Ukraine has shown extensive combat effectiveness via their use of rocket propelled munitions, I’m sure more and more of these individuals will be trained on HIMARS and Patriot systems now that the US has permitted their use against targets inside of Russia

Already have, got the injuries to prove it

When you went to boot camp (assuming you were/are a sailor based on verbage), you lost 5% of your division to mental health issues. It seems to me that people considered unfit for duty wouldn’t graduate basic training at all.

I think you’re missing my point. It’s not about being unfit to fight, it’s about the willingness to defend your home. I can’t get behind people that turn and run when the people that make up their country need them. I can’t support people that aren’t even willing to try given these circumstances.

Basic training was the easiest part of my military career. The recruits that went home did so because they got hypothermia or cracked the tops of their humerus, not because they couldn’t hack it mentally. If they wanted to weed out those unfit, then the individual who this article is about would be disqualified or an RTT in basic. I was discharged at the end of my contract because of physical injuries, so I understand being considered unqualified for military service.

I cannot think of any reason I wouldn’t defend my home, friends, and family against a foreign invader. If the US was being invaded and my family’s lives were at risk, you can bet your ass I’d be doing everything I could to defend my country.

Perhaps, or perhaps people like this just aren’t the types of people I associate with

I can’t conceive of someone so fearful of war that they’d willingly leave others out to dry in this fashion while hiding behind the forces of another nation.

I’m sorry, I can’t agree with that statement for several reasons.

1. the vast majority of military members are not direct combat roles in this day and age. There are plenty of roles where one isn’t infantry, be it intelligence, air defense, logistics, maintenence, etcetera.

2. these aren’t people, these are monsters invading your homeland that will subject you to their government at best and slaughter you at less than best, and far worse at their worst. If you can’t pull a trigger to defend your family and friends from that, but you’ll leave them out to dry in front of an invading force while you hide behind the forces of other countries, where do your principles lie?

Naturally war is bad, but you can’t stand and defend your own people?

I understand being scared, but it would be hard for me to abandon my country in its time of need. Not for the government, but for the people that live there.

Okay Satan

Even out of context, this shit goes hard

Of course they’re going to wait until they need (re)elected. I’m almost positive the whole student loan thing will happen before the end of this election cycle

From what I’ve heard, it’s all about the he says, she says bullshit

Obligatory “nice”

I saw this coming from a mile away. We will now have to set standards for what’s considered “made by AI” and “Made with AI”

You’re right, they’re not the most common, and they’re typically far more expensive.

There’s no doubt that I beat up my body while I was in the service, but no more than most tradesman do in their first years of life. I still train jiu jitsu regularly and am capable of doing most things (save for running).

You’re correct in assuming that I receive some of my benefits due to my disabilities, such as my property taxes and my disability payments, but lots of benefits are available to those without any disability rating.

Some of the non disability related benefits include:

Education benefits via the post 9/11 GI Bill cover 4 years of schooling and provide a housing stipend during your time in school.

Education benefits for your family via Chapter 35

Access to the VA Loan program, which is a federally guaranteed loan. I used one to buy my house and did not have to pay a down payment

Again I am considered a disabled veteran, so some of the benefits I gain from that are:

Education benefits via Chapter 31, which is what I’m using currently to receive my bachelor’s. It’s similar to the GI Bill, but will pay for trade school as well

Health benefits: I am 100% disabled, so I receive free healthcare from the VA, but I’m also eligible for CHAMPVA health insurance, which is what my family is under

Disability pay: I get paid at the 100% rate, which is about $50k a year. There are lower rates all the way down to 10%, which is $171.23/ month. You can be awarded 10% for something as simple as tinnitus, which I assure you everyone in the Army has.

Property tax exemptions: a lot of states will exempt you from some or all of your property taxes if you’re a disabled veteran, which lowered my house payment by $400.

All of my injuries are what I would call “wear and tear”, I have shin splints and back pain and what have you, things that everyone gets on their way to their 30s regardless. I’m just lucky enough to have been in a place where I can receive compensation for that wear and tear. The only exception to my injuries that most people won’t have is a genetic blood clotting condition that I’ll be on thinners for for the rest of my life, but they only awarded me 20% for that.

You also don’t need to be 100% disabled to collect these benefits, things like Chapter 31 are given out pretty liberally, and property tax exemptions are usually pretty well laid out.

All this to say that while yes some benefits are locked behind a disability rating, you will receive one for regular wear and tear on your body

I’ll be graduating at the end of summer, hopefully I’ll have a cybersecurity position with the school I’m at

Damn man, I need to get into whatever field you’re in.

I can’t speak to everyone’s experience, but I did my 4 and got out in 2020 due to a physical injury. While I was in it wasn’t great, but my wife and I collectively made about 100k/year with her as a teacher, we lived pretty well.

Since I got out, I attend school for free, receive a housing stipend, don’t pay property taxes, receive free healthcare, and I’ll receive about $50k this year in tax free disability. My kids and wife will have tuition if they decide to go (back) to school and they all receive free health insurance.

I don’t think there’s a lack of incentives at all, but simply people don’t know of the benefits they can receive. No one sits down with them and explains it all and we end up with vets with PTSD on the streets because of it