Saying Goodbye

[east_stingray]

Originally Posted by jkswiss

Tell me how anything thats happening in Iraq is keeping us more free..please, go on. There are things that are worth dying for and there are things that are not. Iraq did not threaten my way of life. A dictatorship thousands of miles away had nothing to do with me.

Don't tell me you swallow that BullSh!T that ANYTHING that they are doing in Iraq has to do with maintaining our way of life. That is complete and utter BS and anyone that drinks up that patriotism BS is a goober. Our agenda there has nothing to do with freedom, our way of life, anything.

I wonder how many of you chicken hawks actually served in the armed forces. KIDS is RIGHT. ITS oh so RIGHT. You who haven't served have no idea. If you've ever taken a look around in a boot camp class and you see all the kids straight out of high school, yes kids. If you put us in civilian clothes and put us in a classroom, it would look just like the average class in high school. They are kids. They don't train their whole lives for combat. These are the kids that wondered why they were sobbing during their first call to home after a month into basic. I know, because I was sobbing right beside them. You get three months of boot camp and 6 months of a specialty school tops before you ship out. Train their whole lives to be warriors indeed.

They are kids, 17-20 year old kids. I used to be one of them. The way one looks at the world at that age is far different than you do now. You don't fully understand the consequence of what your doing until your actually there. I matured and grew a lot in the service, but that took well past the age of 18 to happen. But hey, what do I know, I was only in the service while I was 17 to 23.

For honor and glory to serve? Please, most people that are enlisted come from under privileged backgrounds. Lot of folks from the mid-west, a disproportionate amount of minorities, the kids who couldn't afford to go to college. A lot of us did it because they said they'd pay for our school, that we'd get a college fund, that we'd get health benefits and a steady pay check. Some of us just wanted to see the world. Its always a poor mans war.

I guess I can't stand to be in the same forum as chicken hawks and neocons anymore. Drink your Kool Aid, keep your head in the sand, and pretend all is well in this world.

Jkswiss is out of here, I guess the title of the thread is fitting.

Picking up your ball and going home? Sorry this thread didn't turn into what you wanted (read: knee-jerk sad picture anti-war reaction) and instead turned into our own little XDTalk honor ceremony for those serving.

Once again: God bless the men and women wearing our uniform.

[DanTheEldest]

Originally Posted by jkswiss

For honor and glory to serve? Please, most people that are enlisted come from under privileged backgrounds. Lot of folks from the mid-west, a disproportionate amount of minorities, the kids who couldn't afford to go to college.

I'll not disagree that the GI Bill is a big motivator for many people to join the service, but as for the overall substance of your remark, people with Ph.D.'s who actually study this stuff are calling B.S.:

Who Bears the Burden? Demographic Characteristics of U.S. Military Recruits Before and After 9/11

Released in 2005, but interesting nonetheless. Now back to your regularly-scheduled rant.

[AZXD]

Originally Posted by jkswiss

Jkswiss is out of here, I guess the title of the thread is fitting.

Hmm, I'm pretty sure everyone who has responded thus far, is prior service.
So ..... I guess I'll just say goodby to you as you're not gonna read this anyway.

[DanTheEldest]

Originally Posted by AZXD

Hmm, I'm pretty sure everyone who has responded thus far, is prior service.

In a spirit of full disclosure, I'll admit to not having served. I look back now and wonder why I never did (and I can't really find a good reason), and I don't mind saying it's one of the biggest regrets of my life. My hat's off all the more to those who did, regardless of their political bent.

[AZXD]

Originally Posted by DanTheEldest

In a spirit of full disclosure, I'll admit to not having served. I look back now and wonder why I never did (and I can't really find a good reason), and I don't mind saying it's one of the biggest regrets of my life. My hat's off all the more to those who did, regardless of their political bent.

Yea, you jumped in right before I posted ... But hey until them, I'm still pretty sure of the comment ....
Bottomline = Cool in my book, you've more than proven you're a stand-up guy IMO.

FWIW, I often wonder why I didn't do a lot of things All we can do is move forward!!

[DanTheEldest]

Originally Posted by AZXD

Bottomline = Cool in my book, you've more than proven you're a stand-up guy IMO.

Thanks....I try.

[justgotback]

Originally Posted by AZXD

Hmm, I'm pretty sure everyone who has responded thus far, is prior service.
So ..... I guess I'll just say goodby to you as you're not gonna read this anyway.

Yep, I served 15 months in Iraq, and can say without any doubt the original poster of this thread has absolutely no idea what he or she is talking about....I think he or she is still crying and resentful that a drill sergeant hurt their feelings.....

[Deadcenter]

Originally Posted by jkswiss

*SNIP*
I guess I can't stand to be in the same forum as chicken hawks and neocons anymore. Drink your Kool Aid, keep your head in the sand, and pretend all is well in this world.

Jkswiss is out of here, I guess the title of the thread is fitting.

Actually that is what I expected to come into this thread for ...

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

Signed,
The Goober Chicken Hawk Neocon

aka Conservative & a Patriot

[gsh341]

Originally Posted by jkswiss

Tell me how anything thats happening in Iraq is keeping us more free..please, go on. There are things that are worth dying for and there are things that are not. Iraq did not threaten my way of life. A dictatorship thousands of miles away had nothing to do with me.

The regional instability caused by a violent and aggressive dictator impacts all trade with that area by all nations. If that region has a particularly valuable commodity that is necessary for maintaining another countries economy, the dictator has to do very little to cause large changes in the world.

Don't tell me you swallow that BullSh!T that ANYTHING that they are doing in Iraq has to do with maintaining our way of life. That is complete and utter BS and anyone that drinks up that patriotism BS is a goober. Our agenda there has nothing to do with freedom, our way of life, anything.

Since Saddam was known to possess and used chemical weapons and was also a known supporter of terrorism he could have been planning on providing chemical or biological weapons to terrorists. Since middle eastern terrorists have something against the US, you could have been one of the next victims.

I wonder how many of you chicken hawks actually served in the armed forces. KIDS is RIGHT. ITS oh so RIGHT. You who haven't served have no idea. If you've ever taken a look around in a boot camp class and you see all the kids straight out of high school, yes kids. If you put us in civilian clothes and put us in a classroom, it would look just like the average class in high school. They are kids. They don't train their whole lives for combat. These are the kids that wondered why they were sobbing during their first call to home after a month into basic. I know, because I was sobbing right beside them. You get three months of boot camp and 6 months of a specialty school tops before you ship out. Train their whole lives to be warriors indeed.

I served for 21 years and I did go to Iraq. I never met anyone there who had joined the military against their will. The training they received prior to shipping to Iraq or Afghanistan made them the best trained and most capable military in the modern age. The fact that some of them were 18 years old means that they were adults who chose to join. When they joined they were made aware that they could be deployed to a war zone. Since they still signed the enlistment contract, I would say that they were wiling participants.

They are kids, 17-20 year old kids. I used to be one of them. The way one looks at the world at that age is far different than you do now. You don't fully understand the consequence of what your doing until your actually there. I matured and grew a lot in the service, but that took well past the age of 18 to happen. But hey, what do I know, I was only in the service while I was 17 to 23.

The fact that some of them were 18 years old means that they were adults who chose to join. When they joined they were made aware that they could be deployed to a war zone. Since they still signed the enlistment contract, I would say that they were willing participants.

For honor and glory to serve? Please, most people that are enlisted come from under privileged backgrounds. Lot of folks from the mid-west, a disproportionate amount of minorities, the kids who couldn't afford to go to college. A lot of us did it because they said they'd pay for our school, that we'd get a college fund, that we'd get health benefits and a steady pay check. Some of us just wanted to see the world. Its always a poor mans war.

You really need to know your facts before spouting inaccuracies like that. Most people in the military are middle-class, caucasians with at least a high school degree. I had a college degree for the last 11 years I was enlisted.

I guess I can't stand to be in the same forum as chicken hawks and neocons anymore. Drink your Kool Aid, keep your head in the sand, and pretend all is well in this world.

Jkswiss is out of here, I guess the title of the thread is fitting.

It sounds like you're the one that drank the Kool-Aid that the far-left has been serving. I base that opinion on your wild accusations and inaccurate "facts".

If you're really gone, that's fine with me. If you choose to stay, that's cool too.

[KEVWYO]

Originally Posted by jkswiss

I hope whatever it is we're fighting for over there is worth the tears of that little brother.

Can anyone answer this clearly and concisely without waxing philisophic?

If it's about oil the current price seems to suggest perhaps our efforts there aren't working in that respect.

If it's about freeing people from a ruthless dictator then when are we going after N Korea or Hugo Chavez?

If it's because of WMD's they certainly haven't been found in the capacity where they would've been a REAL threat to the US. Certainly not to the capacity that we were told as a country as the justification of an invasion. When do we go after Iran?

Were there ever any credible links that tied Iraq to terrorist attacks on the US? In regards to this a yes answer can be made for Saudia Arabia and yet we haven't started kicking their asses .... why?