Are We Headed For A Cliff...

An American Parable if I've ever seen one! If our president would just stop for a second and listen to the people in this country, maybe we wouldn’t be headed down the road for such a catastrophe! Bush is off course, lost and refusing to ask for directions (like most men..hehe)! When will he succumb to the people pleading for his attention? Will it take another disaster like 9/11 to recognize the importance of OUR homeland security rather than Iraqi’s? I pray to God we never reach the edge of that cliff!

Too Close For Comfort...

"Because of the nature of this war, there will be more people with mental problems than in the Persian Gulf War – it will be more like the Vietnam War”

- Lawrence J. Korb,
(former assistant secretary of defense under President Reagan and senior fellow for the Center for American Progress.)

Quotes like Korb’s really make me question exactly how much the media is withholding from us. Are the affects of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) really comparable to the aftermath of Vietnam?
A week ago today, Brett’s best friend Tim returned home from being in Iraq. Tim is in Brett’s same unit, Fox Battery 11, and came back early for reasons I am unaware of. My best friend, her boyfriend Eric, Tim and I went out last night for a couple of drinks. We were all talking and having a good time until Tim started to get major anxiety. It was nothing we said or did that caused him to show signs of PTSD, but simply it was his inability to relate. It wasn’t long after we left that he began to express his feelings. Rough night to say the least.

Brett and Tim:



The Fox news station stated that 15- 17 percent of combat soldiers surveyed upon their return from Iraq exhibited signs of anxiety, major depression or other mental health problems. Will Brett be a part of this statistic, and if the officials can devise a figure such as this why can’t they come up with a solution? I have heard that the stigma attached with seeking help often prevents soldiers from reaching out. This makes me ask WHY then isn’t psychological treatment and/or evaluation MANDATORY after service? This notion seems like common sense to me. The government has established online chat rooms, hotlines and support groups as means for acquiring help. All of these attempts involve an individual’s decision to admit to having a problem which over half those affected with PTSD never do! I’m not sure if I will be able to tell if Brett is exhibiting signs of PTSD. I may just think he is having trouble readjusting to society, or feeling disconnected from non-military family and friends. I am so scared that I will not see the signs and that Brett will become part of a statistic that gets documented and forgotten. The thought of him feeling trapped in a pit of emotion where he feels alone and weak is crushing. If we are sending all these soldiers over there with our prayers, nourishing their emotions with care packages and support from home, and celebrating their return then WHY isn’t the same amount of attending being paid to restoring their sense of humanity?

Great Answer...

A couple posts back I asked Brett what the hardest part about being in the marines was. He had to go on a three day mission to Fulluja so he wasn’t able to respond. But I got an email from him today answering the question.

What is the hardest part about being in the military?

Sorry it took me so long babe! Forty hours of driving along plus not hearing your voice was pretty shitty…anyways. I would have to say that the hardest part about being in the military, especially the marines is the sacrifice and the demand of sacrifice that you not only have to make in yourself, but the sacrifice you and your friends and family have to make. Seeing the faces of your loved ones when you have to tell them you are going to miss a birthday or hearing the tremble in their voices when you tell them you are deploying to a combat zone for 7-9 months and don’t know if you are coming back, is the hardest part. Your loved ones and friends and family are the ones that make what we have to go through all worth it! Knowing they trust you to protect them and seeing those same trembling faces, when you get back off that bus straight from Iraq (which I am so looking forward to), or seeing those tears full of thankfulness to God is SO WORTH IT! The feeling in knowing that you served your country with honor and pride-that is what makes all the unspeakable worth it. I commend my friends and family but especially you my loved one for her sacrifice and beautiful heart that opened up and accepted this challenge. I am so proud of you and most importantly thankful for you and all you have done for me. Ya ya keep smiling!!!!

Can't Get More Real Than This...

A little Q & A from Brett himself:

What is your impression of the President?

That’s a full loaded question...let’s see! President Bush is my Commander in Chief which means- what he says goes! Whatever choices he makes, I will stick by him and serve him until the day I get out of the marines and probably after that as well! This goes for me and all my brothers I serve with. Whether we agree with his decisions or not, is NOT the issue! We made an oath to serve under God and our country and we are proud to so without. If service members didn’t take discipline of following this order, our military and defense of this country would eventually fall apart. There is no room for me to have an opinion. WHAT HE SAYS GOES!

You are enveloped in a war. What is your onion on the progression, or lack of, of the war?

For people who work so hard day in and day out to complete a mission, I am disappointed to say that I don’t think it is progressing! The goals the American people think are being pursued- helping the innocent, rebuilding school, building the economy from the ground up- are NOT happening. The American people don’t hear about the reality of what is taking place in Iraq. Progression= killing the bad guys by striking fear in any and ALL insurgents that threaten the security and safety of our country. We are wiping them out before they plan and attack on our soil. We are taking the war to them and protecting our innocent every step of the way!

What is the hardest part about being in the military?

This could take me days…let me get back to you on that one!

When he answers the question, I will make sure to post it!!!!!

The Great Wall of Baghdad

If you haven’t been watching the news lately, then you have probably not heard about President Bush’s latest and most ingenious plan for progressing the Iraqi people towards peace and democracy. Ok, I am being sarcastic… Apparently the way to stop sectarian violence between the Shiites and Sunnis is to build a Wall that divides two neighborhoods that are a stronghold for their respective groups in Baghdad. Why haven’t we thought about this before? This supposedly terrorist proof wall is made up of “quality” cinder blocks that run for 3 miles and are stacked twelve feet high. American soldiers say that it is key in there military strategy, and that it will allow them to control traffic through a few major checkpoints.

The Iraqi citizens who are victimized by terrorist attacks should be feeling a little safer now, don’t you think? Well the response is quite the opposite from these people. Not to mention the faulty construction of the wall thus far, most Sunni Arabs feel as though that this wall will create even more tension and “box them in,” making it even easier for terrorist attacks to take place. God forbid that the attackers willing to die in suicide bombings would not be willing to find a ladder to get over the wall or walk a couple miles to get around it. Somehow this plan just seems like some sort of an attempt to falsely portray some sort of progress.

What We Don't See...

The pictures below are not the result of Bush’s plan in Iraq… they are the result of the soldiers fighting for Iraqi freedom…they are the real heroes!

Just taggin' along:



I didn't know the plan entailed this:



In their spare time:



Operation Iraqi Children-One thing Bush is doing right:

Torn...

I must admit that it has taken me awhile to open up about my feelings and reactions to Bush and the war in Iraq. Part of me feels the obligation to stand by my man and his commander in chief while the other half of me wants to be honest with myself. I feel torn between the two battling points, not knowing which position is better and which one is worse.

Yesterday I got an email from Brett’s mother. It was in response to an email I had recently sent her about my feelings about the war. I told her that my optimism for this war was slowly dying and that as every day passes, the angrier I am at the president. She responded the way a true military mother would. She said:

I know that he gets up every morning and prays for our Brett. He is a man of conviction and he really believes this is the right thing to do. We support this decision because we know he is a very strong Christian man and he prays for the right decisions. Yes there have been many bad
decisions made, but I feel he trusted some of those men who were not leading us in the right direction.

America has forgotten what happened on 9/11, but I as a mom of two boys will never forget. I watched them drive off to high school that morning, Brett was a junior and Ryan a freshman. And I remember when Brett came home that day after school he wanted to know where he could enlist to serve his country. Katie do you remember President Bush's speech to the nation that night of 9/12, he said this war would not be
over for a long time. Americans have forgotten.

The Mom Herself with Brett and His Buddys:)




Can you see why I’m torn?