U.S. Military

I was just wondering what you guys thought about the military. weather were going the right thing by staying in Iraq and some of the other country were currently fighting in.

I know that i'm probly susposed to be going yeah lets show them whos boss but, I belive we should be out of there now. I belive it was right to go in there when we were atacked in 2001 but now it's getting old. were throwing so much money into this that... well it's a wast. Please note that I had no thoughts on this subject untill today; I was told that I was deploying out there 2 month after my AIT trainting was done with. witch I will be leaving for on the 29th. Thank you for your time.

I support the troops regardless of what engagement they are involved in. They put their lives on the line every day so we can enjoy the freedoms we do have.

Supporting the War, and supporting the troops who fight the war are two very different things. If you have an issue with the war, that's something you take up with your Local Government Representative.

Obviously, this is a very personal subject for me. My family has a very long Military history dating back to 1700's and beyond. I've had family fight in every major world conflict with the exception of the Two Iraq wars.

My Uncle Harry was spat on and called a Baby killer when the USS Ticonderoga (CV-14) returned from duty during the Vietnam war, and he never once set foot in the country, and he was just a Machinist Mate, and never saw combat.

My Uncle Tony, who was in the Marine Corps, watched in horror has his childhood friend was shot and killed by a child with a AK-47, when he returned from Vietnam, he was never the same, and is still a recluse living in the Mountains of Washington State.

My Father, who was in the Canadian Military (He is now retired, Honorably Discharged after 25 years of service), was part of the Peacekeeping task force that was sent to Bosnia to deal with the Genocide that was taking place there. He still doesn't talk about what he saw there.

My self personally, I have no intentions to join the armed forces, I'm not physically able to do so (My back and knee are shot after a Car Accident when I was young), but having been in a military family, and being a base brat most of my life, I know quite a few people who are serving overseas. Out of the 120 Canadian Soldiers who have died in Afghanistan, 16 of them I know personally.

While I don't support Wars in general, You, as a member of the Armed Forces, will always have my never ending, and undying support.

Stay alert, stay safe.

i like violens as much as the next guy but milatery violens is just pointless howe about insted of fighting why not try to talk tings out insted of killing thousends of peaple at onse

I think the U.S. Military should stick to the U.S. I do see the importance of them being in other countries, trying to prevent attacks on the U.S. and what not. I just feel like the U.S. government is a little too involved with the other countries and what goes on there. Those are just my thoughts on the matter, and why I didn't vote for McCain, he was too into other countries and war for my liking.

I like the military its self, its a very well organized group of people with many accomplishments.

Like Ace, my family has a long history of military service as well. Fighting the civile war on the Union side, to WWI and II, Viatnam and Korea. We have had also many friends fight in the gulf war and have family and friends as well fighting the war on terror.
Being a person whose line of work involves our military, navy, and air force, I for one can tell you that it is completely necessary to be there.
I am a drafting engineer who works for GA-ASI, we build the Predator, Reaper (AKA Predator B), Sky Warrior, and the new Avenger UAVs that most people see in the news and now the movies. Not to mention I live near Camp Pendleton as well as Mira Mar air base and the naval station. So I hear a lot about what it’s like over there from first hand accounts from our friends and trust me, it is necessary to still be over there. The mentality of the terrorist are not going to change if we leave or play nice with them as they see ANY westerner as evil and truly believe they are doing god's work by killing people who disagree with them no matter where the live. Pulling out will simply allow them to replenish them selves and attack us again. Hell, they even kill there own people, men, women, and children.
There have been people who say the best way to fight them is by providing better education and take a none violent approach. Here is the problem of that though... Terrorist in the area will simply blow up the school, killing teachers and students and their parents simply because the school is not teaching the people the extremist Islam as that is the ONLY thing they will allow, further more, they do not believe that women should have rights and there for should not have an education. So to keep them from doing this is to fight them while at the same time trying to educate the people and help the people rebuild.
FURTHER MORE, the whole we come in peace approach is looked down upon as weakness in general in the Middle East. If you carry a big stick and show you are willing to us it regardless of your intentions will they take you seriously and show respect, if you just talk a good talk with out a big stick, they will simply laugh in your face and think you are a cowardly little peace crap. The people there and there life style is very harsh, needless to say also very different from the rest of the world. Pulling out with out finishing the job will show a sign of weakness to them and there for we are then back to where we started. Is it costly? Yes. Is it necessary to finish this, to provide better relations as well as educate the people and help restructure as to prevent another attack? Yes.
Also, recently the people in Afganistan are getting really sick of the Terrorists and have taken arms up against them because of them keep bombing Moskes and schools.

Here is a tid bit... You know the whole if you die in a jihad you go to heaven and get 72 vergans?... Yeah, thats a bunch of crap, its not in the Koran, thats only found in the exstrimist philosophy of the Koran if I am not mistaken.

31 Bravo I got some good news for you. You will make a lot of extra incentive pay over there. Cha Ching baby. You will have the chance to easily bank over 10K especially if you do a year over there. Not to mention that you may be rewarded with R&R. The two greatest intial in the military language. make sure that you have your passport with you when you go downrange though. R&R means that the army will pay your ticket to a destination of your choice (I went back to Tokyo). Shemagha and Keffiyah do not count as war trophies so when you come across a dead Iraqi start grabbing. And remember win or lose we get payed the same and chicks don't dig a guy with scars they dig people who come back in one piece.

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Originally Posted by beast

so when you come across a dead Iraqi start grabbing.

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Last I checked, that kind of activity is prohibited under the UCMJ, and is a court martial offense.

Well you need to read it again and review the current theatre policies. Clothing which is what the shemaghs and keffiyah are do not count as war trophies and can be taken back home with no paper work. Now just to be on the safe side I created false paper trails for some of my stuff just in case but was never asked to present any of them.