US Soldier Reacts to Congressional Election News

Breaking/UPDATE:

Very much to his credit, I just received a brief email from Mr. Humphries. He says the soldier's letter is legitimate, that he has heard from him in the past and that he has the soldier's email address.

In deference to fair play, and to Mr. Humphries' honesty, let's then say that, whether we agree with the letter or not, it is likely, unless Mr. Humphries is himself being gamed by someone, genuine.

I thank Mr. Humphries on behalf of the board.

 

He actually wrote back? Can you post...

 

It wouldn't be fair to him, D_B, as I neither sought nor asked his permission to do so. But I posted exactly what the email conveyed.

 

If the soldier is ashamed to be an American, he can get the fuck out. He works for the US gov't, not just Mr. Bush. If he's told to fight, he fights; if he's told to come home, he comes home. If he doesn't like it, he can fuckin' leave it.

Looks like another Tim McVeigh in the making.

 

Keep this piece handy as this meme gathers steam.
http://www.harpers.org/StabbedInTheBack.html

 

I, for one, find it shocking that a member of the US military would put faith and trust in his commanders.

Finding a member of the military who believes the Republican party will do a better job handling the war is like finding a member of the Alabama football team who believes Mike Shula is doing an OK job.

And for the record, I believe it was the current administration which cut funding to VA hospitals and deployed our troops with less-than-adequate armor. I'm also pretty sure that a soldier made a video about the consequences of wearing such outdated body armor.

I guess this guy wasn't in the mess hall with a long face.

 

If you ever got out of your parents' basement and into the real world, I'm sure you'd find a lot of things shocking. The real world is a bitch sometimes. You should try living in it. But then who would buy you popsicles?

 

Obviously, the sarcasm escaped you. Shame, I thought I had left it pretty well soaked in it.

 

I had a wife's cousin who served there. He came back bitter about the mismanagement within the military on supplies, particularly body armor. There's a few over there who obey their commanders but think that the CEOs, so to speak, are about the same as those who rule newspaper conglomerates. And that's not favorable.

Having said that, soldiers are programmed to fight. We've taken the offensive out. There was never anything more frustrating on a playground than always being on the defensive. Shit happened that way in Vietnam. Strings not pulled on the battlefield, but in a meeting room.

 

Soldiers complaining about command is nothing new. I'd bet that somewhere at Valley Forge there were a bunch of soldiers talking about how Washington was a f*ck up, having them stuck there freezing their asses off.

 

Well, then you're admitting that the soldiers do have faith and trust in their commanders and thus the soldier's email is pretty much how the military feels. I'll accept that concession. But I'm sure you'll now do an about-face and try to spin it some other way.

 

Don't be obtuse, O_T. At best this is how one soldier says he feels. If you need further corraboration of your own assertion that the world is full of crazy shit, go read the "Who's Rumsfeld?" thread for another soldier's take on things.