join the territorial army

[Mortblanc]

I did notice that the OP diverted at the famous third post mark!

The question was "does one join to gain skills", not to get benefits, be respected and loved by one and all or to support political agendas.

The very purpose of a military organization is to forcefully advance the political agenda of the agency they serve. Always has been, always will be.

If you want real training one must go where the training exists. You will not pick it up in magazines on the book rack or from the internet or from online gaming. You will not get it in a "survival school" of some "tactical weapons training class"

One does not gain confidence in those skills until one has experienced bullets whizzing overhead, shrapnel flying about and still stuck their head above the sandbags to see what is what and call in arty support.

The major wars that were fought to preserve "liberty" were fought by conscript armies, not the way volunteer forces of today, where enticement, bribery and huge signing bonuses are the recruiting tools.

You were sent a notice and you were instantly in the Army. Refuse to go and you were listed as a deserter, subject to the death penalty.

I might not support every political agenda the government proposes but I do recognize the military training of today as some of the best ever developed by fighting forces anywhere at any time.

Folk that have not served in the military only "think" they have combat skills. They will never know how they will react or what their instinctive reactions would be in a given situation. The will also lack the long term planning skills needed to secure an area or offer long term resistance severe enough to fend off numbers of attackers.

One that has been in combat can spot information given by a person with combat experience as compared to one without that experience within a few moments. They can also spot the advice of one that has led men in combat as compared to those that simply followed orders.

I have a half dozen friends that joined our forces for the simple reason that they wanted the combat training offered by the military. They did not join the catering corp, the pay corp, the motor pool or the library section.

They volunteered for combat arms, in the middle of a war.

Oddly enough, looking back on it, I did the same thing.

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Looking back I see this one diverted at post number 2!

Not #3.