will you send your 18 year old off to die?

Artemis wrote:

Well 2 Cute, you haven't answered the question....would you send your son or daughter to die?
Here's a newsflash for all of you war hawks. The Middle East has been battling each other for millennium upon millennium. Their personal battles between countries will NEVER end because they are patriarchal societies, hell bent to shed blood for honor. We cannot make a difference there. That's the truth. But what we can do, and what we should have done was capture Osama Bin Laden. 7 years later, that hasn't happened. Now ask yourselves why we haven't succeeded at that one task. Follow the money

Actually, I was the first one to post an answer to this question #2 different screen name-but I copied and pasted it for your convenience.

At one time, my son did consider a career in the military (family tradition). This upset me greatly. I didn't see how I could stand him being so far away from home for so long. Would I have worried about his safety? Yes, then I would have prayed dilligently and believed God would protect him.
In answer, to your question. It's his/her decision. And I would have been proud to say my child made the decision to serve the country. He chose another career path that helps others. I'm so proud of you, little man.

In addition, my brother in law is a colonel in the air force-he had just been reassigned shortly before 9/11. He wasn't happy being a pencil pusher at the Pentagon and wanted more time in the air. But of course, some of you will think he was part of the conspiracy and got out just in time. LOL I agree that he got out just in time, we just prefer to think God had His hand of protection over him. For years, he has been given assignments and had to leave for indefinite periods of time, not allowed to share with family where he was going or what he was doing, or when he'd be back. We had no contact with him during these times. He has been stationed overseas for years and just transferred back to states. Do we send him off to die? No, we send him off with all our love, blessings, and a prayer of protection.

In regards to your other comment, they have been fighting forever. Of course they have, it's biblical prophecy being fulfilled.

Vet wrote:

We have a strong military tradition in our family. If my daughter decided to join I would totally support her. I would not be real happy because I would never want my daughter to see war, and I would pray many times a day for her safety. I am proud of my daughter now, as she has a successful civilian career, but any day she could decide to become a successful military officer, and I would be equally or may be more proud of her for serving her country.

I have had brothers that served in the military, along with my father and stepfather. I am very proud of them and all they have done. I wanted to do the same when I was younger but wasn't brave enough. I now have a sixteen year old son who has talked about the military for a couple of years now. A year and a half ago he started getting in trouble in school and was kicked out, he has a problem with male athority figures. He is in the process of getting his high school diploma, his goal is to get that and start working on a trade until he is of age to go into the military. I love my son very much and when I was approached with his decision about the military my answer to him was that I would hate to see him go but if he ever wanted to make a good life for his self, the military might be the best place for him to start. There is nothing here for our younger people. I just want the best life possible for my children. No matter what he does as long as he is productive I will always be proud of him. So yes if at eighteen years old he still wants to go I will back him all the way and probably cry myself to sleep for awhile.

All the Oil Drilling companies are hiring, Transocean Offshore, Pride Offshore, starting at $16.00 per hour, new safety training, About 90 hours a week. Starting out about $1840.00 gross a week, the gulf is wide open now and about to get much busier. Mostly 14 on and 14 off. Living quarters are like a motel, restrooms and showers in each room, direct tv all channels, laundry service, around the clock meals. Just an idea.

Well Big Boy.....theres one solution! I dont think he is old enough yet though. Thanks for spreading the word about open jobs!

Getting Played wrote:

Well Big Boy.....theres one solution! I dont think he is old enough yet though. Thanks for spreading the word about open jobs!

Thanks for the thought big boy, but Im afraid getting played is right he is still too young. If he was old enough that would be great. I'm glad he still has a little while to think about it what ever his decisions I just hope they are the right ones. I will support him no matter, even if I don't like it, what might not be right for me might be right for him and hey who am I to discourage it unless I know for sertain its wrong.

2cute, you said:

"In regards to your other comment, they have been fighting forever. Of course they have, it's biblical prophecy being fulfilled. "

No, it's their tradition. Those folks have been fighting each other since time immemorial. I don't understand it...I just know that it is so. It's a sad state of affairs, but IT'S THEIR SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS. We have no business interfering with their desire to destroy each other. They haven't succeeded yet, and they probably will never succeed, but they will waste millennium upon millennium trying to do so, as that is their history...past and current. Truth be told, it's a "guy thing", has to do with their need to show they have nuts. Oy vay!!!

How can we ever win a war with people that think that dieing for their cause, they will be rewarded! They will never surrender, and during this war innocent bystanders family members get hurt and they blame us and join the opposition. I saw an old woman that was in the hospital that was hit by one of their bombs and she stated that she would have never been hurt if Saddam was still in charge. This is viet nam all over again! We will never win, we spend trillions of dollars and our economy is dying a slow death. And yes, I am proud of our troops and I support our troops, I just think the the people that sent them over there suck ass!

I send my kids out into this community everyday. To school, to shop, to socialize. So yea, I guess I do!

I feel like that if you sign your name on the line you should be prepared to give your life this is a very honorable step for a young man or women to take and in doing this they need to think before they just make the move this a choice made not a choice forced

big boy wrote:

and by the way, I am not the only one who thinks
this war is senseless 57% of the people have checked NO!

The question was not is the war is senseless, it is would you send your 18 off to die. Of course not, not one would. Like it or not, the US is still the world's policeman. I guess you liked having Saddam building up for greater wars and problems. Sometimes you just have to stop the problems when you can. We did it and the world is a better place. Some men love the military, feel like they are born for it and that includes putting themselves in harms way. Glad they are out there to protect your sorry ass.

Pat1 wrote:

<quoted text>
Like it or not, the US is still the world's policeman. I guess you liked having Saddam building up for greater wars and problems. Some men love the military, feel like they are born for it and that includes putting themselves in harms way. Glad they are out there to protect your sorry ass.

Wht do we have to police the world? why doesn't our joined forces of NATO handle it. And dumbass Sadam and both his sons are dead. And this is not about our brave soldiers, it is about a government that continues to buy bombs while our country is going broke! When is enough, they are rich with oil, and the cold war in the US is bringing citizens to their knee's. Outrageous prices on food, housing, gas, and everything that continues to rise, but we have money to buy bombs, and now we are going to chase them to afganistan? I love America, and I will defend it, but like in viet nam our troops will be changed forever, and for what. Iraq is as liberated as it will ever be!

"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected and handed on for them to do the same. Ronald Reagan

My husband was there in 04-05. He was stationed in Baghdad during the elections. He patrolled the streets during the election and it changed him forever....for the better. He realized how much we take for granted. They were crying in the street, thanking my husband and the rest of his unit. Crying because they could vote. Imagine that, a lot of Americans don't ever vote in their lifetime.

I also served in the cold war, Dad got lucky and didn't get drafted for Vietnam but his older brothers went, one of my Grandpas served in the Pacific during WWII, His dad was a dough-boy in WWI, I know of at least 14 of my relatives that served with the Confederacy and 2 that served with the Union Army. My son has just taken the ASVAB and may be joining the Navy soon.

To me, service to our country is something that is to be expected not avoided. If my son does decide, on his own, to join the service then I will not be sending him off to die. I will be sending him off to serve his country with honor. I hope and pray that he will not be in Harms Way, but should the unthinkable happen and he sacrifices his life then I will try to carry on and remember that he made his decisions on his own and I will try to honor his decisions and his memory. Don't assume that I influenced his decision since he has lived with his mom for the past 10yrs.

Those who serve, not just in the Armed forces but police and firefighters also, put the welfare of their family and their country above their own safety. They know going in that there may come a time when the ultimate price is required. No one wants to die but it happens, especially in war it can happen.

The difference between the services and the police or the firefighter is that when you join the service you voluntarily give up your constitutional rights in order to serve your country. There is no quiting no union rep. and no backing out.
If you say you support the troops but not the war then you are hamstringing the very troops you claim to support. What do you think the troops see when the media shows that 30 or 40 0r 50 percent of the public doesn't support the war. The media doesn't say that 50% of the public is against the war but 100% is for the troops. That is just asinine. If you support the troops then the best thing you can do is urge the government to swiftly destroy our enemy, and then set things up so that we don't have to go back. Our troops go where they are told to go, when they are told to go. Their job is to break things and kill people.
I guess what I am trying to say is that there are somethings that are worth dieing for, for me and mine they are God, Country and Family.
Semper Fi

Poppa T wrote:

I also served in the cold war, Dad got lucky and didn't get drafted for Vietnam but his older brothers went, one of my Grandpas served in the Pacific during WWII, His dad was a dough-boy in WWI, I know of at least 14 of my relatives that served with the Confederacy and 2 that served with the Union Army. My son has just taken the ASVAB and may be joining the Navy soon.
To me, service to our country is something that is to be expected not avoided. If my son does decide, on his own, to join the service then I will not be sending him off to die. I will be sending him off to serve his country with honor. I hope and pray that he will not be in Harms Way, but should the unthinkable happen and he sacrifices his life then I will try to carry on and remember that he made his decisions on his own and I will try to honor his decisions and his memory. Don't assume that I influenced his decision since he has lived with his mom for the past 10yrs.
Those who serve, not just in the Armed forces but police and firefighters also, put the welfare of their family and their country above their own safety. They know going in that there may come a time when the ultimate price is required. No one wants to die but it happens, especially in war it can happen.
The difference between the services and the police or the firefighter is that when you join the service you voluntarily give up your constitutional rights in order to serve your country. There is no quiting no union rep. and no backing out.
If you say you support the troops but not the war then you are hamstringing the very troops you claim to support. What do you think the troops see when the media shows that 30 or 40 0r 50 percent of the public doesn't support the war. The media doesn't say that 50% of the public is against the war but 100% is for the troops. That is just asinine. If you support the troops then the best thing you can do is urge the government to swiftly destroy our enemy, and then set things up so that we don't have to go back. Our troops go where they are told to go, when they are told to go. Their job is to break things and kill people.
I guess what I am trying to say is that there are somethings that are worth dieing for, for me and mine they are God, Country and Family.
Semper Fi

Poppa T, GREAT POST!!! I wish there were more like you. Me and my family also have a long military history. Unlike what some civilians think this is something to be very PROUD of.

If your son does decide to join the Navy, prayers for his mental and physical safety. Also prayers to you for having to endure what no parent ever wants to, or in a perfect world should not have to.

The price of freedom is not free. Your statement that there are some things worth dieing for "God, Country and Family" is right on the money. As a matter of fact, I know a deceased, retired Army Master Sergeant that has that on his grave stone.

Vet wrote:

<quoted text>
Poppa T, GREAT POST!!! I wish there were more like you. Me and my family also have a long military history. Unlike what some civilians think this is something to be very PROUD of.
If your son does decide to join the Navy, prayers for his mental and physical safety. Also prayers to you for having to endure what no parent ever wants to, or in a perfect world should not have to.
The price of freedom is not free. Your statement that there are some things worth dieing for "God, Country and Family" is right on the money. As a matter of fact, I know a deceased, retired Army Master Sergeant that has that on his grave stone.

Thanks Vet, as long as there are men and women like us around. We will be able to keep the liberals free to bad mouth us. LOL Seriously, I think that keeping the traditions and ideals alive that helped to found this country is the best thing that we can give future generations.
Teaching our children self-reliance, respect for self and for others, love of country and that it is we the people who give power to the Government not the other way around. Those ideals will keep our Nation free.
The liberal hates the patriot, the hunter, the gun-toteing redneck, the "rugged individualist" but they always turns to us in times of need.
Semper Fi Brother

Artemis wrote:

2cute, you said:
"In regards to your other comment, they have been fighting forever. Of course they have, it's biblical prophecy being fulfilled. "
No, it's their tradition. Those folks have been fighting each other since time immemorial. I don't understand it...I just know that it is so. It's a sad state of affairs, but IT'S THEIR SAD STATE OF AFFAIRS. We have no business interfering with their desire to destroy each other. They haven't succeeded yet, and they probably will never succeed, but they will waste millennium upon millennium trying to do so, as that is their history...past and current. Truth be told, it's a "guy thing", has to do with their need to show they have nuts. Oy vay!!!

its a voluntary army--stupid--you know what your getting into--none are drafted--

http://www.vfwpost1503.org/mother_of_a_soldie...

Oober Goober wrote:

http://www.vfwpost1503.org/mot her_of_a_soldier.html

Thanks, a great poem!

THERe SHOULD BE A NEW CHOICE HERE ONE THAT SAYS I WOULD REALLY LIKE TO

big boy wrote:

this is a question that I am starting to worry about. no disrespect, but I would rather go than loose my son.

You should be embaressed to even ask this question! What mother wouldnt die for their son!!! But, If you think about it If thousands of american sons didnt die in WW II we would all be speaking German!!! If we wouldnt be fighting these terrorist the possiblility of us all being muslim would not be a dream but a sure possibility!!! The goal of the fanatical muslim is to spread islam throughout the world!!! Remember that!!! No parent wants to loose their kid but its brave kids that make our country strong and great! If my son grows up and wants to be a soldier I would be so proud and support him! He would be a patriot, a warrior, and if I were to loose him I would know he died with honor!!! In Israel where they live in fear every day not knowing when some crazy terrorist is going to kill them!! Every citizen joins the army for atleast two years then after that can be called at anytime to fight!!! You on the other hand enjoy your freedom and live your life free of the fear of getting blown up!! you take it for granted!!!! Let your son be a man and support him! Open up a history book and see what the blood of brave sons of this country has given you and this great United States of America!!! God save the queen!!! And heaven forbid if there is a draft we should let your son and your son only be excluded!!!