You can enlist at 17 but not vote.

 

If a 17 year old is old enough to enlist and train to kill people. To manage thousands of dollars of equipment. To handle weapons. Why can’t they own them in his personal life? Why are they not allowed to use tobacco and drink? Why can’t they rent a car without added penalties? Why aren’t they allowed to vote? 

We have people enlisting with parental permission at 17. Yet they aren’t allowed to vote, buy a firearm, use tobacco or alcohol. But they can sign their life away. 

I’m never going to understand the disconnect here.

We either need to raise the age of enlistment or lower the age of other rights. It’s only fair. It’s only right.

We hold service members to higher rules of engagement in hostile territory that we do our own law enforcement officers. And we offer those service members no immunity for their actions.

That means we have had fire teams and often squads led by 20 year olds, with 18 year olds under their command on patrol and guard duty for decades. 

We ask them to maintain weapons. Qualify with them. Be ready to use them lethally. From a handgun all the way up to complicated missile systems. To coordinate with maintenance managed and performed often by people the same age.

We have 17 and 18 year old medics. Trained to handle the immediate treatment of trauma, managing care. A certification that can begin at 17 but requires personnel to be 18 for certification.

We have 17 year olds training to be MPs. Military police. Yet most departments nationwide require officers to be 20 or 21.

We train and use our young people. Motivated and gifted and then limit how those skills transfer. Limit what options our guard and reserve personnel can do. But we ask them to serve.

We either need to raise the age for enlistment. Provide waivers for military personnel especially guard and reserve to do the same jobs in their civilian life. Or lower the ages. 

If a person is too young to serve as a police officer. Too young to own a gun. Too young to smoke or drink. Why are we asking them to serve. Allowing them too.

I enlisted at 24 and was an old man in my platoon. I wasn’t the oldest but I was well above average. I had drill sergeants younger than me with less dependents and life experience. I arrived at my unit with a few NCOs and almost all of the junior officers younger than me. And I wondered if I was ready for the tasks of just being a medic in garrison.

I look at our patchworks of limitations on young people and wonder how letting the military happen makes sense. 

I don’t know. I keep hearing about angry young men. About irresponsibility and wonder if we’re handling this ok.