A soldier in Iraq asks in despair: Why are we here?

[Berzerker]

You obviously haven't been keeping up to date on this one. Your comrades at moveon.org welcome you.

Update us then

[MRT144]

Originally posted by SlowwHand
The problem is the people who thought they'd be weekend warrioring it for their working life. Guess what?

but cmon, the advertisements are explicit, or were pre war that it was 2 weeks a year 1 weekend a month...there was always the possibility and now bush has made the possibility a reality. well bravo, you just convinced a hell of a lot of sons and daughters to not join the guard.

[SlowwHand]

I don't want them to join, if they're under an illusion.

[Berzerker]

MRT, why do so many people want to punch you in the face?

[SlowwHand]

Professor, 59, off to war in Afghanistan

03:07 PM CDT on Monday, June 4, 2007

By DAN RONAN / WFAA-TV




A 59-year-old North Texas native is making big changes in his life as he transforms from a college professor to a soldier about to deploy to Kabul.

Next Saturday, Lt. Col. Robert Buckman will ship out to begin training and travel on to Afghanistan for a year.

"I wont be kicking in doors with an M-16, but if I have a chance to make a contribution, fine," he said.

After spending most of his life in the Army Reserves, it's his first deployment.

"I am really relieved I am going to Afghanistan instead of Iraq, not because it's not as dangerous, but that's where the people are that actually attacked us," he said.

When he's not a soldier, Buckman has served as a college journalism professor in Louisiana.

He was born in Fort Worth, attended college at Texas Christian University and most of his family lives in North Texas.

Sunday night, he took time in North Texas to spend a few hours with his son, daughter-in-law and new granddaughter. Buckman's other son also served in the military in Iraq and Afghanistan.

During his duty, Buckman will serve as a planning officer, working with intelligence officers to organize missions. He said he hopes to be out on the streets with his men.

"A good planning officer doesn't sit back and make his decisions based on a map, things look very different on the ground," he said.

Buckman said he has no worries that at an age when many people are considering slowing down, he's heading to one of the world's most dangerous places.

"I'm not married anymore," he said. "My kids are all grown. Wars ought to be fought by guys like me, instead of these young kids that are getting killed."

Buckman's first stop will be to Georgia's Fort Benning for a few weeks of training and then he will be off to Afghanistan.

A soldier, writer and professor, he is now getting his chance for what he said he has waited for all his life—to serve.

[Slaughtermeyer]

Originally posted by Az
To people in the states, generally: Explain this to me, because our army is an army of conscripts. Why the hell is there so much discontent among people in the US military? didn't they volunteer to basically be carriers of US policy?

I don't want to sound, I just really don't understand.

Aren't Israeli officers essentially volunteers? And wasn't there a fair amount of discontent among Israeli officers about last year's Lebanon invasion, which was basically a bungled war of choice just as the Iraq invasion was? Can you see how much more discontent there would have been among Israeli officers if the Lebanon invasion had "stayed the course" for as long as the Iraq invasion?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Israeli_reserve_soldiers%27_protest#Prospects_for_a_state_commission