Question for anyone who has served with young soldiers?

Question

I have been watching Generation Kill lately, and I was wondering, was there anyone who was serving with you that didn't seem to take death seriously at the start?

Comments that are anything but the answer will be ignored and reported. And before any of you say I don't support the troops, I do and plan to join the royal marines next year.

Answer 1

i look at that like this,

jokes and laughter keep the fear in check. its a pure smoke screen for self-perseverance. it is normal a healthy behavior. once in a while it crosses the line but again it is the group that will correct it. it falls in the area of ...ya gotta be in that situation to understand or judge not.

Answer 2

Even though I am only a Vietnam Vet, I can answer the ? this way.

When we would get a newbie (a newcomer to the unit) they were all the same, they wanted to fit in with the rest of us who had already been baptized under fire.  They didn't have time to think about death, only on how to survive.  Death was taken seriously at all times especialy when you faced it.

Those stupid TV and Movies are all the same, I have yet to see one that depicted the real feelings and actions of many.

Answer 3

I would not necessarily term it "taking death seriously" so much as just a lack of common sense, experience, and paying attention.  The few times I really had to chew some younger, lower ranking subordinate out it was due more to that than not taking death seriously.  Usually their training gives them a healthy respect for death and the finality of it or they don't make it through their training in most cases and in my opinion it is more of what I mention than a lack of respect for death.  

Answer 4

there are always going to be soldiers and marines and any other branch of military service members that are not going to take their jobs and death seriously. i am a young soldier (19 years old) and i work with people who act like their job is no big deal and that theres not a posibility they could die. and not all of them are young. some have been in for 15 years. h**l most of the young people in the military are just looking for free money to go to college.

reguardless of people in the military or civilians, people are going to take life and what they have for granted and they only regret the things they do and realize what/who they had when its gone.