Debate With a Soldier - Very Pertinant To WikiLeaks Video

I’m a Marine not a soldier and I have to say I’m as mad as you guys as it pertains to this video. The lack of professionalism the lack of moral courage when it was pretty clear from a mile away an AK or RPG isn’t much of a threat.
I can say from first hand experience that Americans on the ground are getting killed due to the reluctance to use air power right now in Afghanistan. I’m here now.
Please don’t judge all of us for the poor actions of a few.
And lay off Bush as much as he is to blame for so much, Obama has more or us deployed right now than Bush EVER did….
Just some food for thought.

reply to post by signal2noise
How is it a stereotype? If your so gullible to believe so....

Originally posted by Chad_Thomas89
How is it a stereotype? If your so gullible to believe so....

Hey, you seem gullible to believe that guys enlist simply because they are all poor......

reply to post by endisnighe


Well said. As a senior citizen and a veteran I am saddened by the negative view, held by so many, of our soldiers. But then, I tell myself that my generation is bygone and that this generation will dictate the short-term future of this nation until they are themselves bygone and pass this nation into the hands of their next generation. I would ask of this and future generations; keep in mind that our soldiers are citizens, neighbors and co-workers before, during and after their service and to please judge them by the content of their character.

Peace..................yak055h

It is true that members of the military are paid and supplied by taxes. So are the freeway systems, public schools, and fire departments. Most Americans leave it to the professionals they hire to handle the details. Still, as a “stockholder” you still have a stake in the matter to ensure your affairs are administered wisely.

No one expects you to defend your country as not everyone is up to it. But you should be concerned and involved in how your military is being used as in any other aspect of your government. Unfortunately too many Americans abdicate all responsibility, all understanding, and all too readily assume the Monday Morning Quarterback role.

This is where I have a problem with the tenor of this post.

You have every right to disagree with what your country is doing.
You have every right to an opinion on every mistake, misstep, or ugliness your military makes regardless if you are educated on all the circumstances or not.
You have every right to oppose the war even though you and other like minded Americans have failed to stop it, year after year.

Concern and involvement is not wagging fingers. It is not cherry picking facts to support a preconceived notion while ignoring anything counter. It is not second guessing the professionals you put in faraway lands. Surely it is not dressing down some uninformed kid who disagrees with you to bolster your detached view of public responsibility.
Even as a Soldier myself who has recently returned from Iraq, I offer no defense for anyone in that Apache video other posters have commented on. I was not there on that day to decide if I would have done something differently or not. I do not know the people involved personally to decide if they deserve my respect or not. If your relatives had revulsion for war it only means they paid attention to what was going on around them. It is brutal and unfair.
It is exactly what you asked for through your inaction. Quit spitting at the guard dog.

I didn't even get to all of the responses to this before I had to respond. As a soldiers with OVER 14 years in (I can't be one of them that was duped) you look at it in so many wrong ways.

To the people that say we are criminals, and we should be shot first ask questions second when you see someone wearing the uniform is just idiotic.

Do you think we enjoy war? Do you think we blindly do things that are illegal? Do you think we don't have morales?

I have fought, been injured, saw over 14 of my best friends killed in front of me, and at the same time helped more people I can count.

You will always get snot nosed new recruits that talk a big game because they haven't been in the stuff. Someone that has seen the horror does not want to be apart of it. I for one do not agree with a lot.

So it boils down to why am I still in. I am well trained and good at what I do. I stay and fight because of all those snot nosed new recruits that don't know their elbow from well the back side. They need someone to point them in the right direction. They need someone there to make sure they don't make the inmorale choice. I can go to those countries and do good, although you wont hear about it on the news.

Yes you get bad eggs that make us look bad. What is your job? Postman, well you must be crazy and going to shoot up the post office. Office worker? You are going to go on a shooting spree. Police Officer? You must be a bad cop because I saw a news article about how a cop shot an unarmed person for no reason. Pick any job and I will give you examples of people in that career that have done wrong.

As to the it's your uniform, no sir, my uniform is not your uniform. It represents something bigger than me, you, or government. It belongs to the Country, and the Constitution. Don't let your ego go to your head, you are not more important than the Country. Its trying times, and we are dealing with what we got the best we can. If you want us all to quit, fine, but don't cry when you need us.

reply to post by Hitemhard


I always hated responses like yours, because they reek of "pass the buck and have someone else be responsible". As has already been stated, if what you say were true and it actually worked, we would be living in a more perfect world, were our so called "leaders" actually listened to the wishes of its constituents, but we don't!

If we did live in that america, then the $700 billion dollar stimulus would never had passed and banks would've dealt with the consequences of their bad business practices. But guess what? it didn't happen, it passed despite the wishes of (I believe) 90% of the population. The patriot act 1 and 2 would've never passed because our leaders would've respected our wishes, as well as the constitutional right of privacy, but they didn't! The healthcare debate would've turned out into a bill for REAL reform, and not the monstrosity we have now, but guess what? You guessed it, it didn't! and I can go on and on!. Our system has been corrupted beyond repair and the odds are ALWAYS stacked against the people, so unfortunately, we can't do as you ask, and even if we do, chances are we will never be listened to. Oh sure, we might get a whole "smile and nod" act, but we will never be listened to.
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Ouch. The last thing that I expected to do was to provoke hatred. An angry response yes but a hater?

I agree with your second paragraph except for "beyond repair" but in the first paragraph I think you made my point. There is only one desk on which the buck should land and that is at the top. The only person responsible is the person responsible.

Anyway, back to the topic. Debating the soldier is the easy way out. Which is tougher, debating the people at the bottom or the person at the top?

Peace................yak055h

Here is what is wrong with this quote:

That uniform you wear is MINE! I ALLOW you to wear in on MY BEHALF. It belongs to ME and represents MY WISHES. If you DISHONOR IT, you dishonor ME! And if I SAY you DISHONOR it, then there is no question YOU HAVE. Every deed you do while in MY uniform reflects on ME, either GOOD or BAD. And, if you deny anything I just said, then you are NOT an ‘American Soldier!’

The uniform is not the property of the American people, it is the property of the person who EARNS the right to wear it.

The public does not allow us to wear the uniform, we volunteer to wear it.

It represents the wishes of the President of the United States, whom we all take an oath to obey. The American people do not direct our actions, they merely support them or choose not too.

reply to post by ModernAcademia


Are you serious? You never served a day, but you know all about the military? The only reason you are able to even have access to things like ATS is because men GREATER then you who ACTUALLY wore the uniform made sacfifices that you cant begin to imagine. do you think you know all about the military now? Youre lucky that vet didn't punch you in your face. I know I would have.