[mikestew]

I never brought up intelligence, I brought up the fact that I don't expect a Marine boot camp graduate with no specialized education to be the one thinking about these hard questions. Just like you don't want me, someone who has only fired an AR15 a few times, covering your ass on patrol. But despite your protestations to the contrary, the underlying assumption in my statement was that the military has someone on board, intelligent or not, who has been trained specifically to think around these very topics. That someone should not be a 19 year old kid who's only training consists of handling a rifle and whatever else combat troops are trained to do. There should be someone else who tells that kid, "hey, take off that FitBit before you head out."

[meritt]

> who signed up because getting a master's in CS wasn't in his future

Why did you make this statement? How did that help reinforce your point?

I don't disagree with your broader point at all, but I am annoyed by the fact that you made a causal connection between enlisting in the military because "because getting a master's in CS wasn't in his future"

[mikestew]

casual connection between enlisting in the military because "because getting a master's in CS wasn't in his future"

"Casual connection"? There was a direct connection with quite a few folks I grew up with. Because college costs money, which they didn't have. Argue all you want, I've seen it with my own eyes. You're the only one implying anything about intelligence.