The only thing worse than a Christian young man joining today’s
military is a Christian young woman joining today’s military.
I recently heard through the grapevine that the daughter of a
former student of mine joined the military. Either the Navy or the Air Force, I
forget which branch. My guess is that she is about 20 years old.
This is horrible. A Christian young woman has no business being
in the military. Let me briefly state ten reasons why.
Before I
do, let me preface my remarks by saying that many of the reasons why a
Christian young woman has no business being in the military are the same
reasons why a Christian young man has no business being in the military. Back
in 2009, I wrote a letter to a Christian young man who was
considering joining the military. I am not going to repeat all of the things I
said to him here, hence the brevity of my remarks. Oh, and things are even
worse now.
1. Offense.
Although it is called the Department of Defense, the U.S. military is mainly
used for offense. The military does not defend our freedoms. The military does
not defend U.S. borders, shores, coasts, and skies. The military is nothing but
the president’s personal attack force to bomb, invade, occupy, and otherwise
bring death and destruction to any country he deems necessary that may never
have attacked or threatened the United States.
2. Sexual
assaults. According to the Department of Defense annual report on sexual assault in the military for the
fiscal year 2016: “There were around 14,900 sexual assaults in the US military
last year, ranging from groping to rape. The majority of those who reported
such incidents faced retaliation. Although a total of 6,172 sexual assault
reports were filed in fiscal 2016, that figure represents only a fraction of
the actual number of incidents that took place, as many victims do not
officially report the crimes.” What more do I need to add?
3. Sex. Women
in the military are greatly outnumbered by men. Many of the men don’t mind
women in the military for one reason: sex. No wonder the Navy has a serious
problem with pregnancies on its ships. Christians are
to avoid fornication. The military is no place to be for a Christian young
woman who wants to keep herself pure for her future husband.
4. Transgenderism.
This disgusting fad is epidemic in the military. There are an estimated15,500 military personnel who are
transgender. How do you know whether to say to your commanding officer “yes
sir” or “yes ma’am”? And now the government will begin paying for hormone
replacement therapy and, in some cases, sex-reassignment surgery. I can
just see the newest military slogan: Join the military, travel the world, meet
interesting people, and change your gender—all at taxpayer expense.
5. Homosexuality.
The military observes LGBT Pride Month in June of each year. Not only does the
military allow homosexual, transgender, and transsexual individuals to serve
openly, it takes pride in doing so. Dissenters—including those who dissent
because of their Christian faith—are
frowned upon for being insensitive, exclusive, intolerant, bigoted, and
homophobic. How long will it be before all military personnel will have to
express their LGBT pride or face repercussions?
6. Woman in
combat. The military now allows women to serve in combat roles. There will
certainly come a day when this is not optional and any woman who joins the
military might be put into a combat role whether she wants it or not.
7. Nude
photos. Every year there is some new scandal in one or more branches of the
service involving photos and/or videos of nude female service members that are
secretly taken. If you are a young woman in the military, there is a good
chance that someone may obtain nude images of you to share with others on the
base or post online.
8. Orders. If
a woman doesn’t want to take orders from strange men then joining the military
is the last thing she should do. Once in the military, she will be expected to
follow without reservation the orders of her superiors and not exercise
independent judgment. These orders will certainly involve going places that no
U.S. soldier has any business going and doing things that no U.S. soldier has
any business doing. These orders may result in the deaths of other women and
their children.
9. Death,
disfigurement, or dismemberment. Even if a woman in the military is not in a
direct combat role, she still has a chance of dying, getting disfigured, or
suffering dismemberment. There is no guarantee that a woman who enlists in the
military will not be sent to a combat zone, hostile territory, or “harms way”
where she might die in vain and for a lie or come home with a serious brain
injury, PTSD, missing limbs, or a mangled face. Some soldiers even die
stateside in training accidents. Is the pay, benefits, education, and bonus
that the military recruiter promises worth the risk?
10. Foreign policy. The U.S. military
is a force for evil in the world because it carries out a reckless,
belligerent, and meddling U.S. foreign policy that stirs up hatred against the
United States and creates terrorists. Women in the military who go overseas
will be helping to carry out a foreign policy that perverts the use of the
military by garrisoning the planet with hundreds of bases and thousands of
troops. There is no guarantee that a woman who enlists in the military will not
be sent overseas.
The U.S. military is a cesspool of immorality, wickedness, and
evil.
Attention all Christian young woman: stay out of the military.
And ignore advice to the contrary from your pastor, youth leader, parents,
veterans, teachers, military recruiters, friends, and family. Your life,
health, safety, virginity, purity, mental well-being, future, and Christian
testimony are at stake.
And come to think of it, these are also good reasons for any
woman to stay out of the military. And any man.
Laurence M. Vance [send him mail] writes from central Florida. He is the author of The War on Drugs Is a War on Freedom; War, Christianity, and the State: Essays on the Follies of Christian
Militarism; War, Empire, and the Military: Essays on the Follies of War and U.S.
Foreign Policy; King James, His Bible, and Its Translators, and many other books. His newest book is Gun Control and the Second Amendment.
Visit his website.
