greysword
Boldly lick where no one has licked before
You know, even though it is safe to say Kerry is not highly liked on this board, I'd like to submit what he said does have some truth in it and should not be discounted outright.
I would be willing to say that over half of the enlisted Navy personnel joined straight out of college and either received their degree once in, after dischrge, or still do not have a bachelor's degree.
It also seems fairly safe to say that most of the people who join the military, including the Navy, either can not afford to go to college or have no desire to continue learning in the educational system (they wanted a break).
I fit into this stereo-type, as did most to all of my former shipmates and many of the officers on this board. Most people who join the military after college did so to becoming an officer, due to poor job prospects, or simply had the post 911 patriotism. This occurance seems to be relatively rare given the total population graduating college. Otherwise, most college graduates simply enter a civilian job and do not give the military a thought.
Given this, it not hard to see the direction Kerry was going with his statement. If high schoolers don't study hard or have the desire to study, they may not have the grades to earn scholarships or grants and may need to find an alternate funding source, which seems to be the US military in many cases, in order to attend college.
Also, I think it is important to place into context his military service, where a draft was implimented and the only way to be safe from required service was to be in college. It would not be hard for Kerry to step back in his mindset to his youth and these days. I'm sure we slip back into slang or thoughts we had in the past. I do, and this is why after 10 years it was easy to assimilate back into Navy culture without a glitch.
Lastly, I too am getting a little tired of people in the current administration who never served in the military at all, let alone in a war zone, speaking flippantly about our troops and what is best for them. The President has admitted in the past weeks that things are not working in Iraq, that "Stay the Course" has not produced results, and that the current situation in Iraq is reminicent of the Vietnam War. These are the President's words.
I would like to finish by saying that although we may not agree with Kerry and his statements most of the time, at least he has been there and done that, which should add some credibility, which many in the current White House administration do not have.
Thanks for listening.
I would be willing to say that over half of the enlisted Navy personnel joined straight out of college and either received their degree once in, after dischrge, or still do not have a bachelor's degree.
It also seems fairly safe to say that most of the people who join the military, including the Navy, either can not afford to go to college or have no desire to continue learning in the educational system (they wanted a break).
I fit into this stereo-type, as did most to all of my former shipmates and many of the officers on this board. Most people who join the military after college did so to becoming an officer, due to poor job prospects, or simply had the post 911 patriotism. This occurance seems to be relatively rare given the total population graduating college. Otherwise, most college graduates simply enter a civilian job and do not give the military a thought.
Given this, it not hard to see the direction Kerry was going with his statement. If high schoolers don't study hard or have the desire to study, they may not have the grades to earn scholarships or grants and may need to find an alternate funding source, which seems to be the US military in many cases, in order to attend college.
Also, I think it is important to place into context his military service, where a draft was implimented and the only way to be safe from required service was to be in college. It would not be hard for Kerry to step back in his mindset to his youth and these days. I'm sure we slip back into slang or thoughts we had in the past. I do, and this is why after 10 years it was easy to assimilate back into Navy culture without a glitch.
Lastly, I too am getting a little tired of people in the current administration who never served in the military at all, let alone in a war zone, speaking flippantly about our troops and what is best for them. The President has admitted in the past weeks that things are not working in Iraq, that "Stay the Course" has not produced results, and that the current situation in Iraq is reminicent of the Vietnam War. These are the President's words.
I would like to finish by saying that although we may not agree with Kerry and his statements most of the time, at least he has been there and done that, which should add some credibility, which many in the current White House administration do not have.
Thanks for listening.
