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Yeah, that’s what I’m hearing from my niece, an Army CWO presently on her second long tour in Iraq. At this point, she says she is going to get out, even though she will be just a few years away from retirement when she gets back next year. She has a number of reasons for wanting to leave (like wanting to start a family) but mainly, she is sick and tired of all the deployments, including (as you point out) the stateside continuous training cycles (which is essentially another deployment in-between the combat ones). Oh, and remember that your overseas tour control date becomes mature while you are with the stateside combat divisions and you can be sent to Korea or Germany or some other place far away from home when you finally do manage to safely end your PCS tour with them.

I agree with you about the adventure part too. After the first time it is kill or be killed, it’s just very damn serious business that you want to be over as soon as possible and for all the suffering experienced along the way to mean something important when it is finally over.

I'm a 17 year Arm Wife Veteran and I really hope we can get out at 20.

Why? Is it the pay? The pay's OK. Not the greatest, definately not terrible. Is it the medical? Tricare is a pain the butt sometimes, but I can live with it. Am I proud of him? YES! Do we love our country and our armed forces? Without a doubt.

Are we human beings who get tired? Yup.

I once had a fellow FReeper who admonished me for expressing such views. He said that I wasn't being supportive.

I've ironed BDU's, sent countless care packages, waved my husband's pictures in front of toddlers' faces so they wouldn't forget their father, fixed broken pipes and cars, managed the finances, managed life-threatening illness.. all on my own so my soul mate could put his life on the line to kick terrorist butt overseas so every American can continue to enjoy their double half-caff without a suicide bomber blowing them up. The mission has *always* come first. I'm an army wife. IMHO, I deserve to be tired and to gripe to my heart's content. To be perfectly honest, the thought of this next 15 month deployment is draining me.

Unless you've lived the life, you have no idea how hard it can be. Mine is one story in a hundred thousand. Do I regret my life? Absolutely not. Do I wish some things could've been different? Who doesn't? We made a choice, as a couple, that we were going to see this through to the end. But the troops (official and unofficial) are really getting tired and could sure use some reinforcements.

(And will somebody *please* shut up those Liberal blankity-blanks who're emboldening the enemy and costing our men their lives? If it weren't for those traitors, I think this mess would've been over by now. I'd really appreciate that. Thaaanks.)