Would you still be enlisted?

[Sabre]

ROFL I could see the headlines...PTSD Vets start up a new Protection Group
Crazy Mofos with guns...these guys are like the A Team on Drugs......Yeah Ha...sign me up.

 

[Bill Simmons]

Would you still be enlisted?


NO.

 

[Jimmy1]

Would you still be enlisted?
NO.

Why wouldn't you??? Not everyone has a bad experience.

You have to take into consideration a few things with us though.
Some of the guys on here like yourself were enlisted to fight in Vietnam then came home and discharged.
Some of the guys and gals were enlisted went to the sandpit, came home and then discharged.
I myself did 20 years before I succumbed to the beast, so the military was a way of life for me. I still miss it today. My plans were to transfer across to the commissioned ranks and stay in, but that will never happen now. I was resentful for a long time over that. I wanted to stay in.

What I am trying to say is that the chance of having PTSD is no reason to not serve.

 

[Bill Simmons]

The "NO" did not say anything or give any reason why. Knowing I would get PTSD or get killed for that matter was and never will be an issue for me that would prevent me from serving, then or now.

The "NO" is a rejection of the lack of intent of the government to win any war we fight. As a military man I did what I was ordered to do. It did not matter if I was in agreement or not, I followed orders because that what I agreed to do when I joined.

I am no longer in the military so now I can say anything I want to as long as it does not violate my NDA.

I would join and fight the minuet the leaders start leading from the front lines and tell me we are going to have a real war and we will win or every one of us will die trying. I will no longer support a government (as a military man) that lies to me and to the public as to the reasons we are having a war. Read that to mean "Gulf Of Tonkin" "Weapons of Mass Destruction" and a thousand other lies. The congress of the United States would not have let us become involved in Vietnam or Iraq to the extent we were if they had been told the truth. I am tired of the goddamn lies, from the government. The military does the best they can with what is given them, and has no control or say in what we do or how we do it. The "NO" is not about the military...it is directed to our boss.

 

[Anglesachse]

..............................."Weapons of Mass Destruction" and a thousand other lies.

Why is it, that anybody who wasn`t there in 91, believes all the conspiricy shit and insists there weren`t any.

Surely as a band of Brothers, who have seen some horrible shit, it should make no difference as to where or when we served, the fact that we served gives just cause to believe each other.

Yeah OK, so none were found in Iraq during the 00`s war, Kinda of funny though when you consider that they were used in 91, ten years previous. Just grounds to go kick someones ass. Damn f*cking right.

I saw the results of a Chem. attack on damn good mates, and what happened? f*ckall, the Big and mighty US and UK gobbing off about, "If they use Chemo, Bio weapons, then we will flaten the country" Funny how the 2 most powerfull nations (military wise) ended up with their tail between their legs saying "OK guys, now this attack never happened. Do you understand"

It`s the same shit I hear here every f*cking week. "You shouldn`t have been there, there weren`t any WMD, it`s all about the oil"

Uneducated Uni kids, who don`t know there arse from their elbow, I can more or less understand. But brothers! I know we get lied to, F*ck, do you think we would do the job in the first place if the Bosses were honest with us, f*ck no!

FFS have you ever wondered why the Helmets we wear make us look like mushrooms. Because soldiers are kept in the dark and fed on shit.

Behind every lie, be it Military, Politics, or Civil there is a certain amount of truth. Fact.

 

[Wagon]

Behind every lie, be it Military, Politics, or Civil there is a certain amount of truth. Fact.

Oooh oooh. I know the answer to these. Umm. Hmm "Truth". The government doesn't care, crisis is a means of motivation, and penguin tastes better with hot sauce.

Not sure how much truth is left at the core. Being most nations have been created on a myth. The biggest job governments have any more is getting us to pay attention. Getting caught in lies does not help that cause so much. Truth will probably topple any government, so they shovel more shit.

So maybe the punch line should be changed to. "On top of every truth, be it Military, Politics, or Civil, there is a giant amount of layered shit"

Am I making sense? It's early. No coffee yet.

 

[Anglesachse]

Sense it is Wagon, and that on no coffee, you must be doing good mucker, keep it up ;)

 

[Bill Simmons]

I know we get lied to, F*ck, do you think we would do the job in the first place if the Bosses were honest with us, f*ck no!

This is really where we disagree. I joined and agreed to do what I was ordered to do peorid, no questions ask if it was a lawful order.

I only need to know that I am fighting to protect the country I serve and that out national interest are threatened, and if our national interest are truly threatened there is no need for lies. Like I said, I am tired of being lied to by the government, the VA, and a whole shit load of f*ckers with their own agenda.


The man who prefers his country before any other duty shows the same spirit as the man who surrenders every right to the state. They both deny that right is superior to authority.

 

[jamz]

I agree with many, it was a great life.
I did things that I would never had done if I had not joined.
Unfortunately, after our mission to Somalia in 1992-93 the Canadian Government disbanded my unit.(Canadian Airborne Regiment) Most guys stayed in, returning to their respective Leg units. Forming Jump Companies within each. Still maintaining para status however not the same as the Airborne.
Some guys, got out seeing there was no point in remaining in our military after taking it in the you know where by our beloved politicians.

Difficult to say, I would love to proclaim "Yes!" I would have stayed in. I do believe I would have gotten out shortly after the poo hit the fan. It seems the gov't were doing everything in its powers to get rid of the Airborne.

Regardless, when ppl ask me what I thought about serving I say it was an experience I'll remember for the rest of my days.

 

[jamz]

Good day all,
I read over this last night and had to really think about this. Right now I am still serving but I only work half days because of the stress the uniform puts on me. I know that I will be released in the next coming year or two. If it wasn't for my wife and kids I wouldn't have ever came forward about my PTSD because I loved my job, i have made a very good soldier but the problem is now I bring that soldier home.
So yes I would love to be able to stay in the service but that would cost me my family and they are more important to me.

Nate

Well said

 

[jamz]

Sorry to be a stick in the mud here. I spent my Army time during the years of the draft, and I hated every minute of it. I spent 18 months in Vietnam, and never got promoted beyond private first class because of my lousy attitude. I saw so many stupid decisions made by officers who cared way more about their careers than they did about the lives of the enlisted men under them. I saw rampant racism and racial tension that actually resulted in murder, all of it ignored or denied by the brass. I saw an Army chewed up and spit out in the name of God knows what.

I went to Iraq a couple of years ago as a civilian truck driver for KBR, and was amazed by the difference between a volunteer army and one that was mostly drafted. There was an indescribable esprit de corps that astounded me. These kids really did seem to like being in the Army, and felt like they were making a real difference. In some ways I was jealous of their experience. Is this the difference between a volunteer army and one of kids who are conscripted against their will?

Or is it just my own attitude? By the time I got to the Army at 17 years old, I already had PTSD from a childhood of abuse, trusted nobody, hated anybody who told me what to do, and was willing to suffer almost any punishment to maintain my pathological independence. It's all very wierd and confusing to me.

Not being a stick in the mud.

I don't blame or criticize any Vietnam Vet(or any Vet for that matter)
Many of the young men and women who served were drafted. Im sure many understood how the war was unfolding and the lack of support from back home. I can't begin to imagine the tension that must have existed in the air.

Sounds like you were sent there and knowing your disfavour to serving... you still DID YOUR JOB.
And that is all I or anyone can expect.
It may seem trivial, I hold Vietnam Vets in very high regards for the reasons you so bravely put forth.

Cheers!