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Originally Posted by Ranger
[b]@Draftees [here] can and often do become tank commanders, etc. Those positions are given out based upon ability, and are not based upon whether you are a draftee or not. Same-same with promotions, etc. If a draftee wants to become a fighter pilot - or anything that takes a long training cycle - all they have to do is ask to be changed from draftee status to full active duty status, and they have to agree to serve the slightly longer enlistment term.
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This is exactly what i mean.In this case, the draftee has went further and extended his tour, either by contract or whatever you have over there. This is where i take him out of the "draftee" category, and place him in the "long haul" category.The Army wouldnīt spend billions of dollars training individuals just to see them return civilian life after a couple of years.What i call a draftee is the guy who gets drafted, serves his time, and leaves. Wich is why i said it would be best to distinguish between wartime draft and peacetime draft. Wartime draft when you have a major conflict, stressing the manpower availability, like WWII and Vietnam.
So, out of those "short term" draftees, how many do you think are equally prepared for the battlefield as say a guy with your own experience? And since the US doesnīt have a draft now, and this is highly hipotetical, maybe i should make another example:
Would you say that iīm equally as prepared for the battlefield, as one who chose the military career, and knowing that i served only a short term?
I will answer that, and say a big NO. Even if i were to frequent weekend refreshing courses, i would still be light years away from the proeficiency of the regulars, that get to train all year round. And suppose we were to have another war, like our African wars. Would i be as prepared as they were? Never. Due to the short term nature of a drafteeīs training program, there is just no way the instructors can expect to teach you everything you need to know, not even to come close of a "regular"īs experience.
Judging from what you told me, you spent years and years on and off schools and training programs. How can you expect a draftee to condense all that training into a 2 year term? Itīs not possible. The draftee would miss out on essential pieces of the program, because thatīs all the time he has for.
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The reason for the "accidents" you mention is just as I posted earlier. The modern battlefield is far more dangerous and dynamic now than it has ever been in any previous wars. Call it one of the costs of progress.
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Have you seen the CNN page with the US casualties and how they were killed? Check it out. You can chalk some of them to "modern battlefield dinamics", but not all of them. How do you explain the rest?
"Committed suicide by shooting himself in Kut, Iraq, on November 19, 2003"
"Died from a non-hostile gunshot wound in Baqubah, Iraq, on October 26, 2003"
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Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in Baghdad, Iraq, on December 12, 2003"
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Died of a non-hostile gunshot wound in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 9, 2004"
"Killed when two 101st Airborne Division UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters collided in mid-air over Mosul, Iraq, on November 15, 2003"
"Died of non-combat related injuries at Forward Operating Base St. Mere, Iraq, on October 28, 2003"
"Killed March 16, 2004, when the barrel of the .50 caliber weapon mounted on his tank struck him in Al Asad, Iraq"?????
"Died of injuries sustained in a fire during a small-arms fire exercise. The fire began when a bullet ricocheted and ignited a fire in the building in Baghdad, Iraq on August 21, 2003"??
"Died during physical training in Baghdad, Iraq, on December 18, 2003"
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Died in Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, from a non-hostile gunshot wound on November 12, 2003"
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Died from a non-hostile gunshot wound in Baghdad, Iraq, on November 4, 2003"
"Killed when a rocket-propelled grenade launcher he was firing for familiarization malfunctioned at firing range near Kut, Iraq, on April 22, 2003"
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Killed in a vehicle accident on May 19, 2003, in Iraq"
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Killed in a non-hostile vehicle accident during convoy operations east of Ash Shahin, Iraq, on April 3, 2003"
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Died of a non-combat related cause on July 8, 2003, in Camp Wolf, Kuwait"
I took these out of the first page alone. There are countless more.
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/
PS:Please note that i havenīt repeated myself.If it looks that there are many similar incidents, itīs because they really happened, not because i repeated quotes.