Those in the military, do you feel an obligation to believe whatever your government tells you?

The apparent lack of critical thought seems to permiate every answer I've seen from someone in the military on YA. So to those of you in the military, do you feel an obligation to believe whatever your government tells you, and do you justify and rationalize whatever they order you to do? What happened to the "21st century thinking soldier"?Those in the military, do you feel an obligation to believe whatever your government tells you?Well, I don't know if a message board - which may or may not contain folks who are actually in the military - is a great indicator of how several million people think. But to answer your question folks in the military aren't anymore or less sympathetic to the government's policies than folks in other walks of life. You do have to swear an oath to the President of the United States, so you can't exactly be driving around with "F@ck Bush!" bumper stickers - but then again since when is groupthink cool?



But on another note, the "critical thought" most people engage in isn't very provocative in my mind. You got the anti-war rabble that makes alot of noise, but what do they actually DO? Are they refusing to pay taxes? Do they boycott the hundreds of companies that profit from the war in Iraq (Burger King for instance)? Are they doing anything substantive to curtail the size of the federal government? Of course not, because all of these things might require an actual sacrafice.



So instead they just do safe things like buying bumper stickers and moaning about war on the internet. All the while they're quietly paying their taxes and actively contributing to the power of an economy and government that they supposedly hate. They wouldn't dare do anything that might threaten their position on the sofa. Pathetic to be honest.Those in the military, do you feel an obligation to believe whatever your government tells you?
We think, and have opinions.



When you are boots on the ground in Iraq or Afghanistan, what someone in the US "thinks" or what the government "says" matters not worth a damn.



I can see with my own two eyes, and hear with my own ears.

Everything I saw and heard leads me to believe that we are doing the right things, for the right reasons.



That's what matters - what WE see and hear. That validates everything from my perspective.



"critical thought" is mostly from people that have never, nor will they ever, go to either one of those countries. (and I don't mean a 'fact finding' mission)



I don't feel "obligated" to believe anything. I just do the job.Those in the military, do you feel an obligation to believe whatever your government tells you?I am a retired Marine. I never felt obligated to believe everything that I was told by my Government, but I swore an oath to follow the orders of those who were in positions of authority over me. In essence, I swore an oath to the people who are represented by the government. If you are driving at why hasn't the military rebelled and refused to fight in the Iraq war, I would say that they are following orders, and they don't agree with you. If you want good answers from military members, you might not want to lead with an insulting statement like you did. Some of the finest people I have ever known were soldiers, and some of the biggest jerks I have ever met weren't. There are plenty of "thinking soldiers" out there, they just don't think like you.
You are way off and I can see you have never served. If you have, you would know that a Soldier has the right to believe whatever they choose, but they also have made the OBLIGATION by OATH to perform their Military Mission. Soldiers are not obligated to carry out illegal/ immoral orders issued by their commanders. To my knowledge, the U.S Congress and Senate issued the order to our military to go to war, so even though you may believe the war in Iraq is Immoral/Illegal, the U.S Military was ordered to war Legally and so must perform accordingly. A better answer to YOUR question would be "What ever happened to the "21st Century Thinking Politician" They are the ones that have the luxury of Rationalizing, NOT the Military.Those in the military, do you feel an obligation to believe whatever your government tells you?I've spoken to people in the military, and I've spoken to protesters outside of it, and the military is FAR less naive than the protesters.



Why are you protesters so lacking in critical thought?Those in the military, do you feel an obligation to believe whatever your government tells you?
We in the military accept our missions, cause it is out job. We all have opinions, and some of us dont want to follow our orders, but we are obiligated to. Think of it this way, if your supervisior tells you at your job to do something, and you dont agree, do you still do what s/he told you to do, because they are the boss? We in the military hear the same news that you do, we all have families that tell us things, and if you dont agree with what the govt is tell you to do, and it bothers you that much, then get out of the military.

The military dose a lot more then just war. We provide help and assistance for natural disasters, help needy countries, provide security for foreign countries, and so much more.
Aparently, you have not read my answers.Those in the military, do you feel an obligation to believe whatever your government tells you?
i come from along line of military family members %26amp; friends and found out that they really dont always agree but as a soldier do their jobs you just dont speak against your country regaurdless i guess you have to wear the shoes to understand i just dont ask them just respect them!!
No i do not, but even if you may disagree with what the military is doing that does not apply to me i am half Cuban so i already know who the enemy is and i will fight for this country right or wrong.
As soldiers we are taught to have tact something you know nothing about and respect you have very little of. You are one of those ignorant civilians that sits at home on the sofa and watch the news. So why do you believe everything that your news reporters say? All they are doing is boosting there numbers so they can wear the designer clothing that they wear and you are one of those numbers that is boosting there numbers that pays for all those nice things. While soldiers are over doing the right thing and fighting for our country so you can sleep at night without the sounds of mortars or gunfire. Get your nose out of whatever books and newspapers and have some common sense.
And due to your condescending and mocking tone, one might believe that those who do not think or believe as you do must be wrong.



How refreshing. Another American using the right to freedom of speech to tell those who fight to preserve it that we're idiots because we believe both in our country and those elected to lead it.



Yes, we believe both in our country and our government. If you have a problem with what your country is doing, get up off your @$$ and do something about it. Organize a protest, start a coalition, because there are certainly a vocal minority who feel as you do.



Or, by all means, make derogatory comments about the men and women risking their lives every day to secure the freedoms you take for granted. Call us automatons, idiots, whatever.



Justify what? Following lawful orders? Why would we need to justify that? Yes, we follow orders, that is how the military functions.



And we believe our government, and we believe in it as well.



Finally, as you SHOULD already know, the military goes where the President sends us. So take up your "moral outrage" with his office, and leave our troops alone.



As for you, I'm going to consider you another resource consuming American, former military or not, content to rant and rail without actually getting up off your @$$ to try and change something he doesn't like about his government.
I guess I would be called disgruntal. I don't believe half the stuff the government tells me because I am in the military. I use to rationalize things, but as time passed and I got older and started to form my own opinion, I got over it. Brained wash I am not!
Strictly speaking the Army shouldn't practise the brainwashing tactics on its personel. You see, at the end of the day, the USA like the UK has career soldiers and that is the job. You should always be aware that when you swear the oath of alligiance, you are swearing to protect the respective governments and it's interests, good and bad. So if you have any problem with this, signing up is not recommended.