I was in the military and all I have to say is it is pure BS. You civilians know nothing of what it's like. The OP's mom is correct and if I were still in the service, I would walk up to her and thank her for knowing what many don't know.

First of all let me start out by saying that being a former MARINE of 17 yrs and the proud parent of a current MARINE, who has served his time in Iraq and is getting ready to deploy again, I applaud any and all young Americans who enlist in any of our military services. Now moving on....those of you criticizing the proper use of the English language need to move on and read the message for it's intent. As for the woman in the original post, and I refer to the mother, you should first of all be more aware of your surroundings before you shoot your big mouth off, and you should thank any member of the military you see for fighting for your right to make such ignorant statements. As for the daughter or son who apologized for your mother's remark, the fact that you did so shows that you may be more of an adult than your mother, even though you had nothing to apologize for. You aren't the one who made the statement. As for the military member involved. You response was totally uncalled for in this situation and not only discredits you but whatever branch of the military you represent. Not knowing this person's age, if they were a young person you should never have made the comment. As a member of the US Military you have a certain standard to uphold and have to expect the ignorance levels of others. For all those of you who have posted that you joined or thought of joining for the money and education benefits all I can say is thank God you either didn't join or I sincerely hope you got out. You have no place in the military. If you want to go to school, find a job in the civilian sector, which the military fights to keep going, and earn your way through school. Thje military doesn't need you. Or get mommy or daddy to pay. For all those of you who posted and are currently members of the Armed Forces, "THANK YOU". You are doing a job that a lot of people don't want to do or are AFRAID of doing. All I can say to you is "SEMPER FI" and "BRAVO ZULU" (I apologize for using the Marine and Navy sayings only but I don't know the Army or Air Force's sayings). And finally, for all those ignorant people out there, and you know who you are, there are one way flights leaving major airports daily. Maybe you should take one. I'm sure you can find some other country that would appreciate you.

Free from what? Really. This "army exists to get you free, you wouldn't be here if it wasn't for them" is an argument with which US citizens have been brainwashed for years. Everyone says it almost by instinct but honestly, in this war HOW are you free because of the army? It's funny how people talk about how ignorant and disrespectful the mom was, but they do the exact same ignorant insulting thing to people who don't worship any freaking soldier they run into. Really, guys. LEARN TO LIVE WITH THE FACT THAT NOT EVERYBODY IS OBLIGATED TO THINK THE SAME WAY YOU DO. That doesn't make you better than them in any way.

I have read a number of posts saying that this conflict (because really a war is on a nation; so this is technically a conflict) is about oil. Question. If I am over here for oil; why are prices to goddamned high? If we wanted oil, we would have came, killed them all then negotiated for the oil from the Iraqis. So can anyone explain how it's for oil? What if Iraq wasn't an oil rich country? What excuse would you all use to justify your hate? Oh, and it's not Bush's fault. He just happened to be President and my Commander in Chief when it all happened. If he didn't invade, he would have been criticized for that. How would you all have acted if he just said "Well, the hurt us, so we'll just sit here and not give a damn." Admit it, you all wanted blood on 9/11 just as much I did and the man or woman next to me. One more question. If he ****** up so badly, what would you have done in his place? Would you have done any better? And if your actions came under such heavy fire from all the media ****** out there, would you have the balls, integrity and conviction to stand by your choices?

Because without a military to defend it, a nation will crumble into chaos and anarchy. My fellow Marines, Sailors, Airmen and Soldiers work not only in Iraq and Afghanistan, but in many other missions worldwide. Should we all cease to work and have no military; how long do you think America (or any nation we are allied with) will last? How long will any country with valuable land and commodities last with nobody to defend their borders?

To you- AHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. God that's hilarious. I'm sorry, but I'm not. To the soldier- HELL YEAH MOTHA FUCKA. *high five* To your mom- Okay. Well. If you don't like the military, you can move to a little island off the coast of where-freakin'-ever. When the pirates come, you ain't getting shit for help. When the sick ***** come to take you away (HAHA! ...yay, weird songs), you aren't getting our help. When you've got so many people invading your sorry ass for their own amusement that you can't even ESTIMATE the number properly, you aren't getting any of the military's nice assistance. They do what they do to keep you safe and protect your freedom; maybe it isn't perfect sometimes, but it's the best sorry pieces of shit like you are ever going to get. And that's really all there is on THAT matter. ******' bitch. Edit: Thank you, inadvertant.

This is a strawman. No one is calling for the military to be disbanded. What people are saying is you shouldn't use the military to invade other countries on a whim. Never mind the fact that the US nearly destroyed Iraq in the 1990s with brutal sanctions and did not even allow Iraq to have anything remotely close to a full military, never mind the fact that EVERY justification given for Iraq has been proven false, this self-centered disposition that you have the right to invade other nations and repeatedly violate sovereignty is wrong. Iraq never posed a threat. The sooner you understand this, the better.

I have to agree with inadvertant on this one. His view is not isolated to just Iraq and the U.S., its more on the global scale and includes all sovereign nations that wish to protect their borders. He never said that he felt that our military should be used to invade other countries on a whim. The other military operations he's talking about are carried out in small teams in order to halt other schemes that pose threats to not only the U.S. but many of our allies. These schemes could also prove to be threats to global security as well. Don't try to narrow his viewpoint to this one incident when he himself did not do so.

I see where you're coming from, but you missed my point. No one is calling for the disbandment of the military, nor did anyone explicitly say that the presence of US troops abroad must be halted completely. Iraq (and Afghanistan) are different cases than just having a few brigades to "keep order". They are full military occupations, complete with -permanent- and expanding military bases, continually defying international laws and agreements in contradiction of what the people there want. I won't even mention the destruction it has wreaked on the population, the four million refugees, the hundreds of thousands dead, the lack of potable water or healthcare, or the loss of artifacts going back to the first civilizations. There's a difference between defending sovereignty, and exerting your will to shape other nation-states and people to what you believe is right. One is reactionary, the other is instigation.

from a Vet ...... TELL THAT BITCH MOTHER OF YOURS TO PACK SAND Sorry you are related to her , there's a nice burka for her in Tehran