He's Done With the Army

I just received this comment on an old post and decided to move it up to the front:

i haven't read everyone's blogs but i need to bitch because i am not allowed to say any of this while in the service... isn't it strange that those who are here to uphold democracy (soldiers) hardly ever get treated to its benefits. I as an AMERICAN Citizen cannot say anything negative about my boss President Bush. I am not given that right. I signed that right away. I am fighting for freedom and do not have it for myself. Its a simple irony but maybe those outside the military do not see it. i have three more months in a six year contract i signed as a young man in the army... i have been informed that i will now have a minimum of a year and five months added onto that contract.

Three months before the deployment, the deployment, and three months after that equal approximately one and a half years. I have heard the excuse "You joined so you deal with it." This is not easy to swallow but i did and have served honorably for my country. I served overseas for 4 years did a tour in kosovo, went to poland, hungary, and lately iraq. I feel the stop loss is just another way the army mistreats its soldiers... not surprised at all... I saw this coming. Unfortunately knowing that it would happen does not make it any easier to deal with. I wish the president could understand how hard it is to tell your family that once again I must leave. I made them a promise that I would be done with my servitude this year but once again the Army made me break my promise. I worked hard to do my job eventhough I was unhappy doing it. I honored my obligation to my colleagues at work. I take pride in being a good soldier. I understand EXACTLY why there must be a stop loss. I would not join the Army if I saw where the president was leading it either.

This solider has already done his duty. Recruitment advertsing now targets the parents of high schoolers because recruitment goals are not being met. Yet the Keyboard Kommandos still refuse to suit up.

Shameful.

Comments

[john @ blogenlust]

You have to believe that there are a lot more out there like this guy. One of the worst legacies of this Administration will be the way that they've dismantled the morale of the military. Combining the recruitment numbers with the AWOL numbers presents a pretty bleak situation, all thanks to an unnecessary and utterly mismanaged war. Recruitment as low as it is in this job market says it all.

[Michael Hussey]

In related news: the divorce rate of soldiers is up.

[mary]

This is servitude in the worst way. It's like we take our own hostage. Very upsetting.

[Chris Clarke]

Thanks for posting this, Rox.

[firedoglake]

Wow.

[Dior]

I am a Navy Submaine vet from the first Gulf war era (Bush 1). Many nights I got the call to go chasing Commies for Christ, leaving my family in what ever situation they were in at the moment. It was also a time when the military was hated by the public, you did not dare wear your unifom in public then. I say this so this soldier can know I know what you are feeling. you feel betrayed and the only sympathy that you get from your CO is to suck it up.
Well, you have been betrayed by this administration, but not by your country. You have given more than most people know (but I do), and for that I can give you this promise: we will work to get this regime at home changed, we won't forget your sacrifice or your family's, and we will keep fighting to get you back. Stay low.

[tim]

Dior says:
It was also a time when the military was hated by the public, you did not dare wear your unifom in public then.

Hard to believe anything else you say, bro, when you spew nonsense like that. The first Gulf War would have been in the early '90s, after two terms of Morning in America with Ronnie. In fact, the standing of the American military was never higher with the public than at that time.
Think we can put this in the round file along with the non-existent spitting incidents that Vietnam vets were supposedly greeted with on their return home. Strangely enough, no one has ever been able to document a single instance of that actually happening ...

We can

[Brian Vaughan]

One person I knew did some research on Lexis/Nexis and found a single instance of spitting on soldiers returning from Vietnam -- and it was right wingers, condemning soldiers for cowardice.

Vietnam veterans were among the major leaders in the antiwar movement. The antiwar movement wanted the soldiers to stop fighting and come home. Spitting on them when they did would make no sense at all.

[Brian Vaughan]

Oh, speaking of military recruiters:

College not Combat

If it works in San Francisco, we're hoping the idea spreads.

[Chris Clarke]

There was a recent post on Mahablog (with interesting comments) that addressed the spitting issue.

It's hugely volatile, still. I never received any more virulent hate mail for anything I've written than I got for the piece I wrote about the myth a couple years back.

[Trevor]

As far as I know, I'm allowed to criticize my commander in chief, as long as I follow any moral and lawful orders which I am given.

Telling you that you're not allowed to speak out sounds pretty unlawful and immoral to me. Land of the free and all that. Can't very well advertise that if you're not letting your citizen soldiers express opinions.

[figo]

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