Another step for me.

[Alya Mizar (Tsybil)]

The only people we turn down on mental grounds are catatonic schizophrenics. The people who like to shoot people face a heavy recruiting effort from many police depts and our "security" companies.

No offense but am I the only one that finds this somewhat scary?

I thought things like the movies Jarhead and Full metal jacket (although masterpieces on their own) to be pure fiction (leaving out the odd exception here and there), but reading the above I shudder at the thought that the pictures painted might actually be more real then I thought...

You do know that our foreign policy under the outgoing administration has been based on the TV show 24 don't you? This is NOT one of my flippant comments, but has been discussed in our news. (Yes, I do make a lot of flippant comments.)

Every. Single. War. Movie. has far more fact in it than anyone of us would like. Except maybe Kelly's Heroes.

The University of Washington once hosted a Police Explorer Scout 2 week summer training session. I have NEVER seen so many high school bullies in my life.

For every war of the 20th and 21st centuries, we have recruited criminals under the get out of jail to shoot people program (not an official name). Well not lifers, but it is a traditional wartime sentencing option for first and second offenders. Violent crimes are not filtered out, although drug crimes have been.

During Viet Nam Police Depts recruited in 'Nam itself, and were allowed to offer a 3 month early out. As first offenders almost always got their record erased under the GOOJTSP program, who knows how many criminals became cops then.

The USA is a scary place in a lot of ways. You live in a far more civilized country.

[ScarlettPheonix]

Not entirely correct Tsybil- anyone who is convicted of a felony or is banned from being around firearms can not legally be in the military under normal circumstances. I make no claims as to what CIA and black ops recruiting is like.

But yea, "Prison or join the Marines" is a common choice still today in some areas.

With drug use, unless its a felony conviction and as long as you're honest about any arrests/rehab/usage to your recruiter and at any security interviews there's no penalty for past drug use. You do need to stay clean- Army regs states that each unit must do a 10% of personnel random drug test every month and 100% at least once a year. I knew several people who were kicked out (and prosecuted under UCMJ) for drug use- in one case a sailor had a meth lab in his locker.

In another case I know of- bunch of young dumb and stupid infantry guys (not that there are really any other type- lol ) got drunk and happy off some banned alcohol and prescription meds.

All but one got kicked out, he got demoted from E-4 (P) to E-1 and was put on what's called Article 15 or restriction for two weeks because he had a good performance record and was his first time screwing up like that. His wife was not happy with him when she heard...

However, if you go to your closest superior and admit that you have a drug/alcohol problem you can get help and stay in the service under most circumstances.

[Sugami]

I for one wouldn't like to be protected by an army of people that go to the army 'because they like to shoot people'.

I thought that's the reason why Americans joined the army Hur hur guns

You Europeans have no idea of the scale of this country.

We're not stupid, we do know how big America is

Not to mention I get to learn how to live away from my parents.

That's what university is for

[Alya Mizar (Tsybil)]

You Europeans have no idea of the scale of this country.

We're not stupid, we do know how big America is

Not only are you not stupid, you get a far better education than we do. But in general Europeans, who may know the size of our country in numbers, have no real idea of its scale. One is intellectual knowledge, the other from personal experience.

There is quite a difference in learning that America is over 5,000 Km from coast to coast and taking 4 or 5 days to drive across it.

Examples from my life:

Some Dutch friends, in Seattle for the Magic: the Gathering world championships were looking at a map of the states of Washington and Oregon planing a post tourney trip. They complained that our American maps had no details.

"Details? Like what?"

"Streets in the towns"

I pointed out that the distance from Seattle to Spokane was 500 Km and the map was about 700 Km by 800 + Km.

Their eyes went wide. "oh..." was the only response.

One fall I picked up a German hitchhiker in Wyoming who was heading to the east coast. He had landed originally in N. Y. and flown to LA. He was now trying to actually see the country he had flown over.

He was on break from college studying agricultural agronomy. We were in the western great plains, traversing through hundreds of miles of sunflowers. He was telling us a wonderful BS story about fields in Germany "so big the combines go up them one day and come back the next." I am smiling to myself. That time of year you cannot see over the sunflowers, but the next crop east is corn. You can see over the corn.

As if on cue, we topped an overpass and spread out before us, horizon to horizon was corn. I will swear that I saw in his eyes the same haunted look as was in the eyes of the German troops of WWII when they hit the Russian steps.

"Mein Got..... where are the fences?"

There were no fences. It was all one farm. Horizon to horizon. He had never seen the horizon on land before in his life.

[Sugami]

Not only are you not stupid, you get a far better education than we do.

Now tell me something I don't know

But in general Europeans, who may know the size of our country in numbers, have no real idea of its scale. One is intellectual knowledge, the other from personal experience.

I've been to America twice (and Canada once), does that count as personal experience?

Heh those Dutch people picked the wrong map