OK back to the original question ........ what is your opinion of the Armed Forces?
My son is in the Armed Forces and will Pass Out in just a few weeks. He is likely to be posted to Afghan next year, and of course having almost completed his training, he can't wait to get out there.
I cannot possibly find the words to tell you how proud I am of him, although as his mother I am also worried sick. However, to be fair, if he was a pizza delivery lad on a moped, I would be terrified too.
So ..... my opinion .......... total admiration for all our brave lads and lasses of the Armed Forces, and please god keep them safe.
Mrs 777 xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
This thread has the feel of " The Emperors New Clothes" about it, so i will leave the adults to continue the discussion.
Yes Benny YOU do that eh?
I have never known a thread in all the years I have been posting where one persons views have both shocked and dissmayed everyone.
Don't ever send me a pm again spouting about how precious people are.
If you leave this thread to the " adults " then I for one will not be sorry to see you not participate anymore.
Or are you going to do another flounce? :shock:
I have kept quiet throughout the whole debate for the reason that i got banned a few months back for venting my anger publicly about the negative and nasty views aimed at our forces.
I would however like to say i am proud to be on a forum with people like Kenty and Suffolk, Flower and splendid as although your views differ at least they are informed and based on knowledge.
To Mrs Kent, your boy although he will be in grave danger and peril, he will be looked after,supported and loved by his mates and colleagues, he will come back a changed man and he will react in his own way to what he sees, just love him,support him but never press him for details of what he did or saw just let him tell you in his own time, it took me 10 years to talk about Iraq so please be patient with him.
I have done 1 and a half tours of Afghanistan in the hardest of conditions possible and should be there now but for getting wounded, not whilst out shooting "rag heads" in a gung ho style but whilst rescuing a classroom full of under 7`s from a group of drug crazed Taliban who had fled there having tried to bomb a red cross medical centre.
We are not heroes we are just doing a job and we dont want praise or worshipping, but respect and compassion would be nice cos just like everyone else we are doing a job we are ordered to,to the best of our abbility, we are not out there killing for the sake of it in a gung ho style, we are there protecting and helping and trying to make it a better place to live, the stuff we do like getting meds and food to people and delivering aid to starving areas does not get reported as although its boring to the press, its still much needed and part of the process and still incredibly dangerous.
Ok I have mixed feeling on the armed forces. I know alot of people in the forces I was even involved with running an organisation for them back in the 90's and still keep in touch with alot of the people from back then. My ex husband served in Bosnia and one day I got a knock at the door and 2 Officers standing in front of me, and I thought omg hes dead, luckily he'd only been injured nothing too bad, but it did really scare me.
Some of my friends who have done over 20 years serve take pride in their work keep fit and have served in various other places they've seen friends injured and killed but still continue to do the job. They leave their families behind, young children some only a few weeks old to go to places like Iraq, Afganistan and their job always comes first, and I really admire people who do that.
My childrens half brother passed out as a Dog Handler in August and there is rumour that he will be out in Agfanistan next year, hes really looking forward to it and says he can put his training into some proper use. The job he is doing is something he has wanted for so long and currently hes still under training, hes enjoying the job and cant wait until hes transferred to his permanent base in 6 weeks.
But what really annoys me is I know one person whos been in the army 18 years is totally unfit, doesnt really care about his job just does it cos hes only got 6 more years to do then he gets a pension and they can all go to hell.
I guess you cant judge the armed forces on one persons attitude its the same with this forum really you're always going to get one or two people who dont agree on something that is written down.
I just hope that the friends I have out there come back safely.
Thankyou Jump for your kind words.
Mrs 777 very rarely posts on here, and has a go at me often for my remarks but....she was upset enough yesterday to write something.
She is not like me in that I write down what I think, where she is a lot more laid back in how she goes about things.
Yes next year will be tough on all of us, allbeit in different situations. I do not know what I would do in a pub enviroment if someone slagged off our boys and girls. It is the one real thing I get soooooooo angry about.
I have always had the greatest respect and admiration for ALL our armed forces long before mrs777's son joined up. They ARE heroes in my book even though they hate being called that.
Sometimes jump like me you say things how you feel, and we both got banned last time for our comments. This time whilst I have wanted to scream in big bold letters how I feel, I know it is what some want and look for. I am past caring now to be honest even though I will not shout like I want to...to say what I really want to, for that would be foolish.
Stay safe Jump and the greatest admiration to you from this end mate.
Afghanistan and other military follies aside....I left school in 1981..there was no work..many of my schoolmates joined one branch of the forces or another,of the ones I knew well who joined up they were when they went in reasonable average 16 year olds after 6 weeks basic training the ones I saw had (except for one) almost overnight become mean spirited rascist homophobic thugs...draw your own exception was an asian lad I knew well who had after 3 weeks been beaten and bullied out of the opinion of the armed forces as people is low.
Oh and btw witch hazel is very good for bruises...all that self congratulatory back slapping must cause some.
I do apologise, my friends...and they were my friends were not racsist or homophobic when they entered ...they all came home on leave after (I believe )6 weeks perhaps not the end of basic training but possibly induction (It was a very long time ago and my memory isn't what it was)however they had as I said come back very changed and in no case for the better.
I've been drinking in a garrison town on a saturday night I never want to do it again...I have never seen more fights or felt more threatened in my life.
The army have a difficult job to do, this does not excuse the behaviour of it's members.
Ahhh Staggers has hit another nail on the head. It is a place of heavy drinkers and a much higher ratio of racists and homophobic people than 'real life'.
I saw two women out of the 6 that I hung out with attempt suicide. One of those was technically successful and her parents are still feeding her and changing her bum, the other I never saw again. All because they were having lesbian relationships in a barracks where the 6 of us were the only women 'available for the men's pleasure'.
rascism... oh yeah loads of that too. Too many examples to mention without breaking some sort of AUP or something.
Ummmm lots of sex abusers too.... and generally ignorant people.
Unfortunately that doesn't make the nuts and bolts of it any different. These are highly trained people. Doing a job.
I can criticise and deplore their bad points and acknowledge the good job they are forced to do.
and bugger... yeah it was 12 weeks actually. ..at 17.5 years old.
Gotta go. I am half cut and going oot on the toon for a night.
I love you Staggers. Can I have your children?
dear g n v, what on earth did i put forward as a "theory" ? muhammed atta's green perfect condition saudi passport was found by the f.b.i. at ground zero within 24 hours of the attacks on the trade centre. this was the evidence that led to the naming of the other "terrorist's". this is a fact in the public domain and the 9/11 commision report. dirty rotten stinker mohammed threw his passport out the window of the plane he was flyin just before he crashed it. osama binliner, we were told, (justification for the invasion of afghanistan)was holed up in a cave in tora bora, bush sent marines in looking for him after bombing the hills and mountains with them bunker bustin 5,000lb bombs. fact. then we were told that iraq had weapons of mass deception and that al quaeder were in iraq as well and that saddam could launch weapons of mass destruction within half an hour and reach cyprus. fact. doctor david kelly who blew the whistle on that load of bollock's died of an overdose and wrist slitting in the woods ? three steel structured buildings, one not hit by a plane, wtc7, collapsed at free fall speed ? robin cook resigned from the cabinet over the illegal war, then dies in a fall when walking. these are fact's, not my theoretical machinations. hope i have not offended. merely wish to inform. dave
You have totally misinterpreted me Kenty old boy.
War is war and anything is fair in achieving your aim as long as you stay within national and international laws. Are you telling me it is ok to shoot or torture POWs? This is what people who oppose your views are saying, not that military activities are bad.
I find it strange that you call the Taliban all these names for doing what they are doing yet you say if you are in charge you would throw international law out and be the same as them.
I am glad the army isn’t commanded by you or by people with your views.
Dave_Notts
A very quick comment as I'm on my way out of the door...
Kenty, "god" forbid your step son should become a POW...but if he did, you'd be hoping his captors abided by international law, no?
:lol: 
