That's me and my buddies, wearing combat boots, in 1990, something I don't wish for my children anymore.
John Cole, who
served in the Army pretty much during the same time that I did:
It’s just criminal what is happening here. We really know nothing concrete, yet we’ve seen some news media call for his execution, his father under siege for having a beard, his entire town under assault, and so on. It’s fucking insane. I am as disgusted with some of my veteran friends as I have ever been.
And where do these warpigs think they are going to find their next warm bodies to run through a meat grinder? Small towns like Hailey, Bethany, and every other town like us in the country. You can be damned sure people are going to be thinking twice after watching this reaction to bringing one of ours home. Who the fuck is going to sign up to get blown up in some meatgrinder when you know the Republicans sending you there under a lie aren’t going to fund the medical care you need and will then shit all over you, your family, and your town if it helps their political agenda?
I used to think that if I had kids, I would want all of them to go into the military. Do a stint in the Air Force or Navy, see the world. Fuck that noise. I’m not having any kids, but I would tell any kid from 17-21 to stay as far away from the military as is humanly possible. If me from 1989 was thinking about the military and watched what has happened the last decade, my attitude would be “Fuck that shit. My shit’s fucked up but I want all my limbs and don’t want my parents being called traitors.” Not to mention, we used to believe in not leaving people behind, even if Sean Hannity didn’t like their dad’s beard. The only possible outcome to military service is negative, these days, unless you are higher level brass.
Conservatives agitate to send them into more and more meat grinders around the world, because the chickenhawks aren't wearing uniforms themselves. Imagine what president Romney or McCain would've done by now, putting American boots on the ground in Syria, Iran, Sudan, Yemen, Ukraine and who knows where else.
That's bad enough, but it's worse that when they come home, these vets don't have the services that they need and deserve, with Republicans filibustering money intended to care and treat these people.
And then there's the politicization of the military, with conservatives booing gay soldiers, and losing their minds over Berghdal, because we don't leave anyone behind, unless Sarah Palin disagrees. Then we can let those fuckers rot in Taliban prisons. America, fuck yeah!
I'm with John. I've always said that joining the Army was the best decision I ever made, and now at 42, it still remains the best decision I ever made. Nothing I've accomplished since would've been possible without my three years as an artilleryman. And like John, I once hoped that both my children would one day follow my footsteps and serve their nation in uniform.
But for what? To die or be maimed in pursuit of the latest fantasies out of PNAC HQ? To be mocked or booed because of choices they make on contentious social issues? To be left to rot after they finish their service? To be abandoned to our enemies because of political expediency?
It breaks my heart, but conservatives are destroying the value in military service. And our nation won't be stronger because of it.