Can anyone be proud of their military?

[DOA82]

Just like the title says, or better yet, should we proud of our military forces?

On the British side we have men and women fighting with out of date equipment. Equipment shortages and probably the poorest source of care for its wounded in the world.

On the American we have stories of torturing prisoners, mounting casualties, friendly fire incidents (referring to the recent 5 man killing spree) and the constant debate over the illegal invasion of another country.

All the while videos of both circulate the likes of youtube and what do we see, men and women professionally upholding thier duties? No. A bunch of Jackasses playing with guns in another kids back yard.

I may be expressing a dangerous view, but I cant really say I am proud of the military today. On paper it is, or was at least an honourable profession that was something to be proud of. Nowadays men and women join it and complain when they are called on to fight. God forbid demand of the likes of WW2 was ever placed on the military today.

In the past if a man died for his country in a time of war he was a hero, it was accepted and the rest were supported, nowadays a world of weeping mothers cry for the safe return of men who enlisted in a organisation whose primary task is to fight. Its disrespectful to those who have died in my opinion.

Whats your thoughts?

 

[Neutron66]

I'm a veteran and I'll always be proud of the military.

Not much else to say.

 

[thebear247]

i just lost a good friend who was fighting over in iraq he was killed doing what he loves and that is fighting for his country im proud an honored to be an american and damn proud of the men and women who risk there life to make mine better and safer

 

[mrtrebus]

Just like the title says, or better yet, should we proud of our military forces?

On the British side we have men and women fighting with out of date equipment. Equipment shortages and probably the poorest source of care for its wounded in the world.


Whats your thoughts?

But this has got nothing to do with the military. Its our crappy government not prepared to fund the armed forces.

 

[Hot Mega]

Yes

You can always be proud of the fighting men and women who are standing up to faithfully and honorably defend your colors.

It's the creators of bad policy who let us down, not those charged with implementing it.

 

[biomech]

I am extremely proud of the men and women who serve in th US military, my family is full of veterans and many of my friends have served. What I am not proud of is the way my govt treats these people upon returning from war.
I have visited veterans hospitals and seen the way these proud people are treated, we have veterans who are homeless especially vietnam era soldiers.
As a country we do not do enough to support those who have fought protecting our freedom. That is absolutely disgusting to me.

 

[wingman00]

On the British side we have men and women fighting with out of date equipment. Equipment shortages and probably the poorest source of care for its wounded in the world.

That's not the soldiers fault. It's the politicians fault, who I think few can be proud of.

 

[curiousWAN]

In the past if a man died for his country in a time of war he was a hero, it was accepted and the rest were supported,

falsely. stupidly. you should just take the wife and kids and move somewhere better, if you can. it wasn't you who started it all, it wasn't you who first supported usame bin laden then backstabbed him and make him an enemy to yourself. (just an example) you were just living there, most probably getting milked by all sorts of taxes nice and easy until that point. but then all of sudden, someone with a funny hat, point his finger to you with accusing eyes like, are you a traitor!!!??? fight for your country!!!

 

[tr1ckster]

As a norwegian I'm very proud of our military.

 

[bodie54]

Yes

You can always be proud of the fighting men and women who are standing up to faithfully and honorably defend your colors.

It's the creators of bad policy who let us down, not those charged with implementing it.

My sentiments exactly.

 

[wingman00]

As a norwegian I'm very proud of our military.

Same here.
not proud of our underfunding government.
They do their very best with what they got.

 

[Jagger69]

I am very proud of America's military and the brave men and women who faithfully serve and protect not only our great nation, but those who seek equality and freedom throughout the world.

As Hot Mega referred to, if only I could say the same about our government!

 

[sidewinder101]

I am a retired USAF Veteran myself (E-6 TSgt) over all I am proud of all our soldiers sailors and airman. The only regrets I have is how Kirtland AFB NM officials screwed me out of not offering me a formal retirement ceremony then making up excuses why they denied me one.

 

[Roughneck]

This thread is hilarious.

God forbid demand of the likes of WW2 was ever placed on the military today.

Yes. God forbid we carpet bomb entire cities and slaughter by the millions...

In the past if a man died for his country in a time of war he was a hero, it was accepted and the rest were supported

Yeah, tell that to the veterans of the First World War - cousins practically slaughtering cousins. What was the point of that fucking bloodbath? Monstrous, colossal stupidity if you ask me.

nowadays a world of weeping mothers cry for the safe return of men who enlisted in a organisation whose primary task is to fight.

Mothers have always wept for their children during war - it's nothing new. Ol' Gimlet Eye Major General Smedley Butler once said:

"Now - you Mothers, particularly! The only way you can resist all this war hysteria and beating of tom-toms is by asserting the love you bear your boys. When you listen to some well worded, some well-delivered war speech, just remember it's nothing but sound. No amount of sound can make up to you for the loss of your boy. After you've heard one of those speeches and your blood's all hot and you want to bite somebody like Hitler .- go upstairs to where your boy's asleep.. . . Look at him. Put your hand on that spot on the back of his neck. The place you used to love to kiss when he was a baby. Just rub it a little. You won't wake him up, he knows it's you. Just look at his strong, fine young body because only the best boys are chosen for war. Look at this splendid young creature who's part of yourself, then close you eyes for a moment and I'll tell you what can happen....

Somewhere-five thousand miles from home. Night. Darkness. Cold. A drizzling rain. The noise is terrific. All Hell has broken loose. A star shell burst in the air. Its unearthly flare lights up the muddy field. There's a lot of tangled rusty barbed wires out there and a boy hanging over them-his stomach ripped out, and he's feebly calling for help and water. His lips are white and drawn. He's in agony.

There's your boy. The same boy who's lying in bed tonight. The same boy who trusts you.. . . Are you going to run out on him? Are you going to let someone beat a drum or blow a bugle and make him chase after it? Thank God, this is a Democracy and by your voice and your vote you can save your boy."

In early 1940, Smedley Butler wrote: "I feel sure there is no use talking any more about this war business. The people of America are fools. If they want to have their children shot in order to keep Franklin Roosevelt on a pedestal, they will just have to do it."


The problem with much of the West today, is they've forgotten how terrible war is. Their soils haven't been soaked in blood in so many years, their youth and their leaders have forgotten the horrors. It's far easier to think of war when the fightin' and killin' is going off in lands with unpronounceable names .... but it's a different story when it's happening on your front yards.

And no amount of memorials and statues and parades will ever cure that mentality.

"It's good that war is so terrible - lest we should grow too fond of it" - Robert E. Lee.

cheers,

 

[sidewinder101]

Keep in mind most elected officials including our President do NOT have A DD 214 in there records.

 

[Skyraider22]

I very proud of them they are willing laying their life on the line for me and they don't know me I'm more than proud of them just think about that I no longer have family in the military and their are men and women going to war for a country and for a people and how many of the people in that country they know just a handful outside their family I'm damn proud of them:hatsoff::thumbsup::glugglug:

 

[Boobinator]

Roughneck pretty much summed up my thoughts about war.

War is a horrible, gruesome thing. It's a destructive hell. I've seen plenty of real war pictures. Those that aren't published in any mainstream media because they're deemed too graphic and offensive. Even seeing it behind a computer screen makes me demoralized, I couldn't imagine witnessing it in reality.
Faces torn up by grenade shrapnel, burnt bodies and mutilation is far from the cosmetic Hollywood-image of warfare, where you die from a stylized blot of red color on your jacket.

Aware of all this, I find it very hard to be proud of anything about warfare. It's a bane of mankind and nothing but a curse upon civilization. It makes me glad that more and more people question the meaning of military, and the reasoning behind warfare. Although I am realistic, and know that sometimes a war can be fought for an inevitable reason (such as defending against the Germans in WW2), future generations shouldn't be exposed to such experiences in vain. All it does is breed hate.

Soldiers are humans as well. Sometimes I despise them (and I could never understand what some soldiers do in warzones), sometimes they have my understanding. But holding them responsible for being the executive force in global politics is ignorant.
That said, they don't make me the least proud. They make me misanthropic, because they're a constant reminder of young lives going to waste.

With the risk of upsetting a lot of Americans on this board. My theory is that the reason because Americans in the latter part of this century have been more keen on waging wars than the Europeans lies in our very different past. Americans have not seen many great wars (apart from the Civil War) fought at their soil, nor do they carry the history of killing of Europe. Ever since states began emerging here this continent has been a cauldron of political violence and we've been killing each others in dozens of millions. It all reached its climax in World War II, when we saw proud cities turned into dust over a few years. What had taken hundreds of years to construct crumbled in minutes.

Children from these days are still alive, and they bear with them this heritage of misery tied to warfare. So whereas war in America is more often associated with heroism, noble causes and spreading democracy, in Europe it's associated with poverty, destruction, hopelessness and hate - the true face of war. Perhaps this is about to change, but there still seems to be quite a large support for the ongoing war in the Middle East. But perhaps the US should understand why countries like France, Germany or Italy aren't just shipping down soldiers on the next train to Iraq.

My :2 cents: , by no means any hating towards Americans intended, just a reflection of mine

 

[24788]

I don't care what anyone says. I'll always be proud of the U.S. Military.

 

[Vanilla Bear]

Thread Closed at the thread starter's request!