Pretty Sad State of Affairs ...

I also was ashamed of the way vets were treated. Many of them were drafted and had no choice but to go to Viet Nam, yet they were treated like dirt when they returned. Some are still suffering.

In my opinion, our war with Iraq is an extremely serious mistake. HOWEVER, even though our president made a serious mistake and congress did nothing to stop him, our soldiers are doing what they think is right and are putting themselves at risk of being killed or permanently crippled. They should be treated with respect. If they are injured, whether physically or psychologically, they should receive first class treatment.

 

The military has changed immensely over the past couple of decades, and not for the better. In fact it's in a "Pretty Sad State of Affairs" (there, that keeps the thread on topic!).

During Desert Storm one of the Reserve units near here got called up. The small town they were in had a parade when they left, and all the local TV stations were there interviewing people. They interviewed one girl that was crying her eyes out, and she said, "They just TOOK my sister! They didn't ask her if she wanted to go or ANYTHING. They just TOOK her and sent her over there!" Uh, yeah, welcome to the Army. She took those paychecks all these years, now it's time to pay up.

Another instance: The engineering company I used to work for did a lot of work at Ft. Campbell, KY. I was up there once and at lunch we went in a Wendy's on base (what happened to mess halls?). Ft. Campbell is home to the 5th SFG and there was this HUGE Special Forces captain in the line. The guy must have been close to 7' tall and weighed in at 300 pounds. Immaculate uniform, boots you could see your reflection in, etc. In front of him in line was this kid who looked like he been wearing the same uniform for a month. One trouser leg bloused about halfway, the other just hanging down. Shirt tail out, just a complete mess. The big guy was looking straight down at him, and you could tell it was all he could do not to pick him up and stuff him in a trash can somewhere. Funny as hell, but another indication of the changes in the Army these days. The captain couldn't even say anything to this kid, he just had to swallow his pride and try to ignore him.

But, to get back to your comments, I remember when the guys came back from Vietnam. It wasn't as bad in this part of the country as in others, but it was a shameful experience. We sent those guys over there against their will. Many of them didn't come home, and the ones that did came back changed forever. In exchange for that people called them every vile name they could think of. It was wrong, and I wish the roles could have been reversed so they could see how wrong it was.

 

The Air Force isn't any better than the Army from what A few of my friends there say. The new kids coming in just don't get it. I enjoy my job and serving my country, I have discipline and integrity. I didn't sign up for college, or get a huge bonus when I came in. I needed to grow up and get out of my home town. The thing that kills me about the Air Force is that they skirt the line between business and military, and you can't do that. It's wrong to send mixed signals, we're the military and should act as such. We have lost alot of disclipine trying to save $$$, and we're constantly re-inventing the wheel for no reason whatsoever. Sometimes I'm amazed that we can go 1/2 way around the world to another country kick ass and come back safely. We have cut too many programs. Right now we have are less than 80% manned in the maintenance side of the house, but are over 150% manned as far as pilots are concerned. That's sad.

 

Sadly I remember as a kid that happened here to the returning Soldiers as well, as you said it was shameful. :frown:

Think this brilliant song "Only 19" by Redgum in '83 helped a little to wake up general population to the reality faced by them in Vietnam, while the song is very Australian and low key the sentiment would hold true to any returning young draftee's.

Only 19 music Vid from '83: ( note - contains Vietnam war footage)
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Urtiyp-G6jY

 

Very good video and song. It should be required watching by anyone who wants to complain about the military.

I have to wonder what is in the minds of people who think those guys wanted to be there. They were sent. They had a job to do and did it the best that they could with their hands tied behind them. Rather than cursing them when they returned those people should have either been thanking them or apologizing to them. I'm not sure which.

 

I recently bought a cheap 14" box fan at the store and wasn't surprised that the instruction BOOK that came with it was 14 pages. 2 paragraphs about putting on the feet and operating the knob. The rest was post lawsuit warnings.
Two of my favorites; Don't use this appliance in the bathtub and Do not touch the moving blades with your tounge!

Wonko the Sane was right!