Topic: wifes son is going over to the "sandbox"

[fuzzybutt]

john has been in the navy for about 6 years now and is in airframe maintenance, the military version of the dc-9 i think and recently told his mom and i he volunteered for special training because he wants to go to the "sandbox" we dont know what country, we WONT know which one in fact till he's home, but thats not why i started this thread. i have nothing but respect for our military people and the job they do, i actually signed up for the marines on a delayed entry when i was in high school (got hurt bad skiing and that was that) but i think that virginia and i are really struggling why he's doing this. his wife (an MP) has done 2 tours in the middle east and one at gitmo and he seems to think this is something he needs to do. my wife (and me since we got married) have supported just about every thing her kids have done but again, we are really struggling with why he would WANT to go there. i'm no coward but i know i wouldnt want to go there, though i would gladly do it if i were military as it would have been my duty and something i signed up for, but given a choice, no way in hell would i set foot over there. can any of you military, or maybe ex military possibly give us some insight to this? we dont feel like we should discuss it like this with her son as eventually, we would tell him we are really upset about him doing this and lord knows, he doesnt need that on his mind. we are taking his cat in for the 14-18 months he'll be gone, just like what we did for his then fiancee when she went and nobody was there to kittysit for MissKitty and we had her for 27 months ending this past year.

[Inigo Montoya]

More power to him but I see where you are coming from. WHY would someone WANT to go there? My personal feeling is that we just need to let the sandbox dwellers blow themselves up but that is neither here nor there.

Lets just hope he comes back in one piece with his health and mind intact.

[nokrome]

I spent six years in the marine corps and can tell you that he probably is seeing a lot of his fellow service men going over and coming back and feels that he wants to do his part.......call it a sense of duty
     what kind of "special training" did he sign up for ?
     

[fuzzybutt]

he wont say what it is, we THINK it's something to do with prison security but we have no way of knowing for sure.

[kghost]

No one wants to get left out Fuzzy.....

Not going makes him feel like the last kid picked for the team.

[myhondas]

Fuzz,

I also signed up for the Navy in 68 & only had to sign my name and say "I do". My father talked me out of it at the moment and then I got word that my idol, hero, person who I most wanted to be like had been killed in Nam. He dropped out of college and joined the army. After boot, he was recommended for OCS. Graduated third in his class. Then recommended for Ranger School and graduated second in his class. Green Beret and sent out into the field to live with the montagards. One of the villagers was a vc and killed him and his partner in the camp. What a waste! But it was what he determined was his duty and was more important to him than life itself. He died with Honor, little or no glory and doing what he saw as his destiny. I stayed in college and did not go into the service cause I realized that I did not feel the same way he did and could not emulate him in that way. So I understand how he feels since he is in the service and believes that his duty lies over there. Just support him and understand that it is what he wants to do, right or wrong in your eyes, and he will hopefully come back at the end of his tour with some great stories and experiences and sense of accomplishment.

[fuzzybutt]

we dont feel that he's wrong for doing it, quite the opposite in fact. living in the town we do, ALOT of if not most of my friends are military, ex military or have family members in the military, thats a fact of life here in Columbia. i guess maybe my self-preservation instinct is alot stronger since i got hurt 2 years ago. i think i'd have tried to join the military when we went to iraq back in 2003 if i wasnt too old by then.

[tramp]

gotta prove himself
tough choice
good luck to him

[demon78]

Hey fuzzy I remember being in and wanting to go to places like the Gaza Strip or Cyprus because that's where the action was and I was just hard enough to handle it, the Canadian Government in it's infinite wisdom decided not to send me there by making sure there was no meltdown to WW3, then I got a little older. If your friends are going, if you're peers are going, you want to do it to, that's probably why so many men died in the trenches in WW1, rational thought hasn't much to do with it.
Bill the demon.

[azuredesign]

Fuzzy,

This is a tough role as a parent. Our dear friend's son enlisted at 17 and after 10 years is a ranger, and has done 3 tours in Afganistan. I worry about that kid when he's there, I don't know how hard it is for his mom, or his wife and son, but it's not easy. Hang in there, and I hope to hear that your kid found a great civilian job based on his military experience sometime in the future.

[gerhed]

Fuzz,

It's his time.
If you're in the service--where's the action--where are the other guys paying the price?
If your not there--what's the point ?

I felt that way 40 years ago and I know my parents suffered.

Even today--If I'm talking to a guy my age, who did not serve, I wonder to
myself "where the f*&k were you, man'--"It was your time"

Phil

[Caaveman82]

Fuzz,

    I did one four year enlistment in the Marine Corps ending in May of 06. I did two tours in Iraq. One was a year and the other was 7 months. For one thing Navy and Marines work hand in hand all the time, seeing as how the Marine Corps is an offshoot of the Navy. So factor that in. Maybe his friends were all going to go over. You can't let your best buddy go over by himself. Just can't. My friend and I were together since boot camp, first duty station in Okinawa together. Same unit in Camp Pendleton. It was awesome. When our tour in Okinawa was coming to an end was right about the time we dropped bombs on Baghdad. We were sitting in the chow hall eating lunch and a staff seargent ran in and told us all to report back to our units. Unfortunatly my buddy was in a different unit I fought and fought and fought to get put with him, luckily they needed some heavy equipment opperators for their convoys. We put our lives on hold and went to Iraq for a year the next day. The point is the military instills a sence of brotherhood in you. You look out for the guys to your left and your right with your life and visa versa.

    Also anyone who is joining up right now automatically gets the national defence ribbon and the operation iraqi freedom campaign ribbon. There is a lot of pressure within the branches to actually earn those ribbons. Some of the salty dogs will give you a lot of crap if you are putting those ribbons on your uniform and you've never been. So that could be another factor. I am not saying he is weak and giving in to peer pressure but it's a little more harsh and pressing than peer pressure.

     All in all man he is a man now and he needs to get it figured out for himself. I am sure you know this as I am sure you went through this with your folks, I know I did and honestly I don't know anyone who has not. I don't believe in this war but I believe in my country and that is why I enlisted after 9/11. This is an awesome country we live in and I was more than happy to serve it, I feel shame sometimes, a lot actually, for things I did in Iraq, but in the end I try to hold my head up high because I DO love my country, plain and simple, and isn't life all about standing up for the things you love and believe in?

     If you want to Fuzz, or if you even know where is training is taking place I could find out where he is and what he is up to. I've still got a lot of friends in the Corps. A lot of friends...

     Any way man, good luck with all this and my thoughts are with him. I have mucho respect for your son. Anyone who is willing to go over there and put it on the line for their country is an alright man in my book.