In the Pocket

Pointless careerism? Putting on a man-tailored suit
with shoulder pads
and imitating all the worst behavior of men?
This is the noblest thing that women can think of?
--Feminism, George Carlin

"Listen son, you're wasting your time;
there's a future for you in the fire escape trade.
Come up to town!"
--I Know What I Like, Genesis

There's no time for trivialities
when you're forging you career
--Irina Builova
___________________

Ranger couldn't avoid overhearing two female ROTC cadets from the local university loudly discussing their careers recently. Careers -- and they are only cadets.

They have not done their first soldiering, and it is that which careers are built upon; careers are not items of issue for military cadets. But so sure are they of the military as a growth industry that they simply take for granted the fact that their next 20+ years are laid out for them. A job it is, like any other.

This observation sums up the problem with the new U.S. military: Careerism is more important than soldiering. It is obvious from this conversation that careerism is inculcated from day one.

Apparently they have forgotten that the "R" in ROTC stands for "Reserve". There was a time when ROTC was a balance to the regular Army Officers produced by the professional West Point Academy sphere of influence. However, recent developments have swept away this distinction, and now Reserve Officers are every bit as inured as the Academy grads to lock-step career-mindedness.

Careerism alone has never won a war.