Militarization in MY Life

I finally heard back from my Dad about his military service. It was pretty cool to learn about, and I think my Dad was pretty excited to finally have his family interested in what he had done. (Side note: I come from a family of all girls, except for Dad.) So my Dad joined the Navy in 1966 at the time when the military was still on a draft system. He was 19 and taking time off from Michigan State. His Dad had served in WWII in the Army and said that in the course of his Military service the Navy men had seemed to have the easiest time. Living on a ship they always had somewhere warm to stay and food to eat. So my Dad joined the Navy. No sooner than he joined the Navy then his draft number was picked. So had he not joined, he would have been in the Army. He rose from Seamen Apprentice to Quarter Master Second Class in the three and a half years he spent in the Navy. (He couldn't remember why, but he got an early release) He spent time on a training ship near Philadelphia and in the Mediterranean. He talked about his time in the Navy almost reminiscent. He told me about adventures in London, Madrid and other European cities. He spoke fondly about the experiences that the Navy gave him. As we continued talking, with no prompting from me, he equated the military to video games. "It's like a video game now, no one on one anymore." In his eyes, he experienced a completely different military than what most experience today, and I couldn't agree more.  

On a second note, I've done horribly trying to recognize recruitment posters in my life. I saw one in Williams the other day and briefly thought about ripping it down and taking it to class, but thought better of it. It was for getting money for an education after serving in the military. I'm sure I saw other ads for the military, but again I didn't actually "see" them. I'm still struck by how often military things pass me by. It seems so normal to me. I'll try to do better this week spotting military ads, but no promises, since I really seem to be oblivious to them and militarization in general.