I'm out of the army!

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bhamv3

bhamv3

Yes siree, I've been discharged from the Republic of China armed forces and am now a reservist. My year of national service is up, and I'm a free man once more.

You know, before I joined up, I could never really understand what would make someone choose a career in the military. It's a crappy lifestyle, the pay is nothing to shout about, and if there's a war your ass is the first on the line.

But now that I've spent a year in uniform, I think I sort of get it now. I endured the toughest year so far in my life, and emerged stronger for it. The army pushed me to my limits and now that I know where my limits are, I can start to stretch them. And it's about being part of something bigger, to stand forth and say, "I will do my part in protecting my country and my people." And y'know what, I really do feel proud of what I've accomplished over the last year.

To be a soldier is called "serving," implying that joining the military is to provide a service. And yes, I feel I have served my country, and I'm ready to continue to do so.

But first, damn, I'm gonna enjoy not having to wake up at 5am every morning and run until I puke.
 
North_Ranger

North_Ranger

Staff member
Trust me, you'll be waking up early in any case. Your body will take its own sweet time to remember that you ain't in the army anymore ;)

So, what's your rank in the reserves?
 
bhamv3

bhamv3

I'm a Pfc (or maybe just a private, the ranks between the Taiwanese military and western ones don't match up exactly). I considered the NCO route, but after seeing the shit they have to go through just to attain the rank, and then afterwards they get to go through even more shit, I decided not to.
 
North_Ranger

North_Ranger

Staff member
Hell no. I'm just your regular, turf-fuckin', bazooka-wieldin', in-the-woods-shittin' grunt.

I didn't even consider going NCO, since I didn't want to spend any more time in the army than I had to, and most of our NCOs were dicks anyway. Including
- a cadet who was a self-proclaimed ultra-nationalist Nazi,
- a laid-back goof-off who looked like he was high 24/7 and was lovingly referred to as "Orangutang Ollie"
- and a pathological liar with feces-obsessed sex stories who went AWOL three weeks before our time was due.
 
Denbrought

Denbrought

North_Ranger said:
Hell no. I'm just your regular, turf-fuckin', bazooka-wieldin', in-the-woods-shittin' grunt.

I didn't even consider going NCO, since I didn't want to spend any more time in the army than I had to, and most of our NCOs were dicks anyway. Including
- a cadet who was a self-proclaimed ultra-nationalist Nazi,
- a laid-back goof-off who looked like he was high 24/7 and was lovingly referred to as "Orangutang Ollie"
- and a pathological liar with feces-obsessed sex stories who went AWOL three weeks before our time was due.
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And a complete lack of comissars, to boot. Truly dismal.
 
Eriol

Eriol

PRC = People's Republic of China = Communist
ROC = Republic of China = Taiwan = Democratic (I think. This says more about me that I'm not 100% sure. It shocked me a while back that South Korea was essentially a dictatorship until the 80s)
 
Terrik

Terrik

Actually Taiwan was a one-party state under martial law until 1987 itself.
Added at: 10:02
And N.Korea had better living standards than S. Korea in the 60's 0_0
 
bhamv3

bhamv3

Terrik said:
Actually Taiwan was a one-party state under martial law until 1987 itself.
Added at: 10:02
And N.Korea had better living standards than S. Korea in the 60's 0_0
Click to expand...
Yeah, Taiwan lifted martial law in 1987, and in the intervening years we've been democratizing like crazy.

You ever seen those cartoons where someone, let's say Wile E. Coyote, is zooming forward at top speed as fast as he can, and then he goes over a cliff, and he keeps traveling horizontally for a while until he looks down and realizes there's no ground beneath him, and then he finally falls down? Taiwan's democratization process has been a bit like that. We've received so much freedom in so little time, it's almost as if we don't know what to do with it.

Our press is rampantly sensationalist, for example. Our newspapers can print pretty much anything they want, so they go for the sex and violence to make sure they get sales. Our legislators and politicians often say and do the most outrageous things (fistfights in the legislature do happen from time to time), sometimes for the simple pleasure of being able to speak out against the establishment and administration. There are some people saying Taiwan's too free now, and that some freedoms should be scaled back.

I say these people are out of their minds. I like to compare Taiwan's democracy to a kid who goes off to college, and suddenly finds he can do whatever he wants, and indulges in a bit too much partying during his freshman year. The Taiwanese will grow and mature and adapt to democracy. Dialing back our freedoms is the last thing we'd want to do.
 
B

Biannoshufu

I am glad you are less likely to be killed in combat now.

No before and after pictures though?
 
bhamv3

bhamv3

Nah, no pics, I'm shy.

Plus with all that extra energy expenditure, I had to eat more, so my overall body shape is actually remarkably unchanged. I'm definitely fitter and stronger, but it's more stuff like cardiovascular endurance rather than a trimmer waistline.
 
C

Chibibar

Dave said:
Why would they have to buy us? They've already paid the rent. The only thing left is to move in.
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Nah. My dad (well stepdad. He served in the Red Army in China) said that China's plan is to take over economically. War is bad mainly it destroy things. You can't take technology if they are destroy. Why not just BUY them!

You see, via investing and having controlling shares, China essentially buying up tech and knowledge and use it back home! :)
 
Denbrought

Denbrought

Chibibar said:
Nah. My dad (well stepdad. He served in the Red Army in China) said that China's plan is to take over economically. War is bad mainly it destroy things. You can't take technology if they are destroy. Why not just BUY them!

You see, via investing and having controlling shares, China essentially buying up tech and knowledge and use it back home! :)
Click to expand...
 
sixpackshaker

sixpackshaker

I just have a gut feeling that one day China will lash out at either Australia for land, Taiwan for pride, the Philippines for the food source, or the US or India for population control.
 
LordRendar

LordRendar

The Philippines for food source? We dont have anything.We barely get enough for ourselves.Maybe use the American Army bases as their own and use them as a Defense Line for attacks coming from the East Pacific.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

sixpackshaker said:
I just have a gut feeling that one day China will lash out at either Australia for land, Taiwan for pride, the Philippines for the food source, or the US or India for population control.
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I doubt it will be Australia for land. Isn't most of it nigh uninhabited because of lack of water?
 
gargoyle_eva

gargoyle_eva

Kind of, out bush everybody just gets their own water from the ground. You could pretty much live anywhere with enough money to set yourself up. The main problem is the distance between neighbouring communities. Medical emergencies are the biggest factor. Break a leg on a farm way out bush, hope somebody finds you in time to get back to the house and radio in the Flying Doctors. Better off left bushland, besides, who doesn't want to live on the coast? We have beautiful beaches.
 
AshburnerX

AshburnerX

Besides, Japan would get involved if they did... they LOVE to illegally whale hunt in Australian waters. You know, even though no one born after 1960 actually likes the taste of whale and it's seen as disgusting by most kids in the country.
 
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