[rcecale]

Maybe things have changed since I retired from the Corps, but can somebody tell me exactly when our men and women serving in the military became merely "children"?

To hear people like MM talk about them, they are nothing more than lambs being sent to slaughter, with no idea what they are doing. This, I can assure you, is far from the truth.

Training, training, training. This is what these people do. For those of you in southern California, how often can you drive down I-5, between Orange County and San Diego, and NOT see training exercises going on? How often do you have a day when tere is not the sound of F/A-18 fighter jets overhead. How often do you not hear the distant thunder of artillery round or tank firing, from inside Camp Pendelton? These are the sounds of men and women being trained to do their jobs.

I speak of So. Cal, because that is where the majority of my stateside service was. The same sounds can be heard all over this country. The stealth bombers at Whiteman AFB in Missouri. The F-15's and F-16's at Nellis AFB in Las Vegas. The fighters and bombers at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma City. The Navy ships coming and going from Norfolk and San Diego. This is what these people have been trained to do.

Nobody joins the military to die, that's a given. the people that DO join are, however, aware of that possibility. Like Bryanthompson said above. It's the same thing as a policeman or a firefighter, or anybody else who's profession carries that element of danger. The training is designed to keep that to a minimum. Nobody wants anyone to die, but unfortunately, it is the nature of the beast.

Today we have an all-volunteer force, made up of men and women who have made this choice themselves. Nobody has raided their homes and forced them to enlist or be commissioned. they serve of their own free will. will we have casualties in war? Absolutely! Are the casualties poor little lams who unwittingly were led to their slaughter? Absolutely not!

For Moore and his kind to portray them as such is nothing but an insult to those who serve, and those who have served. Moore certainly has the right to speak his mind, don't get me wrong. As much as it pains me to listen to him spew forth his drivel, I respect the fact that he is well withiin his rights to do so. Just know, however, that he has no first hand knowledge of what he speaks, period!

And for what it's worth, I am one veteran who is tired of listening to his diarhea of the mouth! He needs to find another "victim" to champion!

rant over...