Soldier deployed on Valentine's Day, but that's not the worst of it:

[grahamhgreen]

Can we stop the war machine now?

[Ex Lurker]

1. I wish somebody had proofread that card

Whatever you think about the war, a soldier doesn't need to see that.

[El_Johns]

2. +1. Good intentions gone awry.

[Egalitarian Thug]

3. Do you think the volunteer hasn't already thought it?

I don't know where they are finding people to fill the quotas anymore.

$1500 a month to go kill people and die so that parasites can steal even more.

I'd be so sympathetic if we still had a draft, as it is, if you're dumb enough to sign, you've chosen to trade the rest of your life for a small salary and no appreciation. And that's if you're lucky enough to come back whole.

[Victor_c3]

4. Ouch!

somehow I'm offended, but I totally agree. I guess it hits too close to home for me.

I joined the Army in 1997, well before bush, September 11th, and Iraq. I thought I was joining an organization that was going to be used to make the world a better place. I quickly realized when I was in Iraq that wasn't the case, but as a 17 year old kid in 1997 I certainly believed it. I truly believed that we had learned our lessons from Vietnam and the conflicts our nation was involved with in the 1990s to me all seemed justified and examples of how our military would be used to make the world a better place. Bosnia and Kosovo and our role in stopping genocide there was a very strong influence on me.

In '98 I took an ROTC scholarship and went to college for 4 years but incurred a 4 year military service commitment that would be effective when I graduated college in 2002. In 1998, I had no idea that September 11th could happen and even less of an idea that there would be a bush administration and a subsequent war on Iraq in 2003.

[B Calm]

5. When I enlisted in 1969, my pay was $105 dollars a month

[Downwinder]

6. Hard to believe, isn't it?

[B Calm]

7. It was tough trying to stretch that little amount of money for a month. The military pay

now days is a damn sight better than what it use to be.

[Downwinder]

8. IN '69 I bought a car, house and supported a family on $500 a mo.

[B Calm]

9. that was 5 times more than what I was making, but I

know what you are saying.

[Victor_c3]

10. I can't really compare my pay to that of enlisted pay

Junior officers are paid pretty respectably. I was a Captain (O-3) when I got out in 2007 and I was making a pay package worth $87,000 a year. That's not too bad for a 26 year old kid. I was just a simple Infantry Officer. I didn't get the extra pay that helicopter pilots and the sort receive.

My biggest complaint about the pay structure wasn't so much how much (at least for me) we were getting paid, but the large disparity between upper NCO pay and officer pay. I shared many of the same responsibilities as a Sergeant First Class that worked next to me when I was a Captain, yet I know I pocketed way more money than he did. Many guys in the upper NCO levels have college degrees and are seriously capable managers and leaders that put many officers to shame.

[Victor_c3]

11. I was deployed on Valentines day 2004

I remember it real well. My wife dropped me off at my unit when I was in Germany at 10:00 p.m. and I met up with my Platoon Sergeant. His wife and kids dropped him off. Us military guys were all smiles while our spouses were very stoic and worried. It was kind of surreal watching my wife drive off without much fanfare. My Platoon Sergeant's wife pulled me aside and made it very clear that I wasn't to let her husband do anything stupid in Iraq as he was a father and had two little kids waiting for him at home.

At that time in 2004, we had no idea what we were in for. The war seemed "won" and we expected our deployment to be very low key and much like Kosovo (which my unit was one of the last units to pull a deployment there in 2003). I just remember it being a very exciting time for me. None of us expected the huge spike in violence we'd see two months later in the spring of 2004. Many guys in my unit were worried that we'd see no combat and that we wouldn't get any of those "prestigious" combat awards. Little did we know what we were going to be in for...

[B Calm]

12. I really like the Platoon Sergeant's wife. She was telling you in

so many words, that is was your damn job that he come back home safe and sound!