Anyone afraid of trigger happy Marines coming home from Iraq?

[midwayer]

Was thinking about this the other day and thinking many may go eventually into law enforcement.

Any thoughts?

[olddem43]

1. Would they be different from vets of other wars?

[CrispyQ]

5. ...or any different from other trigger happy law enforcement?

[TrustingDog]

31. lariam.

[Heddi]

2. Many Reservists *are* in Law Enforcement

Right after the war started there was a report on NPR about a city here in Washington State that had lost over 2/3 of its total police, fire, and EMS force b/c they were all in the Guard and were shipped out.

One of the "abusers" :eyes: at that Iraqi Prison where the pictures were taken was a prison guard back in the states.

Whaddya think of THAT!?

[mmonk]

3. no

[H2O Man]

4. I more concerned

about dead young Americans coming home.

[Kathy in Cambridge]

6. That's what I was going to say

over 1,000 so far, and thousands more with physical injuries and emotional problems. What a mess Bush has created...

[midwayer]

8. Yes, me too

I am more concerned for that as well

but I would add to that concern for their mental health as well.

[Ready4Change]

7. Not afraid at all.

There are plenty of nut jobs already out there. At least trigger happy marines will be able to hit their intended targets, rather than spraying down everyone in sight.

[Toucano]

9. Of course it's possible

their intended target will be everyone in sight.

[Ready4Change]

20. In which case

You wont have bullets leaving unsightly pockmarks in surrounding buildings?

:shrug:

[TacticalPeek]

22. LOL! n/t

[Toucano]

26. There's always a silver lining! n/t

[Bjornsdotter]

10. OMG, My Mom was discussing this yesterday...

.....seriously, my Mom brought this up yesterday. She was discussing how many soldiers came home from Viet Nam and became police officers.

Freaky....very freaky.

Cheers,
Kim :toast:

[midwayer]

11. What made me think about it was

a comment from someone I was talking to who said it was a problem after Vietnam but I really didn't get into it any further with him and I don't remember ever hearing this before.

mental health wise I can see it being a delicate issue

[midwayer]

12. But we have to get them home first!

They will have my utmost respect

[iconoclastic cat]

13. What? Come on.

midwayer, I love you, but I would like to suggest that you examine the logic of your statement.

on edit: Actually, I do worry a great deal--about the awful mental-health effects of depleted uranium, PTSD, loss of jobs, time away from family, and all of the other issues that await them stateside.

[midwayer]

16. That's why I was asking for thoughts

I heard it was a problem after Vietnam but have no other details or specifics. I too, worry about all of that. It's going to be a delicate issue and I would certainly wish to provide any support for them I can.

Thanks for the love!

[iconoclastic cat]

19. If you are concerned, I would avoid the term, "trigger happy."

Are some people more prone to violence when they have been up to their ears in it for a year and a half? Sure. Ask the students at any non-magnet Chicago public high school.

[TacticalPeek]

23. Vietnam was different. You got off a plane and walked back into society.

Today returning Marines have a three month 'cool down' period as they are transitioned back into the real world, quite deliberately and taking account of the concerns you mention. The Marine leadership know what they are doing, pretty much.

[gumby]

14. Two words

Timothy McVeigh

Something certainly happened to him.

There was a rash of returning vets killing friends and family no too long ago.

These kids need a lot of help when they return, and they will probably get NONE. Support Our Troops? fey

[MichiganVote]

15. Guns and Vets?

No, not afraid as long as they are aiming at the nearest neocon.

[midwayer]

18. And they just might be! (eom)

[MichiganVote]

38. Fine by me

[bossfish]

17. No...

[AlFrankenFan]

21. No, more concerned about a friend being sent out again

this time to Pakistan to help find Osama before November...he's aware he's being used by the Bush Administration but can't afford to neglect his duties. These kind of things make me sick, because he was scheduled to be retired because of his bad health and now they're sending him out...:grr:

[ScreamingMeemie]

24. No, but I do worry about them not coming home at all.

:(

and, on edit: why just Marines? :shrug:

[Solly Mack]

25. No more than usual

[DS1]

27. No. Is this supposed to be flame-bait, FR-ammo, or an all-out smear?

:dunce:

[prolesunited]

28. I agree

There are a number of threads baiting us to talk about tax increases and malign vets. Perhaps they were inspired by the recent "success" of the Wall Street Journal.

It's odd how some of the worse comments from sights like FR don't ever get publicized as examples of hate on the right.

[The Flaming Red Head]

29. Buff, tan, safe (at last ) happy people

Home with their families. My only fear is that they don’t make it back, not what they'll do when they get here.

[Casablanca]

30. Of course!

If it was a problem with Vietnam vets, it will be 10X the problem with the Iraq Invasion.

Consider a bunch of kids from the lower economic classes of this country having been targets by every organized terrorist group in the region 24/7 for months/years, having that hellish experience be their only contact with another culture and religion and, to top it all off, seeing firsthand the betrayal in having to purchase their own food and bodyarmor, seeing their pay and benefits cut ...

You'd have to be blind not to see a lot of very PTSD-ridden, stressed out kids coming back. They aren't just going to chill and relax back into old times, as much as we'd like to see that happen.

[The Flaming Red Head]

35. Would you rather they come back in body bags?

We just need to get them back home to their families and not vilify them in the process.

If you want to see angst- ridden PTSD folks take a walk to the lower economic region of any city or even rural area right here in the US. Too bad we don’t do a body count on the people killed by gun violence here at home and run it next to the Iraqi body count. Bet the one here would be MUCH higher.

[lostnfound]

32. No, but am concerned about whether Bush will discard them without support.

Like the way he has cut their medical benefits, closed veteran's' hospitals, tried to cut their extra pay for being in a combat zone, failed to provide protective gear or basic necessities while they were in Iraq, not to mention the ever-popular sent them into harm's way when it WASN'T absolutely necessary.

[JSJ]

33. the law enforcement angle is of concern...

...but fear them personally? Nah- never met one who wouldn't go down with a single punch.

[wickerwoman]

34. Not exactly,

but watching F911 was like watching job interviews for future homeless morphine addicted homeless men. How many of them will be able to put the pieces back together really?

My father was a marine in Vietnam. He was exposed to Agent Orange and had pretty severe PTSD the whole time I was growing up. I feel so sad thinking about not only a whole generation of American men and women destroyed in this pointless oil pissing contest but also for their children growing up with shells of parents.

We haven't even begun to measure the effects of this war.

[Forkboy]

36. No more so than I am of the trigger happy people already here

The marines are amatuers compared to some of the loonys kicking around here.

[yodermon]

37. Remember this? July 2002

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2002/07/28/wbragg28.xml

Soldiers kill wives after serving in Afghanistan

A spate of wife-killing involving Afghanistan campaign veterans returning to their Special Forces base at Fort Bragg in North Carolina yesterday prompted a US Army review of its family counselling services.

In a series of murders that began on June 11, three of the four soldiers who allegedly killed their wives at the base had returned from combat units in Afghanistan.

There has also been a steep rise in domestic violence at Fort Bragg, according to a support group for wives at the base, who have reported a large number of calls for help.

<snip>

[stanwyck]

39. Wow. Guess I better watch

myself around my son. He's a Marine on active duty in Iraq. Hopefully, he'll be home in August for leave. "Trigger happy?" Got any other bizarro theories for us? My son is a proud Kerry-supporting liberal. He plans to become a teacher after he's done his four years. I hope he doesn't run into the kind of prejudice you're posting.