Well brother,
sounds like things aren't goin so well. You know the old saying though. So if things are still a tad too titchy down there. How about you come up here for a spell. I'll be leaving for round 2 this summer (same exact place only not so much with the tents) and it'd be nice to see an old friend before wheels up.

-Jon Stormm
-"Take my love, take land, leave me in Afghanistan, I don't care, I'm still free, you can't take the sky from me"-

Static, I'm so sorry to hear that you are struggling. So often there aren't easy answers, or simple solutions to make things right - just moving forward, seeking help when you need it, and striving to be the person you want to be.

One develops strategies to deal with the realities of war, but these strategies do not necesarily serve one well once home. Human beings have been warring since our earliest days, it is part of our nature. But as our societies become more complex, the discrepancy between the reality for those fighting, and the reality of those at home, grows wider and wider. On one level, this is a good thing... the students, the "Fuck the Troops"ers, and even the soldiers' loved ones, are not exposed to the threat, the horror, or the pain of war. But the downside is that those who are, are changed in a way that those at home cannot relate to.

I am sorry for your sacrifice, as well as unendingly grateful. I remember reading your posts from Afghanistan, wishing for your safety and well being, and being thankful for your service. I am glad that you are here, sharing your thoughts and experiences with us all, painful though they may be.

I hope you find your way.

As a teacher I have to say it doesn't speak well of my profession that children have chosen to express such hatred of the very millitary that makes them free to express their pathetic and misguided opinions. A Hero is anyone who did what had to be done despite the cost to themselves and as this world is a bit short of heros, I for one am glad you aren't listed among the dead. Nothing can give you back what you had, but maybe you can get something else that's worthwhile instead.

Static, my friend, I feel that I can never repay the debt that I owe you. For I have sat here safe while you have risked your life, and more, for me.

But I have seen the effects that war can have. My father survived World War II, but not entirely intact. I never knew the man he might have been. I had cousins in Vietnam. I saw the bloody images on the news every night when I was a boy of eight or ten, wondering if one of those line of body bags contained my cousins.

War is a horrible thing, and it should not be glorified, especially by those who never experienced it.

But the brave people who go to fight? Yes, they need to be remembered and honored!

I hope you find a measure of peace.

As a Canadian, I don't celebrate Memorial Day when my American compatriots do (May 28 vs. Nov. 11 aka Remembrance Day). Still...as the grandchild of a Second World War veteran, it pains me to see people flagrantly ignore days of remembrance like Memorial Day or Rembrance Day because they never had to live through events like my grandfather did. Some people, like Unwashed, feel that only those who fell during "just" wars should be honoured. To that, I say simply: No war is just!

No war is honourable in the way people wanna portray it, nor is it something to be encouraged. However, that does not mean the sacrifices made by countless generations of people all over the world should go unrecognized. As a Canadian, I don't celebrate Memorial Day when my American compatriots do (May 28 vs. Nov. 11 aka Remembrance Day). Still...as the grandchild of a Second World War veteran, it pains me to see people flagrantly ignore days of remembrance like Memorial Day or Remembrance Day because they never had to live through events like my grandfather did. Some people, like Unwashed, feel that only those who fell during "just" wars should be honoured. To that, I say simply: No war is just!

No war is honourable in the way people want to portray it, nor is it something to be encouraged. However, that does not mean the sacrifices made by countless generations of people all over the world should go unrecognized. War is Hell on Earth multiplied by several factors of 10, but that doesn't stop people like my grandfather and his comrades in arms from all branches of the military from taking a sacred oath to defend the innocent from those wishing to cause harm...even those innocent people wish to spit on them for participating in conflicts deemed immoral or pointless.

Honestly, even here in Canada, national days of remembrance are frequently given only a cursory thought or two. Some members of my generation (Generation X and onwards) either can’t recall life before the fall of the Soviet Union or never lived with even the possibility of the Cold War going Hot (capitalized for official military referential emphasis) due to actions taken by either the United States or the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics. People want to stop remembering fallen soldiers, since such thoughts only seem to lead to further conflict…in their opinion. To such an assertion, I say “Bullshit” vehemently and respond that history is cyclical in nature, with events repeating themselves decades or centuries later. Humanity suffers from war because we feel one of the only ways to instigate change is to use violence against our metaphorical brothers and sisters to instil fear and to eliminate opposition.

“Firefly” and “Serenity” take up this point with the intended similarities between the American Civil War – or any civil war for that matter – and the Unification War that Mal and Zoë fought in before the series occurred. 500 years from now will be the first year of the supposed conflict...5 centuries and we still have not supposedly solved our differences enough that armed conflict still presents itself as a viable option.

Really, my argument is this: while governments and causes come and go as our collectives whims flap in the breeze, the sacrifices made by our loved ones and friends in an attempt – regardless of how misguided their efforts might come to be seen in later years – to preserve a desired way of life are important legacies to our descendants. Remembering names and places and events long passed may seem pointless now…but how will we know the mistakes made in the past so they can be avoided in the future?

Static...I have not served my country in the way you have. More’s the pity, I suppose, when it comes to that fact. However, regardless of my current lack of service and comparable experiences, I still hope that I can offer you my deepest thanks for dedicating even a small portion of your life to defending your home and loved ones by wearing the uniform of a branch of the United States Armed Forces (your words make me presume you are an American), as my grandfather did in a time of great crisis and need. While I cannot fathom the horrors you have probably seen while in military, I feel that the sacrifices you have made will get you to Valhalla some day…and that you will be granted even a tiny ounce of peace so that you may be repaid for all the blood, sweat and tears you gave up to make at least one person’s life a tiny bit better.

BlueEyedBrigadier

I'm not in the military and I don't plan on joining, but I do come from a long military background. I don't understand when people bitch about the troops--I respect someone that's willing to put their life on the line for this country. I also think the present war is ridiculous, but I'm not going to shun those that fought/are fighting because that's even more ridiculous. Saying "Fuck the Troops" is lame. It's not the like the soldiers decide where and when and how they're going to fight--that's the President and/or Congress's job. So say "Fuck the President" or "Fuck Congress" if you aren't happy about what's happening, but not the soldiers.

People piss me off.

Aye, it makes me sick as well that people hear the same word year after year - 'Memorial' - and don't even stop to think about what it means. I always try to take some time on this day, to reflect and to say a prayer for they who fell for their country in places they couldn't pronounce. It's dreadfully ironic that many people who whinge and whine about their human rights being violated are the same people who don't give a good gorram about who laid down life and limb to make sure they still had those rights. I can still remember high-school classmates laughing and joking about what the 'D' in 'D-Day' stood for and my history teacher sternly telling them, "9,000 American soldiers died in that invasion, I'm *so* glad you find that funny."

There was a day once when I probably could have told you where you might think about going to find peace. Alas, since then I've entered the real world and learned that those places aren't as many as I'd hoped. But for what it's worth, I think you still have a chance at finding it and that's why you're still amongst the living. I know it's nowhere in sight right now, and that there are some feelings some people aren't meant to have. Like you say, though, you weren't destined for Valhalla, and that's not nothing. It means that peace of mind, one of those things you've fought for, still exists for you even if you haven't found it yet. I search for it, I find it, then I lose it and then I find it again. Where? Usually in doing hard work and doing it well, and going home at day's end with the satisfaction of a job well done.

Don't know your religious preference, but I'll say a prayer for you along with those who went before you. Hope that means something.