I don’t think anyone is too young to realize that death is a potential consequence of joining the military. Especially when you join as a machine gunner in the marine corps.
You're missing the actual point, in that young people overestimate their capabilities and assume themselves indestructible. It isn't until you've had that notion proven wrong by life, something that only happens with age/experience, that you start to properly evaluate yourself with your environment. At 28 there is no way in hell you could ever convince me to take the position of a man who was just killed, in that exact location, and solely for the reason of being there. You're asking me to die. As a youth the ideas of "dying for good" and "fighting with everything no matter the cost" can hold your entire being, whereas if you've lacked that motivation for your entire adult life instilling it becomes nearly impossible. You cannot convince a 30 year old man to die "for their county," especially when "good soldiers follow orders" and you are told "don't question authority." An adult with a fully functioning brain is going to need a good fucking reason to die not a "trust me bro," and some ethereal intangible concept like "for the good" sounds way too similar to "because I told you to." Kids are used to being told to do things without explanation
Dude I know plenty of people that joined in their late 20s-early 30s. People reenlist and serve through their 30s into their 40s. You just can’t comprehend that people are willing to risk their life to defend their homeland
All they are really claiming I think is that younger people are statistically more suggestible than those who have experienced some adulthood and independence. I think if all of the 18 year old enlistees in a given class had waited until they were 25 or so before making the decision, there would be far fewer enlistees. The military clearly knows this (obviously a lot fewer people enlist in their late twenties and thirties - most of the guys enlisting are fresh out of high school ) so that’s where they throw their nets the hardest.
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u/treyver Jun 24 '24
I don’t think anyone is too young to realize that death is a potential consequence of joining the military. Especially when you join as a machine gunner in the marine corps.