Nephew going back to Iraq, had to buy his own canteen!

[Minimus]

I need to vent.

My nephew did 6 months in Iraq last year. He knew he was going back but they just recently notified him when. It will be before the end of July.

He is in the Navy and has spent the last six months stateside in combat training, machine gun certification, etc. Of course my family kept wondering and worrying about why he was getting this type of training since he is a Navy Sea-Bee. Well, sure enough he has been attached to a Marine unit for this deployment. He will be in a combat zone.

He proposed to his high-school sweetheart when he got back from Iraq last year and they decided to marry before he goes back, so I attended his wedding last weekend. It was so bittersweet, seeing him in his uniform, saying his wedding vows, then announcing to all family and friends at the reception that he would be leaving in a couple of weeks.

Today I called to see how the new couple is doing and I found out they were out shopping. He had to buy a canteen! He did not want to be without one this time around. Apparently the military has a canteen shortage!!!

Please pray, send good vibes, or whatever you believe in his way. His first deployment worried my sister to skin and bones. This deployment will be even worse.

Thanks for listening.

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[babylonsister]

4. Did you ever consider he originally signed up and this

time could be the balance of his enlistment? Man, chill. The guy is young, going back to Iraq for whatever reason, and is not even being issued a damn canteen by our govt? That could be the bigger issue.:eyes:

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

6. Nice. Now crawl back into the cave you came from.

For all we know, he may have signed up under Clinton.

[Minimus]

9. He signed up long before this war and he signed up as a Sea-Bee.

But hey you are entitled to your feelings. Also, I didn't ask for sympathy for him.

[still_one]

15. My thoughts and prayers are with him

I have been opposed to this war from the start, but know who the real villians are, the bush administration, NOT YOUR NEPHEW

Hang in there

[Minimus]

20. Thank you and to all others with kind words.

[AwakeAtLast]

11. Many people have to do more than one tour before their enlistment ends.

A lot of them thought they were done and were called by IRR. Things are not always as they seem.

[ulysses]

12. dumbass comment. n/t

[still_one]

13. I see nothing to indicate that he signed up to go to Iraq

your harsh judgement is totally unfair

Assumming he did sign up to go back also demonstrates your lack of understanding of the whole psychology

Many of the soldiers sign up to go again NOT out of patriotism, but out of loyalty to their comrades. This is a type of brain-washing that the armed forces ingrains into the soldiers

Your lack of sympathy indicates that type of person you are. Have you ever made a mistake, or were you always born with such great wisdom?

[seabeyond]

14. callousness torwards your fellowman........

such an ugly thing. you could have just skipped this thread, but you felt the need to hurt someone. doesnt say anything about this soldier, doesnt say anything about the op, but.....it says a hell of a lot about you

[mike_c]

2. I was behind a family in the checkout line at the market...

...a couple of weeks ago, and they were describing how great a deal their son-- newly graduated from high-school-- got for enlisting in the Marines. The recruiter was honest with him at least. He knew he was going to Iraq after his training. He got a $3000 signing bonus and all he had to buy was "his gear."

[joemurphy]

3. You have my prayers.

The fact that they're now turning combat engineers into infantrymen should tell us all something.

[AwakeAtLast]

5. Sending thoughts and prayers

My husband is in Iraq right now. PM me if you need to vent.

Interestingly, my husband did not need to buy anything before going over and still says he doesn't need anything sent. Of course, he has not been there long, but he still said his unit is fine. I still send care packages, though!

His unit was also attached to an infantry unit. They are training all soldiers to be infantry so that they can fill up the empty spots with anyone they can find. That will push back the draft for a few more years.

Please tell him and his new wife congratulations! Even though this is a tough time, they still deserve to hear it.

[oscar111]

7. 1O9 Trillion is US wealth, so obviously we cant affort canteens for wet

areas like the iraq desert.

http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/current/accessible/l5.htm

see bottom line there for wealth

Top tax slashed from a healthy 9O percent ... truman's time.. to a pathetic 35 percent now.

reaganomics is the root reason for no canteen.

reaganomics... wages now lower than when it began... adjusted for inflation.

TOSS REAGANOMICS. ITS A FLOP.

[katinmn]

8. I'm so sorry he is being sent back!

Your poor sister.

I can't even think about the equipment shortages without going ballistic. After bilions and billions earmarked for equipment they still aren't even getting the basics.

Hope he comes home safe to your family.:hug:

[FloridaPat]

10. I remember when they were trying to get volunteers from the navy

into the army or marines. I guess they found a way. They've had soldiers die of dehydration over there. With no canteens, it's not wonder. My best to your nephew. Hope he makes it back in one peace.

[seabeyond]

16. minimus, always

will be thinking of him and all the soldiers there. thank you for sharing the story. i value these stories, and i value what they go thru, both the coldiers and the families.

[denverbill]

17. What the hell are our taxes paying for anyway?

We've spend more than the next TEN countries in the world COMBINED on military expenditures. Yet our soldiers don't have body armor, enough bullets, armor for their Humvees, night-vision goggles, or even simple canteens. And we don't even have that large of a standing army.

And forget about veterans health care.

The military-industrial complex owns this govt. 'Privatization' is costing taxpayers and members of the military dearly.

Best wishes to your nephew. I can't believe they are sending in the Navy to fight a ground war.

[Minimus]

21. During his first deployment he had to eat MREs for quite some time

before he finally got some real food. I hate when I see that Halliburton commercial about how they are feeding our troops.

[lostnfound]

31. Defense company CEOs averaged $11,297,548 in 2003.

At the top 37 defense companies.
If they each chipped in 2% of their salary, every soldier in Iraq could have an extra $50 to buy canteens, socks, maybe even some bullets with what's left over.

[GreenPartyVoter]

18. I am sorry *hugs and prayers for your family*

[Lisa]

19. an historian friend told me that this is like the Civil War ...

... where the families were expected to buy equipment for the troops. I guess the WH is counting on people being so concerned about their kids being sent back to Iraq, period, that having to buy canteens, dust goggles, flak jackets etc. for them would seem minor by comparison?

I hope your nephew will be okay.

[deadparrot]

22. I'm so sorry.

The military can't even afford canteens for their enlistees?

:scared:

Best wishes for your nephew and family, Minimus.

[scudrunner]

23. My son is a Seabee

He returned from Iraq in April.I know what your family is going thru,and my prayers are with you.I would be interested to know what battalion he is with and where he will be stationed,I try to send care packages to Seabees in Iraq.

My son is with NMCB7 and is currently in Gulfport Ms.

All the best to you and your family

[Minimus]

24. Thank you.

He is stationed in CA and I think it is battalion 3. I don't know much about where in Iraq he will be. He couldn't (and wouldn't) tell us much because he doesn't want to worry us. Though I could tell from his demeanor and a few comments that he was more worried about this deployment.

I remember his first deployment coincided with the SeaBees (7 from FL I think)getting killed by a bomb while standing in formation on their first or second day in Iraq.

That was horrible. All we knew at first were SeaBees were killed and injured but did not know what battalion.

All the news accounts talked of how a SeaBee had not been killed in a war for a long time.

The best to your family too. I hope your son does not have to go back.

[Doc Bottom]

25. anysoldier.us

anysoldier.us is a website to help you find addresses to send little gifts to our soldiers overseas.

One day I discovered that I had a couple of extra copies of some comic-books in my collection. I decided to send them to Iraq, so I checked anysoldier.us

On the site, soldiers can post, thanking folks for their gifts and listing things they would like.

You know what they wanted? Not comic books. Not 'Sports Illustrated'. Not 'Gameboys,' 'Walkmans' compact discs or candy.

What they were asking for is SOCKS. Yep. Socks. And the special shirts that fit under body-armour without chafing.

Socks, for pity's sake.

[cyberpj]

26. thanks for that info, will use it and spread it around...and welcome to DU

:hi:

[cyberpj]

27. New Site address is anysoldier.com

Sergeant Brian Horn from LaPlata, Maryland, an Army Infantry Soldier with the 173rd Airborne Brigade was in the Kirkuk area of Iraq when he started the idea of Any Soldier to help care for his soldiers. He agreed to distribute packages, that came to him with "Attn: Any Soldier" in the address, to the soldiers who were not getting mail.
Brian is in Afghanistan now, and Any Soldier Inc. continues with your support.

Any Soldier Inc. started in August 2003 as a simple family effort to help the soldiers in one Army unit, thus our name. However, due to overwhelming requests, on 1 January 2004 the Any Soldier effort was expanded to include any member, of any of the Armed Services, in harms way.

http://anysoldier.com/

[knitter4democracy]

34. Sickening, isn't it?

They need scrubs for the med units (they only get three sets but not always laundry facilities), they need sunscreen, they need snacks they can carry easily, and they need clothes.

I can't read that site without getting sick. I sent a huge box before Christmas, I felt so guilty that here I am while they're suffering over there, doing what they're being told to do, and it's nasty.

Reminds me: must start that helmet hat I promised . . .

[Miss Chybil]

28. 385 billion dollars and not enough canteens? Call your Congressman.

I'm not kidding. This is ridiculous. You'll be surprised what kind of stuff a Congressman can get accomplished if they know about it and give a hoot. It's worth a shot.

[Booster]

29. My nephew will also be going back in January. He's 20 years in

and really wants to just quit, although I doubt that that is an option under Bush/Rummy. If he quits, he gives up his pension, so he's really bummed out. He was in the 1st Gulf War also, and is a very proud Marine, but he hates this war, and, although I haven't asked him, I'm sure the latest revelations re: his Com. In Chief really disgusts him because my nephew's been loyal to our country all his life and Bush is a nothing now, and a never has been. Ugh. I pray for both our nephews.

[hootinholler]

30. Please make sure he has well fitting body armor.

I would consider finding a sperm bank too.

Unfortunately being a CB is one of the rates that can get you in harms way without the possibility that you'll drown after you get hit.

-Hoot

[jbnow]

32. I can't stand it

Not to take it out on any soldiers or their family, but I can't stand it anymore.

My heart rips at pictures of fresh faced soldiers, a far away friend just sent me one of her son home on leave, still training. He got a bonus too and was told he wouldn't go to Iraq. Maybe he won't.

I can't imagine you seeing your nephew glowing in uniform at his wedding, but heading back to war.
Or anyone's child or spouse or friend called to go and willing because of duty or comrades or pensions or bonus's or promises.

We don't take care of them as well as we can while they are there and we have nothing we can win. We don't take care of them when they return. I hate seeing the fresh hopeful faces because those are the kind of pictures they show after they are lost or wounded.

We need soldiers, we need a military. There are times war is necessary and we need people brave enough and willing to serve, to be prepared. They deserve our best. They don't get it.
But I can't stand one more person going to this war. I know they feel they must but if I had a magic car I would pick them all up. I would kidnap them, they could clean my house and do chores until this war was over. It would be over soon because I would have all the soldiers. Would that be OK?

Don't you feel like doing that, just grabbing them and not letting them go? This is insane.
I can't imagine how people felt during Viet Nam , I was just a little too young to be attentive. I really have no idea why we were there. At least we know why here are here...to fulfill neocons perverted wet dreams. It just doesn't seem like a good reason. Saddam was bad and brought horrors. Now he is gone and we are there and they have horrors and chaos we can't imagine.

I don't even know directly anyone who is there, my heart goes out to all of you that do. Since I have no magic cars or wands...I can just wish all the best...ours that are sent there and the victims over there just trying to live their lives.

Don't mean to make this about me, but it is how I feel when I see or hear of a soldier off to war. I can't stand it. Yet, we stand it.

How bittersweet that wedding must have been.

[OhNoTheyDidNot]

33. Does he have a bullet proof vest? If not, get him one now, before he

leaves. vests are not standard issue and many in Iraq are going without. Don't let him leave without one.

[w8liftinglady]

35. My son's on his second(or third) deployment

..if you count Afghanistan.I bought him a vest from http://www.armoroutlet.com/armor/armor.html
Their prices are as cheap as any other place.It is a crying shame the way they treat our soldiers.When you look at the care packages people are sending to soldiers,they have things like chap stick,sun block,soap,toothbrushes.i mean-these guys are in the desert...can't the government spring for some sun block?When my son comes home on leave,all he does is eat meat,meat,more meat.I think all they get is that MRE crap,which is ok for a week or so,but for months at a time...
and don't get me started on veterans....that really gets me going.

[OhNoTheyDidNot]

36. I agree with you about the vetrans ... talk about making my blood boil

BEST of luck to your son. If he needs another care package PM me and I'll send him one. Makes me sick how they treat our guys and our vets. PS, they LOVE beef jerky in their care packages. (and I'm a vegetarian but buy it for them anyway)