Posted on 12/06/2004 8:02:26 PM PST by Happy2BMe
Very true, but that concept is quite foreign to most of our culture. The real problem here is that those who volunteered for service have been deceived by deviation from past practice and by unilateral contract modifications. As this continues our military will suffer major attrition and recruiting problems.
It will improve morale. Another symbol that Iraq is on it's way to democracy, even if a small step.
My grandfather was away in WW2 for 3 yrs. This is as serious, actually more serious, of a war.
Ridiculous to compare WW2 and Iraq? Iraq is part of the Middle East and in many ways it is more serious as the terrorism we are forced to deal with after 9/11 involves cowards that hide as civilians and share the goal of destroying the USA. These troops are facing an enemy even worse than the Nazis and Japs of WW2. We are in a fight for survival really as these people look at ways to attack and kill us. Iraq is part of the war on terrorism and these extensions show the seriousness of what we have to deal with.
"Ridiculous to compare WW2 and Iraq?"
Yes. There is no comparison. They are completely different situations.
They are comparative in the seriousness to world security. The war on terror is a global war only it is fought by murderers who don't wear uniform and are united with regimes that rally around their call to destroy the United States.
My son, also. He got the news to extend the day he was due to rotate. His group was sent to Najaf because they weere the most fit. The First Cav had just arrived, was as green as grass and got its butt kicked at first.
Juan usually makes a good soldier.
Will be one step further on toward an Iraqi government.
I talked with a National Guard recruiter at a gun show here in Oregon recently. According to him, enlistments are *way* down and the services generally are really worried about it. They're not getting any response from highschool seniors.
The services are trying to use "theme marketing" to get enlistments - "be all that you can be", etc. - and it's not working. I guess I'm not surprised at that - for my money, they'd do better to use an outright patriotic appeal, complete with photographs of 9/11 and combat footage.
But, what do I know...
Let me repeat. I am in conversation with a woman in the unit whose husband is at brigade level.
She knows HOW it went down.
I'm certain of my facts.
I have an unimpeachable source about what was told those families.
I have an unimpeachable source about what was told those families.
Nah....it's not a quagmire. No way!
And when we fought the Japanese and Germans we had no traitors in this country working for the enemy, no lawyers at the front and our people were united.
We had better be looking for an exit strategy.
We were originally told they would probably be gone 12 to 14 months (they left at the beginning of January). Then last summer, they had changed that date and were planning to send the ___ Brigade home NLT the first part of December (most were coming back the end of November). That was recinded in the first part of October when we got that news that the ___ Brigade Combat Team was being "extended" until January. It really wasn't an extension at all, they just were going back to their original plan. This latest change of plans to March actually still puts them in the original timeframe (14 months).They keep reminding us that "we told you to expect 12 to 14 months". It still was a blow - we thought surely they would send them home after their year was up.........
Hope that clears up the confusion.
Have a great day!
That's right in the ballpark.
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