Not that soldiers decide easily.
"It's not like I want to go back. But I enjoy what I do and the people I work with. You find work you enjoy, you stay with it," said Staff Sgt. Dennis Busse, 29, who also served in Afghanistan with a wife and three kids back home.
"Money was the least of it" in deciding to stay with the 3rd ACR, which moves to Texas this year, said Busse, who worked previously as a cook at Italian and Mexican restaurants in his native Wisconsin.
"You're always going to find difficulties. There are difficulties on the civilian side, too. The military seems to be closer. The difference is, the employers in the civilian world, some of the owners, they don't want to do what they need to do. Here, anyone who's above you has been where you are."
3 comments:
Nadir: What is your view of this article's information?
My view is that there is a small percentage of American soldiers (as evidenced by 12.8% of this miltary unit) who either still support this war or believe they have nowhere to go if they leave the military.
The soldiers who are quoted don't seem to believe in the mission as much as they believe in the code of honor that is melded into their brains during each day of their military careers. It is more the notion that they should be there to protect their friends that makes them re-enlist.
The honor of men and women who do not want to leave their buddies short-handed in a combat situation should not be questioned.
My father was one of those soldiers who volunteered for a second tour of duty in Vietnam after serving there and in Korea. He never talked about his war experiences, so I can't speculate why he or anyone else would do such a thing.
Paul and Slinger: I also understand that there are people like the two of you who would never volunteer for military duty yourselves and would never encourage your children to do so, but are very happy that someone else's children are willing to fight your war for you.
My preference would be that they would not have to fight on the wrong side of an unjust war. This is a war that is only enriching a few people while the rest of us pay the cost. These soldiers are willing to do their jobs, to pay the ultimate cost because they took an oath to do so.
Our congressional representatives, who refuse to honor their oathes by defending the constitution from the pirates in the Bush administration, could learn volumes from these soldiers.
Nadir: I would volunteer to fignt in a war, and I did call a US Army recruiting center with regards to this war, but was turned down due to my chronological age. I also served two years in the Army reserves while an undergraduate during the Beruit troubles, though at that time the reserves did not get called up. But I do thank you for informing me about my myself. As for encouraging my children, the one that I have wallowing in the ghetto with an infant child on her hip, I would certainly applaud her for joining the military, or exhibiting any form of ambition.
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