I served in the Australian Army Reserve from 1987-1994 and I want to encourage young men who are fit and able to enlist in their Countries Armed Force. In my title I say "join the Army", but thats just shorthand, I encourage you to join any Branch as they are all equally needed to defend your Nation.
There are many reasons why men think they should not enlist. Here are some common reasons, they fear:
Regimentation
Bullying
Loneliness and/or boredom
Death or Injury
They are all genuine concerns and in no way do I want to belittle them. But I wish to put forward a list of reasons why you should enlist.
Patriotic duty
Tradition
Courage
Discipline
Skill at Arms
Tactics
Leadership
Organisation
Survival
Friendship
Now here I want go through each and give an argument in favour of each.
Patriotic Duty: First and foremost it is your Patriotic Duty to serve, if Conservatives do not believe in the common good then what do we believe in? The Nation is about serving something greater than yourself, in serving your heritage, in defending it's Traditions and in serving it's interests. We are not served if our Nation is defeated or humiliated, it makes us more vulnerable. It also continues the unbroken link with the past, you are the living link between the past and the future.
Tradition: It is hard to think of an organisation that values Tradition more than the Armed Forces. It's drills and ceremonies are often centuries old and have been performed by countless others before you. It remembers and honours wars and battles fought long ago. It honours those who fell long ago and it teaches respect for the past in a way no other organisation does. To put it in perspective, when I served I took part in ceremonies older than both the Australian Army and the Nation of Australia.
Courage: It takes courage to leave home and go and do something hard, to be yelled at and to get little sleep, to learn and learn and learn like you never have before. It takes courage to fire live weapons, something that in many Countries civilians cannot do. It takes courage to learn skills that are dangerous and to learn how to do them safely. It takes courage to learn to fight as well as to fight. I remember one exercise I was on, we were on a hill and we were attack by a company of Infantry with Armoured Personal Carriers and Tanks in support. I couldn't see the vehicles but I could feel the ground vibrating as off in the distant they prepared to attack. Of course it was only training, but training for war non the less. You are tested, even in peacetime training you are tested in a way that you will not be tested elsewhere.
Discipline: The Army is both famous and infamous for it's discipline and it deserves both reputations. The Army can often be stupid, petty and even belittling. But you really do learn discipline, you learn to get up at 3am to do Guard duty, you learn to obey orders, you learn to drill and you learn to do things the Army way. And you learn that discipline is a valuable skill. One that you will use over and over again the rest of your life.
Skill at Arms: In some countries, the United States for example, it is possible to learn skill at arms outside of the Army. But not everyone has assess to weapons or the opportunity to use them in a safe and responsible way. The Army provides men with that opportunity. It teaches the technical aspects, how to clean and maintain and how to use weapons. Not just handguns and rifles, but machine guns, anti-tank weapons, mortars, Tanks and Artillery. Things that even the most avid collector cannot get hold of normally. This helps the male interest in machines and technology, it also encourages confidence and gives men the proper respect for these weapons. They are not toys but weapons of war.
Tactics: All Soldiers learn tactics, they learn how different organisations fit together and how different weapons systems fight together. They learn a different form of discipline, one that complements the more formal version and they gain confidence in performing often complex and difficult tasks.
Leadership: You learn about Leadership, both what is good leadership and what is bad leadership. If you study for any type of promotion you will learn to manage men, how to lead them and how not too, both important skills. You will learn how to instruct, something that is a valuable skill in many professions. I have a Teaching Degree, but the Army taught me how to teach, not the useless Teaching Degree.
Organisation: Allied to Leadership is the knowledge of how organisations work and how they fit together. You learn to operate inside a very complex organisation, one that is both simpler and much harder than nearly any other. It is a good insight into how to do things and in how not to do things.
Survival: For many of us, City living is what we know, it's where we live. But knowing how to live rough is quite a good skill to have. Knowing how to set up a tent, how to cook your own food, how to get along with others in a close envirnonment, meeting people from all walks of life and having no choice but to find a way to get along, these are all important skills. Skills many modern people do not have. I won't say the Army will teach you these skills but you will learn them anyway.
Friendship: Old Army buddies are a real thing, you will never meet the people you meet in the Army again, even if you meet them as Civilians. You will experience a part of life that is for most people unique, never to be repeated. You will meet the smartest and the dumbest people you will ever meet. You will have friends, experiences and memories that you will never forget. That can be a good thing, it can be a bad thing, but it is absolutely a thing.
And there is one final and rather depressing reason why you should join the Army.
We will need to be able to fight!
As I look at the future I do not see universal bliss and brotherhood, I see Governments failing to enforce their own laws and failing in it's most basic duty, to protect it's citizens. I see the ever rising tide of Third World invaders. I see massive debt that cannot be paid back ever. I see Liberalism continuing to push every bad idea that it has because it cannot see any other way to create it's Utopia.
I also see that people are noticing all of this, that people are getting sick of it and that the old arguments of Liberalism are starting to fail. That the "trust us things will get better" is wearing thin. What happens when the two sides notice that no one is being fooled?
When that happens, we will need to be able to fight!
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