Okay, so I am not a history buff...and therefore this topic has nothing at all to do with the history of the military. But it is directly related to the military.

How do you support it? Do you support some branches more than others? For what reason?

As for my answer...well, most of you know that my boyfriend is a Marine. To be honest, I don't really do much at all. And to be even more honest, I do even less for the other branches of the military. But I have a Marine sticker displayed proudly on my car. I have met kids at my school who already have their boot camp dates and I always try to encourage them and introduce them to my boyfriend when he is home so they can talk to someone who has already been through that process and several others. Whenever Marine recruiters come to school, I hang around their booth...I know that really doesn't sound like support but it's support for me - it makes most military girlfriends and wives feel more comfortable to talk to other members of their significant other's branch when that person is away. Any time I come in contact with a Marine, I make sure to shake his hand and thank him and tell him about my boyfriend. He always offers encouragement. My minister and I support each other - his son is on the same island that my boyfriend is. And, most importantly, I support my Marine through my love and encouragement. I would like to do more - actual work in passing out information or in talking with other people in similar situations to mine. And I probably will someday.

But right now I want to know: What do you do?

EDIT: I didn't see the "Supporting our troops" forum until now...but, the way I see it, more people will see my post on this forum so I'm just going to leave it. I hope no one minds.

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Any more off-topic posts such as these will be deleted, at which point I will have no problem deleting all of the off-topic debate on this thread.

Happy debating [elsewhere]!

Clop13 do you want to continue this discussion on another thread? if so just name the thread and I will respond to your last post.

To get back on track. The National Guard just had a drill. It was pretty cool, this summer I ship of for 16 weeks for basic and advanced training, and then I will be ready to serve as a Calvary scout in the US army National Guard.

The past several posts are inappropriate for this thread. This thread is for YNers to talk about how they support the military...not a debate as to whether or not the military should continue to be a presence in Iraq.

I will leave the posts in question for the time being, and I encourage you to either find an existing thread on the War in Iraq, or create a new one to continue this discussion.

Any more off-topic posts such as these will be deleted, at which point I will have no problem deleting all of the off-topic debate on this thread.

Happy debating [elsewhere]!

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We want to leave but if we leave there is nothing to prevent a blood bath from following.

The way I see it, the attacks by insurgents are done specifically to set the Iraqis against us. I doubt that much more killing will go on if we pull out. At least, not any more than there was before we even went in.

If we pulled out right now, the insurgents would indeed win. They'd most likely create a government like the old Taliban in Afghanistan and impose fundamentalist Islamic rules on everyone. However, just like in Afghanistan, there would not be any wanton killing. What would be the point of that? Sure, dissidents and pro-Americans would probably be killed, but the majority of the citizens would go along with the new regime, just like they did with Saddam, the coalition, and the United States. I highly doubt there would be a bloodbath.

Please note, though, that I do not in any way condone such a situation. I do want us to pull out, but I'd prefer the Iraqi government to be able to stand on its own before we did. Self-reliance is the name of the game.

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Stop interfering in Iraq or we will pulverize your country.

We can't really afford any more enemies at the moment. And if you think about it, we've been interfering in Iraq longer than Iran has. Saddam kept Iran at bay with his military. It's really our fault they've become a bigger threat because we removed the balancing force in the region.

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For example we need to have air bases in Europe so we can hit Iran if we ever detect that they are preparing to launch missiles at somebody, or that they have produced a nuclear device.

Are Britain and Israel incapable of doing that very same thing? If we let Germany and Japan have their militaries back, they'd be able to defend themselves as well.

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however the government does have the right to set boundaries for how its citizens act.

Yes, in public. What goes on in the bedroom is of no concern to the government. That was my primary concern there. I agree with you in that no person should have the right to interfere with another person's rights, which is why I hate it when there are laws against things that don't harm anyone.

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No they are not glad we are there, they do not want us to be there, we are seen as invaders, and dont gimme that crap about us bringing them democracy, their democracy isn't even real because their government has no power over their country.
And no, Iraq is no where near recovery, every day the ammount of dead and displaced because of sectarian violence grows.

Actually that is not true. Currently the Levels of violence in Iraq are falling. We not seen as invaders by everyone, quite a few Iraqis see us as liberators. We are attempting to give them democracy the government is lacking power because terrorists groups continue to attack the people of Iraq. The terrorists don’t just want to see America defeated they want the country of Iraq destroyed. If Iraq is peaceful our mission will have been a success so they have to ensure that peace does not happen.

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I know. But look at it from an Iraqi's point of view. Wherever the Americans go, violence follows. The violence, directed mainly at the Americans, still harms innocent Iraqis.

Some of the violence is being directed at the Americans, but a large amount of the violence is being directed at the people of Iraq. We want to leave but if we leave there is nothing to prevent a blood bath from following. Iranian supported factions will fight Saudi Arabian factions just as they are now, however we wont be their to keep the violence down and the country will descend into chaos. The Iranian military may even become directly involved. The point is the violence will be much worse then it is currently if we leave prematurely. To leave we are going to strike hard enough to put down the insurgencies so we can leave. We also have to finish training the Iraqi military. One of the biggest threats to the stability in Iraq is Iran. We really need to deliver an ultimatum to Iran. Stop interfering in Iraq or we will pulverize your country. We will never have peace in Iraq with Iran fuelling the insurgency.

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The only real threats to America would hit us at home. Ergo, the soldiers should be stationed at home. Countries like Germany and Japan should be able to handle themselves perfectly fine.

America is trying to protect our allies and we also have to have first strike capability. For example we need to have air bases in Europe so we can hit Iran if we ever detect that they are preparing to launch missiles at somebody, or that they have produced a nuclear device. Our basis around the world allows us a greater range; we don’t want to fight our wars on our territory, it would be much better to fight them on our enemy’s territory.

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An ideal government would create a military that would protect us solely from external threats. (An internal police force would protect us from internal threats like domestic terrorists.) But the government should never, ever try to protect its citizens from themselves.

The military should not be enforcing laws; however the government does have the right to set boundaries for how its citizens act. The government has to restrict people right to trample on the rights of others. This is why we have a police force. So the military shouldn’t be enforcing the law that is the job of law enforcement. The exception to this is the National Guard. They are still primarily a military unity but they can be involved in national events more then the regular military can.

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The violence in Iraq is not at the hands of the Americans it is at the hands of the terrorists.

I know. But look at it from an Iraqi's point of view. Wherever the Americans go, violence follows. The violence, directed mainly at the Americans, still harms innocent Iraqis. Better to not have the Americans around than have family members die as a result of collateral damage. I'm sure many Iraqis want our help, but I'm also sure they'd rather we stay far away from them for the time being.

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One of the reasons that we have troops stationed abroad is so that we can respond to threats to America and our allies around the world. We live in a world that is globalized; this mans that to respond to threats we have to be able to protect more then just our country.

The only real threats to America would hit us at home. Ergo, the soldiers should be stationed at home. Countries like Germany and Japan should be able to handle themselves perfectly fine. The interesting thing is, though, the constitutions we forced both countries to sign following World War II prohibits both from establishing large standing armies. Well, I know this is true for Japan, but I'm not quite sure for Germany. Whatever the case, we shouldn't have to be the world's police.

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What do you mean by this?

An ideal government would create a military that would protect us solely from external threats. (An internal police force would protect us from internal threats like domestic terrorists.) But the government should never, ever try to protect its citizens from themselves. By this, I mean that the government shouldn't try to prohibit behavior it deems harmful, immoral, wrong, etc. This includes food, drugs, sexual acts, marriage partners, and so on. The government's job does not include regulating the private lives of its citizens.

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They are glad that we are there. Despite what we here on the news most of Iraq is far down to path towards recovery.

No they are not glad we are there, they do not want us to be there, we are seen as invaders, and dont gimme that crap about us bringing them democracy, their democracy isn't even real because their government has no power over their country.
And no, Iraq is no where near recovery, every day the ammount of dead and displaced because of sectarian violence grows. OMG LIEK TEH AMERICANS GAVE US A NEW ELECTRICAL GENERATOR! who the fuck cares about an electrical generator when 60% of the population has a dead friend or family member because of the violence that has the country in a state of quasi civil war?

FFS, reality check please...

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uhh... no?

They are glad that we are there. Despite what we here on the news most of Iraq is far down to path towards recovery.

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If our government didn't do a supreme job at making the whole world hate us we wouldn't even need to defend ourselves.

The fact that people hate many of our policies does not mean that the policies are wrong. One of the main reasons that the Muslims countries in the Middle East hate us because we support Israel. This does not mean that we should abandon the Jewish people to genocide. Many Muslims also hate America because of aspects of our culture such as our tolerance of things that they consider sin such as homosexuality. My point is that we have many good policies that other people hate us for. That does not mean that these policies need to be done away with.

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They were immediately following Saddam's downfall. But now that the insurgents have gotten footholds, our presence brings death and destruction. Suspected pro-American Iraqis are frequently kidnapped and murdered and IEDs explode anywhere American troops or contractors go.

The violence in Iraq is not at the hands of the Americans it is at the hands of the terrorists. Most people ion Iraq realizes this and are more sportive of the US then they are of the terrorists. This also goes to show who has the interests of the Iraqi people at heart, the US. The US is making sacrifices to help the Iraqi people; American solders are dying to protect Iraqi people, against terrorists. The terrorists are not freedom fighters, they don’t want to save Iraq, instead they want to kill Americans and everyone else that does not follow their extreme version of Islam.

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True, to a point. We shouldn't have to station troops in foreign countries and regions we have no quarrel with (North Korea, Germany, the Balkans, Saudi Arabia, etc.)

One of the reasons that we have troops stationed abroad is so that we can respond to threats to America and our allies around the world. We live in a world that is globalized; this mans that to respond to threats we have to be able to protect more then just our country.

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And by protect, I mean from our enemies, not from ourselves.

What do you mean by this?

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The majority of the people in Iraq are glad that we are there.

They were immediately following Saddam's downfall. But now that the insurgents have gotten footholds, our presence brings death and destruction. Suspected pro-American Iraqis are frequently kidnapped and murdered and IEDs explode anywhere American troops or contractors go. Our presence isn't very reassuring anywhere in Iraq, except perhaps the very center of Baghdad.

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However someone has to be willing to make those sacrifices otherwise we would be left defenseless.

True, to a point. We shouldn't have to station troops in foreign countries and regions we have no quarrel with (North Korea, Germany, the Balkans, Saudi Arabia, etc.) but we should have a well-trained and readily available National Guard to protect our own country. And by protect, I mean from our enemies, not from ourselves.

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The majority of the people in Iraq are glad that we are there.

uhh... no?

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However someone has to be willing to make those sacrifices otherwise we would be left defenseless.

If our government didn't do a supreme job at making the whole world hate us we wouldn't even need to defend ourselves. Before trying to fight people with guns maybe we should try to solve some of the problems that have put us in a dangerous situation in the first place.

I support the US Coast Guard as an Auxiliarist by educating the public about safe boating practices. Recreational boating safety is a key function of the Auxiliary. Through education, we prevent unsafe behavior on the water...the kind that leads to the Coasties having to drop what they're doing to rescue people.

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Good for you, now you can go fight a pointless war so some rich guys can make a fortune, kill iraqi civilians, and possibly get blown up by roadside bombs.

Well that was certainly a disparaging look at the military. The US military is not evil as you may think. We are not just fighting some pointless war. I don’t agree with how the war has been managed, however that does not make the war pointless. The majority of the people in Iraq are glad that we are there. And we aren’t fighting to make people rich we are fighting extremists who will kill anyone including the defenseless. We will either fight them there or we will be forced to fight them in our own country. The US military is not going around killing Iraqi civilians most of the civilians that have died have died at the hands of the insurgents. Unfortunately some have died at the hands of US soldiers; however that is either accidental, or unauthorized. Yes I might possible be killed by a road side bomb, it is a war zone. However someone has to be willing to make those sacrifices otherwise we would be left defenseless.

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I am now part of the Army National guard. I joined the day after the 6th anniversary of
9-11. I was going to join on the anniversary but I was pushed back a day.

Good for you, now you can go fight a pointless war so some rich guys can make a fortune, kill iraqi civilians, and possibly get blown up by roadside bombs.

I am now part of the Army National guard. I joined the day after the 6th anniversary of
9-11. I was going to join on the anniversary but I was pushed back a day.

Not to sound overly cynical, but I support the military by criticizing the politicians who make the bad decisions, not the soldiers who simply have to follow orders.

I know quite a few people who joined the Navy, a couple Marines, an Army veteran (out of Iraq for a year this month), and my dad's father was a colonel in the Air Force, but I don't show any more support for those branches than for the others. I don't really differentiate between them all, usually.

I support all branches of the military. I have two marine friends, two friends who want to go into the navy, one that wants to go into the air force and I want to go into the army. All we are missing is the cost guard
I am finishing joining the National Guard, should be in this weak, and am planning on serving in the active army after collage. Like a bunch of you I also pray for the troops.

I have given this some thought and have come to the same hurdle as you have "WorthWaitingFor" I mean how do you show you are incredibly supportive? But like yourself my ministry leader has shown me that the most I can do is through prayer, just lift it to God and have him take into control all your worries. And like you said displaying branch paraphanelia is always cool too. Keep on doing what your doing, i'm with you 100%

Oh, you were probably in the air force aux (or whatever it happens to be called...).

I'm in the coast Guard Aux, so we deal with stuff on the water. We have a boat, but I don't think my parents will let me use it for waterway rescues...I guess I will have to go out on the water with other members on their boats...

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There is a "Flotilla" meeting tomorrow, and that was the extent of the information I requested

Yeah, they're fun, actually, though I never really stayed with it. Sounds like your guy/girl ratio is better than it was the meetings here. The flotilla here (Delaware/PA) wanted me to serve as a pilot but I don't have my own helo or plane, nor do any of the current members AFAIK. Unfortunately, the Auxilary doesn't have much in the way of equipment. CAP does, but they don't normally do maritime patrols.

Congratulationss, though. You got me thinking of re-joining, even if I can't fly.

Sounds pretty cool, Meagan, and prayer is always helpful, amp.