Our Soldiers Speak
During the wicked frenzy enveloping this election season, I think we tend to forget the very real experience of the American soldier.
I remind my readers that almost every recent political thought I have is based upon my genuine caring for the individual safety of each of their precious lives.
Often, I realize that I sound irreverent about the Bush administration, and I realize that sort of public behavior is not allowed within the ranks of active American military service. My irreverence is wholly packed with the punch of truth. I am grateful for the fact that our men and women of the armed forces serve our nation trustingly and loyally and to them, I am reflecting that essence for which I know they risk everything. By exercising the right and privilege to speak as a free and honest American citizen, a large part of my goal is to watch over these soldiers and to ensure they are being given a fair shake by the government they serve to protect. I know theiir lives depend upon the stability and wisdom of their commander in chief.
Today, I honor the following websites--all written by members, past or present, of our Armed Forces:
http://www.voiceofaveteran.blogspot.com/-I got to know Vet when we mutually supported Howard Dean's candidacy. He is an important rational voice in the blogging community.
http://cbftw.blogspot.com/ - Colby (aka CB) is stationed in Mosul with the Stryker brigade. He writes with the heart of the philosopher. He was cut off from blogging by the powers that be for a short time, but now he's back.
http://docinthebox.blogspot.com/ - Sean is a Navy medic. He's articulate and his writing is very well thought out. (Even though he dreads what his high school English teacher might think if she were to gaze upon his blog).
http://lt-smash.us/ - Iraq war veteran and war blogger, now he's a stateside citizen. He has a group called Protest Warriors. Go here for a sample of his thoughts and the discourse that follows in the Comments section.
http://sgtstryker.com.cr.sabren.com/ SSDB-A collaborative blog discussing the conflict day-today. Pay Stryker, Kevin Connors, Sgt. Mom, and Sparkey a visit. Good, honest writing.
http://www.dogtulosba.com/ I got to know Chad when he came to Iddybud to straighten me out on my military terminology. He's the expert, and I deferred to him. I also became a fan. Note: Chad gets my vote for the category of 'Best blogger smile'. ;)
http://www.cimoli.com/blog/cimoli_blog - Gordo is a US Army Aviator. He's been in the Army since August 1988 and has been all over the world from Panama to Canada. In iraq now, Gordo recently expressed concern that his unit's embedded reporter, CBS Bob, is leaving to head back to the states. He was their link to the world--he had the sattelite internet connection and could keep the soldiers up to date on what was going on in the world.
http://livefromiraq.blogspot.com/ -Sorry, folks. He's been shut down and shut up.
http://soldierslifeafteriraq.blogspot.com/ -There is a new blog on the horizon written about a soldier and his experiences by his wife. It's called Reaching Out.
http://scrimshaw.blogspot.com/ -91 Ghost- A literary vet, who recently wrote: "Say a little prayer that our enemies shall be defeated, that our Republic shall flourish in the light of its Constitutional intentions and guidances, and that our leaders, whomsoever they may be, will have the wisdom and discretion to do the right thing, whatever that may be...and say a little prayer that our politicians, on either side of the aisle, will defer to our war chiefs when it comes to making war decisions...because this situation we are in, is not a football game. Say a little prayer, above all, for the soldier walking point tonight, and for the soldier laying up in Walter Reed tonight, and for those whose last sight on earth was of a mzzle flash in some slum in Iraq, and not the fields they called home."
"If the coalition were to just pick up and go would the insurgency stop altogether? I mean these people have some plan right? I only wonder what their objective mission is? Seems to me that they are killing more of their own people then ours. If I take CNN's word for it, they killed 40 of their own and just 1 US Soldier today. So is it about the Coalition being there? Now when I say one of their own, I mean of Arab descendent. We all know that the insurgency is not just Iraqi's.
I couldn't imagine what goes through their thick stinking skulls as they are planning this shit. Do they really justify killing woman and children? Do they chalk it up as a casualty of war and Allah will compensate them when they go to Heaven?
I wonder what would make it all go away? I can bet that if we just left it wouldn't!"
--American Soldier, 30 September 2004
http://www.soldierlife.blogspot.com/ -American Soldier states: "
I sacrifice so others may never have to face war or adversity that plagues this nation that we live in."
http://www.lewrockwell.com/kwiatkowski/kwiatkowski-arch.html -Karen Kwiatkowski recently retired from the active duty USAF as a Lieutenant Colonel. Her final assignment was as a political-military affairs officer in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Under Secretary for Policy, in the Sub-Saharan Africa and Near East South Asia (NESA) Policy directorates. Her work can be viewed at Lew Rockwell's website.
http://www.hackworth.com/ -David Hackworth's military career as a sailor, soldier and a military writer has spanned several dozen wars and conflicts, from the end of World War II to the first Gulf War to the present situation in Iraq -- which he describes as “
the biggest military miscalculation in our nation’s history.”
http://www.ivaw.net/ -Iraq Veterans Against the War(IVAW) is currently working on a nation wide speaking tour and participated in the October 2nd Vigil in Washington D.C., with speakers including Lila Lipscombe, who was a mother of a soldier who was killed in Iraq. I saw the entire event on CSPAN and found it to be very moving, but it never made the news, most curiously. Other than CSPAN, the media was dead-silent.
