ive stopped arguing with people about this ****



the people who say **** about america, the way of life , the scandals, etc... i dont care anymore.. they cannot be changed by me saying "oh well such and such"



people always ask me "whyd you enlist, you were going to college, your parents were paying for it, you had the best chance at a modern day life to succeed well in the future.... whyd you enlist, whyd you blow your future, youre gonna go to iraq and get shot and die"



to most of those people i cant explain it...they dont understand...its something i want to do, i volunteered for this, and whatever im getting myself into and where i go.

 

scoliosis = curvature of the spine.



doesnt make you hunched over, except i guess in severe cases.



kevin.

 

i guess mines semi severe then...

 

Wow... Those videos gave me goose bumps.



I always wanted to fly a fighter jet. I've been debating the military, but I would LOVE to fly fighter jet.



If I wasn't able to fly, I'd like to be special forces or a sniper. I happen to be a pretty decent shot too. I dropped a few wood chucks at 200 yards through the head in crosswinds with a .243.

 

Some ppl you just can't reach. We would be driving volkswagens or drinking vodka... **** that, we would be drinking tea saying "CHERIO" if it were not for the thirst for freedom, and the power to remove the yoke that prevents it.



America is great to me. I ask people that always bag on the U.S.A. if they have ever been to other countries. And I am not talking about little touristy type cities that are little slices of Americana cause we dump millions of dollars a year there so they accomodate us! I am talking about Manilla PI, Vladivostok Russia, Phuqet Thaliand, and Jakarta Indonesia... Places that once you get off the beaten path (if your not beaten) you will see how the other half lives. Yeah we have bad stuff going on here but damnit sometimes you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

 

HA! id like to see those suckers draft me not only am i conscientious objector im flat footed and i have severe adhd (i could forget to pay attention to my weapon and accidently shoot people haha) i dont know if that part counts but its fun

 

I don't deal well with people that ask questions like that, basically I walk away from them, it is a mindset I would rather not get into an altercation about. Usually it is people that have not been to these far away lands, folks that have not seen the starvation, famine, and other insightful things. These people cherrish sally struthers and her commercials for care and other organizations like this. I have been sent to areas where we had to protect these organizations. Convoys of food from the boats to the dispursement center. These are not pleasure tours. In the middle of nowhere, barbed wire and highway barriers between oyu and the bad guys. There were nights I slept in full gear for fear that the mortars that were being launched towards the camp might hit close enough or even into my tent.



Contrary to popular belief there are many people within the military that do not want to fight on foreign soil, but we do not wake up in the morning and say.."Hmmm it looks like a nice day, maybe I will call in sick" or "Gee, you know I really did not sign up for this, I was told I would see the world and get all these free vacations to all the great areas of the world" Most of us work anywhere from 10-18 hr days depending on where we are, and the mission we are supporting. In deployed locations because of our small numbers we often have to work enough to cover two people. These are not fun days,



There was a few e-mails floating around saying that Cindy Williams from Laverne and Shirley fame was against a military pay raise, and there were quite a few retorts to that article, the problem is that the name of the person that wrote the article just happened to be the same as the actress who did not write the article. But there are a few points in the one response I think about when I am asked why I joined the military...



The following has circulated the net a few times, and you may have read it, but really pay attention to what the airman is saying about military life as a whole...



Ms. Williams:

I just had the pleasure of reading your column of 12 Jan 00, "Our GIs Earn Enough," and I am a bit confused. Frankly, I'm wondering where this vaunted overpayment is going, because as far as I can tell, it disappears every month between DFAS (The Defense Finance and Accounting Service) and my bank account.

Checking my latest leave and earnings statement (LES),I see that I make $1,117.80, before taxes. After taxes, I take home $874.20. When I run that through Windows' Calculator, I come up with an annual salary of $13,413.60 before taxes, and $10,490.40 after.

I work in the Air Force Network Control Center (AFNCC), where I am part of the team

responsible for the administration of a 25,000 host computer network. I am involved with infrastructure management, specifically with Cisco Systems equipment. A quick check of http://www.monster.com under jobs for Network Technicians in the Washington, D.C. area reveals a position in my career field, requiring three years' experience with my job.

Amazingly, this job does NOT pay $13,413.60 a year, nor does it pay less than this. No, this job is being offered at $70,000 to $80,000 per annum. I'm sure you can draw the obvious conclusions. Also, you tout increases to Basic Allowance for Housing and Basic Allowance for Sustenance (housing and food allowances, respectively) as being a further boon to an already overcompensated force. Again, I'm curious as to where this money has gone, as BAH and BAS were both slashed 15% in the Hill AFB area effective in January 00.

Given the tenor of your column, I would assume that you have never had the pleasure of serving your country in her armed forces. Before you take it upon yourself to once more castigate congressional and DoD leadership for attempting to get the families in the military's lowest pay brackets of AFDC, WIC, and food stamps, I suggest that you join a group of deploying soldiers headed for Saudi-I leave the choice of service branch up to you. Whatever choice you make, though, opt for the six month rotation: it will guarantee you the longest possible time away from your family and friends,

thus giving you the full "deployment experience."

As your group prepares to board the plane, make sure to note the spouses and children who are saying goodbye to their loved ones. Also take care to note that several families are still unsure of how they'll be able to make ends meet while the primary breadwinner is gone-obviously they've been squandering the vast piles of cash the DOD has been giving them.

Try to deploy over a major holiday; Christmas and Thanksgiving are perennial favorites. And when you're actually over there, sitting in a DFP (Defensive Fire Position, the modern-day foxhole), shivering against the cold desert night, and the flight sergeant tells you that there aren't enough people on shift to relieve you for chow, remember this: trade whatever MRE you manage to get for the tuna noodle casserole or cheese tortellini, and add Tabasco to everything. Talk to your loved ones as often as you are permitted; it won't nearly be long enough or often enough, but take what you can get and be thankful for it.

You may have picked up on the fact that I disagree with most of the points you present in your op-ed piece. But, to borrow from Voltaire, I will defend to man, a guarantor of your First Amendment rights and every other right you cherish. On a daily basis, my brother and sister soldiers worldwide ensure that you and people like you can thumb your collective nose at us, all on a salary that is nothing short of pitiful and under

conditions that would make most people cringe. We hemorrhage our best and brightest into the private sector because we can't offer the stability and pay of civilian companies.

And you, Ms. Williams, have the gall to say that we make more than we deserve?



Rubbish.



A1C Michael Bragg

Hill AFB AFNCC

 

wow.....sean that was amazing i never have seen that before







crass...you are the type of person that twstd and i can never seem to get through to.... "id like to see those suckers try to draft me" .. oh go **** yourself

 

Thats nice Camel

 

I get new ones from time to time, the military e-mail system is acctually clogged up for weeks after one of these are released. There is one I did not post, it is a tearjerker, I sent it to Kevin after the earlier post on the presidents resume. I may not believe in some of the things I have to do, I may not agree in the manor we do them, and I may not always agree on where we should be doing these things. But I volunteered for this, I raised my right hand and swore that I would do this, not once, not twice, but four times now, and I will be doing it again next january, possibly for my last time (14 yrs in service now) Do I look down on those that thumb their nose at me, or say things I do not agree with, or that they feel I am some monster for going to a land far far away and kill someone? No, I take it in stride, I am better than that, I go to work everyday knowing although the impact is small, I was part of this great country, and I had a part in some way that allows that person the right to have their own opinion, their own views, and the ability to speak freely of them all.





My little spec of military history made a differnce, one way or another.