"Oh I'll never be happy, no I'll never be free, til I done the Army like the Army done me!"

Your theme song George? :~D

George Vreeland Hill is right.
I know his blogs, posts, letters, whatever can piss people off.
I have read them here and there.
A lot of readers like what he says.
I think the war has gone bad, and that sports guys family was pissed on and jerked around by the army.
My uncle served in the Navy and a couple of guys he served with complain about their health benefits, or lack of it.
The Navy fills guys with bullcrap to get them to join.
The service stinks, but I love my country.
I think GVH loves it too.
I think he is really sick of the service crap of bull, and Bush.
Major Bush hater.

Margo: Yeah, no one should be in the U.S. Military, you would love that wouldn't you. I wonder which freedoms you would enjoy losing first.

OF course, you and George would applaud and cheer the loss of many freedoms... until they started to effect yours... then you would whine like a stuck pig.

HBW couldn't let this one pass. Heeheeheeeee. That's my boy...ditto what he said...couldn't have said it better.

LifeHappens...that's my girl...proud to tears of her.

Toothache and his girl...they are mine, too, and boy did he lay the wood to the theme's premise...way to go, Jimbo...proud of you...

As for the idiot who wrote this piece...eat crap and die...yours truly, 1SG James E. Big Fat Daddy.

JJ, MM, TW, LW, Ted, and the rest. Good on ya.

Sometimes the diplomacy just isn't there, ya know?

To add a little balance. When I left the marines I was a hurt puppy, the government refused to give me medical care because there was no documentation of my being wounded. It happens when you do stuff off the books. Three months later I get a call from a friend in the agency and he asks how I am doing and I tell him of my heart trouble. A month later I get a check in the mail. Suddenly I am in the VA system fully covered for my injuries and disability payments as well. The VA has treated me well and with respect. My buddy calls me up again I tell him what happened and he laughs. The last thing he said before he hung up was we take care of our own. Uncle Sam has been bery, bery good to me. He as never called me again.

George is correct.

I served, and I get little in return.

And I stand in line behind illegals to get less than them.

you good sire, just got screwd. Try to find a way to help the situation, like maybe rtake a college course so you can get a better job. If you already have a good job and a college education then I will shut up because I did not know.

I am so sorry, I did not know civil or military service was suppose to do anything more that serve your country. You served, you got out, and you go on with your life. You are not supposed to get any special treatment because you served your country. I am currently serving again this time in civil service rather than military service. I do my job and get paid. Uncle Sam thanks me twice a month for my service.

I served 28 years, my wife 22. Our son and daughter-in-law are almost at 8 years. Six of our seven kids were either born in military hospitals, or civilian hospitals courtesy of Champus (yes I am that old) or Tri-Care at no or very little cost to us. Our 6th child was born with severe birth defects, and spent almost the first 2 years of his life in and out of Children's Hospital, at no cost, including visiting nurse care. That service is now paying for 2 of our kids college education, and will cover the youngest 2 in the next 3 years. Our service son and daughter-in-law are attending Georgetown through the military. Our oldest 2 worked and we toughed it out to cover college for them since neither of us was retired yet, and benefits were'nt available then.

My wife is using her Vocational Rehab benefits to become a Nurse Practitioner. We have available to us, per our qualification through the VA:  VA Home Loan, Small Business Loan, Vocational Rehab Training, Home Improvement Loan, Disabled Vet Home Improvement Loan, Debt Consolidation Loan, and the GI Bill for school just to name a few. Oh, and let me not forget the Veteran's Preference for Government jobs,and Government Contractor jobs, that's emplying us both at present. Nevermind the almost 5k per month between us for the rest of our lives from our retired pensions and disability pensions. I am 51 and my wife is 44. We have a conventional mortgage on our home, but will probably use the VA Home Loan when we actually retire completely.

Granted, things such as the pension are only available to career retirees, but the vast majority are available to just about every honorably discharged veteran, usually after 4 years of service, (some only after 180 days of active duty!). You just have to get off your butt and go see the VA. Yes there is a lot of red tape and hassle, but the www has streamlined that from the bad old days.

Yes, serving is a risk. Wars kind of go with the job. At the risk of minimizing that risk, I see more people every day taking more risks, repeatedly, by talking on their cell phones on the highway.

So, yeah I guess they're not taking care of me, and I wouldn't encourage anyone to serve.

Edit: By the way, I've had stents put in my arteries, and my wife went through breast cancer, in and out of the military...little or no cost as well.