Veterans, your opinions on

[oneighty]

relief efforts such as the Tsunami disaster. Or perhaps cleaning up after a hurricane, flood etc. etc.

Building/er-building schools, visiting orphanages and so on.

Did that,does it fit in with your military duties?

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[Ron Green]

1. I'd rather have done that kind of work instead of fighting a bullshit war,

and I'd rather our current troops do that as well.

[oneighty]

2. Hey Ron

Do you have any personal experience in those types of efforts?

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[Ron Green]

5. I'm a disabled US Army vet, 1966-1969. I've been against this war since

the very first, and I knew, deep down, that there would be no WMD and that there would be the big mess we've got in Iraq now. Think how much manpower and materiel we could bring to bear on the relief effort in S. Asia if we weren't fighting Bush's phony war.

[oneighty]

6. That is true

But why not have a non-military organization do it without guns and flags?

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[Ron Green]

11. That would be desirable, but it's hard to match the manpower of a military

force, and the speed with which it can move. I would favor US troops under a UN flag (this doesn't bother me one bit), along with forces from other nations.

[Jackie97]

18. Because....

As of now, scumbag bin Laden is taking advantage of the situation. He's getting some Asians to believe we caused the tsunami and stuff. As a result, he does have a few (not many, but a few) people trying to fight us and keep us from bringing in the aid. I've heard that one charity group is staying away now. I'm glad that our troops are there, and I've developed more respect for them ever since then.

It's not going to result in a war. We're not over there for that right now. It will hopefully result in our being better able to get our aid through. Sorry to interfere.

[benddem]

9. Our unit

went to Nicaraugua for the earthquake in the 70's, Guys I knew went to clean up the mess after the mass suicide by that cult in South America...can't remember the name. Troops went to help out in Chernobyl disaster. Those are the only specific ones I can remember but we sent troops to all disasters. Also the Navy does lots of work on their port stays.

[oneighty]

12. My Navy port stays

never included feel good projects. Our Unit in Charleston SC did provide some manpower to clear streets of debris after a Hurricane. (58) or so.

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[ET Awful]

3. Yes, it does.

More so for National Guard troops and domestic disasters (hurricanes, wild fires, floods, earthquakes, etc.) than for active-duty military and overseas, but yes, it is well within the duties of the military.

For domestic disasters, it's part of the overall mission statement of the National Guard.

[oneighty]

4. Yes. It is part of the mission

of National Guard.

I have read reports of Navy ships visiting foreign ports and sending sailors out on 'Good will missions' such as painting a school house. I wonder if such is ordered or volunteer?

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[ET Awful]

8. Cases like that are usually volunteer, but carry perks along with them

such as additional shore leave when you're back home, etc.

[oneighty]

10. You have done that ET?

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[ET Awful]

13. Not personally, (I was Army)

But I have volunteered for public outreach programs (and received extra leave in return), my cousin who was in the Air Force received similar perks and treatment for volunteer duty.

[benddem]

7. We always went to help in

Natural disasters. It beats picking up cigarette buts on the post and gives really good training. I'd sure rather help out in Indonesia than in Iraq.

[noamnety]

14. It's within the large mission

Even within a "defense" mission, it makes sense that fighting poverty and desperation is the most effective way of preventing wars. In that way, it's not so different from the abortion/crime debates, the most effective way to remove the undesirable result (abortion, crime, war) is to remove the most common causes. I was an MI/CI analyst, so it's hard to say it was specifically within my own job description, but certainly there were analyst reports I read from others on the ground that discussed how to combat poverty in a culturally appropriate way (as an example, you don't promote egg production in a society that doesn't eat eggs for religious reasons). So while it was never part of my job, it certainly was within a broader analyst role to discuss such things.

[BamaGirl]

15. I was an MP

and disaster relief was part of the job. It's really the kind of thing everyone ends up involved in though.

[vitointn]

16. Operations Other Than War

The Army DOES have a manual with the above title (can't remember the number right now).

I was an Army Medic for 22 yrs, and did a few Humanitarian missions during that time. The military does have the skillsets needed for those type missions, and are usually in a better position to get in and started quickly.

On a personal note, I felt that doing such missions made for a better soldier...not so stuck on the idea of sending lead downrange as the solution to every situation.

[two gun sid]

17. My experience

was these feel good missions are great. I did them in Central America and Africa in the mid-eighties. We always had a great time with the kids and the people always were appreciative. It sure made me feel better about myself after helping the Contras.

[MADem]

19. USN does a lot of that stuff under the PROJECT HANDCLASP

umbrella. The chaplains often take the lead in them (it's one of the few administrative duties that you can foist on them that aren't prohibited by some regulation or another!). They do help with the "good neighbor" aspects...and nowadays we do need all the help we can get with our battered reputation around the world.