Why would you join the military if there was no chance to see combat? Isn't
it a soldier's role to kill the enemy?

If you want to join a branch of the armed forces where you're least likely
to see combat, join the Coast Guard.


"HarryKrause" wrote in message
...
Stories From the Front
by Cindy Sheehan

Lisa from Washington State writes:

My son in law in Iraq said they are being pressured round the clock to
re-enlist or face stop loss. They are being offered $30,000 signing bonus,
tax free and told if they don't re-enlist, they are going to be
stop-lossed and get zero dollars. They are pushing the troops round the
clock and Mark only got 3 hours sleep in 48 hours and when they get back,
they are faced yet again with re-enlisting. Mark said many guys are scared
and signing up and their families at home are very upset. (with good
reason) We really need to push our media and congressmen to expose the
horrible way our troops are being treated.

Lietta, also from Washington State writes:

Yes, I have been trying since January 05 to get the word out regarding my
own 2 loved ones and the soldiers in their division. Both served in Iraq,
and their division, 1st Armored, was the first to be 'extended' so they
served 15 months in Iraq, April 03–July 04. They came back to their bases
in August 04. A mere 5 months later, Jan 05, their division was told they
were under orders to redeploy to Iraq and Stop Lossed and would redeploy
in Fall 05. And I have been trying to call attention to the 'Retention'
practices ever since.

March 05, it was time for both to make decision to re-enlist. As already
under orders to redeploy; as already under Stop Loss; their choices = 1)
don't re-enlist but you will wind up in Iraq anyway under Stop Loss or 2)
re-enlist and while you'll still wind up in Iraq under Stop Loss, at least
you'll have the attractive bonus being offered.

The point is that the 'Retention' rate that is being touted as
demonstrative of soldier's fervor and good faith in the war is another
deception being foisted on the media and public.Closer to the truth of the
situation is that one they are in, they cannot get out and it is
entrapment from the front end with deceptive recruitment practices, again
at re-enlistment time with the threat of deployment to Iraq under Stop
Loss, again when contract ends and they are kept in and deployed via Stop
Loss. What continues to be called an 'all voluntary military' has become
an 'involuntary' military through the use strategies of deception and
legal maneuvering for which there seems to be no remedy in the Stop Loss.

Tia from Baltimore writes (her stepson was KIA in Iraq):

But I will never forget one thing: the day we dropped David off for boot
camp – the day his father and I first met the recruiter – the recruiter
put out his hand, smiled at me, shook my hand and said "you'll never have
to worry about him again." I was shocked. I can only speculate what this
person was telling David.

These are not isolated stories from the illegal occupation but they are
illustrative of what is happening to our young people who thought they
were doing the right and honorable thing by enlisting in the military.
This is an immoral war that our troops never should have been sent to in
the first place, and once they are there and have done their time, it is
very difficult for them to get out of the distant mental desert and come
home to their loved ones.

Not only are the backend policies of retention shady, but the front-end
policies of recruiting our vulnerable youth are often downright unethical.
Few citizens in our country (I know I didn’t) realize that an enlistment
contract is only binding on the recruit. Once the recruit raises his/her
right hand and swears allegiance to the government, that recruit becomes
the property of Uncle Sam and is bound by the Uniform Code of Military
Justice. Ethics, promises, and moral correctness often fly out the window
as servitude, hardship, and heartache fly in.

The only recruiting story I know by heart, and can effectively comment on,
is my son Casey’s. I have heard too many similar stories, however. When he
was recruited in May 2000, he was promised the moon to get him to join,
and he ultimately got an early grave. He was promised a $20,000 signing
bonus: he received $4500 and was told that he could use the rest for
college. Casey wanted to be a deacon in the Catholic Church, so when he
enlisted in the Army, he was promised he could be a Chaplain’s Assistant:
don’t believe the Army Band stories, either. When he got to boot camp, he
was told that his promised specialty wasn’t open, and he had the choice of
being a Humvee mechanic or a cook. His recruiter told him he could finish
college while in the military, he could never even get approval to take
one class. All of these broken promises mean nothing to me. One does,
however. After Casey enlisted he knew I was upset. He told me, "Mom, you
don’t have to worry, Sgt. (I forget his name) told me that since I scored
so high on the ASVAB (military competency) test, I will never see combat,
even if there is a war. I will only be in a support role." I can still
hear his voice saying those exact words to me. Those words chilled me to
the bone then, and have haunted me since 9/11. First of all, because I
thought Casey would be sent to fight terrorists (and "terrorists")
wherever they might be, and I could see George and his warmongering band
of neocons rushing us into a crazy invasion of Iraq. My premonition came
true and Casey was KIA 04/04/04: a mere 5 days after his unit arrived in
Sadr City, Baghdad: IN COMBAT. The most troubling thing is, though, that
some recruiters are still promising young people that they won’t have to
go to Iraq if they sign up. I am being told that all the time by young
people who talk to the multi-level marketers working towards their
bonuses…oops, I mean military recruiters.

As long as our young people are being lied to and used so dishonorably in
an unjust invasion and occupation of another country; as long as they are
fighting for a corrupt government and still without the proper equipment,
food, training, or leadership; as long as moms are having to hold bake
sales to buy their sons body armor; as long as our soldiers are being held
against their wills long after they have done their duty; as long as they
are being sent to kill innocent people; military service should be
opposed. Let’s affirm life in the fullest for everybody: the unfortunate,
uncounted people living Iraq who are "acceptable" collateral damage to the
war hawks, and our own indispensable loved ones. The only way to support
our troops is to bring them home from this mess – now.

The American public and Congress need to hear more stories from the front.
The tragedy and atrocities of this occupation need to be in the forefront
of every American’s mind, so there can be an uprising of peace. If you
have a story similar to the ones I have told, please forward them to me.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Oh) would like to put these stories, now engraved
only in our hearts, into the Congressional Record. Thank you.

Information on the Homeward Bound Bill.

July 13, 2005

Cindy Sheehan [send her mail] is the mother of Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan,
KIA 04/04/04 She is co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace.

--
Let's pray the United States survives the rest of Bush's term.

"NOYB" wrote in message
ink.net...
Why would you join the military if there was no chance to see combat?
Isn't
it a soldier's role to kill the enemy?


Can you imagine what the world would be like if the military of WWII was
filled with whiners like that?



If you want to join a branch of the armed forces where you're least likely
to see combat, join the Coast Guard.


"HarryKrause" wrote in message
...
Stories From the Front
by Cindy Sheehan

Lisa from Washington State writes:

My son in law in Iraq said they are being pressured round the clock to
re-enlist or face stop loss. They are being offered $30,000 signing
bonus,
tax free and told if they don't re-enlist, they are going to be
stop-lossed and get zero dollars. They are pushing the troops round the
clock and Mark only got 3 hours sleep in 48 hours and when they get
back,
they are faced yet again with re-enlisting. Mark said many guys are
scared
and signing up and their families at home are very upset. (with good
reason) We really need to push our media and congressmen to expose the
horrible way our troops are being treated.

Lietta, also from Washington State writes:

Yes, I have been trying since January 05 to get the word out regarding
my
own 2 loved ones and the soldiers in their division. Both served in
Iraq,
and their division, 1st Armored, was the first to be 'extended' so they
served 15 months in Iraq, April 03-July 04. They came back to their
bases
in August 04. A mere 5 months later, Jan 05, their division was told
they
were under orders to redeploy to Iraq and Stop Lossed and would redeploy
in Fall 05. And I have been trying to call attention to the 'Retention'
practices ever since.

March 05, it was time for both to make decision to re-enlist. As already
under orders to redeploy; as already under Stop Loss; their choices = 1)
don't re-enlist but you will wind up in Iraq anyway under Stop Loss or
2)
re-enlist and while you'll still wind up in Iraq under Stop Loss, at
least
you'll have the attractive bonus being offered.

The point is that the 'Retention' rate that is being touted as
demonstrative of soldier's fervor and good faith in the war is another
deception being foisted on the media and public.Closer to the truth of
the
situation is that one they are in, they cannot get out and it is
entrapment from the front end with deceptive recruitment practices,
again
at re-enlistment time with the threat of deployment to Iraq under Stop
Loss, again when contract ends and they are kept in and deployed via
Stop
Loss. What continues to be called an 'all voluntary military' has become
an 'involuntary' military through the use strategies of deception and
legal maneuvering for which there seems to be no remedy in the Stop
Loss.

Tia from Baltimore writes (her stepson was KIA in Iraq):

But I will never forget one thing: the day we dropped David off for boot
camp - the day his father and I first met the recruiter - the recruiter
put out his hand, smiled at me, shook my hand and said "you'll never
have
to worry about him again." I was shocked. I can only speculate what this
person was telling David.

These are not isolated stories from the illegal occupation but they are
illustrative of what is happening to our young people who thought they
were doing the right and honorable thing by enlisting in the military.
This is an immoral war that our troops never should have been sent to in
the first place, and once they are there and have done their time, it is
very difficult for them to get out of the distant mental desert and come
home to their loved ones.

Not only are the backend policies of retention shady, but the front-end
policies of recruiting our vulnerable youth are often downright
unethical.
Few citizens in our country (I know I didn't) realize that an enlistment
contract is only binding on the recruit. Once the recruit raises his/her
right hand and swears allegiance to the government, that recruit becomes
the property of Uncle Sam and is bound by the Uniform Code of Military
Justice. Ethics, promises, and moral correctness often fly out the
window
as servitude, hardship, and heartache fly in.

The only recruiting story I know by heart, and can effectively comment
on,
is my son Casey's. I have heard too many similar stories, however. When
he
was recruited in May 2000, he was promised the moon to get him to join,
and he ultimately got an early grave. He was promised a $20,000 signing
bonus: he received $4500 and was told that he could use the rest for
college. Casey wanted to be a deacon in the Catholic Church, so when he
enlisted in the Army, he was promised he could be a Chaplain's
Assistant:
don't believe the Army Band stories, either. When he got to boot camp,
he
was told that his promised specialty wasn't open, and he had the choice
of
being a Humvee mechanic or a cook. His recruiter told him he could
finish
college while in the military, he could never even get approval to take
one class. All of these broken promises mean nothing to me. One does,
however. After Casey enlisted he knew I was upset. He told me, "Mom, you
don't have to worry, Sgt. (I forget his name) told me that since I
scored
so high on the ASVAB (military competency) test, I will never see
combat,
even if there is a war. I will only be in a support role." I can still
hear his voice saying those exact words to me. Those words chilled me to
the bone then, and have haunted me since 9/11. First of all, because I
thought Casey would be sent to fight terrorists (and "terrorists")
wherever they might be, and I could see George and his warmongering band
of neocons rushing us into a crazy invasion of Iraq. My premonition came
true and Casey was KIA 04/04/04: a mere 5 days after his unit arrived in
Sadr City, Baghdad: IN COMBAT. The most troubling thing is, though, that
some recruiters are still promising young people that they won't have to
go to Iraq if they sign up. I am being told that all the time by young
people who talk to the multi-level marketers working towards their
bonuses.oops, I mean military recruiters.

As long as our young people are being lied to and used so dishonorably
in
an unjust invasion and occupation of another country; as long as they
are
fighting for a corrupt government and still without the proper
equipment,
food, training, or leadership; as long as moms are having to hold bake
sales to buy their sons body armor; as long as our soldiers are being
held
against their wills long after they have done their duty; as long as
they
are being sent to kill innocent people; military service should be
opposed. Let's affirm life in the fullest for everybody: the
unfortunate,
uncounted people living Iraq who are "acceptable" collateral damage to
the
war hawks, and our own indispensable loved ones. The only way to support
our troops is to bring them home from this mess - now.

The American public and Congress need to hear more stories from the
front.
The tragedy and atrocities of this occupation need to be in the
forefront
of every American's mind, so there can be an uprising of peace. If you
have a story similar to the ones I have told, please forward them to me.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Oh) would like to put these stories, now
engraved
only in our hearts, into the Congressional Record. Thank you.

Information on the Homeward Bound Bill.

July 13, 2005

Cindy Sheehan [send her mail] is the mother of Spc. Casey Austin
Sheehan,
KIA 04/04/04 She is co-founder of Gold Star Families for Peace.

--
Let's pray the United States survives the rest of Bush's term.

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 20:08:06 +0000, NOYB wrote:

Why would you join the military if there was no chance to see combat?
Isn't it a soldier's role to kill the enemy?


True, but some of these young men and women are on their third tour of
Iraq. It seems to me, we are asking too much of too few.

NOYB wrote:
Why would you join the military if there was no chance to see combat? Isn't
it a soldier's role to kill the enemy?

If you want to join a branch of the armed forces where you're least likely
to see combat, join the Coast Guard.


Maybe these young potential recruits need an agent representing them
when dealing with the US Military....something like a player agent in
professional sports.....or better yet a union.

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 16:55:18 -0400, HarryKrause wrote:


A soldiers' union; I'll bring it up at the AFL-CIO meeting in two weeks in
Chicago. I get to go for a day or maybe two, and hope to return
unbloodied.


Actually, I think Dutch soldiers have a union.

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 16:13:38 -0400, P. Fritz wrote:


Can you imagine what the world would be like if the military of WWII was
filled with whiners like that?


The military of WWII was filled with whiners just like that. They did
their job, but they also whined, just like our soldiers in Iraq are doing.

"HarryKrause" wrote in message
...
Stories From the Front
by Cindy Sheehan

Lisa from Washington State writes:

My son in law in Iraq said they are being pressured round the clock to
re-enlist or face stop loss.

snip

Not true according to my friends who both have sons in the Marines,
including one presently stationed in Baghdad and one who is soon to go to
Iraq.

How valid is this story you cut and pasted off the internet Harry? Do you
really believe everything you read on the net? (I guess you do).

HarryKrause wrote:
Don White wrote:

NOYB wrote:

Why would you join the military if there was no chance to see
combat? Isn't it a soldier's role to kill the enemy?

If you want to join a branch of the armed forces where you're least
likely to see combat, join the Coast Guard.


Maybe these young potential recruits need an agent representing them
when dealing with the US Military....something like a player agent in
professional sports.....or better yet a union.




A soldiers' union; I'll bring it up at the AFL-CIO meeting in two weeks
in Chicago. I get to go for a day or maybe two, and hope to return
unbloodied.



It would be a real service for someone to make those recruiters put
their promises on paper and have the 'contract' duly notarized.
It might stop some of the outrageous lies and deception.
(wonder how many 'recruits' they would sign up then)

"thunder" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 16:55:18 -0400, HarryKrause wrote:


A soldiers' union; I'll bring it up at the AFL-CIO meeting in two weeks
in
Chicago. I get to go for a day or maybe two, and hope to return
unbloodied.


Actually, I think Dutch soldiers have a union.

That would go over big.

Officer: Take that hill.

Troops: Its time for our 15 minute morning break.

On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 16:09:57 -0400, HarryKrause wrote:

NOYB wrote:
Why would you join the military if there was no chance to see combat?

Because you can't find a decent job anywhere.

This from one who tells Tom he has the highest respect for the military!

Harry, you're a card.

--
John H.
On the 'PocoLoco' out of Deale, MD