Hey Freeps, here's how to REALLY support the troops

flipping me off while I'm protesting does NOT count as "support". Here it is from one Soldier. May he come home safely and keep writing. To the mods, I'm unsure as to rules about Blog and how much of them I can post. Please forgive me if I broke any rules.

http://americanshort-timer.blogspot.com/

07 December 2005


little follow-up war whine

Some law student emailed me while back with some questions, and after it was all said and done she told me she supported the troops. And I know a lot of people share that sentiment and it's all really warm and fuzzy and whatnot, but honestly, I just rather you run out, sign up and catch the early-bird charter to Kuwait and get your ass over here ASAP so one of us can go home. Maybe we can arrange something, you know, by ones and twos and so on, pretty sure we could get all us over-extended types outta here in no time.

We got, by estimates, close to forty-thousand plus Joes involuntarily extended, stop lossed they call it now, cause dropping INVOLUNTARILY extended day after day after day I suppose places too much emphasis on the fact that a whole buncha us got stuck in the shit INVOLUNTARILY... cause, for all you non-incarcerated types, the usual nomenclature for being stuck in the service beyond your time is--used to be--INVOLUNTARY extension. Cept they had to twist the rules all outta whack and shit to keep the machine all lubed and oiled and chugging and belching and churning out the mayhem, and somehow, rather mysteriously it seems to me at least, with all that good ol' troop lovin' shit goin' on back home they couldna find the 40K + dudes and dudettes to get us squared away and outta this mess. Thanks for the love yo.

And I know I know, spare me the retort... "Dude, is what you signed up for." Right. I signed up for THIS. Sadist's circus. Marquis de Sade's Head-Chopping Ball-Blasting Brigade. Lemme assure you, if I had read some short-timer's Internet lament and that fucker would've had the common decency to point out that the Army is more like a three-ring circus butcher-shop motor vehicles prison typa clustertastrophy I mighta thought twice before lending my body to the cause of someone else's mocracy-buildin' wet dreams.

If I ever make it outta this mess, when I make it out, I'll make sure to support the troops likewise. I'll realize my lifelong dream of washing up in a yuppie burb and my kiddies just done wrap up their SATs in high style and Stamfurd or Princetum are in the works and I'll kick their fuckin' asses if I ever even catch 'em looking sideways at anything related to the military. Them having other priorities and shit and their talents being needed elsewhere and whatnot. Of course, we'll all support the military all the time. Course. We'll be havin' yellow ribbon shit on all our stuff, little flaggies everywhere and yonder, and we'll smilingly fork over that good tax shit to support the state's burgeoning quest to keep us all safe from evildoer motherfuckers. If I ever see a legless vet with a board around his neck all 'Help a homeless Iraq veteran' I'll be first to toss some quarters at the dude. Battle bros for life and all. And if I read about a couple-a-thou of the troops being INVOLUNTARILY extended, or stop lossed, or held over, or stuck in the muck, or jacked, or whatever they call it by then, I'll be all supportin' the troops and lamenting their sad tragic fate and misfortune. Maybe slap on an extra couple-a-yellow ribbons. Show support ya know.

As for war, course I'll support it. I'll support all the wars, all the time. Once I'm out of the shit, I'll support every war they ever wanna throw. Hell yeah! Why? Why? Cause nothing looks badder-ass and is more entertaining on television than live mayhem. I fuckin' love televised mayhem. Love it. It's the shit. Splosions and riots and gun battles and mob violence and jets launching from aircraft carriers. I could watch the shit for days. And have. Course... sittin' in the back of the ol' Hummer hauling ass toward a column of smoke couple-a-blocks down and your asshole up in your throat from fear and ready to fuckup any dumb fucker out there skulking around waiting to pour on some follow-up misery... "See anything suspicious, anything at all, do not hesitate. Drop every single last one-a-the-motherfuckers, every single last one!" I holler to clarify the so-called tactical purdicament, more to myself really, cause I think we're all pretty much of one mind on shit like that... and rushing into the shit, I imagine watching it on teevee, remote, disconnected, my ass snuggly embedded in a recliner of sorts--embedded get it?--stead of out here, actually in the shit, with a bigass target painted across the eyes... Better ta just sperience it with a remote control in one hand and a bag of Doritos in the other a few sloppy thousand miles away and not really speriencing it at all, more, enjoying it. Entertainmentwise.

Support a troop. Do Xmas in the Raq. Yuletide. Splosions. Satan's little head-choppers... shit, this place sells itself don't it?

Aaaaaaaaah. Whining concluded. I feel so much less beklempt.

More later.

K&R

:kick:

this is in the about me section...

I am not in Iraq and I am not currently in the Army and I am not getting my ass shot at. This site is in compliance with MNC-I #9 as per FICI-CE-I, DoD Directive 5230.9 and AR 25-1, etcetera etcetera andsoforth

about the author, wonder if he ever served in Iraq? I'm not so sure i like the "sentiment" though, however spot on it may be... some of us protest, march, sign petitions, travel to and pester our Reps... sounds to me like he's sayng fuck you to anyone that's trying to end this war. Yeah, he's probably brimming with cynicism, but what does that do to help any situation? In the end i'll take this point of view with a grain of salt and hope to read words by CURRENT or just out of the Military soldiers who want to put forth a more constructive argument/synopsis about what's happening over there and what can be done at this point.

I doubt it...but perhaps.

have had multiple soldier friends check it out, 2 who have served in Iraq, and I'm pretty sure he is legit. He's not saying a big fuck you to the anti-war crowd, he begs me for us to be more vocal.

:applause:

People need to read this..

asswipe chickenhawks!!!):

1. Get over there. Someone can come home, or you can be an addition person "watching the back" of someone who is already there.

2. Money. For vests, bullets, etc. That means more taxes, or rolling back the cuts. Bushco tried to wage this war on the cheap, it still will cost over $1T and is being waged without the right gear.

Sign up. Or pay up. Or shut up.

Get their sorry asses home NOW. I would bet that if asked damn near every single swinging dick would say get me home. You aren't supporting the troops by saying "stay the course" They all know the course is screwed and costing us dearly. Every Poker player knows you don't keep throwing good money after bad. If your hand is beat fold em....The best support our troops could ever have is to end the war. Let the UN handle it from here on out...

and training for civilian employment, too?

Sign up, pay up, or shut up.

Perfect!

mega-SUVs with the insipid ribbons on the back CAN DEFINITELY afford to pay more taxes!

I've said the, "strap on a gun and go fight" to several pro-war people and some have said they were too old - or they would sign up (yea, right). My friend who is 47 and in the army said she would be deployed if she wasn't sick.

I would like a comeback for these people who weasel out of that argument.

Until they head to the recruitment center, sign the forms and start their Basic, how will they know if they will be rejected?

Tell 'em to put up or shut up -- if they say they would like to join, but would probably be rejected, take them up on the offer and drive them straight to the nearest recruiter. Until they try, you are free to tell them they are full of shite, and just blowing smoke. If they try to join and get rejected, good on 'em; they tried to actually go over and help.

mikey_the_rat

to the local recruiting office.

After our Freeper friends all join up and make this war a bipartisan effort, I have some recommendations for all of us, because someday soon I think most all of us are going to want this war over. We're going to have to be the ones to end it, too, because as long as there is money to be made in Iraq, the criminals in charge will keep trying to fight there.

If you're honest about it, the term, "I support the troops, not the war," can be a workable statement. But the problem has to be approached very carefully. Here are my suggestions.

* First, go out and read Lt. Col. Dave Grossman's book, On Killing. Grossman makes compelling arguments in favor of the idea that most people, soldiers included, have an aversion to killing other people which must be carefully overcome through training and conditioning. Afterwards, soldiers who have killed and seen death up close face severe psychological difficulties. Those difficulties are even worse if the soldiers feel they bear some responsibility for the war itself, especially if we lose the war (and we're going to lose this war).

* Second, when you express your disdain for the war, please make certain to place the blame for the fiasco squarely in the hands of those responsible: in my opinion, that's the Bush Administration, and really nobody else. The troops are NOT responsible for this war! They are the victims we are trying to save from further depredation.

* Third, please do not usurp symbology and terminology on which the troops themselves depend for their honor. Don't mock or deface the American flag, or military dress, or the system of military rank. Over-the-top humor is probably okay, like our friend General J.C. Christian, Patriot. But some of the more notorious protesting behavior during the Vietnam war proved to be very damaging to returning troops. The last thing you want to do is harm the troops--that's why we're trying to bring them home, dammit! So read Col. Grossman's chapter on Vietnam veterans and try your best to avoid the behavior which the troops themselves found to be so heartbreaking.

* Finally, when you see or meet a soldier returning home from the war, express yourself favorably to that person. Your initial reaction may be misguided--try to overcome it. Look that person square in the eye and say this: "thank you for doing your job." If that's all you can say, that's fine. Don't try to bullshit the person by pretending to understand what he or she has been through--all you've done is read a book. And for god's sake, DO NOT direct your anger for this horseshit war against the warrior! If you're protesting and some soldiers come by, give 'em a cheer to let them know you're not protesting them. If you see soldiers in a bar, buy them a drink. As for this guy in particular, I dropped him a short little line to let him know I care.

Do everything you can to remind yourself and the soldier that you are both Americans, both human. No catcalls, no babykiller lines, no insults, no spitting or throwing shit. If you do that--and I am not kidding about this--you are harming that person in a way that no bullet can equal, and you are a bad, bad person for doing it.

These are some thoughts I've had for a long time now, and you can take 'em or leave 'em as you wish. But it's my heartfelt opinion and I hope that even if you disagree with me you see some sense in what I'm saying. Thanks for your time.

Emotions can run very high on all sides of this mess. I know the majority of DUers don't hold the troops responsible for what has been wrought over there and your post explains some sore points very clearly.

chickenhawk slacker across the country.

Have to settle for one, I guess.

I mighta thought twice before lending my body to the cause of someone else's mocracy-buildin' wet dreams.

I like this guys writing.....he has either been there and done it or has fantastic sources. I spent sometime reading his blog. Some wonderful writing, totally in character.