Have you served in your country's military?

**mrwho** · 12-19-2010

Originally Posted by randiman

There are a couple of countries that need to be turned into glass.

I'm sorry, but I find this sentence deeply disturbing. Just because some country's political or religious leaders deserve to die, it doesn't mean that all or the majority of the country's inhabitants agree with said leaders. That's why there's a clear distintion between civilians and the rest. Blindly bombing the sh*t out of a country not only rarely gets to kill the leaders, it also gets to kill many inocent civilians (Saddam is proof of that, he escaped numerous bombings while many iraquis died).

**fpi_2000** · 12-19-2010

21 YEARS 7 MONTHS 14 DAYS, US Army - joined to get out of a small MN town and see something of the world. Was a good life but retirement is better.

**smostyn** · 12-19-2010

6 years Australian Army. Mechanized Infantry.

**randiman** · 12-19-2010

Mrwho, its an expression. But one I would be proud to stand behind. If there is a rationale to fight a country then finish it before it drags out into our country and martyrs become heroes. Maybe you would find it even more problematic to bind soldiers hands in the wars they are sent to fight in but not win. I hope so. That expression "turned into glass" is a reflection of the frustration that our men and women face when doing battle. One example of that is Marcus Luttrells book "Lone Survivor". Please read it. It started out as a routine patrol and ended in the greatest loss of seal lives in history. War is disturbing in its nature. Killing is a natural byproduct of defending oneself. Maybe you want an antiseptic way to deal with the ugliness. I want our men and women to be safe. We dont have the ability to exclude those in foreign lands that dont agree with their leaders and some innocents die. So be it. If youre a non believer then Islam wants you dead. When the US fights nations without declaring a war, which is what we have, it necessarily sets the ground rules for the outcome. Next thing you know you have a mosque being built 2 blocks from ground zero. Oh wait thats happened.
Quotes from soldiers....."Its been an insidious progression, the criticisms of the U.S. Armed Forces from politicians and from the liberal media, which knows nothing of combat, nothing of our training, and nothing of the mortal dangers we face out there on the front line. Each of the six of us in that aircraft en route to Afghanistan had constantly in the back of our minds the ever-intrusive rules of engagement.......And those ROE are very specific: we may not open fire until we are fired upon or have positively identified our enemy and have proof of his intentions."
Sorry if what I say disturbs you...thats the last word on the subject from me. To many copiers to fix.

**mrwho** · 12-20-2010

Please don't misunderstant me - I understand the need to go to war. It's the blind killing without discrimination that worries me.

**Lagonda** · 12-20-2010

No.
I'm the lucky generation, too young for Vietnam and too old for the Gulf.

**Jimbo1** · 12-20-2010

4 years regular active duty in Germany England and Belgium during the Carter years.

2 years in the National Guard.

In Europe I was a Radioteletype Operator which no longer exists.
When I was in the guard I was a Cavalry Scout..

I can promise you I am the only person you will ever know who was hit in the back by a tree WHILE he was inside an armored personnel carrier.

**LNorris** · 12-20-2010

12 Years US Navy 1983-1995 out due to disability (non combat related).

**mikadonovan** · 12-20-2010

U.S. Navy. Four years active duty and 5 years on reserves. Served 2 1/2 years on a guided missile cruiser out of San Diego (CG32, USS William H. Standley). Gunfire control technician . I worked as a radar and computer tech on a Korean war era system ( I have not had to use my vacuum tube theory since).