On Thu, 29 Jan 2009 12:37:12 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

this was brought up by one of the distinguished posters here on
rec.boats, and when I said YES, I was given a "Sure ... snerk"

So I'd like to know, seeing I've got a box with a few pay stubs in it
from being a guest of Uncle Sugar, I'd say that doing military service
IS actually considered as a "job". But now I'm left in confusion
because the distinguished poster I've mentioned seems to be skeptical
of that claim.

So I present this question to the other distinguished posters on
rec.boats:

"Do you, or do you not, consider service in the US military as being a
"job"?"

What say ye?

It's a difficult answer if only because it is and it isn't.

Routine, like maintaining a radio watch, gate guard, maintenence of
weapons/gear/vehicles - certainly, it's a job. It's also a way to
gain experience in a particular job or career depending on what the
MOS (or whatever it's called now) if you want to be a mechanic or
electrician or electronics tech of some sort - so it relates directly
to what your eventual career choice may be - which is employment in a
civilian job.

It's a way to serve society as a whole by placing yourself in harms
way to serve the greater good. It's similar to becoming an LEO, Fire
Fighter or EMT/Paramedic - you never know from one day to the next if
you will be called on to make the ultimate sacrifice in service to
others. So it's a job with a dangerous component.

Then there is the discipline you gain by having to work with others
and subordinate your own ego and personality to make coordinated
actions with others efficient and effective. So in that sense it's
not a job, but it relates directly to having a job.

Having said that, there is a sense of duty, honor, loyalty to others
and commitment that isn't directly related to being in a "job". To
try and pin it to any one singular description is difficult and, to
tell the truth, practically impossible because it combines different
aspects of King, God and Country if you will.

Eisboch hit the nail on the head when he said that " it was considered
to be a duty for which you happened to get paid." Can't sum it up any
better than that.



--

"I intend to live forever. So far, so good."

Steven Wright