Not Everyone Serving in the United States Military is a "Hero"

Chris Hayes from MSNBC is in trouble for opening up his mouth. This past weekend he questioned the idea of calling anyone who serves in the military a hero. He sums it up that it seems like justification for war. He says it's noble to serve, but that doesn't make you a hero.

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I happen to agree. Joining the military and serving by no means makes anyone an automatic hero. There are plenty of bad bugs in the military that don't deserve this automatic respect that often goes with the uniform. I know. I have served in two branches of the military and both branches had their share of problematic soldiers the word hero should not be associated with. Remember, not all men and women in the military are serving because they make a sacrifice. Some serve because they are forced to in order to stay out of jail.

When I was in my AIT training at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, I learned very quickly about bad bugs in the military. Private Hector and Private Jongou are two fellow members that are the perfect examples. While I was on fireguard one night, these two troublemakers had sneaked out of the barracks after curfew prior to myself assuming my post. They were caught up in the female barracks, where they jumped out of a second story window and were chased around the barracks at Fort Sam until they were caught. The NCOIC put me to the test by not taking their names and then calling up five minutes after they were brought back for the night.

Under my general orders I was required to give up their names, which I did. For the next three weeks until my orders came in for my next post, I was threatened by these two gang bangers from Los Angeles as they flashed their gang symbols. Fortunately, I had good friends who weren't amused. It was a tense three weeks though. Character, especially that of a hero simply for enlisting isn't a given just because you enter military service.

After I got out of the army, I decided to go into the electronics program at Great Lakes Naval Training Center north of Chicago. Having prior experience, I knew there were perks for those who had already gone through basic training and your AIT school. I planned for my parents to drive my car to the base so I would have it upon completing basic training.

This of course made me everyone's best friend, but I don't like that feeling. I said no quite often to a lot of people who needed rides. Now if you have watched "Full Metal Jacket" you should understand there is a lot of theft that goes on in the military. Remember who Gunnery Sgt. Hartman jumped on Leonard Lawrence for not securing his footlocker?

I never would have guessed what of mine was going to be stolen and how the Navy would react. One of my other friends I hung out with, a 30 year old Georgia peach bored of the fashion retail industry too had brought her car to base. I was riding with her when I saw my car leave the parking area with two sailors in it, who I could identify.

She turned her car around and we found ourselves chasing my car through Waukegan, IL. Knowing if we continued to chase my car would be totaled from the frantic driving if we continued or worse get hurt. We let my car get away and rushed to a pay phone. These were the days long before everyone had a cell phone.

A day later, my car was found and impounded. I had to pay all the impound fees and tickets despite my care being reported stolen. In the car were two Dixie caps (those goofy white sailor caps) both stenciled with the sailors' names. Upon reporting and giving evidence to the Great Lakes Police Department that serves the Naval Base, nothing was going to be done to the sailors. Instant hero for simply enlisting wasn't justified.

The truth is there are a lot of bad bugs that enlist. To throw around the word hero just because they join the military is insane. You have to remember some of these enlistees have real issues and are being forced to join to stay out of trouble. While I admire most who do serve, in the back of my mind I understand not everyone who serves has an honorable ethos to be called hero.