Does being the President mean you have served in the US Military

TheLastIndependent said:

The pay for being in the miliary is knowing that 313 million Americans can go to bed at night without worry.

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I have literally never thought of that once the entire time I've been in the military, some people would be amazed by how little patriotic feelings, especially openly patriotic, motivate people to join or stay in the military. For me personally I never thought of doing something for my country as a reason to join, I figured the country could get along just fine without me serving.

Wiseone said:

I have literally never thought of that once the entire time I've been in the military, some people would be amazed by how little patriotic feelings, especially openly patriotic, motivate people to join or stay in the military. For me personally I never thought of doing something for my country as a reason to join, I figured the country could get along just fine without me serving.

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That isn't shocking actually. It has been my dream since I was a very small child to join the military. I'm honestly not sure what drives this dream, but I will be plenty satisfied with the feeling of keeping my country safe even with the small pay.

TurtleDude said:

on another thread someone was whining about Romney's lack of military service so we noted that they must have voted for McCain over Obama (they are Obama slurpers) one of the Obama fans said that Obama now has 3.5 years of military service. I know this is BS but I wanted to see what others think.

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When we make the president go through basic training before taking office, then maybe it can be considered to be military service.

I'm not sure how to answer that question. Yes and no. Mostly no in the truest since. At the same time it's the Potus who commands the military.

The Secretary of the Navy does not have Veterans Status...

No, but it entitles you to say you have directed and been in charge of the military...

MarineTpartier said:

If our gov't was run correctly, politicians wouldn't need much expertise in economics, agriculture, healthcare, etc. However, the Commander in Chief would still need the expertise provided by serving.

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Switch out 'correctly' with 'irresponsibly' and I might agree.

Not having expertise in economics results in the Great Depression. Not having it in agriculture results in the Dust Bowl. Not having it in health care contributes to generalized social unrest. None of which can be indulged when your country is a global superpower.

MoSurveyor said:

Not an easy poll as the poll is in present tense but your question here is in past tense. To the quoted question above I would answer "No", having been the POTUS does not in and of itself let you honestly claim you had "served in the military".

However, being the CinC is, by it's very definition, military service. And your last option is false on it's face as well. Obviously the CinC is an active member of the military.

Put this in a private perspective. Can the CEO of a steel company claim he is a steel worker? Obviously not - BUT can he claim he works in the steel industry? Of course he can.

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That's about as dumb as saying pushing on a wall is moving the entire Earth.

Making those decisions is service. He's in the chain of command. Disrespecting him is an offense, as a CO. He is "in" the military, and bears terrible responsibility.

Matt Foley said:

No. Being in the military means you take a bunch of ****, for low pay.

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IDK about other guys, but I am VERY thankful to have the paycheck I get. A lot of Americans don't have the paycheck and medical insurance I have. I am very blessed. I am also very thankful to taxpaying citizens for giving it to me.

ecofarm said:

Making those decisions is service. He's in the chain of command. Disrespecting him is an offense, as a CO. He is "in" the military, and bears terrible responsibility.

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So you believe the POTUS is serving "in" the military by being POTUS?

MarineTpartier said:

IDK about other guys, but I am VERY thankful to have the paycheck I get. A lot of Americans don't have the paycheck and medical insurance I have. I am very blessed. I am also very thankful to taxpaying citizens for giving it to me.

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Beats the hell outta unemployment or welfare don't it?

I'd say its fair to say they served their country, but I think its silly to try to claim they were in the military.

Interesting question.
Certainly being potus bears very little resemblance to any one else's military service. Hard to compare regular military service to being the potus and reach the conclusion that they are similar enough to be the same thing on that basis.
But, technical things can be quite convoluted and arcane to the point of appearing all but arbitrary.

Never considered it before.
Perhaps it depends on the context.
Iirc, the potus is considered the civilian check on the military by some folks.

Just as the CEO has no idea what it is like to work in the mailroom, the CiC has no idea what it is like to be a soldier. :shrug:

Morality Games said:

Switch out 'correctly' with 'irresponsibly' and I might agree.

Not having expertise in economics results in the Great Depression. Not having it in agriculture results in the Dust Bowl. Not having it in health care contributes to generalized social unrest. None of which can be indulged when your country is a global superpower.

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You sound like a Fox News fear mongerer. Only on the other side.
-The Great Depression was caused by drumroll THE FEDERAL RESERVE Even your boy Ben Bernake says that.
The Great Depression of 1929 - Causes of the Great Depression of 1929 - Unemployment During the Great Depression
-Health care was cheaper until drumroll MEDICARE but was increasing even before that because of drumroll SOCIAL SECURITY. Healthcare was cheap until SS. The medical community knew that seniors were being paid SS so they, in turn, did a money grab on it. This resulted in Medicare, which was opposed by the American Medical Association as "untenable" and giving too much control to the Federal gov't. But we still got it. Just like the ACA. All of the aforementioned programs were not popular with the country for the very reason they are bankrupting us now. Because they all knew that politicians wouldn't be able to leave well enough alone and let the programs stay as is. That's what happened with SS and Medicare/aid and look where we're at. It will happen with the ACA too.
-Now, the Dustbowl. I will concede that it is a special circumstance that required special care. The Federal gov't should have a play in that. They should be involved. I don't think they should establish permanent committees on it though. I believe the way to go would have been to require states to establish a committee or council on soil conservation, etc and leave it to the states to manage. In this case, the states had shown they mismanaged their resources and hurt the country by doing so. That doesn't mean the Federal gov't gets to come in and rule with a heavy hand indefinitely though. Also, this doesn't require a politician to be an expert in agriculture. It requires him to be savvy enough to know that he is out of his league when speaking of it and source the proper experts in the field to come in and advise the Congress on it.
I think that's our issue. Many of our politicians act as though they are experts in everything. No one can know that much. I can see someone knowing, say, economics well. I can see someone being educated in military affairs. But all of them act as though they know all of these subjects equally and are the "go to guy" on them. I believe a lot of our politicians need a dose of humility.

OscarB63 said:

Just as the CEO has no idea what it is like to work in the mailroom, the CiC has no idea what it is like to be a soldier. :shrug:

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Not necessarily. Some CEOs actually started at the bottom and literally worked their way up. Some Presidents were military, and even war heroes.

Maybe not the majority, especially where CEOs are concerned, but enough to disqualify any blanket statements.

radcen said:

Not necessarily. Some CEOs actually started at the bottom and literally worked their way up. Some Presidents were military, and even war heroes.

Maybe not the majority, especially where CEOs are concerned, but enough to disqualify any blanket statements.

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Some presidents....not this president. IRT the question posed in the OP the answer is no. Similar to the thread asking if all military are heroes. Some are, some are not.

When you "serve" in the military you get a DD 214 (or in the case of WWII and earlier a WD AGO) upon completion of "service". If a POTUS has a DD 214, then he has served in the military. If he does not, he has not.