Would you consider going to war in Iraq or in the ARMY even when you know that it can be a 100% death sentence?

I wouldn’t consider it if it were a 0% death sentence.

Well… almost. It, of course, depends what the war was for. Iraq? Not a chance.

Only if 72 virgin men were waiting for me.

@ Mizuki: That’s 72 bouts of very short, unsatisfying sex for you then.

if it’s a “justified” war in every sense of this word than it would be a great honor to die for my country.

If I were not so old, I would go. I had three tours in Vietnam. I always estimated my chances and thought the risk was low enough. We have a low risk in Iraq, while the risk of being wounded is high and many wounds are very severe. My time with the DoD database of wounds in Vietnam (I was the project manager) was a significant experience for me. Nobody in the office wanted to catalog the 65000 slides and I did that job. So, I do know what wounds look like. And autopsies.

But I would go. We have important work to do.

After 4 or 5 virgins would not the whole befuttled thing get old? After 5 time with a virgin, I’d be ready for a pro!

There’s only a 30% chance that it’s a 60% chance of a 100% chance of a death sentence.

78% of all statics are made up on the spot.

No matter how much good you’d like to do… if you are in the army, you become a political pawn. Old guys in suits tell your commanders what they should be doing.

I’ve considered it just for the perks but I’d know what I’m getting in to.

I’ll echo seVen’s sentiments. I’d fight in a just war. Iraq is not in my mind a just war. Of course, I’m 37, 150# overweight, I have flat feet and a problem with authority, so I don’t see it happening. And now with a wife and son to provide for, it also wouldn’t be a decision I could make alone as it would not affect only me.

I would never join the army. I understand that the army is necessary but I’ve never looked at the military as a positive or sane environment. I will never marry someone in the military and hopefully my kids won’t join either. Someones got to do it, I know. But not me and not my family.

And if they ever decided to draft women, which is very unlikely, I’d rather go to jail.

I’m going to tell you the same thing I told my uncle’s girlfriend when she asked me 2 years ago why I wasn’t joinging the military instead of college, “I wont die for this administration.”

ALSO, rates of sexual assault are astronomical in the armed forces, and specifically, in the army.

Everyone dies, and there’s a chance you could get hit by a car crossing the street. Some people want to do something with their time that they think is meaningful, and I don’t see why the risk of death should deter them.

Is it better to be working in Iraq or unemployed in Detroit?

Could I get sexually assulted by a Haliburton CEO and locked in a storage trailer? Or gang raped? I am all in! Yippee!

I don’t think the idea of death is something that stands in the way of those who join a volunteer army.

I also don’t think the idea of death is what deters those who chose not to serve.

@jballou—thus sayeth the leader of the 101st Key-boarder’s Batallion Leader.

“it can be a 100% death sentence”

What? It’s either 100% and it IS a death sentence, or it’s a different percentage.

Yea, that’s what I was alluding to up there. It’s like that part in Anchorman:

[unveiling the Sex Panther] No, she gets a special cologne… It’s called Sex Panther by Odeon. It’s illegal in nine countries… Yep, it’s made with bits of real panther, so you know it’s good. [...] They’ve done studies, you know. Sixty percent of the time, it works every time.

O.k. I volunteered to go (but not with the army) believe it or not

Therupon Elrond paused a while and sighed. ‘I remember well the splendour of their banners,’ he said [referring to the Last Alliance]. ‘It recalled to me the glory of the Elder Days and the hosts of Beleriand, so many great princes and captains were assembled….’—FotR, “The Council of Elrond”

And I remember the First Infantry Division in the forest north of Saigon, with armor on the ground and artillery support at night.

I would go having accepted that as real possibility, and if I couldn’t live with that possibility I would avoid going.

To many – the honor of service is greater than the risk of death.

I’m 26 now and sometimes regret not having served