The most common answers you may hear when questioning a young person as to the motives of joining the military, range from patriotism to benefits. However, considering the current state of the world and the character of our country, one could validly question the morality of serving, based on the good that could come out of it, both individually and collectively.
The biggest selling points recruiters advertise to people is funding for education, travel opportunities and medical benefits. Of course these are monetary improvements which do not focus on any specific moral motivation, they are simply ways in which someone can get a long better in life, which I am not opposed to. What I am leery of is the military environment and whether we are involved in a just mission.
I want to make it clear to anyone reading this, that I was in the military and do not regret my time served. I was able to pay for school, start a family and experience many good things, which I may not have received otherwise. My motivation for joining the military were, Ill be honest not well thought out. I was sporadically attending college, was single, was moderately enticed by the travel and college benefits. Bottom line I was had no direction, didn't have the motivation for any specific goal, and thought it would be good for me to serve. I may be discrediting myself, but retrospectively, it may not have been a bad decision, but who knows.
Virtues
The first question I have, is whether the military environment is good? Based solely on experience, this is a big maybe. There are a number of virtues one can develop in the military with the right disposition. Obedience is the first one that comes to mind. The fact is, if you do not do what you are told you will be disciplined, sometimes very severely. The Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), outlines all the legal mumbo jumbo which one has to follow. In my experience many people didnt do what they were supposed to and were demoted, put in the brig, made to perform demeaning tasks etc; its just not wise to shirk the rules and believe me, many did.
The second virtue I can comment on is Humility. If you are an enlisted, which I was, you are placed at the bottom of a large hierarchy of ranks. Those at the upper end demanded great respect; some of which earned it and others did not. This was hard for me, seeing that I had some college, and was older, and had more life experience then my peers.
But the hardest part was the monumental gap between officers and enlisted. It was just stupid the difference of pay, food, drink, and living quarters that the lowest ranking officer was entitled to compared to experience veterans. This was a hard pill to swallow seeing that another two years in college and I could have been in a similar state. I know that may sound petty, but you just had to be there. In reality some officers work very hard and worked hard to be there. However, the quality of leaders produced was not very distinguishable from any other in my opinion.
The last virtues I will comment on are self sufficiency, which entails many smaller goods for everyday living. Most kids who sign up are fresh out of the nest with no experience in life; the military teaches you how to do many things that can help someone maintain themselves in the world. I know that I am leaving out many other good things the military can instill, but for brevity, I will leave it at this.
Vices
Regardless of all the good effects the military can have on someone you cannot the negate the seriously depraved environment a young man or woman is placed in. If you are not concerned for maintaining your purity, then the military is perfect for you. There is absolutely no check whatsoever on the young folks concerning pornography, hooking up both on and off the duty station, and vulgarity of speech and conduct in the working environment. If any good willed Catholic parent has a child who has inclinations in joining the military, you must understand, that even the purest and virtuous son or daughter will be bombarded by filth. In light of that onslaught even the most temperate individuals may cave. I am not just talking about porn, I am also referring to the peer pressure to visit strip clubs and engage in prostitution. It takes supernatural grace to come out of that environment unscathed. I praise God that I was able to withstand it and stay somewhat chaste in the midst of all I was exposed to.
Promiscuity is also very rampant. The divorce rate is extremely high in the military and you regularly hear the scuttlebutt of everyone's escapades. Female soldiers are a constant distraction for the males and a high percentage of them get pregnant very soon after arriving at their first duty station. I repeat, females are a huge distraction and are very much outnumbered adding to the temptation of sexually frustrated and hormonal young males. Many incidents of rape do occur.
The purity issue alone is reason enough for a young person to avoid the military. Not all people are effected the same by the temptation presented there, but I would say most are in at least a small way and no one should put themselves in the near occasion to sin.
There are always exceptions to the rule and one could get involved in base church services and find a group of guys who are concerned for holy things. If this is available, then I would cling for dear life to those individuals and spend as much time as possible with them; as they say "iron sharpens iron".
A Just Mission
The second major concern for whether someone should or should not join the military is determining whether one might be forced to contribute to a war or mission, the motives of which are unjust. This is hard determine even retrospectively; people come up with tons of conspiracies regarding causes of war. Regardless of whether it is difficult to know if a war is just or not, you must ask the question, is this a just war? Gratefully, the Church has teaching on this very issue.
The teaching of Just War Doctrine has its origin in St. Augustine of Hippo and has also been taught by other Doctors such as St. Thomas Aquinas and formally adopted by the Magisterium. It is important to note that before a nation is to conduct war, it must have exhausted all other efforts preliminarily. "[O]nce all peace efforts have failed" [Cf. Vatican II, Gaudium et spes 79, 4] it is permissible to consider war.
Once it is established that force is necessary to maintain peace and justice, there are three criteria which first have to be met. These criteria are similar for any action to determine its morality. The first is the act good in itself? The use of force to maintain justice is morally licit. The second question, is the intention good? The act must not be to inflict evil for its own sake. It must have the good as its end, i.e. maintaining peace and justice. Thirdly, it must be appropriate in the circumstances. You have to consider the means and execution of for preserving justice. The Catechism states:
"1. the damage inflicted by the aggressor on the nation or community of nations must be lasting, grave, and certain;
2. all other means of putting an end to it must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;
3. there must be serious prospects of success;
4. the use of arms must not produce evils and disorders graver than the evil to be eliminated. The power of modern means of destruction weighs very heavily in evaluating this condition" [CCC 2309].
The president or whoever is in charge must give thoughtful consideration to these questions. Lastly, a nation which uses forces to stay some evil or injustice, must consider the underlying cause of the disorder and how it came to be. The Catechism says, "Injustice, excessive economic or social inequalities, envy, distrust, and pride raging among men and nations constantly threaten peace and cause wars. Everything done to overcome these disorders contributes to building up peace and avoiding war" [CCC 2317].
To give an example of a large scale military campaign which was condemned by the Church , was the U.S. led war in Iraq. There are varying opinions on the topic, but the Vatican was clear in its condemnation of the American invasion of Iraq. Pope St. J. P. II said in an Address to the Diplomatic Corps at the Vatican on January 13, 2003 “War is never just another means that one can choose to employ for settling differences between nations” and reiterated that “war cannot be decided upon . . . except as the very last option and in accordance with very strict conditions.” ThePope made it clear that he thought more negotiations could have taken place before entering Iraq, "There is still time to negotiate; there is still room for peace, it is never too late to come to an understanding and to continue discussions.”
Pope Benedict XVI commented as well giving clear indications for his predecessors judgment, "reasons sufficient for unleashing a war against Iraq did not exist,” in part because, "proportion between the possible positive consequences and the sure negative effect of the conflict was not guaranteed. On the contrary, it seems clear that the negative consequences will be greater than anything positive that might be obtained." What the popes are saying is that coming to the aid of a people who are being terrorized by their government is a good thing, but not when the amount of destruction and death cannot be recovered from. All the while not shirking the duty of rebuilding the country afterward.
It goes without saying that Saddam was a tyrant, guilty of many grievous acts; however, the means by which he was deposed were deemed excessive by the Popes. Post bellum, the pope organized for multi national aid for the rebuilding of Iraq.
With Just War Doctrine briefly laid out above, if someone decides that he wants to join the military, they also must be prudent and aware of what he may be forced to contribute to. If the person is already serving and is put in a position in which he is ordered to perform an unjust act (firing on innocent civilians), he is morally obligated to refuse. The consequences of this may not be pleasant, but acting against ones informed conscience is sinful.
I remember a fellow stationed with me who protested before his company left for deployment. He refused to participate and made a very public show of it. He informed the media and I believe was put in the brig. At the time I thought he was a coward, but he may have been justified considering it was during the campaign "Enduring Freedom".
The Church respects those who patriotically serve their country, "[i]f they carry out their duty honorably, they truly contribute to the common good of the nation and the maintenance of peace. [Cf. Gaudium et spes 79, 5]" On the other hand as we established in the previous blog post on serving a country that is evil, you have to decide what your motivating factor is for joining. If you serve to preserve the common good of your nation and actual world peace, while getting the benefits for a college education and travel, then that is good. If you are joining simply for the thrills of war, or some other facile understanding of a country you have been deluded to believe is superior to all others (Americanism), then think again.
Too often kids out of high school, sign up for the military for the wrong reason, while not even considering the questions of preserving their sanctity and potential participation in an unjust war. As a parents, we can help guide our children in making such a huge decision. I am not against joining the military, except during certain circumstances. I heartily believe that I am a better person from my experience and time served. I would never take it back, mostly due to the fact that i would not have met my wife and now have 7 children. There are however other options to acquire college money, travel, etc., and you are no lesser of a man for not serving -you may be considered wiser.
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