Today was my last day in the US Army

[bijou]

GA Democrat  (500 posts)       Fri Jan-11-08 11:49 PM
Original message
Today was my last day in the US Army
 Approximately six months ago I was informed that because of my PTSD, neck and head injuries and chronic migraines (all because of my two combat tours of Iraq) I was going in front of a medical board. At the time I was crushed and all that I had worked for was now gone. I was asking myself, how can you take a soldier who gave everything (except his breathing) for this country and make him worse? That's the way I felt back then. In 15 minutes I will officially be a civilian and my time in service will be over. I leave this army as a 32 year old medical retiree with full benefits and pay for life. Hundreds of your private messages helped me through these hard times.

Thank you DU.

SSG C

“The soldier, above all other people, prays for peace, for he must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scars of war.”
 

link

[franksolich]

Not to sound mildly dubious, but why would a 500-posts primitive get "hundreds" of personal messages from primitives, given that it takes thousands of posts to gain credibility among the unwashed?

[TheSarge]

Not to sound mildly dubious, but why would a 500-posts primitive get "hundreds" of personal messages from primitives, given that it takes thousands of posts to gain credibility among the unwashed?

The primatives tend to respond faster and in a more positive way to people who play into their favorite subjects.  Disgruntled soldiers willing to bad mouth current policy...operations and leaders they assign "credibility" much faster.


That being said...if this guys really was in the military and really is having problems with PTSD I hope he gets help.  The screening process is getting better...but too many soldiers are still fudging on their post deployment questionaires for whatever reason.

[VelvetElvis]

Not to sound mildly dubious, but why would a 500-posts primitive get "hundreds" of personal messages from primitives, given that it takes thousands of posts to gain credibility among the unwashed?

As an active duty soldier, if he used his 500 posts to bash the military, Chimpy, and America, that woulda done the trick.

But they do so support the troops, doncha know.

[MPCOA]

I'm not buying it

PTSD, Head, Neck, and migraines because of two tours?
If you were to really have the physical injuries why not state what actually caused it, like my truck got blown up and I was thrown into the roof?

[Uhhuh35]

I'm not buying it
PTSD, Head, Neck, and migraines because of two tours?
If you were to really have the physical injuries why not state what actually caused it, like my truck got blown up and I was thrown into the roof?

I work with a former Marine who had a tour in Iraq and he has similar injuries. The difference is most of the vets I know are resistant to be tagged with PTSD because they view it as a sort of "scarlet letter". They don't want others to be thinking they're gonna' "wig out" or something.
My friend has bulging discs that he attributes to the heavy load he carried as a Marine. He's no small guy either, 5'11" 230 or so and can bench 300 with ease.

I'm not saying the OP is telling the whole truth, just that there are others with similar problems from the war.

[MPCOA]

This guys post just doesn't add up to me, he is either lying or not giving the whole story. I have known lots of guys who downplayed to stay in and ones to make up the catchalls to get out.

[Papakvapilak]

Going to war, getting hurt, and kicked out of your chosen career can screw up your head.  Reacclimatizing to "The World" can be a bitch for a trooper.  If he's legit, my prayers are with him.  I also hope he doesn't do anything now while he's mentally and spiritually adrift that he'll be ashamed of later.

Like hanging around with DUmmies.

[Rebel]

Papa, troops that are DUers are almost always the types that think they get to pick and choose which war they're fighting in. If he's legit, like you, I sympathize. ....but hey, that's military life. War ain't pretty. Never has been, never will be. There are only two main jobs in the military, kill and support the people that are killing. All the other shit is just political that most troops would rather not be a part of, but that's life. Suck it up and drive on. If I sound like I'm being callous, well, it's because the person that made that post is on a board that is BLATANTLY anti-troop, anti-war, anti-Bush, etc. They only respect soldiers that fall in line with their type of thinking. All others are pawns or Nazis to them, so, to the Staff Sergeant, thank you for your service, but quit ****ing bitching. If you're honestly going to sit idly by on a site where my fellow brethren are berated on a daily basis, and do nothing, **** you.

[Rebel]

GA Democrat  Donating Member  (506 posts)

67. For DUumpster readers
   
I'm here to answer your questions too

1. (franksolich)
"Not to sound mildly dubious, but why would a 500-posts primitive get "hundreds" of personal messages from primitives, given that it takes thousands of posts to gain credibility among the unwashed?"

Maybe because I was a member from day one. If you click on my profile you can see I was a member since 2001.

2. TheSarge

"That being said...if this guys really was in the military and really is having problems with PTSD I hope he gets help. The screening process is getting better...but too many soldiers are still fudging on their post deployment questionaires for whatever reason."

Thank you. I'm trying.

3. VelvetElvis
"As an active duty soldier, if he used his 500 posts to bash the military, Chimpy, and America, that woulda done the trick.

But they do so support the troops, doncha know."

Half of these users are veterans. No I didn't rant against the military or America. Satisfied?

4. MPCOA
"I'm not buying it

PTSD, Head, Neck, and migraines because of two tours?
If you were to really have the physical injuries why not state what actually caused it, like my truck got blown up and I was thrown into the roof?"

Head - combination of being blown up three times and wearing all the gear.
Head - Same (add some depleted uranium from OIF I and you're lucky to only end up with migraines)
PTSD - Do I really have to say it?

5. Uhhuh35
"I work with a former Marine who had a tour in Iraq and he has similar injuries. The difference is most of the vets I know are resistant to be tagged with PTSD because they view it as a sort of "scarlet letter". They don't want others to be thinking they're gonna' "wig out" or something."

Which I did for years. Read my previous posts in a journal. I guess you can't hide this "scarlet letter" forever.

6. MPCOA

"This guys post just doesn't add up to me, he is either lying or not giving the whole story. I have known lots of guys who downplayed to stay in and ones to make up the catchalls to get out."

How's the view of the war from your TV set?

Sorry GA Democrat, half of the posters at DU are NOT veterans. Most, if they say they are, are ****ing posers, NAMELY that Damn moonbat known as TominTib, who said he was the Navy's most decorated sailor during Vietnam. Wanna know how I know? Because when they start a thread about the military they don't know what they're ****ing talking about.

I'm sick and damn tired of reading threads over there at your site about how my brethren are brainwashed, pawns, or ****ing Nazis. Sick and ****ing tired. So, SSG, thank you for your service, but damn you for sitting there on a site that constantly berates our brethren. That doesn't site well with this vet.

By the way, TomInTib, there's an investigation going on right now on you for violating the Stolen Valor Act. Just a heads up you piece of shit.


One more thing, SSG, that MCPOA guy you're talking about being in front of his TV? Well, he's sitting in Baghdad right now. 

[Chris_]

"Just spell my name right."

Looks like we will be the OTHER Site Not To Be named.  If we play our cards right.

[Lord Undies]

Maybe because I was a member from day one. If you click on my profile you can see I was a member since 2001

Then you should be even less known.  There are over 100,000 poster at the DUmp.  Your little 500 posts had to be pretty spread out and meaningless in the vast scheme of the thing known as the DUmp. 

You are a liar.  But then again, you are a mentally ill liberal.  Y'all all lie.  It is the only way your worldview can survive.

[Lord Undies]

Thank you. I'm trying.

No you are not, you liar.  If you were trying you would be as far away from that Cesspool of Idiots who post on Democrat Underground as you could get.

Everyone makes fun of DU.  It is universal.  Y'all are all know to be whacked-out freaks.  But somehow you feel it is noble to associate with those retards.

Yeah, you're trying REAL hard.

[TheSarge]

I've noticed that the normal vile posters from the DUmp are staying away from that thread.

No fake lying-out-their-ass TomInTib's...Proud2BLib hasn't come by to piss on the military...LynnTheDem hasn't come by spewing hate and IanDB1 hasn't offered to give this guy one of his "special" yellow ribbon magnents.

They'll wait til they think everyone is gone to sleep and leave their little puddles on that thread.

[Rebel]

Oh, you mean the yellow ribbon saying "I **** the troops wives"? 

Here's the difference, GA Democrat, you won't EVER see shit like that allowed on this, or any other conservative site.

[TheSarge]

Oh, you mean the yellow ribbon saying "I **** the troops wives"? 

Here's the difference, GA Democrat, you won't EVER see shit like that allowed on this, or any other conservative site.

Bingo!

Perhaps if GA Dem would like to see how his fellow island dwellers feel about the military I can post DistressedAmerican's feelings on the subject.

Wait I don't need to go back in history...he just needs to take a look at the thread where the DUmmies claim kids are signing up to be murderers...you know...the ones that says soldiers should hold signs saying "will kill for food".

[Carl]

Just from some of the threads that have been posted in the DUmpster since it started.

fasttense  (1000+ posts)        Thu Jan-10-08 02:53 PM
Response to Original message
1. With the awful recession we have going in the US,
   it's kind of difficult to avoid the military. For some families, the military is the only way to avoid starvation or becoming a criminal.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2652875

ck4829 (1000+ posts)         Mon Jan-07-08 09:33 AM
Response to Reply #3
5. Yep, there might have been some perfectly good reason why they were doing that   
   Kicking an Iraqi woman on the ground who they already shot, right?

I, too, will wait for more information. But, if it turns out that the Iraqi soldier saved her life from the soldiers, then it will only be one more abuse in a long line of abuses, too many to just say "Oh, it's only some bad apples who are doing it."

Echo In Light (1000+ posts)        Mon Jan-07-08 11:43 AM
Response to Reply #5
17. The problem is, when somebody knows one of the "bad apples," they don't see them as such
   Seriously, when I've gotten into this debate with anyone, the only ones who get defensive about castigating the role of a military occupation are those who have family/friends enlisted. From there the equation is simple to determine. They're in denial that the system intentionally produces "bad apples."

tuckessee (700 posts)        Mon Jan-07-08 12:08 PM
Response to Reply #22
27. Due to the lack of independent reporters in Iraq
   and the fact that the US military has been caught lying about everything we don't know a thing about what's going on in Iraq.

Using your standards, it would impossible to comment on anything.

Echo In Light (1000+ posts)        Mon Jan-07-08 09:11 AM
Response to Original message
2. Just one of a long list of reasons I don't mindlessly "support" the "heroes." Ugh

Bonobo (1000+ posts)        Mon Jan-07-08 09:36 AM
Response to Reply #4
6. You don't think any of our soldiers would do that? Wake up.

DLnyc  (772 posts)         Mon Jan-07-08 10:51 AM
Response to Reply #4
12. I think you are a little quick to excuse
   Given the power balance, the control of the media, and past experience, logic and objectivity says the full story is likely worse, not better. I don't think you really have a clear picture of what happens when you put 130,000 kids into a horribly stressful, violent situation and don't set clear guidelines and limits against brutality. The reality is almost certainly that type of brutality is going on ALL THE TIME in Iraq.

Echo In Light (1000+ posts)        Mon Jan-07-08 11:39 AM
Response to Reply #15
16. Especially ones who join the service as a vehicle to enable acting on their pathology
   ...not to mention the ****ed up brainwashing they receive once they've enlisted: KILL! KILL! KILL!

Jesus saves...

All the above from  http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x2617175

That was easy to find,how much more is there at the site you post at GA Democrat?
Wonder if you did a search on the names of all those thanking you for your service on your thread how many other similar pearls of wisdom you will find them saying?

Welcome to actual reality.

[RedTail]

Oh, you mean the yellow ribbon saying "I **** the troops wives"? 

Here's the difference, GA Democrat, you won't EVER see shit like that allowed on this, or any other conservative site.

And they won't even admit the truth about themselves... Go back to see their posts when Pat Tillman's death was FIRST announced... the contempt they had for that man will make the bile rise...But their backpedaling on him as soon as it came out that he was "questioning the war" and though "Bush was an idiot" was so quick, it left track marks... they totally ignore that he truly loved his country more than himself.

Do the search, GA Dem... Look up the Posts of The Sad Little Pony... wait, you CAN'T! They are gone. This is a group that has silenced ALL those who have held up a mirror to who they really are... troop, civilian, it doesn't matter.

I don't care who you vote for, but to take the viper into your bosom and think you are holding a baby is something that has to be addressed.

*TKay*

[Chris_]

Maybe because I was a member from day one. If you click on my profile you can see I was a member since 2001

Then you should be even less known.  There are over 100,000 poster at the DUmp.  Your little 500 posts had to be pretty spread out and meaningless in the vast scheme of the thing known as the DUmp. 

You are a liar.  But then again, you are a mentally ill liberal.  Y'all all lie.  It is the only way your worldview can survive.

Actually, more of a libertarian these days but thanks.

[Rebel]

Maybe because I was a member from day one. If you click on my profile you can see I was a member since 2001

Then you should be even less known.  There are over 100,000 poster at the DUmp.  Your little 500 posts had to be pretty spread out and meaningless in the vast scheme of the thing known as the DUmp. 

You are a liar.  But then again, you are a mentally ill liberal.  Y'all all lie.  It is the only way your worldview can survive.

Actually, more of a libertarian these days but thanks.

Are you GA Democrat? If so, how do you console posting on a site that's so f'n Anti-troop? ...and please, spare me the "They're Not" routine. I've been reading that rag for years and the only troops they respect and like are the ones that are downing their own country. 

[Chris_]

GA Democrat:
Head - Same (add some depleted uranium from OIF I and you're lucky to only end up with migraines)

How did you get that diagnoses?

[Rebel]

GA Democrat:
Head - Same (add some depleted uranium from OIF I and you're lucky to only end up with migraines)

How did you get that diagnoses?

Damn, I didn't see that comment. How did you get some depleted Uranium? I mean, unless you're an AF guy loading up A-10s, or a tanker handling Sabot rounds, how did you come in contact with depleted Uranium? Not to mention, handling those rounds isn't harmful to you....and if it was, we'd have a SHITLOAD of people ****ed up right now. Tankers not only use'em in combat, but at the target range as well, I.e. at Graf, at Hood, at Stewart, you name it. It's not like the damn things are oozing with Uranium. 

[MPCOA]

You know what **** this guy, I actually read through the thread. I know what ****ing unit he is with and I will even attempt to find out exactly who he is.

BTW his unit has been in Iraq for well over 6 months.

[Chris_]

I'll help you out. Pick up a copy of Thunder Run on Amazon and you'll see my name in there.

[Rebel]

I'll help you out. Pick up a copy of Thunder Run on Amazon and you'll see my name in there.

How do you console the fact that you post on such an anti-troop site, SSG? Look man, no one has problem with you other than the fact that you seem to give people who call us Nazis, babykillers, pawns, and brainwashed, a pass. They don't hide their hatred of troops, yet you turn to them when you need help. Ever wondered why they were so quick to give it? Really? Ever tried to put those two together?