I'll say this, Doug. You got me thinking and investigating. So went back and looked at my old threads. Know what I found? I found that for a long time I rarely mentioned my service. And when I do, it is usually to make the point that there is nothing glorious about war. I think what bothers you is that I don't fit into your neatly defined definition of what I should be. You would rather I stand up and say how proud I am of my country, and act as though this is a noble undertaking. You would rather I took a stoic stance about this. Ain't gonna happen. I will never glorify war. It is not glorious, and only occasionally just. Because of the horrible cost to both sides, and especially to the children, it must be questioned at every opportunity. This is not a fucking board game. Someone's Dad is going to die. Someones children will lose everything, including maybe life. There will be scars that will never heal. It is always easy for folks like you to talk in broad generalities, and say things like "war is hell". No shit, really? I don't question the honor of the warriors involved. Hell, I have been one. But I do question the motivations of those who mouth the party line when lives are at stake.

I get angry, Doug, when folks that sell their allegiance to whatever is convenient at the time of their lives that they are in, and don't realize in a real and personal way what the cost is. If they did, they wouldn't be so blithe in their assertions.

So, Doug, I don't really give a shit if you like me throwing out my experiences. I will, at every opportunity, point out the horror and hypocrisy from the unique perspective I have. Or would you rather I just tell war stories and sing "The Green Berets".

One last correction. I am no war hero, and I have never laid claim to that. I have laid claim to having witnessed certain things that most who run their mouths here have not. My view isn't as much political, as it is a reflection of how I was impacted by those times. I have profound respect for others here, whom I know to have been brave and honorable warriors, even though our politics are polar opposites.

Mick