The real terrorist was me - A US Soldier

Thank you to all the soldiers who served with honor. You did what you had to do, and I'm sure if it were up to most of you, you would never have been in the situations you were thrust into by our greedy, corporate owned government. After watching Egypt, and seeing the military stand with the people against the corrupt leaders there, it gives me hope that the military would do the right thing if it ever came down to it here as well. Our military should never be used as a tool by corporate entities that buy off the career politicians that have infected our government for the people by the people.

reply to post by ANClENT


That brought tears to my eyes as well, God I wish we could do more to help them. There are more like him, a lot more, our soliders are good people mislead by monsters.

reply to post by gncnew


Actually if you read my threads I was sober for a long period of time. I came back from iraq, I turned to it again. It alters your mind, it makes you feel good for a little while, its called self medicating. I did feel depressed at 13. It got better at 16, and then of course now Ptsd on top of that. Ill leave the disagnosing to the professional I see in chapel hill.

I take my hat off for this ex soldier in the clip and for you Ghandi for posting it here.
I have NEVER heard so many true words spoken in four and a half minutes in my life before.

"We have more in common with the people of Iraq then we have with the billionaires sending us there to fight them."

If they showed this clip to all new recruits, there hopefully wouldn't be much of any army left.

S & F

Hate to break up the pity party with a difference of opinion here but I for one think the dude in the video is just sad. You have to understand that this is just his coping mechanism to make himself out to be the misguided victim of some evil empire so he can mentally deal with the things he did.

We all volunteer, there is no draft – I’m guessing he knew he was going to have to engage the enemy and kill or be killed.

I am certain that in 24 years participating in everything from the invasion of Panama to OIF and Enduring Freedom I have seen and done a bit more than this young man and I don’t need to vilify myself or the military industrial complex to come to grips with my actions.

I wanted to be a Soldier since I was old enough to know what one was. I was under no illusions that it would be easy. I chose to serve in Special Forces even. Like any job I would guess one wants to work with, for and around then eventually lead the best. I was really good at my craft and take great pride in the things I have done.

I have never knowingly killed an innocent or ordered anyone to do so, rather the opposite – I took great pains and exposed my Soldiers and myself to greater personal risk to prevent it.

Was there collateral damage? – Yes.

Does it suck to lose a friend, peer or worse yet a subordinate? – Yes.

Does it keep me up at night? – No.

I am not a sociopath; I do not enjoy killing but I take pride in my service knowing what had to be done was done with as much precision and humanity as could be used considering the risk vs. reward.

Do I sometimes have a bad dream? – Sure I do.

Do I dwell on it? – No.

Did I have mood violent mood swings after redeploying every time? – Yep.

Its natural human reaction to the let down of being on the edge all the time to be more aggressive for a while after redeployment but once you realize that this is natural, that you are not alone in this feeling and learn to cope with it the better off you will be.

I don’t mean to sound harsh but the kid just needs to grow up a little and get some counseling if that’s what it takes. Beating himself up and pushing the responsibility to the evil empire is not going to make people magically alive again. Just accept that you entered into the service as a volunteer did and practiced your craft professionally and to the best of your ability.

Perhaps in this kid’s case he might not have been a master of his craft and has a little guilt in that regard?

I agree with the video 100%...does any1 know if a front line soldier was ever president after the 1800's?? I bet there wasnt a single war during his term...whats the worst is even if a us soldier doesnt complete a order thats completely outside of Human Morals and standards hes labeled, court marshalled and put in prison without the US citizens ever hearing why or his side of the story and there's contract clause's that keep them from speaking out to potential recruits like this brave soldier did

a great speech from an honorable enlightened man, i am not american but as a human i am proud of him for telling the truth, hats off, S&F for you OP

Thanks for posting, and my heart goes out to those that suffer and I am grateful for their services.
Here is a sobering article on this situation:

Overall, the services reported 434 suicides by personnel on active duty, significantly more than the 381 suicides by active-duty personnel reported in 2009. The 2010 total is below the 462 deaths in combat, excluding accidents and illness. In 2009, active-duty suicides exceeded deaths in battle.

Last week’s figures, though, understate the problem of military suicides because the services do not report the statistics uniformly. Several do so only reluctantly.

www.congress.org...

RIP to the fallen, and may the troubled find some peace....

spec

Originally posted by Golf66
Just accept that you entered into the service as a volunteer did and practiced your craft professionally and to the best of your ability.

When entering the service, did you do so to defend your country and countrymen? Or did you do so to invade far away countries without strong armies, that could never invade us, in order to secure billions of dollars in resources for a few fat SOB billionaires that would just as soon throw you and your family into hot lava than show any true appreciation that you have killed for them by sharing their spoils with you? Many people join, I imagine, because they want to defend this country that they love. When they realize the truth, that our military works for whomever puts the most money in our politician's pockets, as mercenaries...I can understand why they would be a little upset. You may or may not be cool with that, but that doesn't mean that others can so quickly brush that off.

reply to post by Golf66


First off, he is not a kid. He is an adult and a soldier who thought he was fighting for freedom, yet came to realize the people we were killing, were just fighting for theirs.

Second, your are very correct in the aspect in which you said we all volunteered. We did all volunteer, all for different reasons. You are also right, we knew going over seas that we would be in instances where we may have to discharge our weapon. Everyone knows that going over. In no point in any training I was ever in, did I shoot a man. Nothing prepares you for that and its blatantly stupid to even say we are prepared for that. Your right, the more you kill the easier it gets, and the better at it you get. Unfortunatly some of us come to the realization of who we killed. The enemy? Depends what you consider an enemy. I regret to say I don't consider a farmer, father, son, fighting for his occupied land an enemy.

reply to post by Golf66


I have to agree with you, even though it's not a popular opinion and I do get caught up in that video. Though I agree with him on many points, I still feel that military service is voluntary, and anyone who thinks they can join and never have to be exposed to conduct that goes against one's nature, is highly delusional.

reply to post by 2manyquestions


Defending your home and loved ones from attack is not against most peoples nature. Being the offenders/invaders, for no reason other than to make somebody else richer, rightfully goes against most decent peoples nature. That is not how the military is marketed here, and most people who join rightfully believe they are joining to defend this country against all enemies, foreign and domestic. To say people should have expected that they would be invading the homes of people who have no desire or ability to harm this nation, is just wrong.

reply to post by 2manyquestions


You are absolutely correct, it is 100% voluntary. Most of the soldiers know they will have to discharge like I said earlier. Fortunatly when we went in, we had never had to take a life before, and to sit back and act like you can comprehend what it feels like is absurd. During the duration its survival, yes, its either kill or be killed. When you come home, and are out of the intensity of battle, you think about why you killed him. Why was he shooting at you? If someone invaded my country dammit I would shoot at them also.

I found your comments totally insensitive. Have you considered this mans feelings?

The only pity I feel is for you. We are not all as tough as you.

However Sgt.Hulka, I'm glad to see you posting here.

reply to post by Golf66

450 BILLION A DAY HE MAKES HIMSELF LOOK REALLY STUPID MAKING UP FIGURES THAT DONT MAKE NO SENSE

Originally posted by Golf66
Hate to break up the pity party with a difference of opinion here but I for one think the dude in the video is just sad. You have to understand that this is just his coping mechanism to make himself out to be the misguided victim of some evil empire so he can mentally deal with the things he did.

We all volunteer, there is no draft – I’m guessing he knew he was going to have to engage the enemy and kill or be killed.

I don't think he's portraying a victim role here, some people deal with things differently than others. Some people actually have empathy for other humans.

When someone takes a life and watches a human being die before their eyes, it has an impact on every facet of the rest of their life.

I understand very few people can separate themselves from doing this, you seem to be one of the lucky ones. I was with people that acted tough, talked tough, but when it came down to taking someones life they broke down and it changed the very essence of who they were forever.

Thank you to the OP for posting your feelings here, focus on the people you love, do good things for others and this will be your new future and life. Making amends and peace with yourself and the world takes time.

if you start to dwell, immediately do something constructive for yourself or someone else.

That's all I have to add, U2U me if you want.

Peace Brother,

RT

Originally posted by 27jdWhen entering the service, did you do so to defend your country and countrymen? Or did you do so to invade far away countries without strong armies, that could never invade us, in order to secure billions of dollars in resources for a few fat SOB billionaires that would just as soon throw you and your family into hot lava than show any true appreciation that you have killed for them by sharing their spoils with you? Many people join, I imagine, because they want to defend this country that they love. When they realize the truth, that our military works for whomever puts the most money in our politician's pockets, as mercenaries...I can understand why they would be a little upset. You may or may not be cool with that, but that doesn't mean that others can so quickly brush that off.

If one wants to defend the country join the National Guard - If you want to practice the profession of arms volenteer for active duty. Armies (and other branches as well) have been more than homeland defense since well before Clausewitz famous quote:

Enjoy the Clausewitz Quotes

"War is the continuation of policy (politics) by other means."
- Karl von Clausewitz
or
"It is clear that war is not a mere act of policy but a true political instrument, a continuation of political activity by other means"
This is from a translated version of "On War" from 1976

The whole point of my post was to point out that the very reason he made the video was for him to cope with what he did. It is a coping mechanism to make yourself seem like the victim of manipulation or the evil empire to deal with the horror of war. I suspect his therapist would tell him the same thing.

People here think he's some kind of hero for speaking out against the injustice of the war but in reality he is doing it for the selfish reason to help himself cope.

All the while sullying the reputation of the entire American Military to make himself feel better....that is why I feel it is sad.

Originally posted by Screwed
reply to post by MarineSniper12Kills

 

Just a thought here but,
Maybe it's time for you to move on and let go of the past.
A great start would be changing your username.
For someone who is struggling with what they did overseas and having a hard time coming to terms with it
you sure seem proud of being a Marine Sniper and Killing 12 people.

Maybe a softer user name would be more appropriate and take the focus off of something that you supposedly regret.


I mean, If I was an former male prostitute Heroine Junkie and I was really having a hard time with the things I used to do
while I was a Male Prostitute Heroine Junkie I would not sign up to an Internet chat forum with a username like
"Maleprostituteheroinejunkie"!!!

Try "Bambi" or "Butterfly". "Princess" or "Cinderella"

Just sain'
Take it how you want to, no offense intended but seriously dude?

edit on 11-2-2011 by Screwed because: (no reason given)

No wonder you're name is "screwed".

It's not a matter of 'pride', it's more a matter of trying to warn folks what they're running up on, and where you're coming from, where you've been.

Perhaps you don't know the 'looks' you get when folks find stuff out. maybe you've never had your own wife, who's supposed to be closer to you than a brother, recoil and call you "murderer".

Ever seen abject FEAR in the eyes of someone you love more than yourself, and suddenly realize that fear is aimed at YOU?

You come back, you feel the change in yourself, and assume that everyone around can just read it on you. Imagine the surprise when you discover that maybe some can, but most can't, and have a hell of a reaction when they do find out, or just get the tiniest glimpse of what's there, and decide they can't handle that.

Imagine what it feels like to feel like a monster, and not quite grasp why that is.

Imagine what it feels like to have those closest to you 'confirm' that you're a monster, when you do what you do for them.

No, it's not a matter of 'pride', it's more of a matter of giving folks a heads up, so thy can just walk away before it gets too deep. Maybe conscious, maybe not, but that's what it is at the core.

Originally posted by ANClENT
This video brought tears to my eyes, this soldier speaks the truth, I wish many more were like him

As a Veteran I can tell you there are many MANY more who dislike the whole situation. I hope people will realize that as truth as well. After all, the military is made up of every day people from all walks of life, cultures, religions, etc...

Keep this in mind as well. The guys out there can't always see the effects of their actions. Take an air strike or artillery strike for example. You basically have to fire blind since you cannot even see the target. We have to trust our orders and they come from ..... many times soldiers don't have eyes on in order to make that moral decision which may conflict with orders. Everyone should also note that even under orders, if you find the order to be immoral soldiers are legally allowed to object and cease.

Thanks anyways.. This website is so egotistical, thats why half the people on this site dont ever want to say how they feel.