So, someone offered you a dangerous job? A recruiter is the civilian equivalent to a hiring manager. So, would you make the same statement to someone attempting to hire police officers in a high crime precinct? Moreover, would you make that statement to someone trying to hire firemen? Both professions put the lives of those recruits into situations that could end their life earlier than if they happened to work in an office. Tuition isnâÄôt cheap. I have worked a few really crappy jobs over the summers to pay for school. I had the unfortunate experience to witness someone nearly lose an arm when his sweatshirt was snagged by a chain on a conveyor system at a mill work factory for $11 an hour and no tuition benefits. ItâÄôs a volunteer system. Are you really complaining about a volunteer military compensating those that chose to do just that? Would you prefer a non-volunteer system without benefits? Wait until it is safe? So, you would take these benefits if there was no risk or obligation to you? You donâÄôt sound like the kind of employee I would want to have in the first place. Are you also a Vikings/Twins/Gophers fan when they are doing well, but quickly stop supporting them when they lose? I realize my response is longer than your letter, and admittedly appears to have had more forethought, but do you truly believe that everyone that goes to war dies? To quote Gen. Patton, âÄúNo poor bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making other bastards die for their country.âÄù I realize that the military is not the place for everyone, nor does the military have a place for everyone. Depending on the day, some people question whether my fit is appropriate. I have been to Iraq, and I will be going back there shortly. I understand the risks associated with going, and IâÄôm accepting of those risks for the benefits I will receive. I cannot speak for anyone else in or out of the military, but if it were not for the opportunity my recruiter assisted me with exploring, at the very least I would not know a level of cultural variety that many Americans only learn about through TV, own my own home and be able to graduate without the burden of debt, demonstrate appreciable leadership and organizational skills with real world examples and know as much about the kind of person I am and the kind of person I want to become. Jeremy Dugger University student