Thread Rating:
10-05-2011, 12:15 AM
^It is my understanding that Obama REDEFINED the provisions of WPA in such a way that he wouldn't be held liable under WPA Mandate which is directed soley at the President of the United States. Nearing the 60 day deadline he sent the leaders of congress a letter narrowing the intent of WPA in a way which would exclude action that did not include troops on the ground. He just explained to all 535 voting members of Congress, some of them have served as long as Obama has been alive, that their intepretation of WPA is wrong. Further, our involvement with Libya would be so limited WPA did not apply. To date we've spent 1 billiion 900 million dollars, and we've been at war with libya for 200 days.
LINK--- http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washingt...owers.html
Seems pretty involved to me.
LINK--- http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washingt...owers.html
Seems pretty involved to me.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
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10-07-2011, 11:34 PM
We're not "at war" with Libya.
In my opinion, I wish all of the Republicans and Dems and everyone else who has bitched about American airpower over Libya introducing big G's troops to hell would remember March 2003, ya know? And just be glad that we don't have troops in Libya, other than JSOC of course, and tanks rolling down Tripoli.
It could have went the other way, the balls deep way, which is a sort of invasion, like Iraq. We could've went into Libya, and if Big G's troops decided to engage..tank on tank, aircraft on aircraft, man on man, they would've been destroyed, absolutely destroyed. In a matter of weeks. That is fact. The only way it would've been even close to "the next Iraq" is if we decided to stay longer than we were welcome, and the rebels decided to engage us. But of course, this didn't happen, thank God, and we went about it the way we should've.
I don't know why, but lately, I've been thinking about the wars/conflicts the United States has been involved in since WWII. All of the events that happened that a single man, or certain few, have decided, and therefore determined world history. What if Gen. MacArthur had not been ordered to escape to Australia and was captured, after telling his men for months that reinforcements were on the way to help with the Japanese that were slowly but surely going to overcome them (which I do not disagree with)? Do you know Gen. MacArthur received the Medal of Honor for his "actions" during the Philippine campaign? What if Pres. Kennedy had decided to sink Soviet Union boats when they did not listen to our order to kindly "**** off", instead of how it happened? What if Operation Eagle Claw (the operation to rescue the hostages at the American embassy in Iran in 1980) had succeeded, and not failed miserably? What if we had went ahead and fully invaded Iraq in 1991, instead of what really happened? What if we hadn't invaded Iraq in 2003? What if we had decided to put thousands, instead of hundreds (if that), in the months after 9/11? And what if top brass had decided to send the reinforcements CIA and military officers on the ground requested over and over to cut-off Bin Laden's escape route into Pakistan and killed/captured him then? What about a squad of soldiers from the 2nd Batt, 502 Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne(my old unit and the "Band of Brothers" unit from WWII) hadn't went around killing civilians for fun in 2005/2006, and all of the other big f*ckups our troops did?
The point of all that, is that it's just crazy to me to imagine how different our country, military and world would be if a group of very few individuals hadn't made some of the decisions made above...
Take a look at this page. http://icasualties.org/Iraq/Nationality.aspx
So many children without a mom or dad. Because of what? Our National fucking Security? You know what Iraq did for us? It costs us alot of good men and women. And it made the people who want to kill you, me, and every other American kill us that much more. It brought foreigners...Syrians, Yemenese, Libyans, Egyptians, Sudanese, Saudi's, Somali's, Iranians...all to Iraq to fight the Americans. People who would probably had never shot at and blown up Americans if it weren't for that war. Americans, bad guys and civilians, many civilians, who would probably be alive today. And tell me, please, someone, what the **** did we accomplish? Make us safer? Hell no it didn't. It brought more attention to us, and made more and more people want to kill us and attack OUR homeland. Every time I hear anyone say that that war made us, Americans, safer, I want to fucking puke. Yeah, we got that bastard Saddam Hussein, he did horrible things to his own people and many others, and deserved to die. But did it have to take over 4,000 American lives and a huge amount of innocent Iraqi's? Hell no it didn't. The only risk he was to us was his empty promises that he had some badass weapons.
So many kids have to grow up without a dad or mom because of that war. It didn't have to happen. Afghanistan did. Iraq didn't. Look at that list. Look at the ages of most of those troops. Fucking kids, 18-19 yr olds whose lives hadn't even began yet. All gone for fucking what?! Someone tell me! Why?
When I deployed, as some others here can probably relate too, I wanted to kill them all. Even more so after someone I knew died. And then more. I wanted to kill everyone, men, women, children. I didn't give a damn, they were all the enemy to us. They had taken the lives of people I knew, in a blink of an eye, guys with wives and kids. I wanted to make them feel the pain, and their kids grow up without their fathers. I've grown up alot in these past 2 years, but I still want to kill every bad guy that wants to kill us. I don't look at them all as the enemy now...I didn't really then I guess. It's hard to explain. But everyone who has lost a friend in these wars, whether they are/were military or normal civilians, they know the feeling I'm talking about. Millions of people's lives will never be the same because of these wars. My life, my mind, will never be the same. I'm not bitching, at all. I chose the route I'm on...but thousands of innocent people just trying to live didn't. I don't regret anything I've done when it comes to this stuff. The only thing I regret is that my country did not make the right decisions, when the right decision was needed the most. Thinking about all of this is one big mind-****. I try not to dwell on the past, but I can't help it. I think about it every single day of my life. Why did guys with families and wives and kids have to die, instead of single guys with no kids like myself? Yeah, I'm young, but I've lived how I wanted to. I'd much rather it be someone like me instead of a dad. The past is the past...but I can't get it out of my mind. I think about it when I wake up in the morning and before I go to bed. Wish I didn't but I can't help it.
So, with that said, I wish that more people would just be happy that we're not in another war like Iraq. A war that no one can really give me a good reason why we were in it, besides the usual biased political bullshit. Bob called me a war-lover or something like that on here before...probably the stupidest thing he's ever said to me. Believe me, if there is bad guys somewhere, that we need to kill, I'll be the first one trying to get to the plane. It's not because I freakin love war and all that. It's not all Call of Duty-like bullshit. Yeah, I like it when we kill bad people, because that's one less bad guy that can kill me or my buddies or plan an attack on the U.S., but I don't like damn war. If I could trade my life, right now, for no more wars, ever, I'd do it in a second. Just to keep all of the families of the dead, on both sides, from going through the pain that is losing someone you love. You know what I'm saying?
Life is life. Shit happens. I know I can't change the past, but this stuff is taking it's toll on me. I can't get it out of my head and it is literally starting to effect everything. I even think about the civilians that have died, the only reason their life ended is because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or 1 fucking grid coordinate being off, or just a guy trying to use a cell phone to call his family. Not blow up a U.S. truck...just calling his family. We go into their country, kill bad people that haunt them, kill their kids and dads and uncles and moms on accidentally, ya know, for the "greater good". Yeah, they may not be Americans, and I do not value Afghan life as much as I do American life, and that might make me a bad person in some people's eyes. But I value life, all of it, even the guys that shoot at us. Most of which, if Afghan, because one of our bombs killed a relative of theirs. If a foreign country came into your country, killed the bad guys that make your life hell, which makes them make your life hell even more, and kill one of your kids, a brother or sister, a parent...what would you do? I would find a rifle and try to kill as many as possible. I don't blame them. But it's either them or me. We get put into a spot to where we have to take the lives of some people with guns, who are good people, but are pissed off that we're in THEIR country and killed one of their relatives, and receive some lame ass excuse from the foreigners and their own government. What the hell would you do?
It's not as simple as it used to be. We're not in Afghan killing the people responsible for planning and executing attacks on Americans and our homeland. Not anymore. If we want to do that, we should be in Yemen killing the guys that are the most to blame for attacks on American interests.
So...can someone give me a damn reason we "had" to go into Iraq? Why we're still in Afghanistan, killing people that wouldn't even be there if it weren't for us still being there, and hardcore locals that either just hate us, or have a grudge because we killed someone close to them..does ANYone have a fucking clue that comes without the political, conservative/liberal bullshit?
Don't get me wrong, I love my country and the people in it, more than alot of you can even imagine. But, my, our, government have stabbed us in the back. I have lost ALL faith in my government..when, as Americans, that's usually what we could trust in the most. I am more scared of the next move my government is going to make than I ever could be of some bad guy with a 15 year old AK and a man dress.
I'm just sick and tired of having all of this in my mind, every day, and not having any answers. I apologize for the rant. But I can't stand it any more, I can't stand all this guilt and pain and unanswered questions I have running through my mind faster than I know it. I can't take it anymore. Our beautiful, great country is being ran into the ground. And for what!??! Why are our boys dying?! Why are we spending so much damn money on war fighting, when we could easily hand over Afghanistan, to ya know, Afghanistan, and go back to a peace-time Army and America?!
\/\/ continued below.
In my opinion, I wish all of the Republicans and Dems and everyone else who has bitched about American airpower over Libya introducing big G's troops to hell would remember March 2003, ya know? And just be glad that we don't have troops in Libya, other than JSOC of course, and tanks rolling down Tripoli.
It could have went the other way, the balls deep way, which is a sort of invasion, like Iraq. We could've went into Libya, and if Big G's troops decided to engage..tank on tank, aircraft on aircraft, man on man, they would've been destroyed, absolutely destroyed. In a matter of weeks. That is fact. The only way it would've been even close to "the next Iraq" is if we decided to stay longer than we were welcome, and the rebels decided to engage us. But of course, this didn't happen, thank God, and we went about it the way we should've.
I don't know why, but lately, I've been thinking about the wars/conflicts the United States has been involved in since WWII. All of the events that happened that a single man, or certain few, have decided, and therefore determined world history. What if Gen. MacArthur had not been ordered to escape to Australia and was captured, after telling his men for months that reinforcements were on the way to help with the Japanese that were slowly but surely going to overcome them (which I do not disagree with)? Do you know Gen. MacArthur received the Medal of Honor for his "actions" during the Philippine campaign? What if Pres. Kennedy had decided to sink Soviet Union boats when they did not listen to our order to kindly "**** off", instead of how it happened? What if Operation Eagle Claw (the operation to rescue the hostages at the American embassy in Iran in 1980) had succeeded, and not failed miserably? What if we had went ahead and fully invaded Iraq in 1991, instead of what really happened? What if we hadn't invaded Iraq in 2003? What if we had decided to put thousands, instead of hundreds (if that), in the months after 9/11? And what if top brass had decided to send the reinforcements CIA and military officers on the ground requested over and over to cut-off Bin Laden's escape route into Pakistan and killed/captured him then? What about a squad of soldiers from the 2nd Batt, 502 Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne(my old unit and the "Band of Brothers" unit from WWII) hadn't went around killing civilians for fun in 2005/2006, and all of the other big f*ckups our troops did?
The point of all that, is that it's just crazy to me to imagine how different our country, military and world would be if a group of very few individuals hadn't made some of the decisions made above...
Take a look at this page. http://icasualties.org/Iraq/Nationality.aspx
So many children without a mom or dad. Because of what? Our National fucking Security? You know what Iraq did for us? It costs us alot of good men and women. And it made the people who want to kill you, me, and every other American kill us that much more. It brought foreigners...Syrians, Yemenese, Libyans, Egyptians, Sudanese, Saudi's, Somali's, Iranians...all to Iraq to fight the Americans. People who would probably had never shot at and blown up Americans if it weren't for that war. Americans, bad guys and civilians, many civilians, who would probably be alive today. And tell me, please, someone, what the **** did we accomplish? Make us safer? Hell no it didn't. It brought more attention to us, and made more and more people want to kill us and attack OUR homeland. Every time I hear anyone say that that war made us, Americans, safer, I want to fucking puke. Yeah, we got that bastard Saddam Hussein, he did horrible things to his own people and many others, and deserved to die. But did it have to take over 4,000 American lives and a huge amount of innocent Iraqi's? Hell no it didn't. The only risk he was to us was his empty promises that he had some badass weapons.
So many kids have to grow up without a dad or mom because of that war. It didn't have to happen. Afghanistan did. Iraq didn't. Look at that list. Look at the ages of most of those troops. Fucking kids, 18-19 yr olds whose lives hadn't even began yet. All gone for fucking what?! Someone tell me! Why?
When I deployed, as some others here can probably relate too, I wanted to kill them all. Even more so after someone I knew died. And then more. I wanted to kill everyone, men, women, children. I didn't give a damn, they were all the enemy to us. They had taken the lives of people I knew, in a blink of an eye, guys with wives and kids. I wanted to make them feel the pain, and their kids grow up without their fathers. I've grown up alot in these past 2 years, but I still want to kill every bad guy that wants to kill us. I don't look at them all as the enemy now...I didn't really then I guess. It's hard to explain. But everyone who has lost a friend in these wars, whether they are/were military or normal civilians, they know the feeling I'm talking about. Millions of people's lives will never be the same because of these wars. My life, my mind, will never be the same. I'm not bitching, at all. I chose the route I'm on...but thousands of innocent people just trying to live didn't. I don't regret anything I've done when it comes to this stuff. The only thing I regret is that my country did not make the right decisions, when the right decision was needed the most. Thinking about all of this is one big mind-****. I try not to dwell on the past, but I can't help it. I think about it every single day of my life. Why did guys with families and wives and kids have to die, instead of single guys with no kids like myself? Yeah, I'm young, but I've lived how I wanted to. I'd much rather it be someone like me instead of a dad. The past is the past...but I can't get it out of my mind. I think about it when I wake up in the morning and before I go to bed. Wish I didn't but I can't help it.
So, with that said, I wish that more people would just be happy that we're not in another war like Iraq. A war that no one can really give me a good reason why we were in it, besides the usual biased political bullshit. Bob called me a war-lover or something like that on here before...probably the stupidest thing he's ever said to me. Believe me, if there is bad guys somewhere, that we need to kill, I'll be the first one trying to get to the plane. It's not because I freakin love war and all that. It's not all Call of Duty-like bullshit. Yeah, I like it when we kill bad people, because that's one less bad guy that can kill me or my buddies or plan an attack on the U.S., but I don't like damn war. If I could trade my life, right now, for no more wars, ever, I'd do it in a second. Just to keep all of the families of the dead, on both sides, from going through the pain that is losing someone you love. You know what I'm saying?
Life is life. Shit happens. I know I can't change the past, but this stuff is taking it's toll on me. I can't get it out of my head and it is literally starting to effect everything. I even think about the civilians that have died, the only reason their life ended is because of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, or 1 fucking grid coordinate being off, or just a guy trying to use a cell phone to call his family. Not blow up a U.S. truck...just calling his family. We go into their country, kill bad people that haunt them, kill their kids and dads and uncles and moms on accidentally, ya know, for the "greater good". Yeah, they may not be Americans, and I do not value Afghan life as much as I do American life, and that might make me a bad person in some people's eyes. But I value life, all of it, even the guys that shoot at us. Most of which, if Afghan, because one of our bombs killed a relative of theirs. If a foreign country came into your country, killed the bad guys that make your life hell, which makes them make your life hell even more, and kill one of your kids, a brother or sister, a parent...what would you do? I would find a rifle and try to kill as many as possible. I don't blame them. But it's either them or me. We get put into a spot to where we have to take the lives of some people with guns, who are good people, but are pissed off that we're in THEIR country and killed one of their relatives, and receive some lame ass excuse from the foreigners and their own government. What the hell would you do?
It's not as simple as it used to be. We're not in Afghan killing the people responsible for planning and executing attacks on Americans and our homeland. Not anymore. If we want to do that, we should be in Yemen killing the guys that are the most to blame for attacks on American interests.
So...can someone give me a damn reason we "had" to go into Iraq? Why we're still in Afghanistan, killing people that wouldn't even be there if it weren't for us still being there, and hardcore locals that either just hate us, or have a grudge because we killed someone close to them..does ANYone have a fucking clue that comes without the political, conservative/liberal bullshit?
Don't get me wrong, I love my country and the people in it, more than alot of you can even imagine. But, my, our, government have stabbed us in the back. I have lost ALL faith in my government..when, as Americans, that's usually what we could trust in the most. I am more scared of the next move my government is going to make than I ever could be of some bad guy with a 15 year old AK and a man dress.
I'm just sick and tired of having all of this in my mind, every day, and not having any answers. I apologize for the rant. But I can't stand it any more, I can't stand all this guilt and pain and unanswered questions I have running through my mind faster than I know it. I can't take it anymore. Our beautiful, great country is being ran into the ground. And for what!??! Why are our boys dying?! Why are we spending so much damn money on war fighting, when we could easily hand over Afghanistan, to ya know, Afghanistan, and go back to a peace-time Army and America?!
\/\/ continued below.
.
10-07-2011, 11:35 PM
I know that after 9/11, things will never be the same. We will never stop chasing the ones that want to see that happen again, and I'm glad for that. But WHY are we doing this? Why are we still there? Why can't we just admit our mistakes like men do and leave?! I would rather die than surrender...but this would not be surrendering. It would be helping to save our country. I want to go back to getting up everyday with the biggest thing on my mind being my next piece of ass and bills, instead of getting up and checking American KIA every single shitty day.
I love my country and Army so much for what it's done for me. I'm in college, I have money, I have great health insurance, great life insurance...all of that. It's great. The problem is in my head though. None of that matters to me when I keep seeing my boys come home dead, see completely innocent civilians killed in droves because of a bomb that was a 100 or so meters off, watching the country I love so damn much ran into the ground. But I can't sit and watch as we ruin ourselves. I feel so damn helpless.
This is as honest and real as it gets from me. Please don't think this is bitching, I enlisted, I tried my best to deploy, I'm responsible for those actions, 100% and I've never once tried to put any of that off on anythng or anyone else. But this isn't about me. It's about all of us...you guys, Hoot, TheRealThing, TheRealVille, Bob...it's about all of us. If we keep doing what we're doing it's not going to turn out good for us. Sure, we'll keep killing the shit out of the enemy, we'll keep finding them anywhere on this earth and ending their lives, and we will stay in Afghanistan fighting a war that I really don't know why we're still fighting. But again, none of that is going to matter when we are killing ourselves from the inside out.
And after you read all of this, and see what kind of weight I feel like I have on my chest every single day of my life, do you know what I recently did? I re-enlisted for 4 more years after finishing my first contract of 3.5 years. I love the Army, but I am sick of it! I got my fill of war that I thought I wanted as a stupid kid, I got revenge, I think, for my two cousins that died in NYC on 9/11. Yeah, I got jacked up, but it was worth it after everything was said and done. Now I'm left with for sure another deployment to Afghan soon, and probably at the very least one more after this one. I didn't re-up because I want to deploy again or any other reason concerning the war. I really have no choice. I was in the Army infantry within 5 months of graduating high school...I have no skills that are useful with really any type of job. I take pride in my job in the Army, my skills, the schools I've completed, my accomplishments, and I'm damn good at it...all of that, don't get me wrong. But none of that shit matters when I'm sitting here watching my country fall apart, and it's our own fault. My feelings towards my leaders and government will not, ever, effect my performance or how I execute my work. Never. But my mind feels like it's falling apart. I'm 21, almost 22 years old and I feel twice that mentally. I'm one of the strongest guys, mentally, that anyone could know. But this is taking it's toll on me, and every day it gets worse. I do not trust my government or leaders anymore, and I don't think I ever will again.
Shit men, what the hell am I going to do? I feel helpless man...and I feel like a piece of shit for feeling like this when I have it so good compared to most people. But I'd rather be dirt poor with nothing to have this on me..it feels like the weight of the world on my chest, and no amount of drinking, sex, fun, ANYTHING, nothing helps. I just want answers, bullshit-less answers...and there literally are none.
Also, I apologize for any language in this post that offends anyone. I also apologize for the long, mostly off-subject rant. I just feel like I need to kind of get it out somehow and I know you guys, Hoot, RealVille, RealThing, Bob, nky, know your shit. This is 100% me. Again, apologies. And thanks.
I love my country and Army so much for what it's done for me. I'm in college, I have money, I have great health insurance, great life insurance...all of that. It's great. The problem is in my head though. None of that matters to me when I keep seeing my boys come home dead, see completely innocent civilians killed in droves because of a bomb that was a 100 or so meters off, watching the country I love so damn much ran into the ground. But I can't sit and watch as we ruin ourselves. I feel so damn helpless.
This is as honest and real as it gets from me. Please don't think this is bitching, I enlisted, I tried my best to deploy, I'm responsible for those actions, 100% and I've never once tried to put any of that off on anythng or anyone else. But this isn't about me. It's about all of us...you guys, Hoot, TheRealThing, TheRealVille, Bob...it's about all of us. If we keep doing what we're doing it's not going to turn out good for us. Sure, we'll keep killing the shit out of the enemy, we'll keep finding them anywhere on this earth and ending their lives, and we will stay in Afghanistan fighting a war that I really don't know why we're still fighting. But again, none of that is going to matter when we are killing ourselves from the inside out.
And after you read all of this, and see what kind of weight I feel like I have on my chest every single day of my life, do you know what I recently did? I re-enlisted for 4 more years after finishing my first contract of 3.5 years. I love the Army, but I am sick of it! I got my fill of war that I thought I wanted as a stupid kid, I got revenge, I think, for my two cousins that died in NYC on 9/11. Yeah, I got jacked up, but it was worth it after everything was said and done. Now I'm left with for sure another deployment to Afghan soon, and probably at the very least one more after this one. I didn't re-up because I want to deploy again or any other reason concerning the war. I really have no choice. I was in the Army infantry within 5 months of graduating high school...I have no skills that are useful with really any type of job. I take pride in my job in the Army, my skills, the schools I've completed, my accomplishments, and I'm damn good at it...all of that, don't get me wrong. But none of that shit matters when I'm sitting here watching my country fall apart, and it's our own fault. My feelings towards my leaders and government will not, ever, effect my performance or how I execute my work. Never. But my mind feels like it's falling apart. I'm 21, almost 22 years old and I feel twice that mentally. I'm one of the strongest guys, mentally, that anyone could know. But this is taking it's toll on me, and every day it gets worse. I do not trust my government or leaders anymore, and I don't think I ever will again.
Shit men, what the hell am I going to do? I feel helpless man...and I feel like a piece of shit for feeling like this when I have it so good compared to most people. But I'd rather be dirt poor with nothing to have this on me..it feels like the weight of the world on my chest, and no amount of drinking, sex, fun, ANYTHING, nothing helps. I just want answers, bullshit-less answers...and there literally are none.
Also, I apologize for any language in this post that offends anyone. I also apologize for the long, mostly off-subject rant. I just feel like I need to kind of get it out somehow and I know you guys, Hoot, RealVille, RealThing, Bob, nky, know your shit. This is 100% me. Again, apologies. And thanks.
.
10-08-2011, 01:15 AM
You've earned the right to rant, and I think most of us are with you on this. Stay tough and don't let our Government dictate how you feel about serving your country. No matter which party is in charge.
10-08-2011, 01:42 AM
vundy33 Wrote:I know that after 9/11, things will never be the same. We will never stop chasing the ones that want to see that happen again, and I'm glad for that. But WHY are we doing this? Why are we still there? Why can't we just admit our mistakes like men do and leave?! I would rather die than surrender...but this would not be surrendering. It would be helping to save our country. I want to go back to getting up everyday with the biggest thing on my mind being my next piece of ass and bills, instead of getting up and checking American KIA every single shitty day.When you get out, check into the "helmets to hardhats". In my trade, we take Vets and put them through school, and they come out as skilled tradesmen, at the rate of about 30 bucks an hour. Look me up when you get done, and I will hook you up with the people you need to see to make that jump. If you ever need someone to vent to in person on the phone, msg me and I will give you my number, available 24/7.
I love my country and Army so much for what it's done for me. I'm in college, I have money, I have great health insurance, great life insurance...all of that. It's great. The problem is in my head though. None of that matters to me when I keep seeing my boys come home dead, see completely innocent civilians killed in droves because of a bomb that was a 100 or so meters off, watching the country I love so damn much ran into the ground. But I can't sit and watch as we ruin ourselves. I feel so damn helpless.
This is as honest and real as it gets from me. Please don't think this is bitching, I enlisted, I tried my best to deploy, I'm responsible for those actions, 100% and I've never once tried to put any of that off on anythng or anyone else. But this isn't about me. It's about all of us...you guys, Hoot, TheRealThing, TheRealVille, Bob...it's about all of us. If we keep doing what we're doing it's not going to turn out good for us. Sure, we'll keep killing the shit out of the enemy, we'll keep finding them anywhere on this earth and ending their lives, and we will stay in Afghanistan fighting a war that I really don't know why we're still fighting. But again, none of that is going to matter when we are killing ourselves from the inside out.
And after you read all of this, and see what kind of weight I feel like I have on my chest every single day of my life, do you know what I recently did? I re-enlisted for 4 more years after finishing my first contract of 3.5 years. I love the Army, but I am sick of it! I got my fill of war that I thought I wanted as a stupid kid, I got revenge, I think, for my two cousins that died in NYC on 9/11. Yeah, I got jacked up, but it was worth it after everything was said and done. Now I'm left with for sure another deployment to Afghan soon, and probably at the very least one more after this one. I didn't re-up because I want to deploy again or any other reason concerning the war. I really have no choice. I was in the Army infantry within 5 months of graduating high school...I have no skills that are useful with really any type of job. I take pride in my job in the Army, my skills, the schools I've completed, my accomplishments, and I'm damn good at it...all of that, don't get me wrong. But none of that shit matters when I'm sitting here watching my country fall apart, and it's our own fault. My feelings towards my leaders and government will not, ever, effect my performance or how I execute my work. Never. But my mind feels like it's falling apart. I'm 21, almost 22 years old and I feel twice that mentally. I'm one of the strongest guys, mentally, that anyone could know. But this is taking it's toll on me, and every day it gets worse. I do not trust my government or leaders anymore, and I don't think I ever will again.
Shit men, what the hell am I going to do? I feel helpless man...and I feel like a piece of shit for feeling like this when I have it so good compared to most people. But I'd rather be dirt poor with nothing to have this on me..it feels like the weight of the world on my chest, and no amount of drinking, sex, fun, ANYTHING, nothing helps. I just want answers, bullshit-less answers...and there literally are none.
Also, I apologize for any language in this post that offends anyone. I also apologize for the long, mostly off-subject rant. I just feel like I need to kind of get it out somehow and I know you guys, Hoot, RealVille, RealThing, Bob, nky, know your shit. This is 100% me. Again, apologies. And thanks.
10-08-2011, 04:20 AM
TheRealVille Wrote:When you get out, check into the "helmets to hardhats". In my trade, we take Vets and put them through school, and they come out as skilled tradesmen, at the rate of about 30 bucks an hour. Look me up when you get done, and I will hook you up with the people you need to see to make that jump. If you ever need someone to vent to in person on the phone, msg me and I will give you my number, available 24/7.
Seems like I heard of that, before we get out we go through this class called TAPS or something like that, and they give you a shitload of companies that are hiring, especially vets, and help you out on resume' and getting hired, all that. I can't remember the exact name, I've had a bit to drink, but it's something like that. Anyway, I remember the Helmet to Hardhats.
$30 an hour, or even $20 an hour, is so much more than I get paid now. It sounds so good, lol. This has been a hell of a 3 years, and not in the greatest way. I love it but hate it, but when I think of doing any other job, I kind of get sick to my stomach and depressed, lol. Kind of like the "real world" freaks me out. Don't really know how to explain it, because garrison life sucks for the most part besides partying and all that. Just dumb duties and watches, PT and a training schedule. That's it...but for some reason, getting out right now scares the shit out of me. I kind of wish I would've thought about it before I re-enlisted, but with the way the economy is going, I'm kind of glad I didn't get out. lol, I go back and forth on it with the days.
Gracias brother.
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10-08-2011, 04:37 AM
TheRealVille Wrote:You've earned the right to rant, and I think most of us are with you on this. Stay tough and don't let our Government dictate how you feel about serving your country. No matter which party is in charge.
I know man. I just see no way out of the shit sammich we are in in Afghan right now. We are not fighting Al-Qaeda. They present by far the biggest threat to attack us at home. The Taliban will go back to running Afghanistan after we leave, and they are satisfied with that. They're bad people, and they need to die, but they won't present much threat besides "harboring AQ"...which is kind of overstated. AQ, which is Al-Qaeda if anyone hasn't got that yet, is pretty much nothing but Arabs. Pretty much every ethnic group in Afghan dislike Arabs, especially Pashtuns, which is by far the majority of the Taliban. They don't like them and some see them as bad as us. The only damn reason Bin Laden's AQ fighters were in Afghan in 2001 is because they pretty much rented the land they used, they paid Mullah Omar and the Taliban.
They're all bad. But AQ is our biggest threat at home. We are not killing any AQ in Afghan hardly! Hell, it used to be that the "foreign fighters" were from the countries I listed above, but now the foreigners the are Taliban are Pakistani.
I just can't get my head around going through 2-4 more long summers, where we lose alot of lives during the Talib's summer surges, when our biggest threat is AQ. Keep letting all the secret squirrels go after the high ranking AQ guys that hid in Afghan/Paki, and bring most of our force home, soon. I'm damn sick of this shit. Someone give me a damn reason, when our country is losing it's legs, right in front of us!
Man, it's just like I don't see an end in sight. If I got out, I would just be worse off though. Just don't see a way out.
If any of you are more educated than I on the details and/or cost side of this war, and the usual's here are, please, throw in your info. Or maybe good news? It'd be nice to hear that for once, ya know?
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10-08-2011, 07:10 AM
Vundy, I think that the answer is for this president or the next one to declare a new doctrine that would end the "you broke it, you fix it" principle. It would be cheaper and just as effective, IMO, if we used military force to destroy governments and terrorist training camps and let the countries who sponsor or host terrorists worry about how to rebuild their infrastructure and governments. Knowing that your city may be left in ruins and that you may have to pay to have it rebuilt and deal with a state of anarchy and economic collapse would serve as a pretty good deterrents against state sponsored terror.
As for your career, I don't know what your rank is, but have you considered pursuing a career in the military as a warrant officer? Warrant officers now run the department in which I work and they seem to live pretty good lives, they receive plenty of free training, and are in strong demand in the private sector when they retire.
Life in the military from my perspective seems much different than what I had expected - but most of the military people where I work are senior NCOs, WOs, and commissioned officers (in my building, but not in my department-a WO5 now runs my department and my Project Officer is a WO2 but a LT Colonel formerly headed the department).
One thing that I did not expect is that I have not yet witnessed a salute at work and I have met many NCOs and commissioned officers, including several generals. A BG is visiting our office next week, to personally thank us (and possibly to award challenge coins) for our team's efforts on our current project.
I love my job but it has made me regret not at least considering a military career earlier in my life.
As for your career, I don't know what your rank is, but have you considered pursuing a career in the military as a warrant officer? Warrant officers now run the department in which I work and they seem to live pretty good lives, they receive plenty of free training, and are in strong demand in the private sector when they retire.
Life in the military from my perspective seems much different than what I had expected - but most of the military people where I work are senior NCOs, WOs, and commissioned officers (in my building, but not in my department-a WO5 now runs my department and my Project Officer is a WO2 but a LT Colonel formerly headed the department).
One thing that I did not expect is that I have not yet witnessed a salute at work and I have met many NCOs and commissioned officers, including several generals. A BG is visiting our office next week, to personally thank us (and possibly to award challenge coins) for our team's efforts on our current project.
I love my job but it has made me regret not at least considering a military career earlier in my life.
10-08-2011, 08:46 AM
Hoot Gibson Wrote:Vundy, I think that the answer is for this president or the next one to declare a new doctrine that would end the "you broke it, you fix it" principle. It would be cheaper and just as effective, IMO, if we used military force to destroy governments and terrorist training camps and let the countries who sponsor or host terrorists worry about how to rebuild their infrastructure and governments. Knowing that your city may be left in ruins and that you may have to pay to have it rebuilt and deal with a state of anarchy and economic collapse would serve as a pretty good deterrents against state sponsored terror.:Thumbs: I've always been against rebuilding a place they make us blow up.
As for your career, I don't know what your rank is, but have you considered pursuing a career in the military as a warrant officer? Warrant officers now run the department in which I work and they seem to live pretty good lives, they receive plenty of free training, and are in strong demand in the private sector when they retire.
Life in the military from my perspective seems much different than what I had expected - but most of the military people where I work are senior NCOs, WOs, and commissioned officers (in my building, but not in my department-a WO5 now runs my department and my Project Officer is a WO2 but a LT Colonel formerly headed the department).
One thing that I did not expect is that I have not yet witnessed a salute at work and I have met many NCOs and commissioned officers, including several generals. A BG is visiting our office next week, to personally thank us (and possibly to award challenge coins) for our team's efforts on our current project.
I love my job but it has made me regret not at least considering a military career earlier in my life.
hh:
10-08-2011, 06:29 PM
Hoot Gibson Wrote:Vundy, I think that the answer is for this president or the next one to declare a new doctrine that would end the "you broke it, you fix it" principle. It would be cheaper and just as effective, IMO, if we used military force to destroy governments and terrorist training camps and let the countries who sponsor or host terrorists worry about how to rebuild their infrastructure and governments. Knowing that your city may be left in ruins and that you may have to pay to have it rebuilt and deal with a state of anarchy and economic collapse would serve as a pretty good deterrents against state sponsored terror.
As for your career, I don't know what your rank is, but have you considered pursuing a career in the military as a warrant officer? Warrant officers now run the department in which I work and they seem to live pretty good lives, they receive plenty of free training, and are in strong demand in the private sector when they retire.
Life in the military from my perspective seems much different than what I had expected - but most of the military people where I work are senior NCOs, WOs, and commissioned officers (in my building, but not in my department-a WO5 now runs my department and my Project Officer is a WO2 but a LT Colonel formerly headed the department).
One thing that I did not expect is that I have not yet witnessed a salute at work and I have met many NCOs and commissioned officers, including several generals. A BG is visiting our office next week, to personally thank us (and possibly to award challenge coins) for our team's efforts on our current project.
I love my job but it has made me regret not at least considering a military career earlier in my life.
As for my career, I'm an E4 Cpl, going into the Army SF program. If I fail any of the training, I'll go right back to a regular infantry unit which is fine with me. As for the WO route...they're usually technical specialists. Like with Army SF, the assistant team command is usually a WO, alot of pilots are WO's, all that. I think I'd rather stay enlisted.
If a CW5 runs your department, that's pretty cool. They're treated like General's at Army functions. Those that make it to CW4 and CW5 have a hell of alot of respect from me for the most part. That takes alot of hard work and it's not as easy for a shitbag to get promoted in the Warrant ranks as it is for normal officers. And you probably don't see salutes because you're inside, lol, and around the buildings are probably no-salute zones.
Also, I don't neccassarily disagree with helping Afghan to get to where it can defend itself. But do you know that the attack on the US Embassy and NATO HQ back in September, was a work of Taliban/Pakistani intelligence? Our own President has called Pakistan on that, and we've all known for a while now that Pakistan has been a bad friend for years. Hell, the Haqqani network is pretty much ran by the ISI!
Here's a video of the attack...
If you have your volume all the way up, watch out for the RPG. Kinda loud. Anyway, the minute I seen it, I knew it was too coordinated for the Talib's to pull off themselves. Especially in Kabul, to even get anywhere close to the Embassy is tough. Much less throw RPG's an machine gun fire at it. And just so people know, because I've seen Americans comment on that video saying that the troops in it on the roof were just randomly shooting...no, they were putting down suppression fire on where the RPG's came from. Also, the cracks you hear are incoming rounds, not outgoing (from us).
We completely routed the Taliban and AQ in Afghan years ago, but when Iraq started in 2003, Afghan was the 2nd priority, and fighters regrouped and took back whole districts. That's what pisses me off the most. They hardly have any towns/cities to rebuild, hell, if we're rebuilding anything it's helping rebuild the country's infrastructure. Get us out and give them money, I don't care. Karzai is a crook, but I'm sick of it. Marines and Royal Marines are dying in the south, in Helmand, trying to keep Marjah and Sangin safe. Yeah, we jacked those two "cities" up, but we jacked them up because hundreds of fighters were chillin out in them. Those towns are made of mud and donkey shit, we don't need to rebuild anything down there.
You all know that I've always defended the wars and our troops on this board, always, but I'm tired of it. I wish I could say that our government is correct when they say that we're making the U.S. safer with what we're doing in Afghanistan, but I'm here to tell you we're not. Going after high-value targets in Yemen, Paki, Afghan..that makes us safer. Not killing these hillbilly fighters that come over from Pakistan, for the sole reason to kill us because we're there. We can't just pick up and leave in a month, I realize that, and we can't just stop alot of the money we're spending over there and deny our boys the resources they need to kill them and protect themselves, because that will just make more die.
See what I mean when I say I see no way out? Alot of Afghans are just good people, just like alot of Americans are. But alot of those same Afghans, when asked by a U.S. soldier if the road, which the Afghan is in charge of, has had any IED's emplaced in/around it, and he'll say "Oh no no no meester, this road is clear, I promise"...and we roll down the road to find about 4 IED's, or we don't find them and get blown up and/or ambushed.
I don't care about them anymore. None of them. These people are hard. They know nothing but war and they will never know anything but war, sadly. I'm all for killing bad people, but these aren't the bad people that need to die the most. I know for a fact that when we leave, if Karzai is still in control, Afghanistan will fight the Taliban and they will lose. It will take a while, but they will lose. I could care less about that as long as they don't protect guys like Bin Laden and Anwar al-Awlaki, and then aircraft and JSOC can handle that.
No end in sight, that I can see, at least. Doesn't matter who our President is. I'm sure Pres. Obama is a good man, and that he doesn't like his troops coming home dead, but we are in a shit sammich that not even the best military the world has ever seen can get out of.
Again, please don't misunderstand me and think I'm bitching about my job or anything like that, I'm not, I'm luckier than most in our country and I appreciate that more than you know. But I am bitching about this damn war. I have the right, just as you all do too. We've been at war since I was 11 years old...I'm now almost 22. Three generations of my family have fought in these wars, and I'm the only one of those three who hasn't been to Iraq. My great uncle, uncle, and myself. Ten damn years, almost 6,000 Americans dead...and our homeland is less safe now than it was in 2003, when I was in freakin' middle school.
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10-08-2011, 09:36 PM
v33 when you get out visit your VAs regional office. They have vocational rehabilitation programs available to help with you transition back to the civillian world. I was just recently retired from the Army as a SFC. Now I am a GS 12 so they can help. I was retired after I broke my back from an ied. I am just 30 years old and retired from one job. But I would give anything to be able to continue that job. If you have any questions pm me.
10-08-2011, 10:18 PM
Matman Wrote:v33 when you get out visit your VAs regional office. They have vocational rehabilitation programs available to help with you transition back to the civillian world. I was just recently retired from the Army as a SFC. Now I am a GS 12 so they can help. I was retired after I broke my back from an ied. I am just 30 years old and retired from one job. But I would give anything to be able to continue that job. If you have any questions pm me.
Thanks alot for the info brother, I appreciate it alot. One of the reasons I did re-up is to avoid the VA dealing with my back and TBI...I've just heard so many VA horror stories, haha. But GS-12? Nice man...
What was your MOS anyway? Thanks again for the info!
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10-08-2011, 10:27 PM
vundy33 Wrote:Thanks alot for the info brother, I appreciate it alot. One of the reasons I did re-up is to avoid the VA dealing with my back and TBI...I've just heard so many VA horror stories, haha. But GS-12? Nice man...Most of the Army civilians who I work with are retired from the Army. It can be difficult for a civilian without military experience to be hired into many positions, which is how it should be as long as qualified veterans with specialized knowledge are available.
What was your MOS anyway? Thanks again for the info!
10-08-2011, 10:51 PM
Hoot Gibson Wrote:Most of the Army civilians who I work with are retired from the Army. It can be difficult for a civilian without military experience to be hired into many positions, which is how it should be as long as qualified veterans with specialized knowledge are available.
I agree 100%, and a federal government job was/is one of my goals when I enlisted and now. Hopefully our country will make it through these tough times, like we always have, and everything works out for me.
Our brothers that aren't so lucky is what kills me though.
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10-09-2011, 12:18 AM
vundy33 Wrote:I agree 100%, and a federal government job was/is one of my goals when I enlisted and now. Hopefully our country will make it through these tough times, like we always have, and everything works out for me.
Our brothers that aren't so lucky is what kills me though.
v33, I can tell you one thing, if you keep playing on the creek bank at some point you're gonna slide in. I hope you pass all your training and get out of harm's way. You likely have done your part. But, this is what I wanted to say.
This whole notion that the middle east will ever turn out ok is a load of bull. Like you said in your post, all they know is war. If there is any truth to God's Word, and I say It's all true, there will NEVER be peace in that region. There will always be talk of peace, but, it will never materialize. In fact, at some point there will come an announcement that a peace accord has been achieved and war will come suddenly, on the heels of the announcement. We are supposed to be a peace loving people but we are at war about half of the time ourselves. They, on the other hand, will never negotiate and never agree. Israel and those that surround them will hate each other till the end and nothing on this earth will ever change that. Survive and advance.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
10-09-2011, 12:05 PM
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10-12-2011, 09:51 PM
vundy33 Wrote:Thanks alot for the info brother, I appreciate it alot. One of the reasons I did re-up is to avoid the VA dealing with my back and TBI...I've just heard so many VA horror stories, haha. But GS-12? Nice man...
What was your MOS anyway? Thanks again for the info!
I was a Combat Engineer. The VA has made progress. They are truly become Vet centered rather than govt or politician centered. Many of the staff members of the VA are Veterans themselves and care greatly about what they do. However they have a huge stigma to over come due to under funding of the past. I broke my back and herniated three disc and at one point couldn't move my right leg. However now I can walk and you can't even tell I had anything wrong. I went through a year and a half of PT at the VA. I still have flair ups here and there and have to get cortizone shots but I was extremely greatfull to the VA for the help they gave me. Plus I broke 6 teeth. They couldn't fix them so they sent me to a civillian dentist. I had a mild TBI as well and now I only have minor issues with it. However they gave me a palm pilot to help. I was worried when I first went to the VA but I gave it a shot and it couldn't have worked out better.
10-13-2011, 04:06 AM
Matman Wrote:I was a Combat Engineer. The VA has made progress. They are truly become Vet centered rather than govt or politician centered. Many of the staff members of the VA are Veterans themselves and care greatly about what they do. However they have a huge stigma to over come due to under funding of the past. I broke my back and herniated three disc and at one point couldn't move my right leg. However now I can walk and you can't even tell I had anything wrong. I went through a year and a half of PT at the VA. I still have flair ups here and there and have to get cortizone shots but I was extremely greatfull to the VA for the help they gave me. Plus I broke 6 teeth. They couldn't fix them so they sent me to a civillian dentist. I had a mild TBI as well and now I only have minor issues with it. However they gave me a palm pilot to help. I was worried when I first went to the VA but I gave it a shot and it couldn't have worked out better.
Well good. That's great to hear. I'd be finding out if I hadn't already reupped. But oh well, guess we'll see what it's like in 2016, lol.
I try not to hate on the VA to much. I mean hell, we have been at war for 10 years. Thousands and thousands wounded. It's not easy to process all of that.
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