Letter to a Christian Young Man Regarding
Joining the
Military
by
Laurence M.
Vance
The following letter was sent to a Christian young man I know who was
considering joining the military. He hasn’t joined as of yet, and I hope
and pray that he doesn’t. I am posting this letter publicly in the hope
that it might persuade some Christian young men I don’t know from joining
the military.
Dear ______:
I have been told that you are thinking about joining the military. I hope
I am misinformed. I understand that you are having trouble finding a job,
but think that, as a Christian young man, you are making a big mistake if
you join today’s military.
First of all, you were raised in a Christian home and went to Christian
schools your whole life. You will be needlessly exposed to much
wickedness in the military. You will unnecessarily face temptations that
you have never been exposed to. Why put yourself in this position? It is
a fact that there is a network of brothels around the world to service
U.S. troops stationed overseas. I know that you are a clean young man and
have a girlfriend, but don’t deceive yourself into thinking that you can
remain clean in the military. Because I write on war and military issues,
I have scores of veterans, Christian and otherwise, who have written me
that will back up everything I am saying.
Second, it is one thing to join the military out of a sense of
patriotism, but how does joining the military for financial reasons make
you any different than a mercenary? I know that sounds harsh, but would
you consider joining the military if you had a good job right
now?
Third, the senseless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have no end in sight.
There is no guarantee that you will not be sent to Iraq, Afghanistan, or
some other God-forsaken place where you could be in danger of losing life
or limb. And for what?
Fourth, you can’t trust military recruiters. Like a car salesman, they
are trying to make their monthly quota. They have been caught on tape
lying to young men, even telling them that no troops were being sent to
Iraq anymore.
Fifth, I know that you have a very low opinion of the new president,
Barack Obama. I share your opinion completely. As a member of the
military, Obama would be your commander in chief. You could be sent
anywhere to fight for Obama. Are you willing to fight and possibly die
because Obama thinks it necessary to send American troops into some other
war?
Sixth, in the military, you will be expected to blindly follow the orders
of your officers. Independent thought is not tolerated. Please consider
the words of U.S. Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler (1881–1940),
a two-time Congressional Medal of Honor winner: "Like all the
members of the military profession, I never had a thought of my own until
I left the service. My mental faculties remained in suspended animation
while I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in
the military service." Major General Butler became disillusioned
with military service and wrote a famous book called
War Is a Racket in which he said: "War is a racket. It
always has been. It is possibly the oldest, easily the most profitable,
surely the most vicious. It is the only one international in scope. It is
the only one in which the profits are reckoned in dollars and the losses
in lives."
Seventh, the purpose of the U.S. military is to defend America. But not
only is the military not being used in defense of the country, it is
being used to guard the borders, patrol the coasts, and defend the shores
of other countries. The purpose of the military has been perverted by the
interventionist foreign policy of the United States. There are American
troops stationed in 147 countries and 10 territories. I know this for a
fact because I have researched this in official Department of Defense
documents and written about it on many occasions. The current use of the
military is contrary to the American Founding Fathers’ policy of
nonintervention in the affairs of other countries.
Eighth, joining the military may have an adverse effect on your future
family. I know that you have a girlfriend that you are very serious
about. You should know that the breakup of marriages and relationships
because of soldiers being deployed to Iraq and elsewhere is epidemic.
Multiple duty tours and increased deployment terms are the death knell
for stable families. What makes you think that the military will never
send you away from your family for an extended period of time? You know
that the possibility exists, so why gamble with your family? And then, as
if being away from your family wasn’t bad enough on you and them, some
soldiers come home with such physical and/or mental problems that they
are unable to return to civilian life. Debt, doctors, and divorce lawyers
soon consume their finances.
Ninth, joining the military means that you may be put into a position
where you will have to kill or be killed. What guarantee do you have that
you will be in a non-combat role? Can you in good conscience pull the
trigger against any "enemy" that the U.S. government sends you
thousands of miles away to kill?
And finally, you would have problems even if you went into the military
as a chaplain. Taxpayer-supported chaplains have to serve two masters:
God and the state. Compromise is inevitable. He that pays the piper calls
the tune. To become a chaplain in the U.S. military, one must obtain an
ecclesiastical endorsement from an organization approved by the Pentagon
as an Endorsing Ecclesiastical Organization. According to the chaplain
requirements, one of the things that the endorsement should certify is
that a military chaplain should be "sensitive to religious pluralism
and able to provide for the free exercise of religion by all military
personnel, their family members and civilians who work for the
Army." I know that you are a conservative Christian and are averse
to compromising your religious convictions. You will, however, be
expected to do just that. As a chaplain, you would be expected to ask God
to bless the actions of U.S. troops even if they were fighting in an
unjust war. Can you in good conscience do this?
Please remember that if you join the military, there is no getting out
until your enlistment period is up. I hope and pray that you don’t make
the mistake of joining.
In Christ Jesus our Savior,
Laurence Vance
If any readers are veterans, consider themselves to be Christians,
agree with the sentiments expressed in this letter, and would be willing
to let me append their name, branch, and rank to any future use of this
letter, please contact me. The fact
that you "served" and I didn’t might be what is needed to help
persuade some young man (or woman) to not join the military.