Combat Participation

[82redleg]

I'd like to take this back to the original issue of combat particpation. The initial issue deals with soldiers in actual combat....whether or not they fight. I've not noticed any reference to those who avoid getting into the fight at all despite years of training for "the fight".

I bring this up because I've seen many, both officers and NCOs, who've avoided deploying to Iraq or A'stan. In some cases, these have been infantry officers (active duty) with all of the cool-guy badges, schools, and assignments. I have yet to figure out what motivates them to avoid combat participation despite all of their preparation.

Thoughts?

I'd be interested on where you found these. I haven't seen them. The deployment avoiders I've seen over the last 10 years have generally been CSS junior enlisted with external issues, often those that joined AFTER the war started.

[JMA]

I'd be interested on where you found these. I haven't seen them. The deployment avoiders I've seen over the last 10 years have generally been CSS junior enlisted with external issues, often those that joined AFTER the war started.

Interesting comment.

I would be interested to hear why some who join during 'wartime' seek to avoid combat service.

I would have thought it would have been that some of those who joined a peace time army (for all the wrong reasons) may wish to avoid a combat tour.

[Fuchs]

My mother told me when I was young not to jump from a skyscraper just because others did so.
I for one would never feel that it would be against my honour or friendship not to jump.


Look at it this way; some armies have fought campaigns with great displays of courage, others not so. It's not necessarily the honour of the soldiers, their volunteering before the war etc that makes the difference. Sometimes it's simply their judgement that taking such risks would be stupid. In fact, it might even be stupid from the society's perspective, for a 25 y.o. has hardly paid back all the upbringing and education he got from the society already.
To die in a stupid conflict that serves no purpose means he'll never repay his debt to society (for his sacrifice would be of no use*).


Finally, there's more than survival motives that can keep one away from accepting deployment. They may have bonded more with their family than with expeditionary warfare, or they may expect to do useless harm to foreigners if deployed. You know, some people actually anticipate that #### happens in war and don't want to risk becoming a bad guy for a cause that's not worth the risk.


*: This appears to be a wide-spread difference to world war-time attitudes.

[Ken White]

My mother told me when I was young not to jump from a skyscraper just because others did so.... You know, some people actually anticipate that #### happens in war and don't want to risk becoming a bad guy for a cause that's not worth the risk.

However, none of that changes the basic fact the no thinking individual should fail to know what he or she is volunteering for and if their calculations mirror yours, then they should simply should have sought another line of work in the first place. One should not choose a line of work that demands one make some sacrifices of logic, reason, comfort, safety and excessive concern for human rights and welfare unless one is prepared to do that. There are plenty of other jobs out there.

Conversely, if one freely elects to take the pay and accept the promotions and perquisites then one has a responsibility to perform per the contract -- or one can take the money then elect to be schmuck. One always has choices...

[Morgan]

I'd be interested on where you found these. I haven't seen them. The deployment avoiders I've seen over the last 10 years have generally been CSS junior enlisted with external issues, often those that joined AFTER the war started.

82d redleg,


I first saw these types in I Corps HQ in '05. I am now serving with some of these types in Saudi Arabia. I'm told that many of these types can be found in the halls of the Pentagon though I cannot confirm that since I've never been in there.