Do you guys have buddies in the war?

[Dan Baker]

I have a good friend in Afghanistan and last June one of my best friends was killed in Iraq. I am just kind of wondering if anyone else here has had similar experiences. If this should be in a different forum let me know. I was just wondering.

[AlmightyShmun]

I've got two old friends in active duty, brothers stationed in different areas. One's in Iraq right now doing helicopter maintenance, the other's headed for Djibouti.

[Carl Cunningham]

I have friends in The Mary Worth War.

[AlmightyShmun]

And a truly brutal war it is.

[Andrew O.]

I do believe there are some posters from this very message board who are or were on active duty.

But personally, no I don't know anyone currently serving in the Military at all.

[devincf]

I know Sheik Djbouti.

[Anakin's Dad]

I was released (medical reasons) 3 months before my unit got their orders for Iraq. Fortunately, they got back without a loss.

[FrankCobretti]

As one of those aforementioned active duty guys, I have buddies in Iraq, Afghanistan, and lots of other places where people are trying to kill us.

Though I occasionally get a mission into an unpleasant area, my military experience currently has more in common with THE AMERICANIZATION OF EMILY than THREE KINGS.

[Owen]

Got an uncle in Iraq as a civilian consultant on some computer stuff. My dad works for the army and goes over there every few weeks to work on their remote controlled minesweeper planes.

[Seabass Inna Bun]

Yes, a friend had both legs blown off in Afghanistan.

So I guess the answer's really "no", since he's certainly not in the war any more.

[Eileen]

I've got a cousin over in Iraq.

[Jared Melton]

Friend of mine, name of Louis Qualls, was killed in Iraq a couple of years ago...
Sheehan used his name in her little camp out in Crawford...the whole Qualls family went to Crawford and laid into her.

Other than that, the only other person close to me in the service is in Pearl Harbor right now...

[Subotai]

A friend of mine came back whole from Afghanistan, thank God.

[Werbal_Kint]

My younger brother recently joined the Marines infantry for some reason. I just pray wherever he goes he comes back with no interesting stories to tell.

[Jared Melton]

My younger brother recently joined the Marines infantry for some reason. I just pray wherever he goes he comes back with no interesting stories to tell.

He'll have tons of stories.

[Vader]

Friend doing his time in the Navy but still stuck in the states. Hopefully he'll stay put. You can't hardcore dance your way through a warzone.

Did lose family in Iraq in 03 though. Near the end of the media tallying dead soldiers every night. So he still got news coverage. Now it's just "Three dead in Iraq....Those LA Sparks sure are good!"

[devincf]

Friend of mine, name of Louis Qualls, was killed in Iraq a couple of years ago...
Sheehan used his name in her little camp out in Crawford...the whole Qualls family went to Crawford and laid into her.

Other than that, the only other person close to me in the service is in Pearl Harbor right now...

I don't think they should have laid into her. Maybe they should have laid into the guy who got Louis killed.

[Werbal_Kint]

Hey, if we cut and run, all the soldiers will have died for nothing. We've got at least 3-to-1 odds that Iraq won't end up a barren waste of a country controlled by Islamist despots. You're telling me you wouldn't gamble a few thousand lives on those sort of odds?

He'll have tons of stories.

Oh, he has plenty of stories from boot camp alone. I'm just hoping he avoids the ones that start with stuff like "And then I lost my LEFT leg in a raid on a house in Fallujah..."

[Dom Mac]

I'm active duty. I've been to Afghanistan 3 times and now I have troops over in Iraq.

[Mary H.]

A friend's fiancé is over in Afghanistan in the 3rd Paras - Helmand province. Unfortunately it seems to be the 3rd Paras that get hit a lot over there. So every time a Brit dies over there I have to make sure it wasn't him.

[Jared Melton]

I don't think they should have laid into her. Maybe they should have laid into the guy who got Louis killed.
I guess I shouldn't have used the term "laid into her" ...

The Qualls family refused to allow Sheehan to use Louis' name in her list of ppl that have died for no reason...or "Bush's Lies" and wouldn't leave her alone until she took his name off a sign and off her list.

[long7000]

Active duty Air Force - currently stationed in Korea. Spring '03, I was in Saudi Arabia, Summer '04 in Qatar, and Summer 05 in Baghdad... I know plenty of people in the Middle East and Afghanistan...

[Seabass Inna Bun]

I guess I shouldn't have used the term "laid into her" ...

The Qualls family refused to allow Sheehan to use Louis' name in her list of ppl that have died for no reason.

Do they have a choice?

[Dan Baker]

Ok since some of you have had some friends involved in this war and maybe been involved a little yourselves, did it change your views on anything or reinforce the thoughts you already had? I ask becuase when my friend died it changed my outlook from being one of not giving a crap to hating everything done by our government. I realized that if you look closely enough at things you see that nothing our government has ever done was done to make a better life for people. It was all for the benefit of the person who did it. I know I sound kind of stupid but I am only 22 and before my friend died I really thought our government had tried to help some people.

P.S. Devin hasn't said anything really mean to me since I started posting here so I am hoping he has something to say about this. Honestly, I feel ashamed I haven't given him a reason to dislike me.

[Stew]

I just got out, former infantry. Spent all last year in Iraq.

[Dom Mac]

Ok since some of you have had some friends involved in this war and maybe been involved a little yourselves, did it change your views on anything or reinforce the thoughts you already had?
The only view of mine that has changed is that war as portrayed in the movies is vastly different than reality. IRL war is boring as fuck, except for the occasional flare ups. Then it's back to beingt boring again. Basically you just sit around all day waiting for something to happen.

[Brad Millette]

I just got out, former infantry. Spent all last year in Iraq.

Welcome back, Stew. Glad you made it home safe.

[Werbal_Kint]

Yeah, hopefully they won't be assholes and send you back. This administration is downright abusive with how it treats it's soldiers.

[Seabass Inna Bun]

Ok since some of you have had some friends involved in this war and maybe been involved a little yourselves, did it change your views on anything or reinforce the thoughts you already had?

I find that I can't be angry at the guy who tried to kill my friend. And I've given the matter no small amount of thought.

On the larger scale, I still support the original invasion of Afghanistan, and I still think it's gone downhill from the start. It's time to seriously consider what to do next. Canadian bodies have been trickling out of Afghanistan all year and people are starting to take note.

P.S. Devin hasn't said anything really mean to me since I started posting here so I am hoping he has something to say about this. Honestly, I feel ashamed I haven't given him a reason to dislike me.

Talk to him about music.

[Stew]

Welcome back, Stew. Glad you made it home safe.

I appreciate it. I'll take this opportunity to say thanks to CHUD and the Chewers. Every now and then we'd make a pass through somewhere that had internet access, and after e-mails to family, CHUD and the boards was always my first stop. It helped a lot.