People see the military as extreme and difficult. However, a lot of people give up on it before even trying. For most, it can be fun. Some people join programs for the military such as JROTC or even bootcamp and still end up quitting during or at the end of the program.
For others, it’s a struggle. Jewels Price, whose father was medically discharged from the Marines in 2004 following a training accident, said it was a hard time for her father, but he was strong willed and pushed through.
After his accident he was given an award and currently serves as director of Recon and Sniper foundation, a non-profit organization supporting Recon Marines. Sgt. Price, a former Reconnaissance Marine with 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, speaks to Marines, family, friends and supporters during a ceremony to present him with an Action Trackchair at Camp Lejeune, NC, June 7, 2016.
“My dad after high school went into the military, where he got a lot of good skills about how to survive in the wild, and protect himself and others,” Price said. Many people today still honor him, as he was an inspiration to all, she added.
Abuse of power in the military is an unfortunate problem right now, and for a while, people have been victims of this abuse. Elvira M., whose father was in the Ukrainian military mentions the DADT policy in the military, about how it protects people from getting a worse time during service.
“I think that the military is no longer a way of protecting the country, and the people in it are more of livestock the government can use in order to get what they want,” she said.
The reason this rule was made was due to the excessive hazing of the LGBTQ+ community. The problem as of now is the lack of attention to abuse of power in the military.
“In the female branch, about more than 70% of all females in the military experienced harassment and abuse one way or another, even if it comes from another female officer,” Elvira said.
She mentions that the nation’s military justice has passed some of these cases by calling it “PT” or “punishment for stepping out of line”.
People need the military as it’s the biggest thing in every country, as it’s the source of power. With each military force, there are still people with families and soldiers who are representing their country and family. There are soldiers in the military who have kids and a high majority of them want them to be in the military as well. But some adults don’t understand the risks their children endure. There are some disadvantages, but they should still be taught what to do to protect the future generations.
Protecting and helping develop the future generations should hold more importance than it already does. The majority of soldiers have some sort of mental, physical and chronic problems due to the heavy stress put upon them, such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Adjustment Disorder, depression, insomnia, and other ailments.
The military has always had problems with discrimination and abuse of power. However, many see an opportunity for the military to change for the better.