Nevrnfpwr

Just to be sure that I am not being misunderstood, I DO NOT think torture is OK. I don't believe that making prisoners pose naked is torture--nor do I think it's right, but it's not torture. My grandfather was captured during the Battle of the Bulge and was in German POW camps. He never talked about it, but I don't think I can even imagine what he was subjected to and had seen.

dbarberaz

Yes I did a tour with uncle sam. In the army and was in the first little war in Iraq.

EL_REY

would have, but ended up going to college instead....
my dad who was lied to in 67 by his army recruiter, told me not to believe the crap coming out of a recruiters mouth...well i took his advice and went to college, sometimes i regret it cuz i did want to go into the army as well, oh well.

dad served in Nam in 67-68, purple heart.... my brother served from 94-98 i believe....

for the guys who served on the front lines in Nam, they dont often get the recognition they deserve

captain howdy

There was more to it than just pictures! There of course is the infamous pictures but we also raped prisoners, forced them to have sex with each other, urinated on them, beat and jumped on wounds, poured phosphoric acid on them, sodomized prisoners with batons, unleashed dogs and snakes on them, road naked prisoners like donkeys, electrocuted prisoners, beat prisoners, the list goes on and sometimes torture was to the point of death. I could site a lot more that we did. I would say it was very real and sadistic torture committed by sexual deviants. You should really read the whole story and overlook the pictures because they weren't the torture just the record of torture. Also to some people the psychological torture they had to endure is worse than the physical torture they had to endure. I know I would rather be put to death than raped and humiliated by a group of soldiers.

mizzouHHR

Had to choose NO, but would have if... My story is I did join the Navy while still in high school on the delayed entry program. Took my physical, said the oath, and was just waiting graduation. Then it happened. While rollerskating (of all things) I fell and broke my wrist. I was in a cast fo 8 months, and it still didn't heal correctly. Had o retake the physical and of course they x-rayed the wrist and failed me. Funny how your whole life can change in an instant. It still to this day upsets me that I was unable to serve my country.

Firewatcher

Was the LAST 18 year old to register for the active draft in my town. Tried to enlist in both Army and Navy. Turned down for health reasons. On the other hand, my pop served in the Navy during WWII, and then with the Army during Korea. Purple Heart from the Navy, Purple Heart and Bronze Star from the Army. And I'm damned proud of that.

scaleguy

1986-1996 Army Infantry and Electronics
Combat missions;
Operation Just Cause Panama
Operation Desert Storm Kuwait/Iraq
Peacekeeping missions;
Multi-national Force and observers Sinai, Egypt

I live with the knowledge that the lives I took in combat were done in accordance with the moral purpose of my government while furthering of Democracy in the World and the protection of our interests and citizens abroad...I am proud of my military career and of the soldiers who served before me with me and after me...A million American service personnel have given their lives for the freedom of this nation and all of them are my brothers and sisters. Today, like in every conflict there are issues that none of us can fully understand, many do not agree with the politics of this war , as was true with every war, but we must never allow our disagreements with the politics to ever take away from the support of our troops, our sons and daughters in harms way...We are blessed with those who choose to serve,they have taken the torch of freedom and continued to march with it...Thank you and God bless you to the service members of the United States... past, present and future !!!

captain howdy

Very well put and I agree for the most part. I find it hard sometimes to feel that way about certain individuals though. Like the aforementioned Abu Ghraib incident. The soldiers involved deserve no respect; they were not properly serving or representing our country. They should have been executed as war criminals. We would have demanded it out of Iraq if it had been our soldiers treated that way by them but for us it's okay. Further more the US should have been kicked out of NATO and the UN for violating the Geneva Convention.

SoCalHHR

1976-1982 USMC Helicopter Crew Chief

Yep. It was a long time ago...in a galaxy far, far away...

Snoopy

While being a military brat, I have not served in any capacity. I attempted to enlist twice, during the VietNam era (on an individual basis and on the "buddy" system) without success. At the time, I was employed in federal law enforcement and it was a deferred class, because of the need....so I was declined.

Scaleguy...you are continuing to amaze me

CH....While I agree with a lot of the content of your post, the strongest agreement is the comment regarding NATO and the UN. I agree....because, IMO, it would have been the best thing for the U.S. The UN and NATO stink and are largely, inaffective without the U.S.

Again, my opinion.