My son has re-enlisted in the Marines.

[Longhorn]

He's moving from being a network administrator to counter-intelligence. He'll get a $61,000 bonus after he finishes MOS school in Virginia Beach. He's 23.

I'd like to be happy for him. He's been in Japan for the last three years (no deployments to Iraq) so we know we've been lucky. And he'll be in the States for the next year or so if he goes to DLI after MOS school. It will be nice to see him more often and have him closer to the same time zone.

Under any other circumstances, I would be happy for him and I'm certainly very proud of him. But I just don't want him to be involved in this war and not just because of the risk but because I am so adamantly against it.

He's not the "typical" Marine in that he's a liberal and an atheist and he doesn't have any trouble letting others know his views. He's been very successful and continues to have high expectations. But I think a part of him doesn't feel like a "real" Marine because he hasn't been to Iraq. He really wants to go over there and help his fellow Marines.

My father was in the Navy during WW II and my FIL is retired Air Force, having served in Korea and Vietnam, though not in combat. The Vietnam war ended the year my husband and I were seniors in high school so he was never drafted, nor was he interested in a military career, perhaps after having grown up on military bases. I'm supportive of the military and I think it can be a good career. I just absolutely hate this war and as hard as it would be to lose my son under any circumstances, I think I would literally explode if I lost him in this war.

It was his decision but we tried to make sure he knew there were opportunities for him as a civilian. When he was home last spring for his sister's wedding, he seemed to have changed his mind but once he got back to base, he changed it again. I know this is a great opportunity for him.

Thanks for listening! :hi:

[Tummler]

1. Thanks for posting!

:hi:

[Longhorn]

10. You don't know how many times I started this post

over the last few weeks. There's a reason I posted in the Veterans Forum! :) Y'all brought tears to my eyes and I'm feeling a little better now. Thanks!

[shireen]

2. wherever he goes, he'll be doing good

Your son will have the chance to make a positive difference in the military. Wherever he goes, he will encounter soldiers who have fallen for the Rush Limbaugh world view, believing that all liberals are evil traitors who hate the military. Through him, they will see that it's not true. He will show them, by example, how to be critical thinkers and what it really means to be a patriot.

:hug:

[adadem]

3. Very true n/t

[Longhorn]

7. Thank you!

Your words mean a lot to me. Sometimes those who join are characterized as ignorant, extremely needy, or killing machines. Our son is none of those things and I knew that those who visit the Veterans Forum would understand! :)

:hug:

[gateley]

21. I agree. From your description, he'll be a calming voice of reason which is

sorely needed.

[Longhorn]

23. He's actually changed a few minds.

One at a time, right? Thanks! :)

[atreides1]

4. DLI

Defense Language Institute, so does this mean he's going to become a translator for the military?

[Longhorn]

8. I believe he will be trained in interrogation.

He assured me that it would be nothing like Abu Ghurayb. He told me that it is their job to seek out information to keep Marines safe which means that they would be talking to local people.

We don't know what language he'll be learning but the length of his stay at DLI will depend on the language. He was kind of hoping for Japanese since he picked up some of it while living in Japan but he says there isn't a lot of need for counter-intelligence in Japan. (Let's hope the Idiot Boy doesn't have enough time to stir things up over there!)

[unhappycamper]

5. k&r #3

I wish your son well, and hope he's able to evade a combat zone.

[Longhorn]

11. Thanks!

I also appreciate all the work you put into gathering and posting articles for this forum. I don't often comment because I'm not a vet but I'm always interested. :toast:

[frogcycle]

6. My compliments and well wishes

to your son, and congratulations on having a son to be proud of.

Coming from a family of Marines, I can only say Semper Fi!

It is hard, very hard, when the entire premise for even having a military is being perverted by the evil cabal that has taken over our once-great nation, to think of anything other than that and all the bad that goes with it.

But the slogan "the few, the proud, the Marines" does have real meaning. The Corps has a long tradition of being ready and able to defend our nation, to do the right thing. Be proud that he is a member, and wish him well.

The risk of his being sent to combat and becoming a casualty is "out there," of course. Just don't dwell on it. The risk of his being hit by a bus if he left the corps is out there too.

The current debacle will end some how, some way. And even if he does go, he is much more likely to come home safe and sound than not.

Tell him I salute him on behalf of my Dad, who entered the Corps just before the breakout of WWII, spent 3-1/2 years "deployed," went on to spend 18 months in Korea including the Inchon landing and winter at Chosin Reservoir, completed his 20 years without a scratch and lived another 40 years.

[Longhorn]

9. Thank you! You're so right, too!

When he went into bootcamp, we really felt like he was probably safer because he was engaging in some risky behaviors at home (his auto insurance wasn't $650 a month for nothing!) His recruiter said his was the thickest recruit file he had handled -- nothing really serious but enough to keep us up at night.

That boy is gone now, replaced by a thoughtful, considerate, ambitious and competent young man. He was always smart but lazy and lacked initiative. Well, he graduated bootcamp as platoon guide and thinks he could make staff sergeant early next year. He seems to have a talent for disregarding the BS and zeroing in on what's important. I was afraid he'd be brainwashed but he still seems to be himself.

You're right that the odds are in his favor. I agree that it's despicable what those idiots have done to and with the military. No one should have to apologize for his or her decision to serve our country!

Thank you for your dad's service! :yourock:

[Zandor]

12. Thank him for me

His service is appreciated.

[Longhorn]

13. I'll do that!

Thanks! :hi:

[Stinky The Clown]

14. I've known people like your son. He'll do just fine.

People join the military for many reasons. I joined to serve my country. I viewed it as a duty each citizen has. Once I made that decision, I then decided I wasn't cut out to fight up close and personal. So I went Navy. And from there I went to A school for a non-combat rate. I avoided Viet Nam and am happy that I did. Even now, after all these years, I am glad I did what I did and glad I didn't do what I didn't do.

Along the way I met some really great sailors. The ones who joined for essentially the same reasons as mine. No great desire to 'fight' .... but a strong desire to serve. Some of these kindred souls were 'lifers'. Not everyone who thinks this way does one stint and out.

Yeah .... your son will be just fine.

But I know you worry. We parents are condemned to that, aren't we?

[Longhorn]

16. I appreciate the background.

I tried to get him to go into the Navy but he wouldn't "shop around." He had his mind made up! However, he has a lot of respect for the Navy.

And yes, we'll worry. But I'll put that off for awhile and enjoy his time in the States. Thanks! :hi:

[The Backlash Cometh]

15. You know he has my support, and so do you!

:hi:

[Longhorn]

17. That means a lot to me!

My son was very touched, too, to find out you have a bracelet in his name. Thanks, Friend! :hi:

[FloridaJudy]

18. If you ever need an ear or a pat on the back

I'll be here. One of my best friend's son pilots helicopters in Afghanistan. It takes a special kind of courage to be a soldier's mom.

During WWII, my mom taught Russian in what is now the DIL. It's valuable work, no matter what one thinks about any particular war. Knowing what your allies and enemies are saying probably saves hundreds of lives.

[Longhorn]

19. I can't help but think about the sailors on the USS Cole or the Marines

in the barracks in Lebanon, to name a couple of incidents when counter-intelligence might have prevented those tragedies.

Thanks for your support and a group hug with your best friend! :grouphug:

[roguevalley]

20. hugs to you and to all military families.

[Longhorn]

22. Thanks!

Except for worrying about him at bootcamp, our sacrifice has been the fact that he's been home on leave only twice in the last three years. We haven't had to go through the endless worry that the families of those in Iraq and Afghanistan have endured.

But I'll take a hug anyway. Thanks! :hug: