I cant do this army anymore?
I joined the army two years ago. I did my time as an enlisted soldier and then I applied for Officers Candidate School. After coming here I realized that I do not wish to do this anymore. Its because life here sucks and I don't feel the need to put myself through so much pain in my life. I also have two and half years left in the army. I realize now that I made a huge mistake joining the army. It has driven me into extreme depression and stress...It has also stranded my relationships with my family and friends. My father died in a car crash recently and I'm the only one who can support my mother...This has just made life more stressful..I feel that the army keeps me away from being with my mom... I wish to ask anyone here(Please no smart comments; I already did one year in afganisthan ) if there is a way for me to request my chain of command to let me out of the army. I dont want to go out like a shitbag. I wish to get out honorably but before My contract...Please tell me some route... thank you
I dont think Veterans deserve anymore respect than anyone else?
Seriously, all of the vets I have met have been some of the most bitter, cranky, bigoted minded individuals I have ever come in contact with. I dont think they deserve a holiday. They're not anymore important than anyone else in America.
How do I tell my recruiter I don't want to join anymore?
Around late may, early June I made the decision to talk to a marine corps recruiter, go up to MEPS, and enlist. But this, which I'm just recently realizing, was one of the most non thought through ideas I've ever had. Around the time I enlisted I was frequently getting into trouble and arguments with my parents, which ended up with me going into a deep depression feeling that they would never be proud of me I made a hasty decision to enlist because I knew that was something he always wanted, but not so much that I wanted. Now it is months later and I'm still in the DEP and after thinking with a clearer and less depressed mind I'm realizing that this is not at all something I want to do and the only reason I did it was for them but I know I can't make a decision if it won't make me happy over all the rest. But now I'm faced with the dilemma of breaking that news to my recruiter and I have no clue how to, for me it is just so nerve racking and embarrassing in a way. Can anybody please help me!! Oh and I don't leave for bout camp till like July/August
Are Germans proud to be German? With the exception of during the World Cup, I've noticed that Germans avoid being proud of their nationality in the way that people of other nationalities are.
I still haven't quite decided how I feel about patriotism and feeling "proud" of my origin/country. I was born and grew up in Germany, however my father is British. While I didn't grow up bilingual and aside from visits to see my grandparents in England once a year spend my life growing up "as a German", I still always felt the need to explain that I'm HALF German, HALF British. When I was 15/16, I went to Ohio in the USA as exchange student. For just under one year, I lived in an American family, went to an American high school, and for all intents and purposes lived as an average "American" teenager. I had very mixed feelings about the huge patriotism in the States. I felt awkward throughout the Pledge of Allegiance every Monday morning. I cringed when everyone put their hands on their hearts and loudly sang along to the national anthem before football games. At the same time, I got "sucked into it". Back in Germany, I felt proud to have been in the USA, proud to say I have American friends, and for a while I genuinely believed the USA was the best country in the world. It wasn't until I had been back in Germany for a while and grew up a bit more too that I started being more objective. 6 years ago, I moved to London. I have always felt more connected with the English language and the English people. Sometimes I feel like part of me wanted to remove myself from the guilt I felt about being German. For many years at school in Germany, we were not only taught the history of the World Wars, but we read books with stories from WWII survivors and had those survivors come to school to talk about their experiences. I cried a lot when reading those books. I cried even more when listening to those stories in person. I don't think anyone not from Germany truly understands "Erbschuld" (inherited guilt). Moving to England was refreshing. While the USA made me uncomfortable with its patriotism and Germany made me uncomfortable with its non-patriotism, England and the way it's inhabitants are able to be patriotic while self-mocking has so far been a good fit for me. When mentioning I'm German, the general reaction is usually 2 - 3 German words the person remembers from school, a remark about having been/wanting to go to Germany as it's a beautiful country, and the occasional joke about winning "the war"...I can't speak for "Germans" in general (especially as I'm of dual nationality), but I personally don't say I'm proud to be German, though sometimes I wish I could.
Are you proud to be an American?
Yes, I feel proud to be an American…no I actually don’t feel a warm fuzzy feeling over the national anthem. I get fuzzy watching Ronald Reagan speeches or reading the writings of the founding fathers or reading about the heroism of American soldiers and other heroes in times of desperation and war.The people who saw the planes fly into the twin towers and ran towards the danger rather than away from it. The teenagers who lied on their applications so they could go fight for their country before they were old enough. The leaders who gave their lives so that their countrymen could endure. I remember reading one story of an American military officer (I think a colonel or higher) who got into a helicopter and flew over enemy forces in Vietnam to take the fire while his men could hold out. Or the NFL star who quit his job to sign up to the military after 9/11. The free black Americans who fought to sign up to the army to fight the confederacy. The people who were willing to travel hundreds of miles by horse and wagon to set up civilisation on empty land against harsh and punishing conditions with virtually no attachment to the civilised, industrial world. Sure, some bad stuff happened. Every country has a past. Every country has made mistakes. But yeah, I’m proud to be an American. American is more than just a nationality. It’s an identity, a creed and a unifying story. Black, white, Asian, male, female, gay, straight…no one can truly claim to be “more American” on the basis of immutable characteristics. It’s based on your values. And that’s beautiful.