Gilligan wrote:
"The One" wrote in message
oups.com...

Gilligan wrote:

You're no pussy. FYI I've got immediate family in Bagdad, Airborne MP.
The
Army gets it share too.

I hope they're safe. My thoughts are with our people -- of whatever
branch of service -- wherever they're deployed. I got a call last week
from a friend who's going to Kosovo for a year. I'd almost forgotten
that we were still there.

I have many friends in Iraq now too. I told them before they left:
"You're an American soldier. So hold your head high. But you're in a
combat zone, so keep your ****ing head down. You figure it out."


I tell him to keep his head down. There's stress every time the phone rings.
All he wants is to be able to spend sometime in a place where he doesn't
have to have a buddy with him and carrying arms. His "bedroom" has 50+
bullet holes in it. He's under the gun 24/7 for months on end. He was just a
kid when he went in.

People seldom come out of a deployment like that with the same mental
state that they go in with, from what I've seen.

When I got back from my deployment, I had a hard time going to a park
with my kids for a long time. I was worried about landmines. I was only
comfortable walking on hardball. I have another friend who still
reaches for his protective mask every time they test the civil defense
sirens.

Aside from physically being OK, I also hope that he comes out of it in
good shape. If he has some issues (like those above) I hope he won't
think it's not 'manly' to get some assistance, and that there's
assistance for him if he needs it. Stress like that just isn't natural.