U.S. Army Special Operations Command, in a lengthy study, reported a wide range of “overtly sexist” comments from male soldiers, including a broad aversion to females serving in commando units. The comments, it said, are “not outliers” but represent a common sentiment that women don’t belong on special operations teams.

“The idea that women are equally as physically, mentally and emotionally capable to perform majority of jobs is quite frankly ridiculous,” said one male commenter. Others said they’d quit before serving on a team with a female, and that serving in such a situation it would create problems and jealousy among their wives.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Germany used to (I think used to) have a system where, for a year, you either joined the military or did a civilian service job like work in a hospital or nursing home. I’m by no means a warmonger or interested in a bloated military, but that doesn’t sound like a terrible idea to me.

    • grue@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      There are lots of countries that have compulsory military service with alternatives for conscientious objectors (which is basically what you’re describing).

      I agree that it’s a good idea. Moreover, it comes closer to the original meaning of that whole “well-regulated militia” thing. We should consider doing like the Swiss do: give (roughly) everybody mandatory firearms training, send them all home with an infantry standard-issue assault rifle, and then severely restrict access to ammunition except for legitimate purposes like practice at the firing range.

      • Zink@programming.dev
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        1 year ago

        Here in the US I’m pretty sure our Supreme Court would rule that ammunition is speech.

    • Yepthatsme@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      They have that in the US and it’s called Peace Corps but since the 80’s the conservatives hate it and push for military instead.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The problem is the Peace Corps is totally voluntary. There’s also AmeriCorps, which is similar, but domestic. What we need is to get kids who don’t understand what community means, and that’s a lot of them at this point, to learn what that means. It’s a way out of this libertarian capitalist hellhole.

    • jmp242@sopuli.xyz
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      1 year ago

      Philosophically it’s a horrible idea to me, being from the US. First, it’s pretty against ideas of freedom and self determination. Secondly, and worse, is that conscripts often are basically an internal sabotage threat. Work to rule, no interest in anything but getting out, actively tend to hurt morale given their resentment, etc. Oh, and 1 year of training / 1 year of service is basically a little past basic training, so not really well trained for modern combat. See what Russia is getting with conscripts for instance. I suppose if you just want bodies to throw into a meat grinder it might work, but unless you have enough to take staggering losses to overwhelm better trained and higher morale troops - and you’re willing to take those sorts of losses… the conscripts are just mostly a drain on resources IMO.

      • SaakoPaahtaa@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Lmao conscription service is far from “killing for your country”. Its amassing a reserve the size no other country wants to challenge. I went through my service like all other normal able bodied men of my country and it was mostly learning to walk and laying in a bush. Fucking fun it was.

        And even if situation arose to killing, killing for your country is the most noble and always morally correct thing to do.

          • MyFairJulia@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            And the funny thing is: Why do we die for the old cunts in the parliament? Guess what, it’s other old cunts sending soldiers!

            Except that in case of war we wouldn’t die just for them but also the other people we protect from the soldiers of the other old cunts but nevertheless we die at the behest of old cunts.

        • BURN@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Nah, fuck them. I’m not fighting for the US at all. Doubly so I’m not killing for it. Why would I protect a country that hates its citizens?

          • SaakoPaahtaa@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Idk, try living in a country that benefits their citizens.

            And US doesnt have conscription based service so what are you even on about?

            • BURN@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              Emigration from the US is next to impossible for most people who were born and raised here. Unless you have an in for citizenship elsewhere you’re fucked.

              Technically we do have a conscription based service. It just hasn’t been used since Vietnam.

              I’m more referring to your point of killing for country is the most noble thing, and I disagree with that on a fundamental level.

              • SaakoPaahtaa@lemmy.world
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                1 year ago

                Technically we do have a conscription based service

                Practically we are talking about universal male conscription, you know with the amassing reserves and such, with each generation getting a thorough military training in case something goes tits up.

                Killing for a country worth killing for is the most noble thing, intrinsically. The unfortunate but in some way understandable fact that you specifically don’t feel like that doesn’t mean every country is a shithole that ought to be overrun by barbarians and subjecting yourself and your kids to them is the right thing to do. Americans do benefit from the fact that your enemies are oceans away, while terrorism brings it to your doorstep every now and then. Some decent countries have to have universal male conscription just to exist. The more I think about it, the less noble and more existential killing for you country becomes, at least on the case of Finland.

          • SaakoPaahtaa@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Kill to defend my home and family. And since I’m a Finn, the alternative is rus*ian authoritarianism, which is unacceptable my any means and I’d rather die than be a part of shitpeople.

            • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              It’s not worth it to argue with these tankies who are from NA mostly. They’re so disconnected from reality that their communist utopia sounds so good in their minds that everything not communist is bad. They have no clue what others have and are going through.

              • sapient [they/them]@infosec.pub
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                1 year ago

                Being anti-conscription is not a tankie position - I certainly am not in favour of conscription, it’s one of the more authoritarian things a country can do, even if they aren’t as prone to invading other places a-la Vietnam as the US is, and I loathe tankies.

                Generally speaking I’m of the opinion that if a war or fight is not something people would willingly join to take part in, it’s going to be unjustified (this doesn’t necessarily mean that something people join the military to take part in is justified, it often isn’t, but if you have to force people, it’s definitely going to be unjustified >.<).

                I understand why in Finland it might be more popular cus of the behaviour of Russia in the past, but my opinion remains the same - offer the training as an option, and if people agree that the threat of Russia is large enough to prepare to fight, they can sign up (which I’d think lots would given the particular situation of Finland, and with this method, you avoid the coercion, resentment, and unwillingness that comes from conscription and from what I understand of modern militaries, those things make conscription more of a hindrance than a help anyhow)

                I’ll leave my issues with States, military structure, and the MIC for another time ;p

    • MahatmaGandhalf@kbin.social
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      1 year ago

      It was a pretty big waste of money. You’d have massive numbers of people who’d have to be half-assedly trained for a lot of money just to leave service again right when they started to be somewhat employable. There are reasons why we don’t do it like that anymore.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Fair enough, you know better than I would having lived through it. I don’t know about the practicalities of such a plan, I just think teaching people to serve the community when they’re young is a good idea.

          • Motavader@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I strongly believe that everyone should work a customer service job like retail or waiting tables early in their career. It would make a lot of people less of an asshole when interacting with employees.