Oh. My. Sweet. Jeebus.

Guess where I just came back from? I'll give you three choices:

a) strip club
b) army recruitment
c) Scientology meeting

If you guessed b), you are correct. Even though a) and c) are more likely to have any luck in getting me to sign up! We were told that there would be emergency resus training and hands-on intubation practice and free taxpayer funded food and interesting speakers. Lies, damned lies! Instead, we got 5 minutes of DR ABC in a tent and a 3-hour YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU spiel. In fact, they didn't even tap into our pro patria mori sentiments, they were just all like "oh join the army, make friends and money, see the world, get fit, have lots of fun". They forgot "be a political pawn and conform and suspend your civil liberties and oh yeah KILL PEOPLE". There was a stark reminder of reality when a doctor guy showed pictures of soldiers with their legs and faces blown off. Not immune to that yet.

It's not that I don't respect our troops. Civic duty and self-sacrifice, I tip my hat to that. Both my grandfathers were army, and all the military people I know personally are warm, smart folk. There are several ex-service med students in my year, one of whom is this twinkle-eyed former airman, future obs-gyn whom I call Jolly Dude, cos he's so cheery and cute. Methinks med attracts the idealists, hence the significant proportions of hardcore evangelists and military. Yes, the people themselves, all good. But still I've got some innate aversion to the crushing discipline and uniforms and unquestioning following of orders and parading with guns. Spare me the transparent propaganda, fer crying out loud. They wanted our addresses and phone numbers- um HELL no!

Hm, I am actually a little surprised. When they said that the ADF is an equal-opportunity employer, I wanted to say what about those dirty homos, you hypocrites? Assuming that they had the same "don't ask don't tell" farce as in the US. But I held my tongue, and as a conscientious blogger I Googled the topic before launching into a self-righteous tirade. Found this from the Gay Military Times. It turns out the ADF are rather more liberal-minded than I gave them credit for- the ban against gays was lifted in 1992 (and the sky didn't even fall - slightly biased source, that). So ADF, grudging props from - well not quite a pacifist, but at least a skeptic.

Anyway. This is what happens when you follow free food! You'd think I'd have learnt my lesson by now. There was the free sausage that lead to storming a uni in an anti-VSU protest, the free pizza that lead to half-arsedly helping organise Spectrum, then that fateful lamington that lead to joining DarcySoc before even seeing Pride and Prejudice which lead to giant flaming shitballs, and Albury freeness which lead to JFSS and potentially to A Country Practice. Yep. Soooo basically the price of my soul is a Krispy Kreme or two.

Heh, I forgot. There was meant to be catering except the people didn't turn up so they had to order pizzas in...! Catering logistics...large weapons...security...do I even need to connect the dots?