I’m seriously on a soapbox tonight. I’m not really sorry. That’s just a warning.

I heard someone say the other day that people that join the military are warmongers, that they like to fight and kill. This is an absurd and sorely uninformed notion.

During my time in the military and as a civil servant, I have had the privilege to serve with people in every branch of the military. My favorite are the Marines - their discipline, comraderie and pride really is extraordinary. Of course, I had the most experience with the Army. And I won’t lie - people are people. There are good eggs and bad eggs. I met some awful people in the Army. But I met way more outstanding people. Giving, humble, dedicated, smart individuals working towards improving something bigger than themselves. I thought I’d share some of the things the Army stands for and tries to teach it’s soldiers.

I have a little card that I still carry in my wallet. On one side is the Army Values.

Loyalty: Bear true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, your unit and other soldiers.

Duty: Fulfill your obligations.

Respect: Treat people as they should be treated.

Selfless Service: Put the welfare of the nation, the Army, and your subordinates before your own.

Honor: Live up to all the Army values.

Integrity: Do what’s right, legally and morally.

Personal Courage: Face fear, danger or adversity (physical or moral).

On the other side of the card is the Soldier’s Code.

1. I am an American soldier - a protector of the greatest nation on earth - sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States.
2. I will treat others with dignity and respect and expect others to do the same.
3. I will honor my Country, the Army, my unit and my fellow soldiers by living the Army values.
4. No matter what situation I am in, I will never do anything for pleasure, profit or personal safety which will disgrace my uniform, my unit, or my country.
5. Lastly, I am proud of my Country and its flag. I want to look back and say I am proud to have served my Country as a soldier.

Of course, everyone knows about the bad eggs. Abu Ghraib and other horrible events. But mostly, military members are being put in terrible positions everyday, usually making the best decisions possible where no good choices exist. They are being asked to make decisions and face situations that most of us will never have to face. A lot of the lower enlisted service members are kids - choosing the military as a stable job and a chance at education where no other choice existed.

If you think there’s not a poverty draft going on, you’re not paying attention.

I would love it if soldiers really could live the Army values. Crap, I would love it if everyone could live the Army values. But when the executive branch can’t even do it, who is the lowest guy on the pole supposed to follow?

SYTYCD

I’m a little behind, but I’m only going to comment on this week. I can’t talk about Hok leaving and not making the tour, it upsets me. Just kidding, although it is sad, I can see that although he was my favorite, he wasn’t as versatile as the other guys.

So this week, first I want to talk about all the anti-war stuff. I can’t believe there are still people that would be upset over that Wade Robson routine. I am 100% pro service members, and 100% against this war. I personally think the two go hand in hand. Saying that someone who is FOR peace doesn’t support Soldiers or Marines or Sailors or Airmen is VERY short-sighted. The two will never be mutually exclusive. Patriotism doesn’t mean blindly following the leadership of this country into whatever debacle they create. In fact, if you look at the roots of this country, it’s clearly the opposite. Questioning authority is what we’re all about! And about Mia’s jacket - I’m kind of against civilians wearing military uniforms. BUT, I’m sure she didn’t realize what she was wearing. I’m especially against civilians wearing military insignia - like rank (which is what she had upside down on her sleeves) - because people work hard to earn that - in my mind it’s like people buying Olympic medals on eBay and wearing them around (maybe a little extreme, but you get my point), but I still think she had no idea what she was wearing, and she was obviously sorry. I thought it was unfortunate that she wore that jacket on the same night that all the dancers did a peace dance. Whoops :)

Now, about the dancing - I thought Lauren was phenomenal. I like to think that the fact that I called in and voted 5 times for her, and only voted for Jamie once had something to do with the results :) I also thought it was time for Kameron to go - for the same reason as Hok. They’re really getting down to the best dancers now - Sabra is still my favorite girl, and I guess Dominic is my favorite guy. I hope he can hang in there for a while with those really awesome jumpers.

Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List

How is it already the end of the season? Sheesh - it seems like it just started. I’m sad - I thought these last two episodes with her in England and Ireland were hilarious. My favorite thing about her is the totally ridiculous situations she finds herself in in her quest for A-list status. I’m pretty sure that Nicole Kidman would never find herself wearing that tweed dress with the big bow in the drag queen shop. Or on a date with that weird performance artist guy. What a kook. I can’t wait until next season!

The Singing Bee

Man, I would love to be on this show. I’m not sure if I could get up there and do a silly white-girl dance while I was waiting for my chance to mess up the lyrics, but I would love to try.

1 vs. 100

I watched this for the first time last week. I really like the premise, but really am not crazy about Bob Saget. My husband and I really laughed at all the extra information the people always give when they answer. “Well, since my son doesn’t have an ePod, I’m going to guess C., IPOD!” Thanks, dude. For all the extra commentary. Get on with it, already! That’s why I didn’t watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire either.

With that last bit of judgment, I’m going to end my extra commentary :) Good thing I’m perfect! ha ha ha…

Just for info…because LOTS of people don’t know…here’s what Memorial Day is all about: it’s a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service.

Two years ago, I was in DC for a conference for work. I was seven months pregnant, and I decided to hike a few miles through Arlington National Cemetery to find my maternal great-grandparents’ graves. It was so hot, and I didn’t bring any water. It took a little doing (and a lot of sweating), but I found their graves, and I was so proud. As I was walking back to the Metro, I saw a full funeral procession, complete with caisson and I started bawling. Even sadder was all the fresh grave sites at the front of the cemetery.

This little journey was as much a tribute to my unborn son, mother and grandmother as it was to my great-grandparents. My mom passed away on June 5, 1994. The day I went to Arlington was June 6, 2005. My grandmother died before I was born. My great grandfather was a West Point grad, retired as a Colonel in the Army (after serving in WWI and WWII), and then worked for the CIA. My great grandmother gets to be buried next to him, so they rest side by side in the nation’s most well known military cemetery. I cried for all the family my son will never know, and for the proud military heritage I have on both sides of my family. On my mother’s side, military service goes all the way back to the Revolutionary War. On my father’s side, I’m the latest (and the first female) of at least one of each generation serving in either the Army, Air Force or Navy. We don’t have any Marines - yet. But we do have a nurse, a few pilots and at least one Airborne Ranger.

I plan to visit the other national cemeteries where my family members are buried. Even the one in Hawaii where my great uncle - my father (and my son’s) namesake - is buried, after being shot down during WWII.

I hope we all remember to take a minute to remember these men and women - and to be grateful for their sacrifice. I’m certain I wouldn’t be running my mouth on this blog all the time if it wasn’t for them ensuring my free speech.

John Edwards has set up a great site called SupportTheTroopsEndTheWar.com - it’s got a lot of activities we can do during Memorial Day weekend (or every day - if you’re motivated) to voice our feelings that our Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and Sailors should not be in Iraq any longer.

My sister’s husband is going to go to school full-time in the fall. This is long overdue, and I’m excited for him. He just got his FAFSA info back, and he qualified for Pell Grants, which will cover about 75% of his costs. They’re hoping to qualify for some scholarships also, becuase he wants to be a teacher, and there are quite a few incentives out there for prospective teachers.

Then, after they’ve tried all the free options, they’re probably going to have to look at federal or private student loans. Hopefully, they can stick with Federal loans because of the lower interest rates and better repayment terms (deferral until out of school, etc.)

I joined the Army Reserve to pay off my loans. They paid $20,000, and I still owe another $5,000. I hope to go to grad school someday soon, but I’ll only do it if I work somewhere with a tuition reimbursement deal.

Before the war, and even during the first year, I would recommend the Army to anyone that would listen. They really have outstanding education benefits. But now, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. Maybe after the war is over. Maybe.

So, borrowing it is. But in the world of loans, student loans are the best kind. I recently consolidated mine, locked in a low interest rate, and have a really reasonable payment.

This weekend, we visited my brother in law at his new duty station, Ft. Irwin. I’m not going to sugar-coat it, it’s an awful place. The term “God-forsaken” is about as apt as you can get. We encountered many a strange insect and animal in his backyard, it was ridiculously hot, and very very isolated. I feel so bad for him. I was hoping he’d find a little joy and purpose in his job, but as of now (he’s been there a little over a month), it’s not going so well. He’s a Staff Sergeant (E6) in a job (MOS) that has too many Staff Sergeants, and very few Sergeant First Class (E7) positions, so he can’t get promoted until some of those people get out of the Army or get promoted to E8 - of which there are even fewer positions. So even after two tours in Iraq, one to Kosovo and one to Bosnia in the last five years, his promotion potential is very very small. Add to that an inordinate amount of confusion and mismanagement in his new unit, and he is very unhappy.

We talked a little about his first tour in Iraq, and we all got teary eyed because it’s such a depressing situation. He spoke of the good he did (building a school, playing soccer with Iraqi children) but he also spoke of the Iraqi’s inherent distrust of Americans and the lack of trustworthiness of many Iraqi’s.

It’s really an awful situation that our service men and women are in.

After 14 years of service, my brother-in-law is seriously considering getting out. Not because of deployments that have ruined his marriage. Not because he missed the whole first year of his second daughter’s life. But because the Army doesn’t make sense to him anymore. The war in Iraq overrides everything. This means he will forgo his retirement. He’s that unhappy. And this is someone who REALLY REALLY REALLY loved being a soldier. It breaks my heart.

Seriously…although I really do understand the toll these sites take on overworked network connections, doesn’t it seem ridiculous that once again, the rights of our service members are cut short while they’re fighting for our rights? Read this article:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20070514/military-sites-blocked

There’s really no way to institute this ban fairly. Basically, it will only affect you if you don’t have your own laptop. Which most likely is the younger, enlisted service members.

Recent Study…
I was listening to the daily news brief on NPR today, and they read a story about how an Army Task Force conducted a study and found that the length of deployment is related to instances of mental health problems. This story is on the heels of another story I read online at Time Magazine speaking to how the mental-health needs of the military and their families aren’t met, according to a study conducted by the American Psychological Association.

Right now, Soldiers are supposed to be deployed for 15-months (recently increased from 12 months) and then be home for 12 months. Marines are deployed for 7-8 months, then come home for 7-8 months.

More after the jump… more »