And I say again, having said it already, but it bears repeating
GOOD Morning Vietnam!!!
We haven't lost as many people there yet, but the escalation has come to the point that virtually all of them are facing weapons fire seeing or helping make or take care of dead and injured, and the screaming and crying. It hasn't been going on as long as Vietnam, but it has the potential to be every bit as bad. Certainly the price on human bodies is just as bad per individual.
Upon reading yesterday on the progress of the occupation, we're losing ground and cities. Whine the fighting in one city is being reported, we in the US aren't hearing about other cities having been overrun. We are, in effect, losing.
What it makes me think about - all our people coming back, visibly injured or not. The Iraqis who have now been hurt by us intentionally, some more violently and cruely than by Saddam, and in the same prison, and our soldiers are there NOW while this is being brought to light. Personal opinion - The American people have no idea what's going to come from that. They aren't ready for our boys coming home..
It sucks in a way that, this generation, the typical age over there, is one of the last generations to be born during a time of relative economic prosperity and peace. They were, like, the last ones to have access to resources in education and lifestyle that the later generations may very well not have. I don't know why it strikes me as somehow odd or wrong. That the last generation that grew up when we were "strong" for lack of a better word, is getting the shit kicked out of it in a foreign country. It's the generation out there loosing body parts and minds.
For me, knowing the reservists and guard had never planned or expected anything like this, makes me wonder what the morale effects truly are/were. Aside from any editorial report, but in a irl how are the attitudes different than, say, if I were still active duty, and I was sent over. We active duty always knew we could be extended. We always knew we chose to be a part of the military.
It's like the military there now is, quite literally, not the same military I and most others know, and for some reason, I just feel orrible about that.
They already had lots of active duty folks, like I was me. I could have easily been pulled off computer programming and gone back to keeping kc-135s flying. They played around with budgets and what not, but this admin planned all along to utiize the guard and reserve; I believe they said that before the war.
Poor planning, for me view. Should have kept the guard and reserve HERE to man things, and sent all active duty over. If the numbers even make that possible. I'm sure they are recently seperated guard and reservists who could be pulled back into active duty, which is always the right of the agreement in the first place. They could augment the military with a select group of the guard/reserve, which would have provided overall normal military personnel, which would have kept the training and the methods more uniform. Maybe a little more sane. I can wish.
I guess one thing about active duty military is, anyone real screwed up, an achoholic or anyone generally unfit for duty, well I can't say they're always found to be incompetant, but the chances are he/she will screw up and wind up getting and/or possibly discharged.
The climate of the military in active duty does sorta make everyone able to uphold a certain standard, or face issues, which I don't think the guard or reserve are as closely watched.
My opinion, for what it's worth.
I sure as hell hate everything about how "they" waged this war. And some of the most stupid, dumb-ass ideas HAD to have come from Bush.
So, just wanted to chime in again with the Good Morning Vietnam!
Recently finished Larry Flynts book Sex, Liex, and Politics - The Naked Truth. This man is truly amazing,, and I'd recommend this book to anyone. I'll loan it too
