Marine 1

Well Bush is in Crawford. I was drivin home from work today and what do I see in the air... not just one, but two Marine 1's. Thank God he's not giving a speech at Ft. Hood. Last time he did a lot of people slept thru it. These guys were forced to get out there first thing in the morning and sit in the heat (for hours), in a field until Bush showed.

And this brings me back to my rant on the state of this war. If you've read my post you know I am anti war. I live on base and I have come to know many soldier. First and formost my concern is for them. Most soldiers in the military are seeking security, job security and income security. They have families to support. Right now soldiers are being pushed to the brink. 15 month deployments with short durations home. The first things I have noticed are the psychological effects on them, Depression,anger, PTSD. It's a struggle to have the patience and understanding to deal with it. Your husband comes home and suddenly he's emotionally unpredicable. It takes a toll on the family. The kids really suffer too. Kids act out at school whether its a matter of being unable to express such complex feelings they are experiencing or a need for attention and direction. In the military, contrary to what the military claims, families come last. The war effort is job 1. In fact my neighbors are a dual military family. (Both of them are military) They are in the same unit and are being deployed together. They have a five month old baby. The baby is being sent to an Aunt. She is devastaated. She has asked to be moved to another unit, alas it has fallen on deaf ears. She's willing to deploy. However, she would rather she and her spouse alternate deployments. Her command has refused. It would not be hard to make these arrangements but the war comes first. Many families are in this same situation. In fact I recently read an article where a dual family was deployed at the same time. Their 17 year old child, a high school senior is raising their three children while they are gone. In my view this kid is being forced to grow up at a time when she should be going to prom. The military celebrates this. It actually encourages these types of arrangments. I was stunned.

It's a sad situation where the military is pushing its personel to the brink without much thought the the consequences.