Troops Return From Iraq With Money to Burn

[rodeodance]

Troops Return From Iraq With Money to Burn

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060122/ap_on_re_us/soldier_spending_spree&printer=1;_ylt=ArYfeNc08qhqf_jmjAlEUWpH2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MXN1bHE0BHNlYwN0bWE

By RUSS BYNUM, Associated Press Writer1 hour, 17 minutes ago
.........

He's been home from Iraq a little over 30 hours and already he's trading in his little 2001 Dodge Neon for a muscle car — a 2006 Mustang GT, V-8 engine, price tag $26,320.
.......

Business has been booming in this southeast Georgia town since just after Christmas when thousands of 3rd Infantry Division troops from neighboring Fort Stewart began returning from a yearlong tour in Iraq and finding their bank accounts flush with combat pay, tax breaks and bonuses.
.........
The 3rd Infantry has 19,000 troops returning to Fort Stewart, Hunter Army Airfield in nearby Savannah and Fort Benning in Columbus.

.......

Several soldiers interviewed estimated they earned an extra $700 to $800 per month while in Iraq, totaling up to an extra $9,600 for some from their year overseas.

[thebigidea]

1. puke. gag. vomit.

wow! almost ten thousand dollars! WOW! That makes it all worthwhile.

Geez, did the Pentagon write this? Some sekrit project to boost recruitment?

TROOPS RETURN FROM IRAQ WITH IMAGES BURNT INTO THEIR BRAINS THAT WILL NEVER GO AWAY.

[saigon68]

2. They won't be driving the Pony Car

When they go back for another tour in Iraq-Nam in 2007 to 2008.

Drink the beer now boys its a long 14 months coming up dry next year

LOL

[zann725]

3. Wow! $9K for exposure to depleted uranium, lost limbs, "fried" minds and

life-time nightmares. That IS if they DID indeed GET these bonuses. Thought we heard not so long ago that Army had NOT followed through on many "bonus" problems. They also don't mention how many of these G.I.'s lost their apartments, homes, jobs, spouses...while on deployment extended two and three times.

Even if they DID get extra money for a car, it just might be the car they'll be living in.

Someone this sounds like one of them there Admin.-created propaganda pieces. Ya know, how good war is in the end. How much these soldiers were rewarded in the end.

Right...just next time give 'em better armed humvees, and body armor, and I MIGHT believe...

[awoke_in_2003]

6. You got it

even if true, could someone actually find it worthwhile? I swear, when my boy start getting closer to 18, if this bunch is still running the show (god forbid), I am heading for the border with him. He would be hip to it, already a hockey fan :)

[The Roux Comes First]

7. There's that danged ear-worm again:

So I'm headed for that nearest foreign border
Vancouver might be just my kind of town
Cuz they don't need the kind of law and order
That tend to keep a good man underground.

[awoke_in_2003]

8. What song is that?

and I was thinking Vancouver, nice town.

[The Roux Comes First]

9. That terrific song would be "My Uncle" . . . .

written by Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman. I believe the original recording was by the Flying Burrito Brothers way back when (I'd guess '71 or so). Unfortunately it is not included on the sole CD I have by the FB Bros. Another excellent version however is available on Steve Earle's "Sietracks," a disk that should be in much greater demand than it is. I have seen it for sale several times in used form.

A letter came today from the draft board
With trembling hands I read the questionnaire
It asked me lots of things about my mama and papa
Now that ain't what I call exactly fair

So I'm heading for the nearest foreign border
Vancouver may be just my kind of town
Because they don't need the kind of law and order
That tends to keep a good man underground

A sad old soldier once told me a story
About a battlefield that he was on
He said a man should never fight for glory
He must know what is right and what is wrong

(chorus)

yeah now, I don't know how much I owe my uncle
But I suspect it's more than I can pay
He's asking me to sign a three-year contract
I guess I'll catch the first bus out today

(chorus)

[XOKCowboy]

11. I'll be darned.. A Gram Parsons song I haven't heard

but one I'll have to try to get. Thanks for posting that. I'm a late arriving Byrds/FBB/Poco fan. It all started when I read Ben Fong Torres's book "Hickory Wind" about Gram's life. Great read and quite a bit of history about the country/rock bands.

[bluestateguy]

4. Puff piece

and the whole story strikes me as, um, false.

[SledDriver]

5. Bullshit Pentagon propaganda

intended to boost recruiting.

[Swamp Rat]

10. Money = new car = happiness

NOT.

How sad for these troops. Many of them will be broke, sick, and homeless in a few years. :cry:

$9,600 barely pays for a 2 year degree.

[XOKCowboy]

12. They'd be buying Escalades...

if they'd been working as contractors.

This sounds like a puff piece touting the troop withdrawal and how great it is to be a serviceperson. Was this put out by another PR wing of the administration?

[MercutioATC]

13. Ooooooh! An extra $10k for a year of being shot at!

Where do I sign up?

:sarcasm:

[Citrene]

14. How much to kill? I'm "shocked and awed". Please make it stop. n/t

[blonndee]

15. I'm so f**king sure. My friend came back with a LITTLE extra money

but spent it all on household bills! If he's so fucking flush with money why does he feel obligated to stay another 8 years to get retirement pay?

He's also paying off student loans. Thought ARMY was a sure way to get college paid for? Bullshit.

[Army]

16. Bribes

I've said it before and I'll say it again: What does it say about the state of the Army that they are having to use bribes to get people to join or stay in. As I told my friend, "Not if Bush handed me the $90,000 personally and let me kick him in the balls with my boots on."