Would you be willing to fight to defend your country?

[Skybird]

https://www.reddit.com/r/europe/comments/39dqfw/would_you_be_willing_to_fight_for_your_country/?st=iz2vixe8&sh=d3234c04 It could have been worse for Germany. We could have ended like in the last ESC - as last.

[AndyJWest]

A fairly meaningless survey. What does 'fight for your country mean'?* Actively participate in any military action whatsoever, regardless of what the reason for it was? Take part in military action where your country was under immediate threat? Or take part in a civil war to ensure your country followed a specific course, or was led by specific individuals (I see Afghanistan is near the top of the list)? And then there is a question as to what 'your country' means - as far as the UK is concerned for example, it isn't always clear cut.

And then there is the issue of who you are asking: I think it highly unlikely at my age that circumstances would arise where I'd be asked to participate in a war. I can't seem to find the original survey results online, but according to Huff Post UK, "The survey, conducted across 64 countries, found that 18-24 year-olds were most likely to say they would take up arms, while men were 15% more likely to do so than women" ()http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/03/25/statista-infographic-uk_n_6940594.html). Which rather suggests that people are most likely to answer 'yes' if they are among the demographic most likely to be asked to fight. Furthermore, such international surveys are always prone to inaccuracy simply because questions have to be translated: even minor changes in wording in a single-language survey can often result in significantly different results. Taking all this into consideration, I'd suggest that the survey is good for little beyond generating headlines on an off day.

*Note the wording of the survey question (at least as reported by Reddit and the Huff Post) isn't the same as Skybirds topic title.

[Oberon]

The best I could hope to be would be a sandbag. :haha:

No, I'm no soldier, if the situation arose where those I love were threatened, then I would fight, but beyond that I make no promises or pledges of loyalty.

[August]

I once wrote the government a blank check on my life and i'd volunteer again if the cause was just.

[Oberon]

I once wrote the government a blank check on my life.

If I did that it would probably bounce. :03:

[Catfish]

I would have, certainly. Back then i hated army and navy for the boring waste of time and had some clashes with superiors, but i did my job. I was actually quite good in it, but saw no future in the military.
We had an instructor during basic training which [sic] was a swine. I am sure he would have been shot from behind in the first day of a real war.
With some more intelligent people i guess it could have been a completely different experience. But certain people and mindsets seem to accumulate in certain .. branches.
I'm too old by now anyway.

Last time i thought i'd really take up a weapon was when 'Daesh' destroyed Palmyra.

^^^ Sandbag would be a good job description for me though :haha:

[ikalugin]

In general I will. However I also must, as I am a reservist and if reservists are mobilised I am legally obliged to answer that call. This means that if Russia was invaded or if general war has began I would go into the Armed Forces.

That said I would only volonteer in only few cases, when I both feel strong moral responsibility to go and when there is no official mobilisation. Back in 2014 I was considering going to Ukraine.

[Catfish]

[...] Back in 2014 I was considering going to Ukraine.

For which side.. ? :03:

[ikalugin]

For which side.. ? :03:
Separatists.

[Oberon]

We had an instructor during basic training which [sic] was a swine.

Was his name Himmelstoß? :03:

https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/590237156120993792/55U9J_Wb.jpg

[Jimbuna]

The best I could hope to be would be a sandbag. :haha:

At my age, the same but in younger years I reckon I would have and being a LEO meant I had an automatic exemption.

No, I'm no soldier, if the situation arose where those I love were threatened, then I would fight, but beyond that I make no promises or pledges of loyalty.

Yes, without a doubt.

[ikalugin]

Meanwhile:
http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/53883
Looks like the tensions are rising.

[Oberon]

Meanwhile:
http://kremlin.ru/events/president/news/53883
Looks like the tensions are rising.

Seems fairly straight-forward, google translate notwithstanding, it's a similar viewpoint that most nations are taking, that things are not improving in the global security situation. A resumption of activities in the Ukraine is very likely with the US not sure which way it's going and the EU in the midst of self-destruction. I'm interested to see what becomes of Belarus in the coming twelve months. :hmmm:

[ikalugin]

Seems fairly straight-forward, google translate notwithstanding, it's a similar viewpoint that most nations are taking, that things are not improving in the global security situation. A resumption of activities in the Ukraine is very likely with the US not sure which way it's going and the EU in the midst of self-destruction. I'm interested to see what becomes of Belarus in the coming twelve months. :hmmm:
Lukashenko tried to sit on two chairs for too long, I hope he learned from Yanukovich.

http://www.vedomosti.ru/politics/articles/2017/02/15/677855-rossii?utm_source=telegram_ved&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=v-rossii-proishodit-totalnoe-uproschenie
Levada-center (a social reserach/polling organisation) complains that Russian society grows more authoritarian by the day.
p.s. the article is quite interesting and is worth reading.

[August]

Separatists.

I thought your boss said no Russian troops were fighting with the separatists? Seems that was a lie based on your post.

[ikalugin]

I thought your boss said no Russian troops were fighting with the separatists? Seems that was a lie based on your post.
In general I will. However I also must, as I am a reservist and if reservists are mobilised I am legally obliged to answer that call. This means that if Russia was invaded or if general war has began I would go into the Armed Forces.

That said I would only volonteer in only few cases, when I both feel strong moral responsibility to go and when there is no official mobilisation. Back in 2014 I was considering going to Ukraine.

-considering-

Considering something does not mean doing something. Nor was I an active duty serviceman at the time, so even if I did go I would have been a regular volonteer and thus my actions would have been within the official narrative.

[Catfish]

Was his name Himmelstoß? :03:

Himmelstoß would not even come close.

[Prometheus]

People make love not war!:Kaleun_Cheers:
we Serbs in last two centuries had too much wars to defend our country, homes, families. Today Serbia should have about 20 or 30 million people instead we are around 6,5 to 7 million. That we didn't fight we probably today would not exist.
My great grandfather fought in greath war in Salonica front, grandfather in second world war, my father during the Yugoslav wars in 1991 and later on in 1999 against NATO aggression, I was 8 years old then.

I pray the god that war never come to us again, but if it comes answer is simple I would defend my country as my ancestors did.

http://izquotes.com/quotes-pictures/quote-war-is-sweet-to-those-who-have-no-experience-of-it-but-the-experienced-man-trembles-exceedingly-pindar-259386.jpg

[Skybird]

I still owe my answer.

Realistically, I would not fight for Germany. The Germany of the current state and near-future outlook, this set of modern, life-less politically correct values I refuse to identify with, this social community that is like it is and that is miles apart from what I value and honour in men I have to deal with. Also, I am now 50 and I am ill. Enduring a soldier's stress in the field, simply is no longer an option for me. I would not even be able to run those long voyages anymore that I did at earlier stages of my life. And I do not like this political and deeply socialist, ochlocratic construct the German state is, and I do not like the general attitude of its people and of its society.

Realistically, what I like most about Germany, is the huge variety and beauty of its landscapes, its nature. Preferrably with no people in them.

Idealistically, if "Germany" is meant to be a placeholderr for the values and historical forming of cultural identity that we mean by saying "occident", "humanism", "Roman and Greek heritage" and so forth, I have little reason not wanting to defend this. However, this historic claim, and the present's state of things, are that far apart, and the modern Europeans and Germans are so eager to reject their own identity (which is the biggest problem in the current mass migration cisis, more decisive than just the mere numbers), that such a demand for an idealistic fundament of one'S own contribution to the defence of the modern Europe, is just this: unrealistic.

In other words: I would not fight just for a country, or because of a stamp in my ID card, I just do not tick that simplistic. I demand something of ideals and ethic value that convinces me. Symbols do not impress me - but maybe the quality that the symbol stands for, at which it hints - but that depends. I am no nationalist or patriot, since I fail to identify with the german people any longer - since many years. Them seems to be a foreign people to me now, and I feel like living a stranger's life in a foreign country. And why should I take risks for somebody who refuses to see the need of wantign to defend his freedom himself and share his part in the effort? If somebody does not value his freedom, then I refuse to pay the orice for his freedom, since he cannot appreciate freedom at all.

If I were younger, healthier and still in full possession of my former physical powers, I instead would maybe join another faction that is not Germany or EU-based, if it happens that such a faction emerges and fulfills what I said about ideals and ethical values. I am willing to fight, and not fundamentally opposed to fighting. I just insist that the decision for wehat and for what not I fight, is left to where it belongs - to me.

[Schroeder]

I think I would fight.
I was in the Army back then, hated it but did my job as well as I could (I had massive health issues which I believe made me actually unfit for service if they had been diagnosed back then...which didn't happen until about 5-6 years after my service...). If our country was threatened I think I would fight. Whether the armed forces would still take me with my health record is another thing though....:oops:

[Bilge_Rat]

I am too old now, but I did face the dilemna in RL in the late seventies.

In 1976, the Parti Québécois was elected in Quebec with a platform to declare independence from Canada.

For those who are old enough to remember, that election was as much of a schock in Canada as Trump's election in november. :03:

During the early days, 1976-77, there was much wild talk on both sides, of the Canadian Army being sent in to declare martial law and of civil war. I did have several discussions with friends back then, most of which were ready to take up arms if that happened.

I too was ready to fight to defend my country, but was torn between my country being "Quebec" or "Canada". :hmmm:

Thankfully, this being Canada, passions soon cooled off and I never had to make a choice.

[Platapus]

Beware of old men (and women) eager to send young men (and women) to war.

[Rockstar]

like skybird im up in my fifties. not the spry young athlete of yesteryear. but i can still shoot straight, dig a hole, cook, clean a toilet, stand watch, render first aid, with the best of'em. I still see a vast number of things and ideals about my country worth preserving. So yes, as I've mentioned before I still take my oath seriously and would defend my country.

[Red October1984]

As ridiculous as some things in America are right now whether you're on the left or the right, I still feel like it's my duty to give back. As unpopular of an idea as it is to some here, somebody has to do it. I have a long family tradition of military service and I feel like that if they did it for me I can do it for my future friends and family. Men and women fought and died for my right to grow up in a safe and free environment.

In August, I contracted (read, enlisted and "serving without pay" until commissioning as a 2Lt.) into USAF ROTC. Haven't regretted that decision even once.

I don't see it as fighting for the current state of the government or ideologies on either side, I see it as serving and doing my job so that somebody is there to protect the country.

....and quite frankly, becoming an Air Force pilot has been my dream job since I could walk.

:Kaleun_Salute:

[STEED]

No to busy popping pills and exercising my back. Plus I feel shagged out after work now and rather go to bed.

[August]

like skybird im up in my fifties. not the spry young athlete of yesteryear. but i can still shoot straight, dig a hole, cook, clean a toilet, stand watch, render first aid, with the best of'em. I still see a vast number of things and ideals about my country worth preserving. So yes, as I've mentioned before I still take my oath seriously and would defend my country.

Well said.