You do know that what you see on tv of a vet living in a trench for months is very rare now. Most have AC, computer access, game systems, etc... and that is for combat troops when back on camp/base. Most others are in "green" zones and have it even better.
I am sending people overseas right now in my job. I know where they are going and what they will be in for. The people i work with are the ones that take Military troops place when you see on TV polticians gleaming how we are pulling troops out of XYZ. Well when they pull out we pull in.
You watch way too much TV, and at your "job" you think you know what is going on. Sure, or large bases there are many perks. However, in my most recent deployment (got back Nov 22) from Afghanistan, I lived nothing like this. I lived in the middle of nowhere, and often times didnt even have a "home".
Me doing laundry. The same place I bathed. Also the same place afghans bathes, took a crap, and walked their animals thru. Also water I drank on a few occasions because we ran out, and literally dying of thirst.
My boot from patrolling so much. Walking thru canals, and then drying out. Everyone had boot issues, and it was very hard to get more. According to my gps, I patrolled over 640 miles.
The demo we took on one op. And used every bit of it, plus five apobs. I shot four apobs in one day.
A friend who had to have his knee drained about twice a week. He never missed a patrol, because there wasnt anyone to replace him. There are no off days, and no weekends. We got combat replacements for the Marines that were lost, or too hurt to continue.
My fighting hole and bed for the night. We did an hour on, and an hour off of post all night long because of an immediate threat. I dug it out more later, this isnt the final result. Our sniper actually shot an rpg gunner at dusk. We got shot at several times by machin gun and rpg fire that day.
This is about 0530. There wasnt any cots, the PB had only been set up for about a week, and we came to reinforce the Marines who were there. We were in an insurgent controlled area prior to us being there for a week. There wasnt anything to sleep on, so we slept on the moon dusk.
Getting much needed water and MRE's. As I said, out in the middle of nowhere, so we had to get supplies this way. Despite what you said, "most" of our buys didnt have AC, internet, game systems, etc. Sure some at the bigger bases did, but we didnt. We had a sat phone that hardly every worked, and got to use the internet about once a month.
We took this compound, and found all five IED's in there. Keep in mind that our metal detectors will not pick up the pressure plates, or the main charge. And the battery sourse was ran several meters away. Obviously it was very risky and hard to do. So we "raked" the entire compound to find the white wire you see with a self made tool. A stick with a sickle taped to it that the farmers use to cut crops. Im the dork with the new cammies. Mine ripped so badly I couldnt wear them. Someone had another.
We found seven IED's on this hill. While being shot at all day. This was the main effort in a huge OP because it was the only hill around and we could gain a huge upper hand owning it. They knew it, so it was IED'd like crazy. You can see the sickle stick I described in it. The Marine on the far right died about a month later. His wife gave birth to their child a month after she buried him. Tell her she doesnt deserve the benefits her husband earned during the 13 years he served in the Marine Corps and the several deployments he went on.
I have a ton more pics, but I am done posting. I am not looking for a pat on the back, or a hand out. I volunteered to join the Marines, and do go on this deployment. I didnt have to, I was home only a few months from the last one, before we started the work up for this one. I am not trying to brag, so dont take it that way. What I am looking for is people who dont know what is going on, to stop posting sweeping generalizations.
Could we cut some things in the Defense budget? Sure. I never said there couldnt be. But dont sit there and claim you know what is going on. I have some Marines that still yell in their sleep, or cannot sleep because of the things they saw and did. Trying to cut the benefits they earned really pisses me off.
Someone mentioned helo mechanics not being vets. I will tell you that Cobra's saved out ass a few times. The insurgents have nothing for them, they rained down hell on them. They run every time they see them coming. And Blackhawk pilots coming in hot and hard picking up our wounded, or dead. They wouldnt be able to do this if helos couldnt fly. Sure I give mos's that arent in combat a hard time, but the truth is, we are all vets. Maybe not combat vets, but still vets. And the fact is, most benefits go unused. Because people are ignorant to them all, or dont want to go thru the hassle to get them. We have VA reps come to us all the time telling us about them, most of our guys dont even use them.
So you are of the opinion that despite doubling military expenditures in the past decade nothing should be cut? That is absurd.
I only mentioned that some perks are excessive in my first post.
I never said nothing should be cut. You were asked to give a list, and you gave one example. An example that is not 100% accurate. That is what is absurd.
However, I am done talking about this. Im just getting to annoyed, and it really doesnt do any good to post about it. But dont sit at home in your comfy chair and act like you know what is good for vets, when you dont have a clue.
