ORIGINAL: davidmil

Bottom line, they're not the same.
I agree there is a difference. As most law enforcement/firefighters do not have to face a lot of the dangers a service person does.
The average firefighter, EMT, mailcarrier or whateverdoesn't experience in a lifetime what a GI on the line experiences in a single firefight.
Personally, I admire what firefighters do. I would rather be in a firefight again than have to enter a large building of any type that is ablaze.
Most policemen will probably never fire a gun in anger or fear.
I know eight or nine officers that have been in shootouts with a-holes hopped up on PCP or meth. I would rather take on your average enemy soldier than someone doped upthat doesn't feel pain.
Most of them if they get hurt on the job or injured they get a full pension that's much more than a GI will get. Their medical is taken care of for life etc etc etc.
I agree that service personnel are treated like second class citizens when it comes to medical benefits. I pay for my health insurance and dental insurance now and have sizable deductables and out of pocket expenses. But I wouldn'thold againsta fireman or policeman his benefits because the federal government use service persons up and then dispose of us. It's time we get representatives that stand up for military persons and start getting us benefits we earned.
I hate to say it, but it seems like in the firefighter and police business, when ever they get close to retirement or get enough points or years many get in an altercation and end up with "A bad Back" or some such thing.
Everyone of the cases like this I have seen have been in big cities outEast that make the national news.
I've seen it too many times to discount the possibility of mischief at play.
I've seen soldiers do the same thing. One shot himself in the foot and claimed it was terrorists, but the powder burns on his boot blew that story out of the water. Another, faked his own suicidefor his wife to collect the insurance. I served on the courts-martials in both ofthese cases. Heck, turn on the TV anymore and there are horror stories about what military personnel are doing.
It's your dream, you can do what you want with it, but I just don't buy into the Post 911 business that all firemen, policemen etc are heros. They volunteer for the job for the bennies, early retirement and locked job security no matter what.
Many in thetoday's all volunteer military are doing the same. I joined to serve the country and stayed because I felt like I found my home. I had job offers in the last 8 years of service that paid a lot more, but stayed for my retirement benefits. We can serve for 20 years and get out at 37 or 38 years old and collect a retirement check the rest of our lives. The average police officer or firefighter has to have 22 years service and be 55 before they collect.
You want to make someone a hero simply because of the job they do, pick a teacher in todays classroom under todays rules.
IMHO, you are way off base here. The quality of teacher's has been going downhill for decades. When I was in school, teachers would stay and help a student every night if needed to ensure they understood the subject being taught. One of my children's teachers told me once that if my daughter didn't understand physics, it was her responsibility to find someone to put it in terms she could understand. It wasn't his problem. That attitude was widespread during the last 10 years. A teacher should teach, not just regurgitate what is written in a book.
Don't mix up your initial idea for helping the GI's to let's have a mixed neighborhood. Heck, teachers would be better than most policemen and firemen.