The Truth is Out There

Ass-holes!

I’d let him protect me any time.

@rptrcub: How about Anthony Woods?

I have so much respect for these men and women who wade through the shit that they do just to serve.

I respect it totally. I do not understand it.

@Capt Howdy: After reading posts by JNOV and her friend about their service, I’m glad I didn’t sign up when I was a college dropout in the early 80s. My rationale then was I didn’t want to go fight other Indians in Central America. BTW, someone was telling me about the active service down there by someone they knew or were related to. It didn’t strike me to ask what that was all about, but I don’t recall right off the top of my head that the US actually officially had combat troops in action in Central America in the early to mid-80s. Don’t have time to look it up right now.

@SanFranLefty: I hope that he doesn’t let the primary loss deter him. We need more folks like him in office.

@redmanlaw: Not officially, no. I ran into a few rum-soaked mercs in CR in 83ish, however. I think Ive told of my encounter with Barry Sadler of ‘Ballad of the Green Berets’ fame.

@Capt Howdy: Yeppers. Someone close to me is serving in Afghanistan, about 15 miles from the Pakistan border, in the mountains and caves. I asked him one time about DADT. “Last thing I give a shit about is whether the dude who has my back against the Taliban likes to suck cock,” he told me.

Sounds like a bumper sticker to me.

What the hell is any self-respecting gay man or woman doing in the army?

Yes, I said it.

But really. What?

@Benedick: Or the Republican Party.

@redmanlaw: +2

@Benedick: Whats any self-respecting man doing in this army, now? Same standard should apply to heteros, why join a homophobic outfit, why fight stupid wars?

@Benedick:

In no particular order:

You need health insurance. Your brother’s girlfriend (who you will pretend is your wife) needs health insurance.

You want to go to college.

Your mother/father/grandma/grandpa/uncle/aunt served in the military and you would be the freak of the family if you didn’t do your four years’ service. In many cultures in this country, serving your country in the military is thought of much more highly and is in the end more gratifying for your family than to go to college. Let me just say that at my high school graduation of more than 500 students, people like me with full tuition scholarships to Eastern schools did not get the standing ovation that my classmates who were announcing their enlistment got. And I say they fucking deserved it.

Reason number 7: You love your country. Despite its warts and discrimination against people like you. You love your country and all that it tries to achieve. You love the idea of your country. You want it to live up to all that, and stand up to countries and people who want nothing more than to destroy the best ideals of your country.

Seriously. There are more reasons, and I could spend all night on this. I can’t really come up with answers for RML, though.

@SanFranLefty: Shorter version: “You’re queer, but you can shoot, right?”

@SanFranLefty:
Two more:

You can’t find a job.

The Army will pay off your student loans.

@Benedick: They get to get paid to shower with thousands of guys.