Simple... is the military composed of mindless puppets that will do anything for a paycheck, or is it instead made up of dedicated, honorable, and intelligent people that have a great deal to offer their country? Determine what you think then answer.

which military?

Any military, in order to put the answer in context you may list the one you are referring to.

In my case, I was very patriotic. Canada believed in "peace" so I thought hmm, can't lose here: Adventure with morality.

I can't speak for other militaries, however my experience can be summed up in one word. Clusterfuck.

Simple... is the military composed of mindless puppets that will do anything for a paycheck, or is ...

Simple... is the (factory workers and office workers) composed of mindless puppets that will do anything for a paycheck, or is ...?

Baron Max

I am not a puppet! I am a god!

I am not a puppet! I am a god!

You don't act like it or speak like it, so ....how are we to know?

Baron Max

Simple... is the military composed of mindless puppets that will do anything for a paycheck, or is it instead made up of dedicated, honorable, and intelligent people that have a great deal to offer their country? Determine what you think then answer.There are lots of dedicated people in the military and most of them are not there for the paycheck, since the pay isn't all that great unless you move up in the ranks. I'm not sure about the average IQ but most of them are not well educated; the percentage with degrees is a lot lower than the general population.

However, it is the purpose of their training to turn them into more-or-less mindless puppets, because if they thought about what they were doing it would slow them down and even cause them to question their orders. Mindless patriots, my-country-right-or-wrong, that's for sure. Who else could fight for someone like George Bush?

The one trait that military recruitment tends to select for is racism. After all, their job is to kill people who aren't like them, and for a racist that's recreation. It's not universal but it does seem like you're more likely to run into a racist in a uniform than out among the civilians. Just hope he's one of yours or he'll shoot you for fun or rape your daughter, or both.

Isn't it a soldier's job to do what (s)he's told?

the typical soldier is trained to follow orders.
the only free thinkers in the military are the generals.

the typical soldier is trained to follow orders.
the only free thinkers in the military are the generals.

Not other officers?

The military is a tool. Can a hammer think? A wrench? No, and if it did it would probably say "stop bashing me into this wall, you asshole!!"

The military is what some traditional Greko/Roman philosophers might call a "necessary evil."

In some idealized society where resources are equitably distributed and all have a fair shot, etc. there would be no need for a military.

The military is something we have been forced to create because we unfortunately live in "the real world" and there are people who would bomb the crap out of us because they believe their emperor is literally a God.

(Imperial Japan around 1941 or so...)

That being the case, we have to maintain this horribly powerful, mindless thing that acts to inflict the most horrific of human behaviors on "the enemy" which is loosely defined by nature.

When you look at the number of people the United States has incinerated, poisoned, shot, bombed, tortured, raped, killed or mutilated in the 20th century alone we make Hitler look like a hobbyist who fancied engaging in human atrocity for entertainment on a Sunday afternoon.

By definition there can not be any freethinker in the military. case closed...

The military is an abstract. It's an idealized model that we try and force people to comply with, but the fact is there are always going to be "free thinkers" in the military. People are free thinkers by definition, and militaries are comprised of people.

So either the military is full of free thinkers, or there isn't a single standing military on earth.

Just people with a job and a paycheck and a boss who says "drop the ordinance here."

Meanwhile they think "George Bush is an asshole!"

I was in the U.S. military for 6 years. I believe in god and your right not to. I oppose abotion and capital punishment. I would prefer people to own a rocket launcher over an automatic. I think my country is just about the best on earth but that we can make some improvements. I feel that I am a fairly independent thinker and I knew quite a few in the military. People enter the military in the U.S. for many reasons and the government encourages education for promotion. Like any large organization there is a tendency for group think and that is actively and passively encouraged but leadership is encouraged and ingenuity rewarded. There is a tendency towards conservative thinking but you are using peoples lives as chips so that is to be expected. It is true that there are some pretty dim people in the military but they are usually encouraged subtly to leave. Killing is a dangerous business and people are amazingly creative about resisting being killed so it takes a fairly cunning individual to be an effective soldier. Combat is the ultimate team sport one mistake can get hundreds killed so you try to weed out the mindless drones as fast as you can. What may appear as a solid ant like organization often is just part of an image of invincibility that is one of the jobs that an effective military is expected to accomplish.

Like any profession, they cannot be expected not to take work home with them.

By definition there can not be any freethinker in the military. case closed...

Of course there are free thinkers in the military, the one who know how to play the game wins...you cannot play the game then stay home and cry.

The military is a vestigial artifact of bygone days where numbers and might determined victory. The passing of this era was clearly demonstrated in Vietnam, and in case the idiots behind that debacle didn't quite get it the first time they are having another go of it in Iraq.

In 1942 you could conquer via horsepower and airborne devastation. Nowadays "the enemy" just moves, and no industrialized nation has any delusion that such aged strategies will get them anywhere in the world.

...except one. With the War on Drugs and the War on Terror - and frankly the War on Communism - the United States demonstrated that WWII-style combat has absolutely no effect on an ideology or a black market or an ad-hoc military tactic.