My Marine nephew just got his orders for his 3rd deployment

[Erika]

to Iraq. He joined the Marines right out of high school.
He's already suffered a hearing loss from an IED explosion when we retook Fallujah, plus he scraped up the remnants of some of his Marine buds.

He's stationed out of Camp Pendleton. He's 21, just a kid.

I abhor the GOP and Bush for using and abusing these dedicated and patriotic kids.

Please contact your D.C. reps and save our troops.

[Selatius]

1. Just curious, but what are his feelings about the war on this, his third tour of duty? n/t

[Erika]

9. He's a Marine. He signed up, he'll follow instructions.

He doesn't go beyond that.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

2. How long is his enlistment? Did he re-up? If so, why?

[JVS]

3. Jesus! That's too much war for a kid.

Hope he comes through ok.

I blame Hillary Clinton for supporting the IWR ;-)

[Ilsa]

4. My doctor's oldest son is graduating from college this month and he's

scheduled to be commissioned unless he backed out of it somehow.I bet he'll be in Iraq by September ifnot sooner. I don't like it when my doctor gets crabby, and I bet his temper is getting worse every day.

[Monkeyman]

5. May He Return in sound mind and body to your family

Now he has hearing loss here email Larry his contacts can help. [e-mail] OR for those who want to help keep him home call Bob Filner at 202-224-3121 use the same number for Obama both on Veterans Committee one in the House the other in the Senate

[Erika]

7. Thanks Monkeyman

I'll pass that on to his mother.

[SammyWinstonJack]

6. Sorry to hear that.

:hug: I hate bu$h! :grr:

[ninkasi]

8. I hope he makes it back safely

both in mind and body. This must be very, very hard for you and your family. I hate what Bush has put our troops through, and all of the death and destruction caused to the innocent people of Iraq. Try to keep us updated, Erika.

[Erika]

10. To give you an insight to these kids

He had to have a hernia operation at Camp Pendleton.

His folks were unable to go down there. He told them not to worry because his best bud would be there to take care of him.

But he told the doctor that his Mom told him his family was prone to sickness from anesthetic, and to make sure nausea drugs were available.

These Marine kids are precious. But they are just kids.
It is criminal what W is using them for.

[midnight]

15. Yep!

[ninkasi]

24. I agree

They are just kids. I've got a grandson who is 21, and a great-nephew who will be 17 on his next birthday. The others are too young, but every time I hear about losing one of our kids, I get so furious with Bush and his war of choice. Even the ones who make it back, many times will have terrible emotional scars. They are our children, and are being cheated out of their lives and futures.

[Telly Savalas]

11. Fuck that noise.

If enough Americans aren't signing up to fight, then we shouldn't be there.

[SammyWinstonJack]

12. Agree!

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. I'm a hip scotch away from Pendleton

and as to him not giving you the skinny... it is the UCMJ, they are not allowed to have an opinion

Anyhow, if he needs anything... I'm very near Pendleton

[Erika]

16. You are very kind

I can't believe W is abusing our kids like he is, but he is.

[midnight]

14. Hi Erika. My nephew is at Camp Pendleton too. He is getting

married in a few weeks and then shipping out. This will be his first tour. I can't imagine your 21 old having to serve three times. That is just to rough to imagine.

[Erika]

17. His mother said she respects his wishes

But is on the GOP to explain why we are there.

[Joe Fields]

18. May god bless and watch over him, and may your family have the

strength to endure.

[Cha]

19. RECOMMEDED! This needs to be

on the front page! This is like Vietnam all over again..Who's gonna be our Daniel Ellsberg?

[karlrschneider]

20. I can fix him up with a nice boyfriend out there.

Just sayin'...

Seriously, what the HELL is wrong this this goddamn country when a 21 year old has to go into an illegitimate quagmire for the third time?
:grr:

[Erika]

21. There are many who are on their 3rd deployments over there

Probably some on their 4th.

[annm4peace]

22. Try to get him to stay.

I think they only way this war will stop if they refuse to go. I am a strong supporter of the troops, but not this war. He has strong grounds to refuse to go.. if enough would refuse then they would have to bring the rest home.

http://www.couragetoresist.org/x/

"Just because we volunteered, doesn't mean we volunteered to throw our lives away for nothing. You can only push human beings so far," says Marc Train, a 19-year old soldier from America's heartland. "Soldiers are going to Iraq multiple times. The reasons we're there are obviously lies. We're reaching a breaking point, and I believe you're going see a lot more resistance inside the military."

One of the best kept secrets of our time is the ferocious GI resistance to the war in Vietnam. It covered the gamut from individual, passive, and unorganized to overtly active, collective, and organized. It sprouted in military barracks and on aircraft carriers. It flourished in army stockades, navy brigs, and in the dingy towns that surround military bases. It penetrated elite West Point, spread through Vietnam's battlefields and, according to a Vietnam-era military officer, by 1971 it had infested the entire armed services. Until the recent screening of the documentary, Sir, No Sir!, the American public knew little about the resistance to that war.

[karlrschneider]

23. Yes. And it's insane. For them and for their families.

But there are about 3,400 who won't ever have another deployment.
:grr: