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Iraq had absolutely nothing to do with 9/11. We could have just as easily justified invading Easter Island or Sweden.
I served in Iraq, and have served with a lot of young soldiers who are plagued with the same problems he has; attempting to reconcile the rhetoric with the reality on the ground. It's too easy for you and others here to sit comfortably in your home and criticize him for his misgivings. Perhaps you can share with us your combat stories; otherwise please do him the honor of saluting him for his service that you opted not to do.
Good rebuttal and you'd have no problem getting a salute from anybody with functioning brain cells.
Servicemen and women do not write their own battle orders, they merely go where ordered at the behest of all too often, either an uncaring or corrupt political leadership.
Would that these fools would consider your collective worth at the very least on the same par as their damned stock dividends.
Valuable young lives squandered in such profiteering endeavours should be considered right up there with crimes of genocide.
There are just as many that have served in Iraq, and at considerable higher levels responsibility than the young Corporal, that have not experienced the things he alludes to. Bottom line, his account doesn't jive with the way things really work on the ground. As a GSR operator, he would have been assigned to an MI unit. I cannot name a single MI unit that was actively involved with clearing buildings, etc. That is normally done by combat arms units. Infantry primarily, but since the start of OIF, Armor, Cavalry, and Artillery units that own battle space have all taken on similar roles.
I am an Air Force communications officer. While in Iraq I was placed in temporary charge of some remote Army units due to leadership issues. DO NOT assume because his MOS was GSR Ops that he did not do what he did. The truth on the ground was very simple: If you were an officer, you were in charge even if you had no prior experience or training. If you were a grunt, you had a weapon and were expected to do whatever was expected of you. If I would have had a troop tell me "Sir, I can't do that, I'm a GSR...", my SGT Major would have cut him off and ripped him a new one.
While others may have had "higher responsibilities", this Corporal had the ultimate responsibility: to turn all those words, plans, policies, and expectations into ACTION. So where you there? where you on the ground? Or are you just criticizing this soldier because his account challenges your preconceived notions of what war is? I would gladly trade 1000 armchair generals like you for one kid like this one who at least had the courage to do the job.
Maybe. I thought this guy ran for the Florida congress as a member of the Green Party, but I was wrong. Michael Prysner is a member of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, whatever the hell that is.
The police kill people all the time, that's generally why we buy them guns.
The overwhelming majority of the time they're justified in doing so, I hate police corruption as much as anyone but there are a lot of instances where people deserve to die.
Yes, and that is what police officers are for. They go around deciding who deserves to die, and then carry out the executions.
But seriously, the police do need to prevent harm to the community and themselves, and sometimes that means using deadly force. But they do not have the right to kill someone just because they deserve to be killed.
Want to know who our real enemies are? The activist supreme court, the house of representatives, the senate, and the president of the united states.. This isn't a statement about this party or that. It is a statement that all the powers that be are corrupt and do not have the interest of the people at heart. It's time for a severe house cleaning.
The government sends troops overseas not to represent the interests of the American people, but to protect profits for Muti-National corporations.
Our troops are the ones committing the acts that make those in other countries hate us.
We have no right to be in there countries, killing their people.
We have not fought a war which was justified by the welfare of the American people since WWII.
Our government has become the pariah of the world and is now turning on its own people.
I am an Air Force communications officer. While in Iraq I was placed in temporary charge of some remote Army units due to leadership issues. DO NOT assume because his MOS was GSR Ops that he did not do what he did. The truth on the ground was very simple: If you were an officer, you were in charge even if you had no prior experience or training. If you were a grunt, you had a weapon and were expected to do whatever was expected of you. If I would have had a troop tell me "Sir, I can't do that, I'm a GSR...", my SGT Major would have cut him off and ripped him a new one.
While others may have had "higher responsibilities", this Corporal had the ultimate responsibility: to turn all those words, plans, policies, and expectations into ACTION. So where you there? where you on the ground? Or are you just criticizing this soldier because his account challenges your preconceived notions of what war is? I would gladly trade 1000 armchair generals like you for one kid like this one who at least had the courage to do the job.
Yes, I was indeed there. I served for 22 years before retiring in 2009, and that time includes multiple combat tours and operational deployments. I would like to think that I would not attempt to claim to know how things actually happen on the ground if I hadn't. My entire career was spent in combat arms (Armor), so I am quite able to spot the difference between claims of how things work, and what actually happens on the ground.
BLUF: There is a consistent, almost predictable similarity with the claims of people disillusioned with their brief time in the military, and actual events. If the gentlemen referenced in the linked story was a GSR operator, he almost certainly would not be on a rifle team clearing buildings. He would be on a FOB, COP, or JSS running GSR, not kicking doors as he claimed.
Yes, I was indeed there. I served for 22 years before retiring in 2009, and that time includes multiple combat tours and operational deployments. I would like to think that I would not attempt to claim to know how things actually happen on the ground if I hadn't. My entire career was spent in combat arms (Armor), so I am quite able to spot the difference between claims of how things work, and what actually happens on the ground.
BLUF: There is a consistent, almost predictable similarity with the claims of people disillusioned with their brief time in the military, and actual events. If the gentlemen referenced in the linked story was a GSR operator, he almost certainly would not be on a rifle team clearing buildings. He would be on a FOB, COP, or JSS running GSR, not kicking doors as he claimed.
An obvious ploy, known to educated people as a logical fallacy. If you cannot disprove the argument, then attack the person making the argument. A underhanded and dishonest tactic.
An obvious ploy, known to educated people as a logical fallacy. If you cannot disprove the argument, then attack the person making the argument. A underhanded and dishonest tactic.
Not following....someone referred to my post and asked if I had served, the part you quoted was my reply. how is that a logical fallacy? Someone asks a question, and you answer. Pretty straight forward....
The Army is divided into three major groups:
Combat Arms: participate in direct tactical land combat. In general they include the Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery units. In the U.S. Army specifically, these include Infantry, Armor (Cavalry), Field Artillery, Combat Engineers, Attack Aviation, Air Defense, and Special Forces.
Combat Support: provide fire support and operational assistance to combat elements. Combat support units provide specialized support functions to combat units in the areas of chemical warfare, combat engineering, intelligence, security, and communications.
Combat Service Support: the term combat service support was until 2008 defined as the essential capabilities, functions, activities, and tasks necessary to sustain all elements of operating forces in theater at all levels of war.
In some cases, combat support and combat service support Soldiers can be involved in direct combat. This normally would include being attacked while on convoy, or while operating in support of combat arms. They are not normally charged with conducting combat operations. There are exceptions. Military Police routinely operate "outside the wire" and as such, encounter IED strikes, small arms ambushes, etc. There are extremely few circumstances where aa military intelligence GSR operator would be actively involved in clearing buildings as part of combat operations. This is known to career Soldiers as baseline knowledge, and makes the claims of the gentleman referenced in the OP dubious at best. He is affiliated with the same organization that was trotting out Jesse Macbeth with his claims of mass atrocities being committed by U.S. forces until it determined that Macbeth's claims of 16 months in Iraq as an Army Ranger were completely disproved. Macbeth was an entry level discharge, meaning he washed out in initial entry training, and was never actually assigned to an Army unit outside of basic training/OSUT.
The government sends troops overseas not to represent the interests of the American people, but to protect profits for Muti-National corporations.
Our troops are the ones committing the acts that make those in other countries hate us.
We have no right to be in there countries, killing their people.
We have not fought a war which was justified by the welfare of the American people since WWII.
Our government has become the pariah of the world and is now turning on its own people.
Where as I agree with the basis of your statement, I somewhat disagree with the tenor of your statement about our servicemen. They are unwitting pawns, that believe they are doing what is right and noble. They carry out orders that come from above. For the most part, they have no choice but to carry out the orders they receive.
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