History270WarSociety

“I am not a big fan of being identified as a woman anything. I worked so hard not to be different from the other Soldiers for most of my career. Being effective in combat requires only that you place the mission first, that you will never quit, never accept defeat, and that when a buddy falls, you do not leave them behind” (Holmstedt vii-viii). This quote from the text is fascinating to me as it relates to two separate texts we have read in regard to the military and the identity of those who serve in it. First, it reminded me of the piece titled Making the Corps from Thomas E. Ricks which the class read while studying ‘Embodiment’. In this piece, Ricks explores the transition from individuality in civilian culture to uniformity in the marines. The text explains, “ Nobody’s an individual...” (Ricks 64). This pertains to Band of Sisters as the quote from Maj. L. Duckworth promotes the idea of stripping one’s identity, meaning gender, sexuality, race, etc., and absorbing into one’s ...

While watching the Invisible War,  I was absolutely appalled. The fact that 20%  of the women in the military have been sexually assaulted is infuriating. These women bring forward cases with tangible evidence and yet, they still sometimes take years to be dealt with and even then they aren't dealt with. These women are even blamed for being raped or accused of lying. And when physical damage is done, no one deals with it. As seen in the film with Kori, she waits 14 months for her case to be taken to an arraignment and even then has to wait up to 136 days for it to be dealt with. The V.A. just throws medicines at Veterans and at times, the mixtures if pills they give ti them kills them. The military just tries to cover up sexual assault or attribute it to the women rather than deal with it. The movie makes the point that women who are raped in the military are more likely to struggle with PTSD for a lifetime than men who were in active duty combat. But it's not just women that...

Ever since the United States military became an all-volunteer force in 1973, there has been a need to recruit civilians to join the military. They spend a lot of money on advertisement and other recruitment strategies to try and get as many people to sign up as possible. I think it is ironic that, "During the 1980s, approximately seventeen thousand gay men and women were discharged or prevented from serving in the U.S. military." That is seventeen thousand able-bodied individuals that were denied service just because of their sexual orientation. The reason that the military denied these people came from statements made in the 70s from people likeW. Graham Claytor Jr. stating that, "The presence of homosexuals 'would frustrate formation of close personal bonds and would fragment the unit.'" I'm glad that the military opinion of members of the LGBTQ+ has shifted over the years and now accepts these people for who they are and are. I'm personally thankf...

Gender in the military is something that is changing everyday. We see how many women have forced their way into becoming a part of the United States military.  We see numerous examples of how women protested during World War Two and how they became more active as the war progressed. There were numerous movements during the war whether it be Rosie the Riveter or women or women trying to form an all women's corps. Throughout World War Two, women were successful in their attempt to try to break gender barriers as well as some sexism. Many women during this period joined the industry or factories and they proved that they can work as hard as men. There is also an increase in the amount of married women who join this workforce and this begins to break the barrier even further.  The topic of gays/ lesbians/ LGBT etc. joining the military in my opinion does not matter how they identify as long as they can contribute to our acting military. I found it very interesting when Nick was t...

Jarhead is a book written by former marine Anthony Swofford, and he recalls his time of serving in the military during operation Desert Storm. He recalls times of hooking up with women, almost committing suicide, his friendships, but the thing that stood out to me the most would have to be when a news reporter was coming to camp and the marines would have to censor their answers. The marines were instructed to answer every question a certain biased way to reassure Americans that they were believing in the cause and they were almost happy to be at war because they are doing the right thing.  There is an argument between the marines due to the free speech amendment and there is a major disagreement. It was interesting how the Staff sergeant is telling the marines they signed away their rights on papers and were instructed to follow orders. I find this statement very thought provoking especially with our recent debate on the Vietnam war. What exactly happened in Vietnam that the civil...

Platoon is the first film I've watched about the Vietnam war since after reading and learning about the draft and the attitudes of soldiers during this war. I feel that this movie tried to depict the struggles and emotions of a soldier accurately. The blood and gore submersed me into the world of Chris played by Charlie Sheen and the rest of his platoon. When they raided the village to try and find the VC it seemed like they had no idea what they were doing. There was no real leadership because there were no rules. Soldiers were shooting men and women just because they were scared and confused. They also were raping young women for the fun of it. After this encounter, Chris said "I don't know what's right and what's wrong anymore." I feel that this thought crossed every soldiers mind during the Vietnam War. They were just fighting and sacrificing their lives for no good purpose in their minds. Overall I thought this movie was a great representation of the flaw...