Asymmetric Military

I teach at a high school and many students ask me whether they should join the military. I have come up with an easy, if oversimplified, formulation. There are two reasons to join the military: The first reason to join the Army is if you are an individual who loves military stuff: You like guns, marching, physical exercise, and the smell of Kiwi; you've watched Blackhawk Down 23 times and didn't realize there was another station besides the History Channel; you read Victor David Hanson and Sun Tzu; and you like the PX as much as Bob Vila likes Home Depot. You need to join the Army or else you will suffer from soldier envy for the rest of your life.

Black Hawk Down

The other reason to join the military is if you're patriotic or believe in a particular cause. Your commitment to the mission and goal of the military will allow you to tolerate the many unpleasant tasks and non-compromising treatment that, unless you are also joining for reason number one, you will not enjoy.

I'll discuss my reasons tomorrow.