The Veteran as an Ethnic Group: "...you WILL NOT make me hide in the closet."

BootMurtha.com ^ | 9/6/2006 | IPWGOP

[bdfaith]

btw, George Mellinger is a professional writer. There are Amazon ads for three of his books on the sidebar at Old War Dogs. Our Amazon commissions goes to vet-oriented charities.

[IPWGOP]

It's going to take a couple of days to make it happen but watch Old War Dogs for information on buying Veteran-American bumper stickers, tees, hats, etc. Proceeds will go to one of the vet-oriented charities on our sidebar.

That is fantastic! I'll be watching...

[IPWGOP]

from "The Kingdom of Heaven" movie:

the faithless priest: "Will making them knights make them better soldiers?!"

the wise leader: "Yes."

[Triggerhippie]

I know many liberals masquerade on here and the poster may be that.

Blow it out your ass...

Merely enlisting (the Army used to have 2 year 11B enlistments) shouldn't give anyone lifelong entitlements. 20+ years, however, should provide a comfortable retirement.

[Triggerhippie]

That you threw up a straw-man "argument" tells me many things about you.

Care to guess what those may be?

Not especially. Your opinion of anything is usually pretty skewed towards the "tries-really-hard-to-be-a-man-but-isn't-plumbed-properly." Maybe it's the "daddy really wanted a boy and all he got was sarasmom" syndrome.

Either way, if you think that putting in less than 20 years entitles someone to lifelong benefits, you may be crazier than you sound.

[Triggerhippie]

In the book, Starship Troopers, R.A. Heinlein went this one bit further. IF not a vet, no vote.

Not really... Heinlein wrote that ANY government service (non-military as well) enabled a person to get to vote (no one was disqualified, not even the handicapped) and that the person could only exercise their franchise after leaving whatever position they held.

The movie was so screwed up that R.A.H. is probably still spinning in his grave...

[infowarrior]

We all swore the same oath, and the vast majority of us have at least one piece of pretty parchment paper that says we faithfully honored that oath between two arbitrary dates, but that piece of paper does not say we are entirely done with that oath, and I know of no un-oath-swearing ceremony that relieved any of us from our original oaths.

As if I even *wanted* to be relieved from that oath... I took off my uniform, for the last time, almost 19 years ago. That oath bound me even at the end of that day, and binds me still today. I will continue to protect, preserve and defend the Costitution of the United States, from *all* enemies, foreign *and* domestic, until such time as I am *willing* to be relieved from that oath (which will be until a certain place freezes over...)

the infowarrior

[sarasmom]

Did you bother to read the essay?
Sure doesn't sound like it.

BTW, your attacks on my femininity are as pointless as your post on this topic.

I will not subject myself to the undoubtedly noxious contents of your freepmail to me.

But it is still there, and certainly available to the Admin monitor.

[oneolcop]

My son is a fourth generation combat veteran. We've NEVER hidden in the closet. Don't expect we ever will. It is an honor to serve the forces that guard our country. We think that's enough.

[sarasmom]

So we actually agree.
We veterans will never be entirely free of the oath freely given, nor the responsibility of upholding it, even when vilified by others for doing so, even decades later, and even without any financial renumeration, respect, or support from those who never swore that oath.

We are "different" from other civilians.
It is utterly inarguable that we are an identifiable minority group.

This is a given amongst ourselves, but what does it mean to the vast majority of our fellow citizens who do not even dimly comprehend the life we lived, the price we paid, and keep paying, willingly?

Perhaps I should have posted a sarcasm tag, but I really did not think it was required, here.

[Tailback]

I never used my 5 point preference until 7 years after working in the private sector. I didn't even need it then, I would have still got an interview without it.

I did use my GI bill (which I paid 1200 dollars into) which at the time was deductible from my federal student financial aid form. That means that given my particular financial situation, my 4 1/2 years in the Army were for naught because the monthly GI bill stipend would have been made up for by pell grants. Essentially, I got nothing in the way of financial aid for college that I wouldn't have recieved if I had stayed in my parents' house and smoked pot for 4 years.

I look forward to tricare when I turn age 60 (if I live that long) given the fact that I've put in nearly 20 years (it will be 20 on July 8 2007) into the Army and National Guard. I've served on 3 continents, during 3 wars, and I deserve my benefits.