Well a pacificist friend of mine just emailed me an article about how a kid died from Marine Boot Camp because he had drowned during a pool exercise . Well... he's always desuaded me from joining the Corps, saying you're just there to be trained as a "mindless killing machine." http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/feb2005/mari-f25.shtml.
My apologies if this topic is overtalked or rather "beating the dead horse" once more, but I couldn't find any thread talking about this so-- alright, getting to my point here...
Is Marine Boot Camp and serving overseas really the personality-obliterating, backbreaking, PTSD-reckoning experience that countless conservative articles preach about like the one I just posted?
Or [most likely] could they be wrong/biased in many ways considering the author of the article Claire Hurley a.k.a. sit-at-home-all-day-Soccer-Mama bashes on the U.S. military [or Marine Corps. in general] for being 'deceitful,' immoral, and doing whatever means to turn supposedly innocent 18-year old kiddos into some psyched out killer like 'Gomer Pyle' from Full Metal Jacket, even though that person has never served in any military branch.
Personally, I don't believe the article fervently, I think personality can be retained even through tramautic experiences, most of the former/active duty Marines I know are self-composed, level-headed, funny at many times -- everything opposite of what the article describes.
Anyways, just wondering what your 2 cents are on the whole bloody topic.. especially for any former or currently serving Marines in this forum.
My apologies if this topic is overtalked or rather "beating the dead horse" once more, but I couldn't find any thread talking about this so-- alright, getting to my point here...
Is Marine Boot Camp and serving overseas really the personality-obliterating, backbreaking, PTSD-reckoning experience that countless conservative articles preach about like the one I just posted?
Or [most likely] could they be wrong/biased in many ways considering the author of the article Claire Hurley a.k.a. sit-at-home-all-day-Soccer-Mama bashes on the U.S. military [or Marine Corps. in general] for being 'deceitful,' immoral, and doing whatever means to turn supposedly innocent 18-year old kiddos into some psyched out killer like 'Gomer Pyle' from Full Metal Jacket, even though that person has never served in any military branch.
Personally, I don't believe the article fervently, I think personality can be retained even through tramautic experiences, most of the former/active duty Marines I know are self-composed, level-headed, funny at many times -- everything opposite of what the article describes.
Anyways, just wondering what your 2 cents are on the whole bloody topic.. especially for any former or currently serving Marines in this forum.