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This is a requested video from Patrick from down in Aussie Land, who is 24 years old and thinking about joining the military.
And in this video, obviously, I'm going to respond specifically to his question, but hopefully I can give some valuable insight to any of you other young guys out there that think about joining the military yourself.
So he writes, I'm 24 years old from Australia.
I majored in a worthless liberal arts degrees, international studies, which I have dropped out of.
I'm currently working as a pizza delivery driver.
Now, you are absolutely correct.
The international studies, pretty much useless.
Unless basically you can become a politician with that, or you can work for an NGO.
And what are NGOs?
NGOs are, you know, Stefan Molyneux had a great video just recently about this, where, you know, everything people criticize colonialism for, which was, at least in the British case, was actually pretty awesome because it was based upon free market economics.
Everything they accuse that, colonialism of being, is what NGOs are.
NGOs are our charitable white gill.
Let's manipulate the system.
Let's play puppet masters with people's lives with no accountability.
You know, even when the East India Company screwed things up, they were still building roads and telegraphs and benefiting both the people of Britain and the people of India.
Not so with NGOs.
As a politician, you could make a difference.
My good friend Danny DiGracchia, for instance, is a political scientist, but it's very thankless being an honest politician.
Unless you're a scam artist, you either need to be a scam artist or really, really committed to making a positive change in the world.
And if you're the latter, it's going to be a thankless, thankless profession.
So good for you for dropping out of it because you're just going more into debt.
Although you should probably look into if you check if you've got any prerequisites that can later on be useful.
Look into what the prerequisites are.
Look at what you've done and see if you can flip that into doing something else in the future, assuming that you got good marks.
And honestly, even if you're taking a worthless degree, get good marks.
Okay?
Like, you should probably quit as soon as you figure out it's a worthless degree.
But as long as you're stuck paying for it, get good marks.
So currently working as a pizza delivery driver.
And dude, you're 24.
You don't know.
Now I'm 34, and Aaron Clary tells me that nobody respects you until you're 35.
I'm inclined to believe him.
There is very, very little opportunity out there.
Pizza delivery driver, there's nothing, nothing to be ashamed of, nothing wrong with that.
That's, hey, at least they leave you alone while you're driving around in your car, right?
I'm strongly considering joining the military, or the army, which is what everyone calls it in Australia.
I was going to do army reserves for a year first, and if I can handle it and like it, upgrade to the full-time army.
And I'll get back to that in a sec.
My questions are these.
After you retired from the military, was finding employment difficult?
Are you better off getting an army job which has some sort of trade skills attached to it?
I'm tossing up between being a combat engineer, a light cavalry scout, or just straight-up rifleman.
If it makes no difference, then I'd probably go for the light cavalry scout.
I'm a bit of a thrill seeker, but the combat engineer sounds like it has more transferable skills.
All right, so let's, there's more to the email, but let's deal with this.
And there's a follow-up email where he added a couple of details, so I'm going to kind of be including those in here.
First of all, do not go reserves.
Go reg force.
go full-time, okay?
One of my greatest regrets in life is that, see, I went reserve force when I was in university.
And then when I realized that university was a bunch of bullpatooty, I was about to go reg force when my mother spent an hour begging me not to.
And that is one of my biggest regrets in life, is not going reg force.
For one thing, I would have made a lot more money than I actually did.
Even using my army hookups to get me jobs.
And even then, using my hookups to get jobs was not very good.
And that was, that must be almost a decade ago.
Okay?
And with military experience and everything.
So I really, really regret not going reg force.
And I think you will too.
Reserves are what you do if you have a primary thing you're doing already.
If you're going to, if you're going to school, if you are, if you have a career, like say you're a welder or something like that.
Like let's say you're a welder, you're making really good money welding, and you get to the age of 24 and you realize, you know, I always wanted to join the military.
Well, I could join the reserve force.
You know, and I'm doing it part-time, and then maybe I volunteer for a rotation overseas, and I take six months off of work.
And at that point, if you're a good worker, your work will usually let you do that, because it's the military, and, you know, even in Canada and Australia, most businesses are that patriotic.
That's what you do the reserve force for.
If you want to be in the military, though, and it sounds to me like you do, go full-time.
Full-time is intimidating because it's a three- to five-year commitment.
Now that said, tiny little secret, it's not.
Not if it's really wrong for you, and you will know within the first week whether or not it's wrong for you.
But it's not wrong for you.
If you're thinking about it, if it's something that you want to do, you want to acquire those skills.
You want to actually, like, not to insult amateurs.
Not to hobbyists.
And you know what?
I'm sure there's many hobbyists that are a better shot than I am with rifle, pistol, what have you.
But they don't fully understand its implementation.
If you want to understand combat, like listen, like anybody can listen, mixed martial arts guys, pretty much all of them could kick my ass.
You know, half the women in it could probably kick my ass.
That's not violence.
That's not warfare.
That's a sport.
You clearly want to understand combat.
And you will learn that in the military.
You will actually learn combat.
Because real combat is nothing like...
The same way a real fight looks nothing like Jackie Chan.
Even though Jackie Chan could kick my ass.
Well, I don't know if Jackie Chan was ever in a fist fight, okay?
I'm not a huge follower of his.
He is a brilliant martial arts.
I have such an utmost deep respect for his skill.
And he probably could have kicked my ass, but I know more about combat than he does.
And that seems like what you're interested in.
Okay, and combat is one of those strategy-level skills.
It's one of those broad-spectrum skills.
Join the Reich Force.
It is right for you.
You are just afraid of committing three years of your life.
And yet, here's a funny thing.
As a young dumb kid, which we all were, you weren't afraid of committing four or five years of your life to university, where you pay, what, $10,000 a year?
I'm guessing you have a lot of socialized assistants in Australia, at least $10,000 a year.
You're paying for that.
The Army is willing to pay you just to train.
And yeah, you get yelled at, and you got to wear the same outfit as everybody else.
But let me ask you right now: if you've done a three-year stint in the Army from years 18 to 21, and let me know, what were you doing during those years?
Was it anything particularly awesome?
Were you part of a rock band?
Were you, you know, or were you some cheese-eating, straight-out of high school kid working minimum wage and doing nothing?
Getting drunk, driving around in old beaters, etc.
You're not missing out on anything.
Okay, like listen, the Army, you will fit in there.
Okay, you're a red-blooded Aussie male.
You will fit in.
It is intimidating.
And it's supposed to be intimidating because even with all the modern Soviet legislation, you know what?
The Army doesn't want a bunch of pussies.
But you're not a pussy.
And, you know, I. You said that you do have a couple of other prospects in your life.
You're delivering pizzas right now.
Okay, what are your other prospects?
Your prospect, I suspect that the other prospects that you have in life are not go work for $80,000 a year and drive a Bentley.
No, you want to join the military.
You will always regret it if you don't.
Suck it up.
Do it.
Take the risk.
You know, if it's really not for you, there are ways to get out.
Yeah, you kind of have to act like a bitch to get out, but if it's really not for you, it's really not for you.
And they don't want you there.
They don't want to waste all that money that they're going to give you to be there if it's just not for you.
But it probably is for you, at least for a little while.
You know, at least as a, you know what?
I've been there, I've done that.
And you will be better off for it.
Now, let's address this question about combat engineer, infantry, or again, I looked up this trade because this is, I believe it's unique to Australia.
I don't think we have it in Canada.
Light Cavalry Scout, which, you know, in America, the cavalry was converted into the, if I understand correctly, again, I'm ex-Canadian military.
The cavalry was converted into Air Force helicopters.
At least that's what we were soldiers taught me.
In Canada, Australia, and I believe Britain, the cavalry was turned into the armored.
And so you're talking about a light armored division that is primarily tasked with wreck-eying and scouting.
I would advise, and now, all right, combat engineer is you build, you mostly blow things up.
All right, sometimes you build bridges, mostly you make things go boom.
Infantry, everybody is infantry at the end of the day.
And you're looking, it really sounds to me like you're looking for some specialized skill.
Something a little bit unique.
Everybody is an infantry soldier at the end of the day.
Infantry is the best at it.
But you want something a little bit more than that.
Something hands-on and engaging, but also a little bit technical.
I really think you want to go the cavalry route.
Because cavalry, what you're going to be doing, you're going to be doing a lot of infantry stuff.
You're going to be, you know, out there wrecking, you know, don't be afraid of the night, be afraid of what hunts in the night.
You'll be doing all of that, that great stuff, camp paint on your face, radios and whatnot, but you'll also be driving trucks around.
You'll be driving armored vehicles.
And now this, this is actually a distinct skill.
Right now, like, yes, we are seeing this switch to automated Google cars driving all over the place, but nonetheless, there's always going to be a need for truck drivers, for people that know how to maneuver a vehicle around a site.
So that right there is a distinct skill all on its own.
Of the three, I think that's the one you probably want to go for, unless if the idea of playing around with C4 sounds like a lot of fun to you.
Basically, to sum up the three trades that you mentioned, engineers are the most laid-back guys that are like, they are completely mellow all the time, and they have no fear of death.
They're like, oh, yeah, you should probably be a bit more careful next time you handle that thing.
Could have gone off and killed both of us.
But no, it's all good.
Infantry guys are the hoorah hardcore.
Let's get in there, kick some doors down, let's hurt some people.
And the air cav, or sorry, not air cav.
What is it?
Cavalry scout, the impression I get, these are the lazy, skinny SOBs that can do infantry stuff, but they prefer to drive there.
And I'm getting the impression that that's you.
So that would be my recommendation, just reading between the lines.
Now.
Next, you say, then again, the Western economies are so over-regulated that I wouldn't be surprised if to get a job as a laborer, I would still have to spend as much time at trade school if you had 10 years' experience as a combat engineer as you would if you come out of high school.
Actually, no.
Listen, this is the next thing.
This is why you go reg force, by the way.
If you stay reserve force, then, yeah, you get a decent paycheck for showing up on weekends, and maybe you can do a six-month roto somewhere and get some combat pay.
If you go reg force, you are going to cap out very quickly on learning the job skills.
You know, you'll still be doing exercises every weekend.
You're getting a little bit better, but there's only so many courses that you can take.
So many courses that are offered on how to be a recce, how to do, I don't know, a jump school, how to do driver-wheeled, etc.
The Army is also chock full of all these other courses that you can be taking.
You know, I don't know specifically how it works in Australia, but I guarantee you, you can constantly be getting certifications under your belt.
You know, the Army is, it's like we've got nothing to do because we're not really at war, but we need to have people being busy.
You can get certifications.
You know, you start off with the cavalry scout.
Maybe you get some automotive certification.
That seems complimentary.
Seems like your chain of command would approve of that.
You know, maybe even go off base, get the military to pay for you to take a college course.
All of this stuff is available if you're in reg force.
And even if that stuff isn't available, you can quickly attain a leadership position.
So you're not, yeah, I was some jerk in the army that carried a gun around.
You're the guy that, yes, I had eight men directly under my command.
I reported these people.
Worst case scenario, you have leadership management experience under your belt.
It might still be difficult getting a job in the civi world, but, well, first of all, you'll know how to act like a leader.
You will learn that.
And second, people in general will respect it.
And third, you can probably get some certifications under your belt while in the military, paid for by the military, while they pay you to be taking the courses.
All right, going on.
What are the best army jobs to go for when it comes to finding employment in the real world?
And what was my experience?
I've kind of been covering that.
The best bet is, like, if you, if, for money, is become become a maritime engineer.
Become Scotty on Star Trek.
Okay, they'll pay for an engineering degree.
They'll, and then you can get a, you know, then you get, you, by serving, you have to work a few years as an engineer before you actually get certified as an engineer.
So by the time you are done with the military, you are now officially a professional engineer and an ex-military engineer.
That's probably out the door for you right now.
Just because it's been too many years since you got out of high school.
Okay?
That's just the hard facts of the matter.
If you're looking purely at employment, SIGOPS, radio work, that's a huge one.
Doing anything with radios or information technology, those are the big ones.
Also, if you get into any of the trades, the military hires a lot of tradespeople.
There might be other subdivisions of engineers that are more into welding and doing that sort of stuff than blowing stuff up.
You know, I hung out with the combat engineers for the most part.
Really, it's up to you.
What are you interested in?
You know, it sounds to me like you're interested in air-cav.
And you can probably, if you put in three years to air-cav, where you're getting paid, and after basic, you know, you can go off base and meet the local girls at the bar and the local men who hate you.
You know, you're getting three years of room and board paid for.
And having a job that's, you know, more rewarding and not that much harder than others, actually learning real skills, actually developing as a man, you know, it's a lot better than being a greeter at Walmart.
You can probably switch to another trade.
You need to figure out if there's something that really interests you, then go for that.
But it sounds to me like you already have something that interests you.
International politics that you were studying in school, yeah, useless degree, but that doesn't mean that you're a useless person.
It means that you got scammed into taking the wrong degree.
If you're interested in politics and history and diplomacy, you know what, man, combat arms.
You're really interested in combat arms?
Go combat arms.
It's dangerous.
Yes, it's dangerous.
And we'll get to that in a minute.
But I think cavalry sculpt, that's really sounding good to me.
All right, moving on.
Yeah, and you said I'll probably go for light cavalry scout over riflemen.
And actually, here's the other thing.
Listen, what you go in for is not necessarily what you're going to be doing.
You're going to be doing whatever you're told to be doing.
And again, if you went into the reserves as an engineer, as a cavalry scout, as whatever, and then you go overseas, you do a six-month roto, guess what?
You're the crappy version of infantry.
That's all you are.
It's because you're not good enough to be on the front lines with the other cavalry scouts.
Or let's say there's an infantry guy that has a lot of experience in the reserves.
He might be the cavalry scout if you go overseas, not you.
So it's whatever they need you to be doing is what you're going to be doing.
Like you kind of choose your specialty.
Think of it like an RPG.
You know, it's like, yeah, you've got the one rogue that's better with a bow and arrow, but you need somebody to slash a sword.
What are they going to be doing?
A lot of opportunities for growth, lots of opportunities to get additional skills, to show what you're good at, to develop yourself, but ultimately, you're going to be doing what you're going to be doing.
And you'll be getting paid fairly well for it, and it'll be a hell of a lot better than delivering pizza.
Now, and this is the bit that's really important.
I honestly don't think I'm patriotic enough to die for my country.
Five years ago, I would have been, but I have to say, but I have to say depression has killed my nationalism.
Now, and then you ask, if Russia invaded Canada, would Irini be prepared to die for Soviet Kanukistan?
And honestly, man, I would.
Do what the problem is.
The problem isn't that I wouldn't be willing to die for my country.
It's that my country wouldn't ask me to die for it when it would matter.
That's a difficulty.
And this is why I'm often hesitant to recommend the military to people.
Because, especially in America, I don't want some idealistic 17-year-old with a bright future getting his legs blown off and ask Krakistan to help the Taliban take over the country, which is what we're fighting.
We're now allied with the freaking terrorists.
Listen, ours is not to question why, ours is but to do and die.
You join the military because that's what you are.
You know, like, you stand up for, you fight because that's who you are.
And that's who you are.
Don't be blind about it.
Don't go out of your way to put yourself in harm's way.
But, you know, quite frankly, here's the thing.
We're not really fighting any wars right now.
Yeah, I mean, we have some undeclared wars and like one or two declared ones, but they're police actions.
They're freaking jokes.
Okay, this is not World War II.
And the thing is, if it were World War II, if it does get that hot, and it might, then that will be a country worth fighting for.
I know, like, listen, man, you are living right now in the absolute worst place of Western civilization.
You're a young man, and young men, even at the best of times, young men are at the bottom of the totem pole.
So life sucks.
You know, and there's very little nation to be nationalistic about.
But if Australia were to get into such a conflict, an existential conflict that actually mattered, then it would suddenly become a nation worth fighting for.
I mean, I'm getting older.
My body isn't what it once was.
But if there was some threat to Canada or to America, like an actual existential threat, as much as I like the Russians, if they invade, I know which side I'm on.
I might still volunteer and sign up for it.
Just because that's kind of what I do.
And I think it's what you do as well.
And ultimately, you're not fighting for the corrupt politicians or for the nation state.
You're fighting for the guy next to you.
You're fighting because you're a soldier.
Yeah, for Americans, I'll generally say go Coast Guard.
If a young American, you know, like usually a 17, 18, young, idealistic, naive, asks me, I'll say, you know, join the Coast Guard in America because that's a lot safer.
And still military.
You're still doing good, okay?
You're still, it's safer, not perfectly safe.
They don't have a Coast Guard in Australia.
It's a division of the Navy.
So that's the real question.
Fight for the ideals, man.
Like, obviously, like, we're all idealists around here, and things have never been perfect.
Things are pretty bad right now.
But I'm sensing two big things from you.
You feel the romantic excitement of being in the military.
If you were just a thrill seeker, you would dive out of airplanes, or you'd rock climb, or you're in Australia, so you'd punch out crocodiles or whatever it is that you crazy Aussies do.
You wouldn't be thinking about military cold, wet, tired, hungry, you know, moments of terror interspersed by hours of boredom.
You're more than just a thrill seeker.
All right?
Like anybody can seek.
Go play a horror video game so you get a thrill.
You want that.
You want more than just a thrill.
On the other hand, you also want economic opportunity.
The Army will give you both of those.
It's, you do, listen, every job's dangerous.
And the military, it's a little bit more dangerous than most jobs.
In fact, though, keep in mind that most military deaths are actually not from combat, but it's because young men are expected to take responsibility and do things they don't know how to do.
Like most deaths are guys falling off of roofs, guys getting electrocuted.
These are preventable deaths if you keep switched on.
Same thing for combat.
I mean, no guarantees.
Sometimes, you know, that frag just had your name on it.
But stay switched on.
Stay situationally aware.
Now, I can't promise you anything.
And ultimately, it's all up to you.
But this is my perspective.
This is what I see in you.
You want to join the military.
If you don't, you're going to regret it.
You know, when you're 30, 35, 40, you are going to regret that when I was younger, I didn't join the military.
In fact, geez, during my basic training, there was actually a guy.
He seemed really old at the time.
He might have only been 30.
I think he was older than that, though, 35, 40.
He always wanted to join the military, and he joined at an advanced age because he just always wanted to.
And I think you'll regret it if you don't.
And second of all, you strike me as having the intelligence and the cohonies to really do well in the military.
Ignore what people say.
They actually do want intelligence in the soldiers.
It's just not mandatory.
And there's, if you keep your eyes open, again, situationally aware, switched on.
What are my opportunities here?
What will the army pay me for?
You know, what courses?
How can I get all of this?
There are so many Bennies if you're paying attention and you're thinking.
And so I know you said you have a couple of other opportunities right now, but dude, you're delivering pizzas.
You know, three years, five years of your life, making something out of yourself?
Good lord, by then, you might start looking at the pension and decide to do another 15 or 20.
