*I* would complain (bitching is the God-Given right of the enlisted man) but I would never appreciate anyone in my family embarrassing me like those people did.
When you enlist in the military it is NOT like a civilian job. You are taking an oath to give your life to your country ... you hope your country (the people especially) does not treat you like crap.
The ones being extended are the ones they need - what need is there for the fat-butted ...? Same goes for the re-enlistment bonuses ... capitalist system - it has its good points and its bad points.
I simply prefer the United States of America over the Union of Socialist States of America (USSA) that kerry,kennedy,clinton (and all those protestors) want.
One of my employees is an ordinanceman who was deployed to Turkey for the start of Iraqi Freedom. Because of the Turk government not allowing flights from Turkey, he wasn't allow to do any of the things we went over there to do. He sat at a desk for eight weeks, doing nothing.
One major difference between what happened in World War II, where many soldiers fought for the duration, is that many of these men and women were told that their tour of duty was only six monthes. Two police officers from my hometown are part of that unit. That's what they were initially told...six months.
We now have reservists and Guard members with more active duty time than many regular soldiers. To me this is a matter of trust. The families have the right to ask questions, which as protests go, that's all they did. Nobody protested the war, they asked questions. What's wrong with that?