Quote:
Originally Posted by Platapus
I am sure our Korean War and Viet Nam veterans appreciate that attitude. 
I can only speak for myself, but I have the utmost respect for our conscripts. They served their country when they were needed and served it honourably.
Ps. Thanks for calling my Father and my Uncles garbage. |
Hmmm.... yes, poor choice of words on my part. You have my sincere apology for that.
I didn't mean to imply that conscripts were not good people or that their sacrifices were any less worthy than those of volunteers. However, it is a pretty well-known fact that on the whole that they are not a match for professional volunteer soldiers. While I really am sorry for any offense caused, I'm not about to claim that anyone who is forced to pick up a rifle is as combat-effective as a crack trooper from a more thoroughly trained volunteer unit. It's just not true. We know this and we've seen it on battlefields across the globe.
Korea, Vietnam, and WW2, or WW1, or the Franco-Prussian war, or the Civil War, or any war one might care to think of, don't exactly make a strong case for the efficacy of conscripts. They generally died in large numbers in very short order because they were not interested in being soldiers. Also, I see no moral justification for dragging an unwilling civilian away from his life to fight.
In any case, I am sorry for offending you guys and for my choice of words. My only intent was to say that a more educated and trained soldiery would be more effective.