DivaSkyChick 0 #1 February 19, 2003 I don't really know if you're allowed to post in response to this but if you are, what do you guys / gals think about going to war with Iraq? Military personnel only please. --- www.facebook.com/mandyhamptonfitch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shark 0 #2 February 19, 2003 You mean active duty, right? Because there have been a lot that have responded that are former or retired. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
riddler 0 #3 February 19, 2003 Not a soldier - sorry. But I am also curious if they would get into trouble for saying that they don't agree with it? Freedom of speech may be a constitutional right, but that don't mean you can't get into trouble for it.Trapped on the surface of a sphere. XKCD Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BikerBabe 0 #4 February 19, 2003 Mandy, I PMed you. I can say whatever I want, just not in an open forum like this, since it could be taken as me "representing" the military. Sorry, guys. Never meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JYorkster 0 #5 February 19, 2003 PM'd ya to keep my ass out of a sling. In short, it is a necessary evil. Rock Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coconutmonkey 0 #6 February 19, 2003 Soldiers are normally directed to express their opinions as their personal perspective (job and duties) only. There are certain boundaries that they may not cross (giving out unit information, plans, common sense stuff that may endanger mission).Hearts & Minds 2 to the Heart- 1 to the Mind- Home of the Coconut Lounge, Spa, & Artillery Range Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nws01 0 #7 February 19, 2003 Can they shoot cannons off in their backyard? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
coconutmonkey 0 #8 February 19, 2003 That's not stating an opinion. That's taking part in the Homeland Defense Readiness Training. Think I'll upgrade to a Napoleon III to improve my homeland defense Hearts & Minds 2 to the Heart- 1 to the Mind- Home of the Coconut Lounge, Spa, & Artillery Range Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DivaSkyChick 0 #9 February 19, 2003 Hey guys, I'm getting pms in response to my post. I'll try to post a consensus of the replies (if there ends up being one) here in a few days. This stuff is good reading, wish it could be posted in public! --- www.facebook.com/mandyhamptonfitch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
gemini 0 #10 February 19, 2003 FYI the "observed" rule for military personnel is as follows: If a stated position or decision has not been made by the CIC (President), military personnel are free to express their opinions or objections. Once the CIC has a stated position or decision, military personnel must follow that position or decision without opinion or objection unless it is patently unlawful in its execution. Of course if your immediate commander has the opposite opinion prior to the CIC's decision or position, you could be in deep poo doo anyway! Proving an order is unlawful is also a little difficult. Under this rule, an Army General was addressing a group of West Point cadets in New York and expressing his dismay over the administration's plan to study the reduction of US forces in Korea even though the Koreans had been caught digging tank sized tunnels under the DMZ a few months earlier. The general returned to Korea and shortly thereafter was summoned to the White House. He left his wife and children in Korea since he planned on returning. In the White House he met with the SecDef and the President. The President chewed the General out and showed him a document dated prior to the General's speech at West Point. The general was immediately relieved of his command and retired at a lower rank. The general had to come out of pocket to return his family and household goods to the US. The document was later found to have actually been created after the date of the General's speech and back dated at the President's instruction. The President was none other than our own Nobel Prize winner, that man of peace with the big shit eating smile, Jimmy Carter! Blue skies, Jim Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Beerlight 0 #11 February 20, 2003 I PM'd ya also....... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Zenister 0 #12 February 20, 2003 have to add that to my top ten reasons why soldiers should never trust politicians.. ____________________________________ Those who fail to learn from the past are simply Doomed. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jtval 0 #13 February 20, 2003 QuoteNot a soldier - sorry. But I am also curious if they would get into trouble for saying that they don't agree with it? Freedom of speech may be a constitutional right, but that don't mean you can't get into trouble for it. we can say whatever we want but if we are in a forum where we are representing the Military then we CAN NOT. we could go to a KKK meeting if we REALLY wanted to but we could NOT allow it to be known! and they couldnt know we were military! its just bad form to get into political discussion when you are looked at as an insider!My photos My Videos Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DivaSkyChick 0 #14 February 20, 2003 Hey again, I received a really well written, well thought out post that seems to represent about 60 % of the responses I've received. The writer was kind enough to allow their thoughts to be posted here. Whether you agree or not about the evidence, etc., you gotta be happy that people like this are protecting our freedom. "I've been active duty army for ten years and I'm finishing up my arabic language training for Special Forces. I'll be going to the Middle East as a Special Forces Team Leader next month. I would much rather make love than war...but I think war is coming first. (i swear there is no pun intended) I don't think the president has given even 10% the evidence of chem and nuke weapons because we don't want Hussein to move them before we go in. This lack of evidence makes the war seem unjust to a lot of Americans. I think all the peace protests send the government a good message- that they will be held accountable for their use of the military. I feel safer trusting my life and my fertility (damn chemical wpns) to the decisions of the president when he knows that people will voice their protest and ultimately run him out of office if he is wrong. I would be horrified if there was a terrorist act with these weapons and we hadn't done anything. My brother served with the USS Cole and left it a week before it was bombed; one of my college professors and his wife survived the Nairobi embassy bombing; and my cousin ran out of WTC tower 2 before it collapsed. I don't feel this gives me a score to settle, but it's let me see first hand that some people in the world hate us and don't follow any rules. I am not a warmonger, though- I see being a good soldier kinda like being a firefighter- I hate fire; have lost friends to fire; am afraid of being killed or disfigured in fire; try to educate, inspect and make every one's house safe from fire; accept that fire has been part of human history despite lots of progress; accept that some moron is still going to fall asleep smoking; commit myself to being ready to fight fire; trust that the fire chief will not send me into a fire that does not need to be fought; don't hope for someones house to catch fire, but hope that when the siren eventually calls they send me, because I am the best and I want to bring every firefighter back to the station." --- www.facebook.com/mandyhamptonfitch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kmcguffee 0 #15 February 20, 2003 QuoteBut I am also curious if they would get into trouble for saying that they don't agree with it? As long as it is not represented as an official statement by the military then they can say what they want to. They can't sign it with their rank or with US Army or on camera in uniform but they can say anything they want to as an individual American. "Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain and most fools do." Ben Franklin Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
sarge 0 #16 February 20, 2003 WOW! well stated. I was on the TV news in '83 just before the Shiites blew up our headquarters in Beirut. The reporter asked me, "You think this action [Multinational Peace-keeping forces] will preserve the peace in this region?" I told her, " Yes; If we weren't here then who else would do it?".... (I have video!) .-- I'm done with the personally meaningful and philosophical sigs!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Shark 0 #17 February 20, 2003 Thanks for sharing that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BlueSkiesKel 0 #18 February 20, 2003 hey diva, i dont know if my opinion means anything but i'm active duty in the coast guard(no jokes from the other services please), and i dont think conditions are looking all that good, we are sending a bunch of personnel over to the gulf, as for all the services, a bunch of reserves have been called up to active, but who knows whats gonna happen till it happens, no worries though, they dont stand a chance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DivaSkyChick 0 #19 February 20, 2003 Hey sweetie, your opinion matters here. So give us one! PM me if you can't post. --- www.facebook.com/mandyhamptonfitch Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,452 #20 February 20, 2003 That's really excellent. Really. And thanks to Mandy for asking for opinions, and to everyone who's sent her one. Wendy W.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KawiZX900 0 #21 February 20, 2003 We defend Democracy. We do not practice it. Accelerate hard to get them looking, then slam on the fronts and rollright beside the car, hanging the back wheel at eye level for a few seconds. Guaranteed reaction- Dave Sonsky Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DivaSkyChick 0 #22 February 20, 2003 mine deleted too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KawiZX900 0 #24 February 20, 2003 deleting post. I've decided to leave work at work. and only bring me home-work baggage.. i've got a headache now, and dz.com isn't doing it for me the way it usually does now that I've dumped my work thoughts into my happy place. Accelerate hard to get them looking, then slam on the fronts and rollright beside the car, hanging the back wheel at eye level for a few seconds. Guaranteed reaction- Dave Sonsky Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KawiZX900 0 #25 February 20, 2003 no, I am a squid. Accelerate hard to get them looking, then slam on the fronts and rollright beside the car, hanging the back wheel at eye level for a few seconds. Guaranteed reaction- Dave Sonsky Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
