if true, thank you for your service. some of us may not agree with the wars, but we all support our troops.

best of luck my fellow PA friend.... what part of PA are u from?

ah ok, i live just outside of pittsburgh. i also just graduated from penn state in may

will you be checking in letting us know how you're doing when you're sent out, oasis39?

oh man, the words "boot camp" scare me. i can't even imagine experiencing it.

Because of Bush, we current dont have a draft, we Stop Loss people instead, I would know, its happened to my brother. If we werent Stop Lossing people, the draft would be in place. Bush is rushing into WWIII, that might be the dumbest thing ive ever heard. Fighting global terroism is something that must be done to save ourselves, and the rest of the world.

Yeah, you would know. We actually are winning, the surge WORKED! And the Iraqi army has met 15 of the 18 goals set for them so far. American deaths in Iraq are low, and some of the most violent citys over there are now calm. You really have no clue what your talking about, shame on you for saying "were not winning" taking away from all of those who have served our country with bravery and honor.

whatever you want to believe.

Hey, to bring another subject up....did you know that Bush has been fighting hard to keep suspected terrorists locked up indefinately without being charged? You know, if that happens, it can happen to anyone.

Ohhhh, yeah, I love the Patriot Act (a bit of sarcasm there) win they made it to were they can search your house without a warrant.....Bush our wonderful president.

Ohhhh, where did all those missing weapons go? were they ever found? hmmmmmm

1) I hate the patriot act and dont support that at all

2) I support the way in Iraq and Afghanistan, Its all in effort to defeat terrorism. When the Japs attacked Pearl Harbor and we attacked Japan, noone questioned the US for going after Germany. They work together. The war in Iraq has helped so many Iraqis to be free for the first time ever. And no, Not all Iraqis hate us, My brother has been over there as part of the 101st Airborn in the US Army for 2 tours now, hes been there a total of 2 and a half years. The Surge worked, and the people are thankful that we freed them from Saddam.

3) Its great that your son is joining the armed forces. Keep in mind though, your son does not have to do a job in which he will face any type of combat. The millitary is very mis-understood by those who are not in it. The Marines, just like any other branch, are self sufficient. They need cooks,Accountants, doctors, Intelligance people etc.... The Military is not just Infantry and killing people. There are jobs your son can get where he wouldnt ever be on the battle field. However, in the Marines he wont be able to pick his job, they pretty much pick it for you, and they tend to make them ground pounders. When I looked into joining the Marines, Infantry wasnt even a job they had open, all the spots for it were taken. Im glad I didnt join the Marines, because I wouldnt have gotten the job I wanted. If your son is anything like me, hes crazy and a different breed. Im doing a Special Forces job in the United States Air Force. Its a job where im 100% certain to be on the frontlines in combat situations, this job is in very high demand right now. Take a look at my job description...
www.airforce.com/careers/job.php?catg_id=2&sub_catg_id=3&af_job_id=297

But like I said, people serves our country doing all types of different jobs. Dont think that just becasue he is in the service he is going to be killing people and getting shot at, because its just not always the case. If he wants that, he can get it, but he can also pick a safe job. Thats not what Im doing, but like I said, I like the excitment, it may sound twisted, but you need people like me in your army, and you need people to do the other jobs. Good luck to your son! He's doing a great thing!