Comment Re:What a benefit! (Score 1) 53
I live in australia in a port that used to get a lot of US ships (and marines) visiting, so I spent a fair bit of time propping up bars listening to US marines telling stories about fucked up shit in Iraq and Afghanistan. One thing that surprised me was that literally every single soldier I spoke to told me stories about being super poor and disadvantaged and that the military was their way out of the hood, serve a bunch of years, get some school done, hopefully come out of the other end into a viable career. Note: None of these where officers. I've always presumed the officer class had different career motivations.
But yeah, get out of poverty, get a degree , get a job. I dont think once did I hear one of them say "To defend america" or "To fight for freedom".