1st US Cavalry Division helps 9-year-old boy with muscular dystrophy fulfill dream of becoming a sol - Polidicks

[img]http://usarmy.vo.llnwd.net/e2/c/images/2013/02/11/281792/size0.jpg[/img] [url=http://www.army.mil/article/96282/]Not Duffel[/url] [quote]ORT HOOD, Texas (Feb. 11, 2013) -- Deciding on a career can be a difficult decision some make very late in life, but for 9-year-old Neil Sawh of Houston, there's nothing he wants more than to be a Soldier. The 1st Squadron, 7th "Garryowen" Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, gave Neil Sawh, a fourth grader from Houston, the chance to be a Cavalry Soldier for a day, Feb. 8, here. Neil was diagnosed with a rare strain of Muscular Dystrophy at the age of 7 and he received the opportunity of a lifetime when his parents surprised him with a visit to Fort Hood. [/quote] [img]http://usarmy.vo.llnwd.net/e2/c/images/2013/02/11/281789/size0.jpg[/img] [img]http://usarmy.vo.llnwd.net/e2/c/images/2013/02/11/281791/size0.jpg[/img]

Stuff like this warms my heart.

Thats great for the kid but its a bit worrying kids dream of growing up to be soldiers

[QUOTE=Kopimi;39562414]Thats great for the kid but its a bit worrying kids dream of growing up to be soldiers[/QUOTE] What's wrong with wanting to be a soldier? It's an honorable job. It's like a kid wanting to be a fireman or a policeman or something.

That's awesome. Cavalry as in Apocalypse Now/Helicopters, Air Cavalry?

[QUOTE=rilez;39562450]What's wrong with wanting to be a soldier? It's an honorable job. It's like a kid wanting to be a fireman or a policeman or something.[/QUOTE] whole point of a US soldier is to go in to other countries with far bigger guns than any of the natives and shoot people a police officer protects people and a fireman saves them, a soldier shoots them.

[QUOTE=BrainDeath;39562471]whole point of a US soldier is to go in to other countries with far bigger guns than any of the natives and shoot people a police officer protects people and a fireman saves them, a soldier shoots them.[/QUOTE] Yeah lets leave out the part where he is a part of a country's standing army and is responsible for protecting the United States and it's subjects from foreign conventional threats.

[QUOTE=Kopimi;39562414]Thats great for the kid but its a bit worrying kids dream of growing up to be soldiers[/QUOTE] Soldier's are highly respected individuals, can often be used as examples of pristine health, taught to be well behaved and tactical thinkers. It not like many people go into the army to kill people.

[QUOTE=BrainDeath;39562471]whole point of a US soldier is to go in to other countries with far bigger guns than any of the natives and shoot people a police officer protects people and a fireman saves them, a soldier shoots them.[/QUOTE] This post makes my stomach feel sick.

[QUOTE=BrainDeath;39562471]whole point of a US soldier is to go in to other countries with far bigger guns than any of the natives and shoot people a police officer protects people and a fireman saves them, a soldier shoots them.[/QUOTE] Ridiculous generalization. Soldiers help plenty of people. Soldiers are trained to kill, but they're not murderers. They build infrastructure. They protect the people that live where they're deployed. You're also forgetting about thousands of people in the Army Reserves and National Guard that respond to emergencies and disasters. Soldiers are heroes. They're perfect examples of dedication and physical well being. There are plenty of good reasons for a kid to look up to them.

Skeea incoming

[QUOTE=rilez;39562536]Ridiculous generalization. Soldiers help plenty of people. Soldiers are trained to kill, but they're not murderers. They build infrastructure. They protect the people that live where they're deployed. You're also forgetting about thousands of people in the Army Reserves and National Guard that respond to emergencies and disasters. Soldiers are heroes. They're perfect examples of dedication and physical well being. There are plenty of good reasons for a kid to look up to them.[/QUOTE] Wow rilez you're so stupid didn't you know all soldiers ever are murderers and thats literally all they do

[QUOTE=rilez;39562450]What's wrong with wanting to be a soldier? It's an honorable job. It's like a kid wanting to be a fireman or a policeman or something.[/QUOTE] and you get put through school for free

[QUOTE=Kopimi;39562414]Thats great for the kid but its a bit worrying kids dream of growing up to be soldiers[/QUOTE] What's wrong with that, I wanted to become a soldier too when I was his age.

[QUOTE=Fish Muffin;39562580]Skeea incoming[/QUOTE] tactical skeea strike inbound.

[QUOTE=Kopimi;39562414]Thats great for the kid but its a bit worrying kids dream of growing up to be soldiers[/QUOTE] When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up, join the Gordons, and after retiring from the Army, go into the Queen's Guard. But then Parliament merged the Gordons into some other unit, so I left, joined the US Army, and will begin school next year to become a teacher. There ain't nothing wrong with wanting to be a soldier, it's honourable, and it gives you a healthy dose of reality when you step out on that field.

My childhood dream was to order drone strikes on civilian settlements

[QUOTE=Kopimi;39562414]Thats great for the kid but its a bit worrying kids dream of growing up to be soldiers[/QUOTE] You're right, nobody should ever want to grow up to be the defender of his country and its people. Such a stupid job.

[QUOTE=viperfan7;39562594]and you get put through school for free[/QUOTE] technically that doesn't really count as being a reason for a kid wanting to be a soldier, since A) I doubt that they'd really care about something like that at that age and B) the fact that they're thinking "I'll need to get through school for free" implies that they'd have difficulty getting through it normally. kids aren't really known for being forward thinkers [editline]12th February 2013[/editline] [QUOTE=S31-Syntax;39562731]You're right, nobody should ever want to grow up to be the defender of his country and its people. Such a stupid job.[/QUOTE] it's pretty naive to assume that an army will always be operating defensively and in the best interests of the people at large. most of the time it's one or the other, if either one is applicable at all

there are many stupid people on this planet - try not to be one of them

[QUOTE=S31-Syntax;39562731]You're right, nobody should ever want to grow up to be the defender of his country and its people. Such a stupid job.[/QUOTE] There's nothing to defend US from except from itself but that is job for the police, not army. Glorifying US army is silly since all they do is either nothing or invasions.

[QUOTE=Marbalo;39562822]Please, who the fuck would invade the US. This isn't 1780 anymore. The argument that a country needs a military to defend itself is outdated and bogus, not to mention blatant propagandist nonsense. The less soldiers there are in the world, the closer we'd be to world peace.[/QUOTE] World peace will never happen, therefore we will always need a military.

Kopimi kicked off quite a shitstorm here, though I guess it was inevitable.

[QUOTE=BrainDeath;39562471]whole point of a US soldier is to go in to other countries with far bigger guns than any of the natives and shoot people a police officer protects people and a fireman saves them, a soldier shoots them.[/QUOTE] people actually believe this

[QUOTE=Kopimi;39562414]Thats great for the kid but its a bit worrying kids dream of growing up to be soldiers[/QUOTE] EOD teams are probably the worst, you have no idea how many lives were saved from them defusing bombs. Fucking tragic, man. Also, fuck corpsman / medics.

[QUOTE=BrainDeath;39562471]whole point of a US soldier is to go in to other countries with far bigger guns than any of the natives and shoot people a police officer protects people and a fireman saves them, a soldier shoots them.[/QUOTE] Oh boy, did I just read that. I think I did. :v:

[QUOTE=Moustacheman;39562635]When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up, join the Gordons, and after retiring from the Army, go into the Queen's Guard. But then Parliament merged the Gordons into some other unit, so I left, joined the US Army, and will begin school next year to become a teacher. There ain't nothing wrong with wanting to be a soldier, it's honourable, and it gives you a healthy dose of reality when you step out on that field.[/QUOTE] I think cultural glorification of warfare and conducting warfare is unhealthy and even more so when children are audience to that culture of war and blind patriotism as they grow up. Soldiers do good but to pretend the job of the military isn't largely, primarily to conduct warfare and military conflict is ridiculous. If you're an adult and you feel you want to "serve your country" go ahead, but yes I do find it unsettling that its normal for children to grow up glorifying and idolizing people who are, for better or worse, hired guns for the US military. Whether or not you believe in the military and find service honorable, I feel like it shouldn't be controversial to be unnerved by children with no understanding of how brutal and dehumanizing war can be, dreaming of growing up to be soldiers because of American culture's one sided glorification of war.

[QUOTE=Marbalo;39562822] The less soldiers there are in the world, the closer we'd be to world peace.[/QUOTE] Soldiers don't start wars. World peace is an impossible feat, taking soldiers out of the equation wouldn't do shit

[QUOTE=0FucksGiven;39562989]EOD teams are probably the worst, you have no idea how many lives were saved from them defusing bombs. Fucking tragic, man. Also, fuck corpsman / medics.[/QUOTE] Not even remotely close to anything I was saying.

[QUOTE=S31-Syntax;39562731]You're right, nobody should ever want to grow up to be the defender of his country and its people. Such a stupid job.[/QUOTE] I think soldiers are fine but calling a military "defense" is kind of a shitty thing. It just makes it sound nicer than it really is.