September 06, 2007

BECAUSE HE WENT TO WAR

Families Cracking Under War Pressure

Sigh.

Love My Tanker does a good job of fisking this article. I will just point out a few things, less diplomatically than she does.

"I don't know one military family that is still together or anything like they were before the Soldier in the family went to war," 30-year-old Mylinda, whose husband was among the first Marines to be deployed in Iraq, told AFP.

We're still together and exactly the same as we were before. Only better. My husband has matured as a man, as a leader, and as a citizen. He is a far better person for having been to war because he now understands things that most of us only know from books. If he's changed at all, it's for the better. Me too, for I had to spend a year being self-reliant, not whiny, and strong.

"Now, you have boy scouts fighting over there. They get kids out of high school, put them in boot camp and then send them to fight.

"When they get out, all they know how to do is kill someone."

Yes, my husband now knows how to kill someone. He also knows how to talk to people about electricity, gas shortages, getting along with their neighbors, and training to be soldiers themselves. Because he went to war, he changed career paths and now is learning to speak their language so he can continue to talk to them about how to make their countries better. Talk to them. If he was just going to kill them, he wouldn't need to waste six months learning to speak their language.

My husband is a better person because he's been to war, and we're a stronger couple because of it. Better. Maybe you could interview someone like us next time.

MORE:

FbL points out that this article got picked up at Islam Online under the title "Unseen American Victims of Iraq." Great.

Posted by: Sarah at 01:00 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
Post contains 332 words, total size 2 kb.

1 "They get kids out of high school..." Apparently Mylinda gets her idiocy from her own mother (who made that statement). I guess Mylinda's mom never figured out that... the military has ALWAYS let 18 year olds enlist directly out of high school... With a statement like that, the rest of the article loses any and all meaning. But since it's by the French news agency, I expected no less. I'm just wondering why military.com felt compelled to carry such a stupid article. There are many complaints that can be made about the military, legitimate complains, not this kind of tripe!

Posted by: Teresa at September 06, 2007 03:40 PM (rVIv9)

2 How about military.com post an article like this, "Troops and Families Cracking Under the Strain of Stupid Media W***e Outlets"

Posted by: airforcewife at September 06, 2007 03:47 PM (emgKQ)

3 ""About three-quarters of the veterans acknowledged having some family problem at least once a week."" What constitutes a "family problem"? If it's just a disagreement, then my hubby and I fall into that category and he's not military! That is a very vague statement.

Posted by: Tracy at September 06, 2007 04:54 PM (wFSe9)

4 Thanks for the laugh, Sarah. I love it. The Army is now responsible for happy or unhappy marriages. We are the great, the powerful, OZ! She's entitled to her viewpoint, but I would be very interested to hear her husband's side of the story. I'm guessing it would be something about her whining all the time and nothing was ever her fault? Boy, and the mother - she makes it sound like we're loading up flatbed trucks with crying boys in boy scout uniforms. Guess she forgot to mention that $20,000 bonus and the VOLUNTEER part of it. Very small brain pans on those two.

Posted by: Oda Mae at September 06, 2007 09:00 PM (I0e9i)

5 "They get kids out of high school..." Following on from Teressa's point above: this one has always irritated me. Suppose they work at McDonald's for a month then sign up, would that be ok? What about two months? Here in Britain the usual one is "He had only been out of basic training for 3 months when he died". Yes, its tragic when someone is killed before they have the chance to make something of themselves, but what do the media suggest? We keep them in a depot for three months (with the attendant 'skill fade'...) first? Maybe six months? Then you'd just get articles saying "He was only six months out of basic training..." or "He was only one month out of depot...". At some age society accepts you are old enough to decide what you want to do. Some people choose to join the army. The army decides how much training you need before you can be sent to war - there is no possible benefit in under-training you if they need the job done. Once you have completed that you are ready (well, in so far as you ever will be). Anyway, rant over. Hi, Sarah, I've been reading your blog for a few years now. Did you know you have an international military audience?

Posted by: RGT at September 06, 2007 11:50 PM (6lVxB)

6 "International military audience" makes me feel so exotic!

Posted by: Sarah at September 07, 2007 02:27 AM (TWet1)

7 Thanks for the link, Sarah! Not only did it get picked up, but it got "edited for clarity," too. Very, very ugly.

Posted by: FbL at September 07, 2007 08:28 AM (TXlt9)

8 Well said, Sarah!

Posted by: LMT at September 09, 2007 05:09 AM (ASoq0)

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