First to pop off...............2018
Discussion
Nanook said:
Willy Nilly said:
Todays youth would and will step up if and when push comes to shove, just like they have been doing for centurys.
I'd like to believe that, but I'm not sure I do.It's true though. When I joined the army at the age of 16, my dad thought I was "a waster". I was "a shower of s
t" who "couldn't handle the discipline", and I'd be home within three months. (Junior soldiers back then could break their contracts up to the three month point if they decided the army wasn't really their thing).Less than three years later I was keeping a cool head taking Iraqi prisoners in trenches, and responding to incoming heavy machine gun fire by sending a contact report and maneuvering my vehicle to try to keep my section safe. I'm not "special", nor particularly "hard". It just takes a bit of training and some faith in your team really, and you know you'll do anything for them because you trust them to do the same for you. I served 25 years in the end.
So while "the youth" that stand in front of you right now might not look much, with the right training and (to crib from Full Metal Jacket) "the proper motivation", you'd be surprised what you can mould that "youth" into...
irocfan said:
Bloody hell just 61 too. To think all his life he’s been active and fit then that happens . If he’s critical now it makes you wonder how much of a recovery he’ll make . Sad
Nanook said:
I take your point, but the 'odds' are a bit different these days.
If you told todays kids they were going to war, that the enemy was at least as well equipped as they were, and there was a really good solid chance they weren't coming home, at Iwo Jima over 10% of soldiers that saw action came home in a box, I'm not sure the current generation have the sort of mental fortitude that is required.
Hopefully we'll never have to know.
If this was 1939, and I was 33, would I be drafted?
I design warships, so probably not, but did they draft people at 33 back then?
Presuming you were not in a reserved occupation, in 1939 no. By 1941 though, you'd have been required to register, and quite possibly called up.If you told todays kids they were going to war, that the enemy was at least as well equipped as they were, and there was a really good solid chance they weren't coming home, at Iwo Jima over 10% of soldiers that saw action came home in a box, I'm not sure the current generation have the sort of mental fortitude that is required.
Hopefully we'll never have to know.
If this was 1939, and I was 33, would I be drafted?
I design warships, so probably not, but did they draft people at 33 back then?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ww2peopleswar/timelin...
Sheets Tabuer said:
Bloody hell, what's with these 60 years olds dropping dead, booze?
Lifestyle I guess - if you don't look after yourself heart disease will finish you off around that age. If you make it past your early 60s without a heart attack you're probably good to go on a lot longer!Isao Takahata, co founder of Studio Ghibli https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/apr/06/studi...
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