Army: In or Out?
Monday, September 17In Switzerland, it is mandatory for every man to join the Swiss armed forces at the age of 19. That's because my country considers itself to be a neutral state and therefore features a militia only. (Please do not ask me to explain whether it's possible to be neutral; and to explain what a neutral behavior and attitude are.)
A service in the Swiss armed forces includes your recruitment, your training, and several refresher courses. If you are physically or mentally not capable of joining the armed forces, you will have to pay a surrogate tax. This is what it says in our constitution. So far so good.
At 2.00 pm this afternoon I have an appointment with an orthopedist because of my 'knee problem.' (The quotes indicate where this is going.)
Before I went to my recruitment several months ago, my GP wrote a medical certificate for me that said it was unadvised to have me in the army. He wrote that he feared for my knee's condition to worsen during a straeneous time with the army. The colonels at the recruitment centers later expressed a different view on the issue.
I have appealed this decision and need to supply further evidence. This is where the orthopedic specialist comes in.
But do I really want to cop out? Lately, I've secretly felt an inner wish to join. To be with all the other guys. To struggle. Phsically and mentally. To be a man. To fulfill my duty.
Would my joining the army truly effect my maleness? Is it solely my stereotyped thinking? And how do the girls think about it? Is this what can make a man butch and brawny?
Being a man has nothing to do with joining the military but everything to do with doing what one thinks is right and to take responsibility for his decisions regardless of the outcome. A man treat others with respect and honour regardless of how they treat him. A man does not need to kill for ones tribe or country but to be willing to die for what he believes in.
Join the military if you believe it is truly right to do but not because others say it is right. If you do join, use it as a growing experience within yourself, not and experience to make you grow. I grew up being told that the military will make you a man to later find out only you can make yourself a man. The military teaches you the skills of combat however not the skills of compassion or love of a woman or lover. These later skills are the base of what makes a real man.
Good luck.
TDP
twodeadpoets September 18, 2007 7:14 AM
First of all, I am appalled that the disabled have to pay an extra tax because they are unable to serve in the military. I am female which would clear me anyway, but I am also an amputee. It's not as though I cut my own leg off to avoid military service. And I'm to be punished for that in Switzerland? Huh? (PS. I'm American. Don't shoot.)
I don't know you well enough to answer your question. What I do know is that you should grab every experience life has to offer you, even if you're uncertain of its appeal. When the end has come, you want to have lived a life. And it's only a year. They likelihood that Switzerland is going to be dragged into the Middle East is zero to none. Isn't it?
Geminipen September 20, 2007 7:09 PM
If you don't think your knee is a problem, you should totally serve. The army doesn't make you a man, but the idea of service and sacrifice will help on the journey. And as you stated there is personal challenge and camaraderie. Plus, who is going to start shit with the Swiss?
Evil Genius September 21, 2007 5:32 AM
I would be interested in knowing the nationalities of the previous commenters. I think this affects your opinion on military service "for your countrymen".
As an Aussie, we don't care much for the military, so I reckon you're just as butch and manly without having trained/served, and you may end up a toss-pot if you do serve.
my 2c.
Btw, you write your English very well. I don't speak another language and so I massacre English a bit sometimes with slang, but I think you're doing beautifully.
Throws me for six a bit when you do write in the other language (see I'm so hopeless I don't even recognise it sorry)
Dataceptionist September 27, 2007 7:40 AM
@ dataceptionist: thanks, that's very nice of you. i'm obsessed with the english language and i wish i spoke/wrote it just like a native speaker. needs a lot of practice, though. thanks for your other comments, too. you help making my blog a great blog!
simon September 27, 2007 8:05 AM