000s of miles away then no, leave that to the professional soldiers.
+1. Exactly this.In a WWII situation, where your immediate locality is imminently threatened then yes.
In a Vietnam or Iraq situation, where it's all 1000s of miles away then no, leave that to the professional soldiers.
The level of perceived threat will change the way you think, and behave. Though as said previously I don't think anyone can 'know' until in the situation
98elise said:
Yes, but I'm ex-forces and joined during the falklands war.
Every day there were images of buring ships etc on the news, and I was 16 still to do my O Levels. A few months later I was in uniform. By then the conflict was over but the possibilty of being in another conflict at some point was now very real.
I'm ex-forces and signed up later but because of the Falklands and the IRA bombing barracks on the UK mainland.Every day there were images of buring ships etc on the news, and I was 16 still to do my O Levels. A few months later I was in uniform. By then the conflict was over but the possibilty of being in another conflict at some point was now very real.
The air phase of the first Gulf War kicked off the day I finished my trade training. Went on stag for a week while waiting for my first posting. Posted to West Germany and straight into preparing for war.
So, yes. Again.
I think another poster hit the nail on the head for me a little earlier.
If the fight was here, at home, then without shadow of a doubt. In a random country on the other side of the world with no threat to our own? No.
Having said that, any modern war is likely to involve an enormous amount of cyber warfare, and due to my profession and interests I think that I'd be just as beneficial in that effort as front line fighting, if indeed there was any.
If the fight was here, at home, then without shadow of a doubt. In a random country on the other side of the world with no threat to our own? No.
Having said that, any modern war is likely to involve an enormous amount of cyber warfare, and due to my profession and interests I think that I'd be just as beneficial in that effort as front line fighting, if indeed there was any.
I suspect you would realise that you can either go and fight and probably die, or stay at home and probably die.
I would like to think that a world war would never happen again. The world is so interlinked these days it would be pointless.
We have had the world wars, cold war, oil wars, war on terrorism, I think the cyber wars are well under way and have been for at least 10 years. Once that all calms down we will probably go back to being half decent to each other. Space wars next, although we probably did take a few pop shots at each other in the 90s over space.
I would like to think that a world war would never happen again. The world is so interlinked these days it would be pointless.
We have had the world wars, cold war, oil wars, war on terrorism, I think the cyber wars are well under way and have been for at least 10 years. Once that all calms down we will probably go back to being half decent to each other. Space wars next, although we probably did take a few pop shots at each other in the 90s over space.
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