Since 1997 I have kind of felt like a fish out of water. When I was in the Army, my unit was deployed four times and although we were comprised of people from every conceivable lifestyle, including racists of all colors, homosexuals, alcoholics, etc., I felt safe. When the rubber hit the road, we were a unit and we watched out for each other and put all differences behind us. I don't see this in civilian life.
When I decided to stay in the Army after Panama and Saudi, people asked, why? They said, "You can do better than the Army." and "Why don't you go OCS." I got this crap on one side. On the other, I saw the yellow ribbons around trees and fellow soldiers being interviewed on television saying, "I do this because I love my country." and "I'm fighting for our freedom." Honestly, I have never believed this was the case when it came to me.
I joined the Army to get money for college. I stayed in the Army because of those guys in my unit. I volunteered for certain tasks because of the guys in my unit. Everything I did was out of love for those guys in my unit.
Not to discount anyone's service, but for those of you who have/had reenlisted after being in combat, or even in theatre, my question to you is, did you do it for your country or those guys around you? To make this clear, I'm not asking why you joined, but why you stayed?
This part in Blackhawk Down always says it all for me:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9lsBwy-mRA]YouTube - BlackHawk Down "The Man Next To Ya"[/ame]
When I decided to stay in the Army after Panama and Saudi, people asked, why? They said, "You can do better than the Army." and "Why don't you go OCS." I got this crap on one side. On the other, I saw the yellow ribbons around trees and fellow soldiers being interviewed on television saying, "I do this because I love my country." and "I'm fighting for our freedom." Honestly, I have never believed this was the case when it came to me.
I joined the Army to get money for college. I stayed in the Army because of those guys in my unit. I volunteered for certain tasks because of the guys in my unit. Everything I did was out of love for those guys in my unit.
Not to discount anyone's service, but for those of you who have/had reenlisted after being in combat, or even in theatre, my question to you is, did you do it for your country or those guys around you? To make this clear, I'm not asking why you joined, but why you stayed?
This part in Blackhawk Down always says it all for me:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9lsBwy-mRA]YouTube - BlackHawk Down "The Man Next To Ya"[/ame]