I have been considering joining the Air Force after I graduate with my BSN this December. My step dad was in the AF and I have learned a lot about it over the years; I believe it is a great path to take in terms of nursing because of the opportunities available for travel, promotion, leadership, etc. plus more respect from doctors.
The only thing holding me back in my mind is that I am so opposed to what we are doing in iraq right now. I strongly disagree with a lot of President bush's decisions, and I am afraid this makes me the wrong type of person for the military. I love my country and have always been politically active/opinionated. But I have very little respect for our current administration.
Are you looked down upon in the military if you disagree with the president or oppose the war? I know this might seem like a dumb thing to ask, but i am the kind of person who wants to live my life in an honest way, and if I joined the AF I could not pretend to support this war when I don't. I support the men and women of the military, not the war.
Being opposed to this poorly justified and thought out war and in opposition to the current regime in no way makes one "questionable" military material.
A good officer who can do his/her job to the best of their ability and not engage in divisive politics on duty is most certainly military material.
In fact, more credit should be given to someone willing to make the sacrifices necessary to join the military at this point in time when they are fully aware of the ramifications of a policy they are choosing to follow while knowing they disagree with much of it.
That is the definition of a true professional and someone you should be proud to serve with.
all very well and good however there are those who can NOT do thier job because of their beliefes and that is a dangerous position fo rthe rest of the people that need them to have their back. as someone else said - i believe the majority of the military support our leader and our war against terrorists ( my son has spent the majority of the last 3 yrs on the front line of iraq) however there are a few they had to transfer to the back and as far back as possible cause they just couldnt support the whole scene causing potential disaster to the rest of the crew. when a terrorists is shooting at you you have to be able to shoot back or your toast and so may be your comrades. if one is that opposed i would think twoice about going in cause you HAVE to be able to have the backs of your fellow military. my opinion. if my health were better - and i were young enough to go id be there in a heartbeat - i totally agree with the whole ball of wax and think its unfortunate bush cant be reelected. god save us all if we get some nuckelehead who pulls us out and brings the war here. just my opinion.
Well, keeping one's political opinion's to themself may be necessary for someone to be a good officer, but I DO NOT believe that political apathy or conforming one's opinion's are requirements or necessary to succeed. Last time i checked, an officer is supposed to be a leader, not a follower. I have the right to support anything I want. I may choose not to express my views to people and keep quiet about some things, but you can not tell people what they can and can't believe. That is the principal this country was founded upon!
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Glad you posted that last caveat. In fact, you do not have the same rights to espose political views as civilians. The officer who wrote that the blue officers' sticker on his car required him to remove the campaign sticker was exactly right. I know a lot of military folks drove around with "W" on their car the past few years, but that doesn't make it right. Just because I agree with them, doesn't make it the right thing to do. Officers have been chastised or cashiered in the past for publicly taking a political stances. There is a reason the military requires neutrality of PUBLICLY expressed opinion of it's officers -- in other countries that reason is also know as a "military coup."
You can say I am not military material, that I am too outspoken about my views. But as an officer, I will need to know how to lead, and know how to be an example to others. I know myself, I know I am an independent thinker and I know I can and will do a damn fine job of serving our country as a nurse in the US military.
Thank you to everyone who has posted on this thread; I know it is not an easy topic but I think it's great to see so many different sides on the issue.
In fact, as an officer, one of the more divisive things you can do with your troops is to split them along some line. If you are espousing a particular political view, then all of those troops who do not hold your PUBLICLY stated view will feel that they cannot speak to you, perhaps about many more things than simply politics (I cite the post from a young woman who said she has become "politically agnostic" in her military life because of these feelings). Your troops don't need to know your life story. They DO need to know that you know theirs, and see you doing the job, doing the right thing every time, and TAKING CARE OF YOUR TROOPS ABOVE YOUR OWN CAREER ASPIRATIONS. Becoming a political pundit to "lead" your troops is not leadership. It is abuse of power.
I don't care if you join or not. You sound like a dedicated nurse and a patriotic person, regardless of party. In general, I always urge people to do a term in the military. I think everyone should do a term of Federal service -- not necessarily in the military, but to somehow serve. We have too many people out there who have absolutely no sense of responsibility for the freedom they hold. Fine. That's their free choice, to be leeches, IMHO. You seem to at least have the sense of responsibility to feel the need, even if you don't agree with the party in power. And, really, these politicians change places like musical chairs -- they're not really that different at the core because they all have to appeal to the moderate majority.
Sorry about that last soapbox moment. So, lose the attitude and do what you think is right . . . or don't. But, don't fret about other people's opinions. I venture a guess that you will find pockets of political cliques no matter where you work.
If you are not supporting the war, I believe, then you have failed to remember why it started in the first place. I had a yellow ribbon supporting the troops and was very upset when it turned white and decided to surrender! (I have since changed to a red, white, and blue ribbon. Hopefully it will not surrender) The American public is extremely fickle. "I will support you as long as it doesn't take too long, or effect me!" After 9/11 President Bush warned that it was going to take awhile and be a long drawn out process. At the time there were more "git 'er done"s than there was "just let our 3000 dead lie." We have been ignoring terrorists for many years. We have also had waaaaayyyy too many "political wars" fought by Congress.
I have been considering joining the Air Force after I graduate with my BSN this December. My step dad was in the AF and I have learned a lot about it over the years; I believe it is a great path to take in terms of nursing because of the opportunities available for travel, promotion, leadership, etc. plus more respect from doctors.
The only thing holding me back in my mind is that I am so opposed to what we are doing in iraq right now. I strongly disagree with a lot of President bush's decisions, and I am afraid this makes me the wrong type of person for the military. I love my country and have always been politically active/opinionated. But I have very little respect for our current administration.
Are you looked down upon in the military if you disagree with the president or oppose the war? I know this might seem like a dumb thing to ask, but i am the kind of person who wants to live my life in an honest way, and if I joined the AF I could not pretend to support this war when I don't. I support the men and women of the military, not the war.
The military life is the way to go now days. You can join the AF and be a great nurse and still keep your fellings. As a retired military police I can tell you for sure that the military needs people like you. There will always be wars were its the one that we are fighting now or the one after this one, and if you join now just think you will be ready for the next one and a better person for it.
am a navy nurse corps veteran of vietnam vintage. my recollection is that we were very limited by the uniform in terms of how political we could be. for instance, with the blue officer's sticker on the front bumper of my car, i was asked to remove the campaign sticker from the rear bumper.
so, what you have is this. the very people that are defending (at real risk to their lives) our freedom of robust political speech, are voluntarily surrendering some of their freedom of expression.
i was in nyc on october 7th, 2001. i flew into la guardia directly over the smoldering heap that had 30 days earlier been the wtc. every cab i got into, the driver had a personal story. one of them had been a chaffeur for one of the big brokerage firms. he wept as he told me about friends who'd died, just because they went to work one gorgeous morning in september.
know what else happened on oct. 7th??? we began hostilities against the taliban. people all through the hotel were dancing when they heard the news.
god bless and keep george bush and any other american president with the balls to ruthlessly pursue radical islam wherever it can be found. no questions asked. no excuses accepted.
usa! usa! usa! usa! usa!
know what didn't happen on 9-11?? any attack or involvement by iraq...nor was one planned and they didn't even have the capability to launch any kind of attack. bush, blair, rumsfelt, ashcroft, wolfowitz, and especially cheney (now there's a good marksman) lied, lied, lied, and lied some more. now we have 2274 americans dead and 16549 wounded, many because our "wonderful" administration has failed to provide them with needed equipment while they throw billions of $$$ in no-bid contracts to private corporations who turn around and overcharge on top of it all.
i'm sick and tired of all the dittoheads that keep trying to tie 9-11 to iraq. it just isn't true. why did't our cic continue to pursue bin laden in afghanistan (which, btw, i do feel was justified)? because the war in iraq had already been planned for 3 years- they just needed an excuse to go in there. 9-11 could have been prevented but it was more convenient to let it happen. let's not forget that osama bin laden's brother was george w bush's first (oil) business partner and the bush family is very close to the bin ladens:
salem bin laden, osama's brother, has conducted all his american affairs through james bath, a houston crony of the bush family. bath's former business partner bill white testified in court that bath had been a liaison for the c.i.a. in 1979 bath invested $50,000 in arbusto, george w. bush's first business venture. rumor had it that bath was acting as salem bin laden's representative. "in conflicting statements, bush at first denied ever knowing bath, then acknowledged his stake in arbusto and that he was aware bath represented saudi interests." (4)
i could go on and on but just thinking about the crimes this administration commits frankly makes me sick.
i support cindy sheehan, paul hacket, and patrick murphy.
supporting the troops means more than a yellow magnet on your car. it means not sending them into needless wars, giving them the supplies and equipment they need to keep them as safe as possible, and providing needed health services for veterans - including mental health benefits(not closing va hospitals and cutting services). there are way too many hippocrits in this country.
I am not necessarily in support of the war but I have been there. Right in the heart of Baghdad. I am a nurse and have seen first hand the great things we have done for the people there. Unfortunately, yes there have been casualties but there are training accidents everyday where we lose soldiers. We have done surgeries to correct gross abnormalities and defects that would have been corrected here in the US at birth. We have done surgeries to correct lady partsl traumas so severe surgery was needed due to the severity of trauma inflicted upon them by Hussein and his men. It has already been made public that he hid weapons of mass destruction from the UN weapons inspectors. I was injured and unable to stay in the U.S Army but would have stayed until mandatory retirement had I been able. We are the only society that gets to speak out publicly about how bad we have it while a few in uniform give thier lives for everyone to go to Walmart whenever they want or go on CNN and speak out about President Bush and how bad this country is. You can hate the war all you want but you must support the soldiers and what they do everyday to give you and your family the freedom you so easily take for granted. Unless you have the courage to raise your right hand and take the oath to support and defend this country with your life then you need to step back and thank God you were born here and just be quiet and be thankful.
I am not necessarily in support of the war but I have been there. Right in the heart of Baghdad. I am a nurse and have seen first hand the great things we have done for the people there. Unfortunately, yes there have been casualties but there are training accidents everyday where we lose soldiers. We have done surgeries to correct gross abnormalities and defects that would have been corrected here in the US at birth. We have done surgeries to correct lady partsl traumas so severe surgery was needed due to the severity of trauma inflicted upon them by Hussein and his men. It has already been made public that he hid weapons of mass destruction from the UN weapons inspectors. I was injured and unable to stay in the U.S Army but would have stayed until mandatory retirement had I been able. We are the only society that gets to speak out publicly about how bad we have it while a few in uniform give thier lives for everyone to go to Walmart whenever they want or go on CNN and speak out about President Bush and how bad this country is. You can hate the war all you want but you must support the soldiers and what they do everyday to give you and your family the freedom you so easily take for granted. Unless you have the courage to raise your right hand and take the oath to support and defend this country with your life then you need to step back and thank God you were born here and just be quiet and be thankful.
I was proud to be an American until November 2000. Our country has been taken over by power hungry propagandists. Nixon didn't even come close to the lies and cover-ups this administration is all about. I'm afraid it's all about the "dumbing down" of America. Keep them in fear and they will follow you anywhere. It seems we have heard this "fighting them over there so we don't have to fight them here" before. Yes, that's what that long black Wall in DC is all about. Another conflict based upon lies. When will we learn?
Nurses are taught to think critically, and our practice is evidence based. Too bad that model isn't used by so many who fall for the lies.
For all of you that are not military and have not since 2003 stepped foot in Iraq...have you seen for yourselves that there are no reasons for us to be there or are you just relying on the news media that only show the American public what THEY feel is news worthy? They did not show the equipment found with French writing on it which just may be why the French did not want to back us when we went in. No one wants to say whether or not it is possible with all the playing around the UN did that maybe the weapons were moved to Syria. There are thousands of miles of deserts in which to hide things...look how long it took to find those mass graves. Do you really think he could not hide weapons? Clinton did nothing when the WTC was bombed in 1993 but everyone wants to blame President Bush for everything since. Why because he is now in office? And if he wasn't who would we blame...Al Gore? Al Gore was told about how dangerous Bin Laden was when he was still a senator by Oliver North and he told North he was the one who was crazy. Now where are we? People who bad mouth the President and do not support our military need to remember a few things...with the backing of Congress we would not be at war. He did not do this by himself. The media releasing more photos of prisoner torture is just going to get more innocent soldiers killed but I guess that is not the press's fault either right. Maybe some people should just focus more on what they know...nursing... and less on what they obviously don't.
First, I am curious as to why, when the original poster wanted to know what military nurses thought, that non-veterans felt they should share their perspective, when they have not served and sacrificed as we have?
I am an Army Nurse Corps veteran and served during Operation Desert Shield and Storm. I continue to care for soldiers and their families now as a civilian. I absolutely support our Commander in Chief and the Global War on Terror.
For all of you that are not military and have not since 2003 stepped foot in Iraq...have you seen for yourselves that there are no reasons for us to be there or are you just relying on the news media that only show the American public what THEY feel is news worthy? They did not show the equipment found with French writing on it which just may be why the French did not want to back us when we went in. No one wants to say whether or not it is possible with all the playing around the UN did that maybe the weapons were moved to Syria. There are thousands of miles of deserts in which to hide things...look how long it took to find those mass graves. Do you really think he could not hide weapons? Clinton did nothing when the WTC was bombed in 1993 but everyone wants to blame President Bush for everything since. Why because he is now in office? And if he wasn't who would we blame...Al Gore? Al Gore was told about how dangerous Bin Laden was when he was still a senator by Oliver North and he told North he was the one who was crazy. Now where are we? People who bad mouth the President and do not support our military need to remember a few things...with the backing of Congress we would not be at war. He did not do this by himself. The media releasing more photos of prisoner torture is just going to get more innocent soldiers killed but I guess that is not the press's fault either right. Maybe some people should just focus more on what they know...nursing... and less on what they obviously don't.
twotrees2
913 Posts
all very well and good however there are those who can NOT do thier job because of their beliefes and that is a dangerous position fo rthe rest of the people that need them to have their back. as someone else said - i believe the majority of the military support our leader and our war against terrorists ( my son has spent the majority of the last 3 yrs on the front line of iraq) however there are a few they had to transfer to the back and as far back as possible cause they just couldnt support the whole scene causing potential disaster to the rest of the crew. when a terrorists is shooting at you you have to be able to shoot back or your toast and so may be your comrades. if one is that opposed i would think twoice about going in cause you HAVE to be able to have the backs of your fellow military. my opinion. if my health were better - and i were young enough to go id be there in a heartbeat - i totally agree with the whole ball of wax and think its unfortunate bush cant be reelected. god save us all if we get some nuckelehead who pulls us out and brings the war here. just my opinion.