NATIONAL SERVICE TAKES MANY PATHS, INCLUDES COMMON NEEDS

National service means serving the national good.

Part of the national good is not making people doing the same work sick.

An infectious disease like covid brings out the best and the worst.

The worst?

The ‘Don’t Tell Me What To Do’ crowd has difficulty with the concept of service. Why?

Because they learn too late that service means doing what you’re told to do.

Shocking, right?

No one signs up for service, for national service, expecting to be the boss.

At the same time, who signs up for a beat down to get built back up in order to be more useful?

Call it part of the educational process.

That’s what I’m calling the latest move to discharge military members who refuse the covid vaccine.

“Army readiness depends on Soldiers who are prepared to train, deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars,” said Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth. 

National Service Risks

Besides being prepared to train, deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars, soldiers also prepare for the worst.

That means getting disfigured for life, or killed. A covid infection isn’t part of the deal.

“Unvaccinated Soldiers present risk to the force and jeopardize readiness. We will begin involuntary separation proceedings for Soldiers who refuse the vaccine order and are not pending a final decision on an exemption.”

And there it is. Get vaccinated or get lost.

No one gets deployed on a ventilator.

Common Misconceptions Of Military Service

Author Tom Clancy used to take pictures of him wearing hats with scrambled eggs on them, the sort of headgear officers wear.

It shouldn’t be too surprising that the average man or woman who meets with recruiters and signs an induction contract doesn’t automatically go to the head of the class.

Pro Tip: It takes more than showing up to be a general or admiral. If you sign up and expect to command troops right away like Mike Flynn you’re going to be very disappointed.

Here’s a historical account of national service:

Meet with a recruiter, listen to his guarantees and promises, sign the contract, show up for transport, get on the bus, get on the plane, then another bus, and step off on base and into the Receiving Station.

And that’s the start.

Before heading to the training barracks you get a tight haircut, a series of shots and vaccinations, followed by uniform dispersal.

At the end of the uniform line was the hat man. He fits a hat on each head and welcomes trainees with a big smile and a hearty slap on the shoulder.

It’s the same shoulder that the most painful shot went into. I can still see that f#ckers happy face.

That welcome aboard moment sets the stage for the next few months of learning how to be in the Army. Some get it, some don’t.

The key is learning how ‘to take it.’

When you can’t take it, problems start.

If you have been able to take it, then you become a blogger.

What Is Not National Service

Jan. 6 was not national service.

Anyone who sees Jan. 6 as legitimate political discourse needs some schooling