The military is a very organized and important social structure. Many people may think that it's easy to get into the military because men are needed for it, but it's really not that simple. You must meet certain criterea. You need to have at least graduated from high school or have obtained a GED, you must be younger than 34, a non drug abuser, you must be financially capable for your finances, if you have more than two dependants under the age of 18 you most likely will not get in, US citizenship is a must, a clean record and clean bill of health is also a neccesity.
Once you are in the military you are expected to act a specific way. Everyone must cut their hair a certain way, wear a uniform, stand properly, they must use proper language and always respect each other and especially those higher than them. If an officer tells you to do something, you must do it without hesitation or attitude.
The military expemplifies the many roles that make up a social structure. From acting a certain way to get into the military, and to continue to play the role of a private, an officer or whoever you may be.
http://www.navy.com/joining/qualifications.html
The military is a form of bureaucracy made with rules, regulations, and norms of its own. These are in place to efficiently help the US government and citizens.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny that you need to meet such a certain criteria. You can't have a felony on your record to get into the military nor, can you have medical issues. I can see why the medical issue is a good reason, as I've known people that were told "you can't stop to take insulin or food if needed in the middle of war".
I have different opinions about the felony issue. I think that is should be based on individual issues. Some felonies are not considered "major" while others are. If this is not a serious crime and even just a couple of years have passed I think you should be able to get into the army. The military is there to help every; citizens and the individuals. It protects our country and our free rights. Getting into the army is the first step that a lot of people could take to bettering their lives.
The military does have a lot of strict rules, and regulations. That is what makes it a bureaucracy. My sisters boyfriend is entering the military. In order to get in he had to lose a lot of weight. He wasn't fat or anything, but they require you to be within a certain weight limit. It is different for different parts of the military. He had to measure out all of his food portions, and barely snack at all in order to meet these requirements. In our assignment this week we had to discuss why having social structure makes our lives easier. I think this blog post relates a lot to our assignment. If we didn't have social structure than there would be no constraints on our actions. This would allow the people entering the military to be anyone without any restrictions at all. There roles would be unclear, and they could go off doing whatever these pleased once they were a part of the military. How save would our country be then?
ReplyDeleteI like your take on my blog Heather. That is very true. I believe in the rules and regulations that the military require. Especially the clean record and clean bill of health. We certainly wouldn't want people serving our contry that were unable to fully. A lot of people think that a young man that has had a troubled past would benefit from the military, because it will shape them up, which may be true but who wants someone who isn't serious about it? Serving the United States is a very important job that should not be taken lightly. I agree that social structure is crucial. I'm not sure if I would want to see what our world would be like if we didn't have such structure.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. I agree that the military is an important part of social structure. I had heard that the military had strict rules, but I never realized just how strict until reading Heather's post about the military having a certain weight criteria. That is something I did not know and am surprised by that. Since all in the military have the same hair cut, dress the same, stand the same, etc, I am wondering if that has any affect on them personally. They are told what to do, how to do it and what they should look like and talk like. Since there is no individuality, I wonder if that has any affect on them personally.
ReplyDeleteIn response to Kellys comment.
ReplyDeleteI think that it must have an effect on them personally. The process in which the military works is to break a person down and rebuild them the way the army wants them to be or act. They should follow orders unquestionably. At least, that's how it used to be. I think that the military's process have become more.. lax? in the recent years. I mean, it's ok to be openly gay in the military now. So clearly regulations and expectations are changing.
I didn't know much about the criteria for getting into the military so this was very informative. The part about having two dependents under the age of 18 was very surprising to me. I didn't think that they would put limitations on how many kids you had to get into the military. I can understand that they would want everyone to have the same haircuts and dress the same. This is an organization that thrives off of structure. I wouldn't say that this is a place for individuality (in the sense of someone with a mohawk for example). Obviously there are people who stand out doing their job, but their requirements assure everyone the same opportunities. As others have said I can also understand the clean bill of health and nor prior records because we are asking people to protect our country. We wouldn't want but only the best to serve for our country.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure I agree that the military has become more lax in recent years. As a society, we have become more accepting of homosexuality and believe that all Americans should have equal opportunities. I think that people looked at the requirements of joining the military and realized that sexual preference didn't fit with the other requirements. Sexual preference does not have any affect on one's performance in the military field. A gay man or woman can be just as capable as a straight one and follow the precise rules just as anyone else can. The military still thrives on structure, and that has not changed much at all. Soldiers are put through the same drills and basic training as they always have been. After seeing how the military transforms an individual, I believe that it does break people down and mold them into the warriors they want to have.
ReplyDeleteAdriana the military has changed a lot in the past 70 years. When my father went to boot camp drill sergeants were allowed to hit the recruits, Not with their hands but by throwing their drill sergeant's hats at recruits. So over time the drill sergeants found various ways of hardening their hats to make their strikes more painful. 30 years ago this act of throwing their hats was banned so drill sergeants changed their tactics. The recruit would be struck by the rim of the hat. Imagine your recruits standing in formation and a drill sergeant is standing 6 inches away from your face yelling. The rim of his hat would be about 2 inches from the bridge of your nose. What drill sergeants would do is hit the bridge of your nose with the rim of the hardened hat. They were not technically hitting you by military standards, but it would still make the bridge of your nose bleed. In any incident report, it would be written up as an accident. It didn't take very long before this technique was also banned. Over the years, the breakdown and build-up of soldiers have changed from physical to more of a mental breakdown, and even though muscle fatigue is used as a tool drill sergeant are more concerned about the ability of a soldier to follow orders unconditionally. It is true that if you are to be a soldier you ere expected to maintain a specific weight range. I know this for a fact because when I was in boot camp, I got put in what they called the fat line. This is a line you do not want to be placed in. It entitles you to very little food choices, basically low-fat food that you wouldn't even feed your dog, and an extra 15 minutes every day of physical exercise. As if your muscles are exhausted enough from the regular regimen of torture. later in your military career if you have not been able to maintain your weight the military will not promote you, And more physical fitness training is definitely soon to follow. These military physical fitness instructors make sure to make your weight loss training as unpleasant as possible.
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