"Wars have never hurt anybody except the people who die."
(This time a dime for the author of the quote)
A reader and friend (JL) had requested me to do a piece on what Americans take for granted. Seeing that I am currently sitting in a tightly controlled and hostile environment, I thought maybe I would give it a shot (no pun intended). Then I started thinking how it would be received. No one wants to read how great their lives are as they are wasting away right under their noses. Plus, there have been literally thousands of troops that have had it far worse than I do now. Many of my friends and fellow soldiers were deployed as part of the initial war and Operation Iraqi Freedon 1 (OIF 1). Conditions are much better now than then. I don't want them coming up to me telling me stories of, "Oh, so you think you got it hard? Well, let me tell you what hardcore really is!" So, out of a real respect for them and an appreciation of how good I have it now, I realized the proper entry would be to compare how much I now take for granted in OIF 3. Compare your daily humdrum if you wish.
The only disadvantage we suffer now is the lack of a clearly identifiable enemy. The difference between a Haji working on base as support and that same Haji turning terrorist is a mere $1.
This entry is dedicated to my Uncle Don McCarthy, who recently passed away. He was a proud veteran of World War II. His outstanding patriotism called him to misrepresent his age to enlist in the Navy during a time when many felt the sting of the draft.
A reader and friend (JL) had requested me to do a piece on what Americans take for granted. Seeing that I am currently sitting in a tightly controlled and hostile environment, I thought maybe I would give it a shot (no pun intended). Then I started thinking how it would be received. No one wants to read how great their lives are as they are wasting away right under their noses. Plus, there have been literally thousands of troops that have had it far worse than I do now. Many of my friends and fellow soldiers were deployed as part of the initial war and Operation Iraqi Freedon 1 (OIF 1). Conditions are much better now than then. I don't want them coming up to me telling me stories of, "Oh, so you think you got it hard? Well, let me tell you what hardcore really is!" So, out of a real respect for them and an appreciation of how good I have it now, I realized the proper entry would be to compare how much I now take for granted in OIF 3. Compare your daily humdrum if you wish.
| OIF 3 | OIF 1 |
|---|---|
| gnats and mosquitoes | camel spiders |
| buildings | tents that blow away with people and equipment in them |
| Dining Facilities (DFACs) | MREs and field chow |
| 2-day free laundry service | wearing a MOPP suit for 30 days straight |
| Soldiers with personal computers asccessing the Internet | providing phones and net with no room for soldiers to carry personal computers |
| Trailers with showers | homemade gravity-fed showers months after deployment |
| Indoor plumbing / latrines | digging catholes along the perimeter or dung burning detail |
| Air conditioned offices and living quarters | some air conditioning in certain equipment shelters. |
| Ready phone access for personal use | regulated and restricted usage |
| All the tap and bottled water we need | One Bottle of water per day to drink and use for hygiene |
| A "Peace Keeping Mission" | A Declared War |
The only disadvantage we suffer now is the lack of a clearly identifiable enemy. The difference between a Haji working on base as support and that same Haji turning terrorist is a mere $1.
This entry is dedicated to my Uncle Don McCarthy, who recently passed away. He was a proud veteran of World War II. His outstanding patriotism called him to misrepresent his age to enlist in the Navy during a time when many felt the sting of the draft.
posted by Dorman at 13:29
4 Comments:
Dali
Geez, you guys must Google for answers to be getting them so quick ;)
If only we kept track, then we would know how many have been killed in Iraq...if only we kept track...
any wmd's yet?
amerikkka more fascistic everyday I'm afraid.
www.anarchistfaq.org
Yeah, but you still have to realize that no matter how bad those guys had it, and no matter how rough it was, they had one thing to relieve stress that we dont.
If someone took a shot at them, they got to call in artillery and have the whole damned block taken out. Or they could just shoot them. I tell you, I think being able to shoot people would relieve a LOT of stress.
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