January 27, 2005
AWFUL CLAUSE
CaliValleyGirl's boyfriend is deploying soon, and she
voices many of the issues that I remember from this time last year. I must say that there is one clause that I am really starting to hate, one that I have been hearing more and more often: "When my husband was in Iraq the first time..."
Posted by: Sarah at
10:23 AM
| Comments (5)
| Add Comment
Post contains 58 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Get used to it. Soon it will be third and fourth tours in Iraq. As long as Bush and his criminal gang are in charge of our country there will be no peace. War, deficits, and corruption are what they stand for.
Posted by: good to go at January 27, 2005 12:25 PM (fLlQ8)
2
Actually, they stand for peace, but sometimes war has to happen to get there. Corruption? Check your Dem buddies.
My youngest heads to Afghanistan for his second tour there this spring, with one to Baghdad sandwiched between. That's his job. That's why he makes the "big bucks."
Sarah, you sure do attract the trolls!
Posted by: Mike at January 27, 2005 02:05 PM (cyYKH)
3
Can somebody bannanate this asshat? I still have yet to see *one* moonbat actually substantiate claims of "illegal" or "unethical" war, or give one example of when Bush actually "lied". Short English lesson: "criminals" have commited *crimes*. Violations of a country's laws: crimes. Things you personally don't like: not crimes.
Posted by: James at January 27, 2005 03:04 PM (QvU5o)
4
The peace won through OIF and OEF will have real value, which would not be true of laying down and letting the terrorists subdue the rest of the world. That just leads to war on our soil later...
Posted by: Barb at January 28, 2005 04:34 PM (q9AXC)
5
Actually my father fought in WWII from Kasserine in North Africa where Rommel stomped our butts in the first battle between Americans and Germans. He never returned home from the battlefield until the war ended for him in Ulm, Germany. No returns stateside, no R and R for Dad back in those bad old days.
I guess this is a new military world of not fighting whenever you get your respite. To me there is something terribly wrong with this view of conflict as an interruptible, part-time job that you go back to after a break of sorts.
I don't want to seem disrespectful to American troops now on the ground in Iraq, but we lost more than a quarter of a million of American fighting forces in Europe in the 40s and only the intels got weekends off.
What you are going is a hard job in present terms, but believe me, times have been harder for your predecessors.
Posted by: aliaenor at February 03, 2005 10:34 PM (lng1d)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
January 23, 2005
COLA
I got excited a few months ago when they raised our Cost Of Living Allowance, but now today I am feeling
alarmed:
As the dollar drops against foreign currency, it makes the cost of basing U.S. military personnel in Europe and Asia all the more expensive. For example, every time the euro rises one euro cent in value against the dollar, the dollar increase in salary and benefits for local-national employees at the Navy Exchanges is $187,000 adjusted annually, according to Lt. Cmdr. Lisa Braun, spokeswoman for Navy Region Europe in Naples, Italy.
Get us out of here! Send us all back home so we can spend our dollars in Kansas and Texas instead of on paying Germans to sit on their rumps and be rude to us in the housing office. Let me go home so I can pump my money into Quizno's and Hobby Lobby instead of spending it here. Let our single soldiers drop hundreds of dollars in American clubs and bars instead of being banned from Club New York in Nuremburg because Club New freakin' York doesn't like Americans. Let me take my car in to the Nissan dealer at home so I can stop getting hosed here because our warranty is no good in Europe. Let me tip an American waiter for bringing me my third free refill of Dr. Pepper instead of the German who charged me extra for ketchup.
Wanna solve issues of COLA and ridiculous pay/benefits for local nationals?
Send. Us. Home.
Posted by: Sarah at
03:42 AM
| Comments (5)
| Add Comment
Post contains 252 words, total size 2 kb.
1
When we were stationed in Germany, we finally had to move into base housing because our rent went up over 30% in one year, and we weren't paying a single DM more per month. That exchange rate is a two-edged sword for sure.
Posted by: Ted at January 23, 2005 10:03 AM (ZjSa7)
2
But, Sarah, aren't we needed in Germany to protect them from a French invasion?
Oh, wait--I forgot. Snicker. Actually, I wholeheartedly agree: We're done with them, and they're done with us. Adios.
Jim
Posted by: Jim Shawley at January 23, 2005 11:15 AM (aO0V3)
3
I second that motion. I can't count how many times I say that EVERY DAY. As much as I love the experience here, it irritates me to no end to put money in their pockets.
Posted by: Erin at January 23, 2005 07:03 PM (k/guu)
4
Sarah: I'm stationed with the Navy in the Naples area, and until the COLA catches up on my LES, the exchange rate really bites.
OTOH, like my Italian wife says, it bites for Italians, too. And on my own blog, I linked to a comment on another blog by a French person who said that the higher prices since the Euro has been instituted have been a major concern there.
The Euro is turning out to be one, giant rip-off, IMHO.
Posted by: someguy at January 25, 2005 10:02 AM (/2CDu)
5
I remember living in Germany in the 80's as a dependent kid (Zweibruecken AFB), and we had it the other way around -- for awhile, the exchange rate was almost 4DM to $1. My parents bought an Audi for somewhere near what they would have paid for a Ford Escort in the states...
Back then, there was a clear divide between the Germans who were old enough to remember WWII and those who were of my generation. The older generation loved Americans -- we lived in a tiny village and our 90-year old neighbors, who spoke no English, were absolutely delighted to have Americanische Luftwaffe living next door to them. On the other hand, the kids my age had an almost-universal dislike of Americans. I'm not surprised that we're no longer wanted there, now that we've all grown up.
Posted by: Neil at January 26, 2005 03:59 PM (Xxdrc)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
January 21, 2005
WELL DONE, BUDDY
Red 6 got the
Silver Star. And his smile just lights up my heart.
Posted by: Sarah at
04:26 AM
| Comments (5)
| Add Comment
Post contains 20 words, total size 1 kb.
1
That is so excellent! I have been to his site often, as well - good reads :-)
I'll go congratulate him now!!
Posted by: Barb at January 21, 2005 04:24 PM (q9AXC)
Posted by: LarryConley at January 21, 2005 05:31 PM (2cE9S)
3
Hey,
What's the big deal, just another immigrant that did good...just one of millions over a two hundred year span or more, that did good.
Don't you know... that is what makes America, America?
America is many things, go here and click on patriotic music and spend a few minutes,
if your eyes don't tear and shivers don't run up your back, you are living in the wrong country.
This is my post
Papa Ray
West Texas
USA
Posted by: Papa Ray at January 22, 2005 02:02 PM (B6ERo)
Posted by: Jenn at January 22, 2005 03:54 PM (qoWSU)
5
All I can say is
THAT IS SO COOL!
Posted by: Vonn at January 24, 2005 05:26 PM (VDBpE)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
January 20, 2005
MEMORIAL
ABC
wanted to know if there were any military funerals that they could contrast to their coverage of the inauguration. I send a hundred mental middle fingers their way, for today I attended the memorial service for PFC Gunnar Becker.
The soldiers of Becker's company had their own service:
As they approached the memorial to render a final salute, many of his comrades felt compelled to leave a memento. While many leaders left unit coins, the popping of stitches was heard as nametapes and patches were torn from uniforms throughout the chapel, and left on the memorial alongside a toy tank, paper flowers, packs of Camel cigarettes and other personal items.
Today we who stand and wait had ours.
PFC Becker seems like an upstanding guy. He gave away his R&R slot to another soldier whose grandfather was ill. He joined in Army in August 2003, at which point he would have known he'd be heading to a long deployment in the Middle East. He joined anyway. His platoon sergeant said that when he asked Becker why he joined the Army, instead of answering "for the college money" like most do, he said, "I came in to make a difference."
And he did make a difference. One of his friends, in DCUs and crutches, went to the podium and choked back sobs as he spoke of his friend. We all wept. My heart ached as they fired the volleys. PFC Becker will be buried on Saturday at 1530 in South Dakota, on his 20th birthday.
Screw you, ABC, for wanting to politicize our pain.
Posted by: Sarah at
09:25 AM
| Comments (13)
| Add Comment
Post contains 266 words, total size 2 kb.
1
Oh Sarah, I am so sorry. And I send my middle finger salute right along with you.....
Thank you for sharing this insite into the memorial. I don't know what to say other than, even not knowing him, I hurt. I hurt for his family and loved ones, and I hurt for you.
Posted by: Tammi at January 20, 2005 10:42 AM (HaRi0)
2
I too have been sending mental finger salutes to the creeps. I read on another blog that they were ONLY looking for a funeral for a servicemember from OIF - like one of our guys who gave his all in Afghanistan, or any where else around the world, doesn't bleeding count!
Sarah, I'm sorry for your pain, and for the terrible loss of PFC Becker's family and friends.
Posted by: Barb at January 20, 2005 09:57 PM (q9AXC)
3
I have to agree with you about ABC. The shame of the MSM is the saddest commentary on our nation.
Our military should be our national pride and every attempt should be made to support them and sustain them in the time of their losses. Thank you for representing those of us who do not have a chance to memorialize and honor those who have fallen in the service of our nation. May those of you who serve and the families at home know that many of us have the utmost pride in them and mourn the losses and severe injuries of our troops. Take care and may God watch over you.
Posted by: Pat in NC at January 21, 2005 11:03 AM (y/2dZ)
Posted by: Sean at January 21, 2005 02:15 PM (UHi7p)
5
ABSOLUTELY GODDAMN RIGHT!
Posted by: CPTHAM at January 21, 2005 03:02 PM (NMK3S)
6
Shame on them. I was horrified that they would stoop to that level but then the MSM never ceases to amaze me in their lack of shame or respect for our military people and their families. My heart goes out to PFC Becker's family and friends.
Posted by: Toni at January 21, 2005 06:38 PM (7I+/+)
7
Here's an email I sent to ABC News today. For what it's worth, I hope they are getting a bunch more!
I am writing in regard to the recent solicitation on your website for inaugeration day funerals, and the subsequent broadcast of one for Matthew Holloway.
You guys are a bunch of goddamn whores. The only reason you guys put this excrement on the air is to make the President look bad on inaugeration day. How dare you politicize the death of PFC Holloway! I guess since Dan Rather is gone from CBS you guys feel you have to pick up his slack. Shame on all of you at ABC News!
I'm glad you guys weren't around during WWII. You would be showing nothing but negative reports about the allied offensive and how the war is going bad. Heck, we would all be walking lockstep by now!
This type of journalism (if you want to call it that, propoganda is more appropriate!) gives aid and comfort to the terrorist enemy we are trying to erradicate in Iraq. This type of reporting EMBOLDENS our enemy and will RESULT IN THE DEATHS OF MORE AMERICANS! SHAME ON YOU! I don't know how you guys live with yourselves.
Posted by: Biker at January 22, 2005 05:05 PM (sUu9x)
8
At Gunnar Becker's funeral today the media was everywhere. While looking for a place to sit I realized there was a whole area reserved for MEDIA. What's that. I always seemed to think that this was a time for friends and family to say good bye to their loved ones and to recognize their acomplishments and stuff like that. Its not suppose to be a public event. Yes Gunnar served for our country, but that doesn't mean everybody who doesn't feel our pain needs to see our painful expierence.
Posted by: Michelle at January 22, 2005 09:09 PM (X9/Dr)
9
I would like to say thank you to a couple of you gals on here!! Sarah thank you, first and foremost from PFC Gunnar Becker's biological FATHER, Aunts, uncles, and us numerous cousins. We have been told many stories of how this has happened and had as of yet to find out. Thank you for the link up to the story that gives us our answers. And to Michelle you are right, a funeral is not the time nor the place for the media, and to have special setting, when his fathers family didn't even get the respect of the others in attendance to be seated while they were standing. But with the news media there also, we were put in a tough situation! I have to give huge snaps to the military personal in handleing this split family situation wonderfully. My Uncle (gunnars father) was included with every certificate, medal and the presenting of the flag! Thank you also to Govenor Rounds, and Senetor John Thune for taking the time to talk with Gunnars Dad.
Posted by: Cindi at January 23, 2005 04:54 PM (MLsGM)
10
I agree with you Sarah... Gunnar should be a person remembered by all of us. The media can seriously go fuck themselves. Gunnar was a great guy and the president should have come and said goodbye to him with the rest of us. He was serving bush's country. the asshole. how dare abc be conserned that it would interfere. we all had to mourn that day and the rest of the world shouldve mourned with us. i cant believe he was going to be twenty allready. anyways thanks to all of you who supported sarah. gunnar will forever be remembered by all of us.
Posted by: sailorsgirl at January 24, 2005 12:53 AM (Gm7pZ)
11
Thursday at Fort Hood, we had a memorial service for the six soldiers killed together by an IED. There were no cameras allowed or needed, and I don't think ABC could have gotten within a mile of the place without suffering grievous bodily harm.
Memorials are for our Army family. The MSM can't possibly understand - they do not know or acknowledge the value and satisfaction of serving something larger than themselves.
Posted by: Peyton at January 24, 2005 02:10 PM (AlS1Q)
12
when my son, PFC Gunnar Becker.,traded R&R, he gave up being home for his sister's high school graduation.....she graduated valadictorian, class of 2003
Posted by: debey at January 26, 2005 07:11 PM (+KyRZ)
13
correction...his sister graduated class of 2004....as for the press @ Gunnar's funeral, when you use a public building, built BY the tax payers, it's pretty hard to keep the press out...
Posted by: debey at January 26, 2005 07:16 PM (+KyRZ)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
January 16, 2005
GUNNAR
Yesterday when I did a search on PFC Gunnar Becker, all I could find was a
Wall of Fame entry at his high school. Which he graduated from, incidentally, in 2003. Today there is more information about the young man our battalion lost this week.
Lost soldier lit up their lives, friends say
SD soldier killed in Iraq (his photo: he looks like a little kid...he would've been 20 next week)
His death was an accident, a stupid, infuriating accident. If an insurgent had killed him, I could at least have someone to hate. I feel angry about PFC Becker's death, but there's nowhere to focus my laser beam.
Even as young soldier back in 2003, Becker realized the risk.
He said, "I guess if it costs a couple of people's lives to keep freedom it's probably worth it. That's just the way I am guess."
We'll make sure it was worth it, Gunnar.
(My thoughts on PFC Becker's memorial service here.)
Posted by: Sarah at
03:39 AM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 164 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Count me in on that last sentence!
(btw, Sarah, is your email up and running?)
Posted by: Beth at January 16, 2005 05:22 PM (WR8Qp)
2
Yes Ma'am, we sure will...
Semper Fi, Gunnar. You showed the world the definition of "Always Faithful"...
(Yeah, he's Army, and 'Semper Fi' is what we Marines say, but right now, I think it fits...)
Posted by: Sgt. B. at January 20, 2005 07:48 PM (QVT9C)
3
hey you guys started off great on this site and then it got terribly worse whats up with talking about my cuz the brave man he was and then having links to online casinbos what the crap is that you trying to say gunnar was a gambler hmmmm odd enough well forget you jerks im not wasting my time any more
Posted by: mara at October 03, 2005 03:18 PM (U5ASp)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
January 15, 2005
WHAT WOULD IT TAKE?
There are some wives here who are already getting ready for our husbands' return. Others are convinced that, like 1AD before us, our soldiers will be extended past their 13 month target. We have a bad precedent: many in 1AD were already home when they got turned back to Iraq. Even having our soldiers step off the plane isn't a guarantee that they're home, so no one quite knows when to breathe the sigh of relief. And the fact that the elections are supposed to take place a mere two weeks before our transfer of authority is making everyone a little crazy.
What I've been wondering lately is what exactly would have to happen to make the situation bad enough that 1ID would have to stay. Many people have been saying that "if the elections go badly", but how badly would they have to go? How intense the fighting, how widespread the chaos, how dangerous the situation? What would it take to make them hold on to the division?
I'm not getting my hopes oriented in either direction. Before 1ID left, I told myself that I would be happy as long as my husband came home before Tax Day. I still have to keep that target in mind.
Posted by: Sarah at
03:37 AM
| Comments (4)
| Add Comment
Post contains 216 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Sarah - I find it hard to believe that any division will be leaving the theatre until well after the elections. My friend was in Iraq and supposed to be home at Easter and was extended (due to the Najaf/Sadr thing) until July. They had already stopped mail and communications and then he had 90 days extended. They were all quite upset - but - like you said - even when they get home there's no guarantees. I hope they get home by Tax Day - safe and sound.
Posted by: Kathleen A at January 15, 2005 07:35 AM (vnAYT)
2
But would they wait until election day to decide that? What could happen on election day? One city erupts, all the cities erupt, on what scale, orchestrated by whom, etc? That's what I wonder. I can't imagine the scenario. What about a week after election day? Why would they even bother pretending 1ID is coming home if there's a big chance they're not?
Posted by: Sarah at January 15, 2005 11:03 AM (1eqp+)
3
I'd imagine that if there is going to be an extension, you'll be hearing it within the next three weeks.
Ours returned this past fall after 13 months and missed the latest round of extensions being announced by a few weeks. I did not breathe a sigh of relief until the main body returned due to knowing that by that time, their equipment was on its way home and it'd cost more to turn them around than to move up another group's deployment date and send them early.
The DoD made up for it though, they were home only a few months and are already notified they are heading back. So much for a relaxing holiday. Personally, I would have rather they just stayed an extra few months than coming home, barely getting settled and already going back.
The extensions (in my opinion) are failures to plan. I'd say due to the increases in troop numbers on the ground that they have done recently, the likelihood of yours being extended is lower than if they had not increased troop strength. I'll keep my fingers crossed that your husband and those with him are not extended.
Posted by: Army wife at January 15, 2005 06:58 PM (Uq7Db)
4
be ready to be disappointed... for at least the next 4 years
Posted by: kingboo at January 19, 2005 02:02 PM (3+not)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
January 14, 2005
ELEVENTH HOUR
Today marks the eleventh month of our deployment. Our battalion just lost its
first soldier.
Posted by: Sarah at
05:11 PM
| Comments (5)
| Add Comment
Post contains 19 words, total size 1 kb.
1
I am SO sorry. Please extend my deepest condolences to the family. One more person to whom we owe more than we can ever say...
Do you know who it is yet?
Posted by: Beth at January 14, 2005 09:22 PM (XYw6g)
2
I'm very sorry...
Blogs like yours make this war real, and emphasize the sacrifice of the troops over there and remind me of our deep debt to each and every one of them!
Take care.
Posted by: Jim at January 14, 2005 10:08 PM (IHxDy)
3
You and your fellow spouses now have a mission, Sarah:
Gather around his widow/family and give your support (as I am certain you are all already doing).
A prayer is on my lips as I type. As they once said at the Hanoi Hilton,
GBY
Jim Shawley
Posted by: Jim Shawley at January 15, 2005 12:26 AM (aO0V3)
4
I'm so very sorry Sarah.
I wish I had the right words to say, but I don't.
Just please know that my thoughts and prayers are with the family, as well as with you and the soldiers in your husbands battalion.
Tink
Posted by: Tink at January 15, 2005 05:33 AM (S6VXg)
5
My thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones, and every one of the families there waiting for your battalion to return.
I'm so sorry to hear this.
Posted by: Tammi at January 15, 2005 11:26 PM (HaRi0)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
January 08, 2005
SMOKING
I've never understood the relationship between the Army and smoking. I understand that smoking can alleviate stress, which I suppose is why many people start while they're deployed. But I don't understand how an organization that prides itself on physical fitness can be so full of smokers. But then again, I've never smoked; perhaps I overestimate the effects. Thoughts?
(prompted by this article, only tangentially related)
Posted by: Sarah at
02:15 AM
| Comments (3)
| Add Comment
Post contains 68 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Well, I think the whole smoking/chewing tabacco thing while deployed is a mixture of a few things:1) it is one of the only "luxury" items that they can buy, it's kind of like female soldiers buying nail polish and painting their toe nails...gives you a little sense of normality and being back home and in a bizarre sense, it's almost like spoiling yourself. 2) It is a social habit: they can't drink any alcohol, so they smoke. 3) When they pull guard duty, they need something to do, and something that will keep their attention focused...and nicotin helps.
But if it's any consolation, those who picked-up smoking or chewing while deployed have a tendency to kick the habit before they come back.
Posted by: calivalleygirl at January 08, 2005 01:52 PM (KRZ8N)
2
You're in the Army. Tomorrow you might get blown up. Why worry about doing something that _might_ kill you ten _years_ from now?
Posted by: DensityDuck at January 12, 2005 09:56 AM (XiVKO)
3
Another oddity. At least from what I witnessed, smoking seems to be a significantly more prevalent habit among enlisted compared to officers, although tobacco chewing seems to be equally popular in both groups.
Don't underestimate nicotine as a stress-reliever and a stay-awake. Stress and the need to stay focused and alert on an irregular schedule are facts of military life.
Another benefit of smoking: a stay-warm. I don't smoke and I almost never envy smokers, but in February in Korea, the smokers in my unit sure looked content while my stuff was freezing.
Posted by: Eric at January 17, 2005 01:16 AM (UpA1b)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
January 05, 2005
MISSING
I have to chuckle at the fact that I learned about a new milblogger via an Iraqi blog.
Omar pointed out
In Iraq for 365, where I found a great post called
"From the smells to toilets to flirting, I miss America".
And for the anti-war types who think Iraq was all kite-flying before we got there, check out this sentence:
LoganÂ’s story is both compelling and sad. His uncle was killed by members of Saddam HusseinÂ’s regime for speaking Turkish in Baghdad.
Killed for speaking a foreign language. Remind me again why we shouldn't have invaded Iraq?
Posted by: Sarah at
10:31 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 100 words, total size 1 kb.
1
"Killed for speaking a foreign language. Remind me again why we shouldn't have invaded Iraq?"
Well, to play liberal's advocate, they would say "that wasn't the reason Bush used! He said WMDs and al Qaeda!"
Which, to quite an extent, is true. If it was just a dictatorship, would we have sent your husband and a 1/2 million other husbands and wives to risk life and limb in Iraq, when the world is littered with dictators or ruling juntas, some worse than Saddam?
Of course, when you take dictator+al Qaeda ties+WMDs+9/11 fears+17 UN resolutions, you have a very unique situation.
Even then, I have friends and family members who still don't think the loss of one US soldier was worth it. Not when could have just flattened the place, like Bette says, "from a distance".
Posted by: Sean at January 05, 2005 06:05 PM (KS6Yr)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
January 04, 2005
GLORY
I have always maintained that I am lucky to be a modern military wife and that the struggles we face are nothing compared to those who have gone before us. In times of fear, I always count my blessings that my husband fights in Iraq instead of on Normandy Beach. I perhaps could have endured WWII though; tonight, after watching
Glory, my benchmark is set much higher.
I'm brave, but could I have sent my husband to fight in the Civil War? Could I have endured each excruciating moment, knowing that he was lining up in perfect rows in plain sight of the enemy, drummers and colors nearby? Could I have born the agony of imagining him fighting with a bayonet? I'd like to think that I could have carried that weight, knowing that the cause soldiers fought for then was the same cause we fight for today. But it's hard to say; in an age where supposedly 77% of HMMWVs are up-armored and 100% of men wear armor plates, how can we even fathom rows of men trying to reload their muskets faster than the other guy?
I would hope that I could be as strong as women past. Edith Roosevelt hung a photo of her dead son on her mantel to defy the Germans who sent it to her. I picture her when times get difficult. I'm certain that Civil War women deserve far more respect and admiration than I can guess.
Military wife-ing has gotten progressively easier, no matter what anyone says. Watch Glory and imagine your husband fighting for freedom back then if you don't believe me.
Posted by: Sarah at
04:20 PM
| Comments (5)
| Add Comment
Post contains 273 words, total size 2 kb.
1
While I do not doubt they suffered much, I feel the wives of today's army have it much, much worse.
This is not an argument one wishes to elaborate upon, but for me you have it far worse.
That being said, you've nothing to worry about anyway
Posted by: Sean at January 04, 2005 06:39 PM (37FD7)
2
the wife and families endure more hardship than us, soldiers. we love our families; they didn't sign up for the army we did. great blog.
Posted by: Sminklemeyer at January 04, 2005 11:46 PM (m+gEn)
3
I think we have it better than the wives of soldiers serving in every war before OEF/OIF. Today's wives have information thrown at them from every direction. (Radio, TV, Internet, email, snail mail, phones, etc.)
Civil/WWI/WWII war wives had rumors and imagination to deal with, just as current wives does. However, today's wives can combat rumor and imagination with all of the other media input. Before the rumors of a soldiers death or injury can begin to circulate units and FRG's are initiating phone rosters to head off the rumors.
As recently as the Vietnam War, spouses were forced to move out of quarters (housing) when their spouses deployed. Imagine having to move out of quarters these days with each deployment.
Oh what fun we would have had!
Posted by: Vonn at January 05, 2005 10:29 AM (FmIVz)
4
With modern communication like telephones, e-mail, blogs, and the like, you can at least periodically be in contact with your husband. Imagine just getting letters once a week or month, and not hearing their voice for years on end.
Or imagine in times of sailing ships where you would hear virtually nothing of your husband for 2 or 3 years!!
Posted by: Tom at January 05, 2005 11:29 AM (D7UYv)
5
There is a major difference in the current families left behind. In the past units were community based. This concept includes Soldiers mobilized from one post. There was a community tie and affiliation with the deployed as well as an ingrained support for the families left behind. Today with so many reserve component forces being mobilized spouses left behind are often living in communities where they are the only household going through the experience. This can lead to stress put on what were previous friendships. Spouses hear comments like, "How are you going to get by with him gone for a year?", "I couldn't do that, I love my family too much." such comments stir ire in spouses. Thoughts of retorts flare "I don't know, perhaps you could give me a hand with my 4 kids while I mow the lawn/shovel snow/etc" or “Yeah, I know what you mean, I guess my husband doesn't love us as much as you love your family as demonstrated by your lack of commitment." It never ceases to amaze me how many people support the troops but will not invite or socialize with the spouses who need social interaction the most when the other adult in the household is gone for months and often years at a time. Support the troops yes, but lend a hand and actually help the wives left behind.
Posted by: cfborman at January 29, 2005 04:08 PM (UOr9J)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
January 02, 2005
WOW
I've been emailing with a reader lately, and I hope she doesn't mind if I steal her words about love for our soldiers:
Sometimes I feel like a firehose with a knot in it. I have to be careful where I point it 'cause if the knot ever gets untied, I might end up drowning somebody in admiration, gratitude and affection.
That's how I felt when I read this article: They just want to rejoin their friends
Posted by: Sarah at
05:17 AM
| Comments (1)
| Add Comment
Post contains 79 words, total size 1 kb.
1
No problem. I'm honored you quoted me. Just keep it anonymous.

I think it's great how the military has been finding ways to make use of the dedication, experience and knowledge of injured servicemembers. More than just the benefits to the military, I think it probably helps the individual with psychological recovery and adjustment.
The article reminds me of a Marine NCO I've been corresponding with. He's spent the last 4 months suffering daily headaches due to an IED blast. He was treated for other injuries in-country and returned to his unit, but he won't tell anybody about the headaches. He wrote, "There's no way they're taking me away from my men. I'll tell them how I really feel when I get back home."
Fortunately, it doesn't seem to have affected his ability to do his job because he and his men have been very busy and successful in a very "hot" part of the country.
Posted by: anonymous at January 02, 2005 10:25 AM (oDr7Q)
Hide Comments
| Add Comment
85kb generated in CPU 0.0242, elapsed 0.0888 seconds.
57 queries taking 0.0724 seconds, 232 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.