Stripes letters from our troops: "Not Reserved in How We'll Vote"

[lebkuchen]

Oct. 7, 2003

<snip>

As for those who say, “If you don’t like it, get out,” from what I’ve been
hearing around Iraq, that’s going to happen. Our voices will also be heard in
November 2004. All the governors and senators of our home states will also
hear our voices in the future for not trying to get us out of here.

Sgt. Christopher Clark
Baghdad, Iraq

http://estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=17952


Oct. 6, 2003

<snip>

I know I don’t have the worst story around, and I’m definitely not the only
legitimate hardship case. But I do know when I’m being lied to and kept in the
dark. I’m sick of not being told anything, being lied to continuously about what
can and can’t be done, and not being stood up for by my appointed leaders. If
readers have similar problems, I encourage them to raise hell, question their
leaders and put their problems on their leaders’ consciences.

I will leave the military an angry, financially ruined man come next April, and I
will never, ever endorse the Army as a career choice to anyone. I truly regret
ever enlisting in the National Guard. If retaliation for this letter comes upon
me, so be it. I’ve done nothing but spoken the whole truth. God bless every
soldier in this quagmire. I pray for them all every day.

Spc. Kevin M. Rogers
Camp Arlington, Kuwait

http://estripes.com/article.asp?section=125&article=17951

[NewYorkerfromMass]

1. "God bless every soldier in this quagmire"

wow. That really hit me. :-(

[fknobbit]

2. Active and reserve military are not alone.

The active, reserved and retired military are very quickly becoming an awsome voting block for the first time ever and are demanding answers from the Republican leadership. GWB is about to feel the wrath of 25,000,000 pissed off voters in 2004. This is one of the many articals by John youmans a staff writer at supportthevets.com



http://supportthevets.com/youmans4.htm


I have been attempting for over a month to find out what happens to the money DOD deducts from more than 800,000 disabled vets every month? It totals approximately $5 billion annually. It seems like a fairly simple question to answer, but I can’t get one.

The Military Retirement Fund was established in 1984 and US Code Title 10, Chapter 74, Sections 1461 through 1467, requires the Secretary of Defense annually to budget the full cost of military retirement pay. However, there is nothing in these chapters instructing the Secretary to deduct from his budget the money DOD deducts from the pay checks of disabled retired veterans. Where does it go? What is it spent on? Is the money in a slush fund for DOD to spend as it wishes, an account DOD does not have to justify spending to Congress?

[SodoffBush]

3. This letter caught my eye in the Oct. 6 bunch

How many are in the Reserves and Guard? Bush can kiss their vote goodbye from what I'm reading in these letters.

(excerpt)

We don’t believe anything the Army or our unit says to us. We’ve been shafted so much since we were thrown into a unit for deployment. Trust is not an option. I guess the Army forgot its Army values.

We will be apart from our loved ones longer than our active-duty brothers. If our active duty counterparts like it so much, stop loss them and let the guys whose ETS dates have come and gone go home. I can guarantee that most of us will never re-enlist again.

Sgt. Darrell Miller
Kuwait