•••quote:••• The military really needs docs right now, and we have something that they need so we deserve to be treated with more respect than just an 18 year old kid wanting to enlist. ••••Hi Doctordes,
I know you wrote the above in good spirit and that you certainly meant no harm by it, but I will take exception to what you said nonetheless. The 18 year old kids deserve every bit as much respect, perhaps even more, as a doctor or another professional does, especially if the professionals are looking to get commissioned simply for the sake of the financial help. Please remember that some of these 18 year olds end up giving much more than you and I ever will.
I am a former enlisted Marine, and find troubling the portrayal of military training as being disrespectful. What you are refering to as such is most likely the bootcamp and I understand why people who haven't been through it think of it as being degrading and demeaning with the instructors always in your face, yelling and screaming. Without dwelling on it much, I will simply tell you that it is all done with a very specific intent and it is indispensable to training; without such strictness, one would never be able to mold a hundred individual civilians into an effective military unit.
Having said that, I will agree with you, for the benefit of all who might be interested, that the professionals do not go through the same training as the enlisted or even the other commissioned officers do. It is much more laid-back. So, if that concern is the only thing holding you back, you really have no reason to be concerned at all.
Please don't take offense to my post Doctordes; I did not mean to single you out. I just think that we can all be a bit more careful with our words.