Actually I'm in the Air Force...and I wish I were an officer, but that requires a Bachelor's Degree and that's what I'm working on right now. Yeah, I'm enlisted, a Non-Commissioned Officer, SSgt. to be exact. I control aircraft through radar and radios, and fly with the fighters on occasion. I'm no peon, but I'm definitely not a policy maker. I just do what I'm told and relay those orders to people underneath me. I never led anyone to believe that I know everything that's going to happen, because I don't. No one knows but the bigwigs in Washington. What I do know, however, is that there is a lot more to this than you think, and a lot more to it than the media is showing. THAT was my point. Also, a Lieutenant is an officer, and higher ranking than me. However, lieutenants are very inexperienced, and rely on their NCOs for guidance and experience. A lieutenant is just a brand new officer, and doesn't know any more than an airman about active duty air force, until he gets more experience. Being higher in rank doesn't mean you know more. Experience means you know more. Still, I'm working on my degree so I can go to OTS and become an officer. See, there's a catch though. My job was originally an officer's job, released to the enlisted corps in '92, because it was found that we could do the job better than the officers, since they had more Battle Management skills they needed to hone. In short, I'm doing the exact job of an officer, and I'm doing it better. Not that they did poor work, far from it. It's like this...the enlisted corps focuses on the job at hand, and the productivity of that. Making rank will fall into place. The officer corps, however, is much more political. It's all about where you're stationed, what you're in charge of, and frankly, who likes you. An officer is going do his best in anything he/she does...however, they won't be doing that forever. They move to more supervisory positions as time goes on, and focus less on controlling. Enlisted are just the opposite...we become experts in our one task, rather than a jack-of-all-trades. Sure, I'm no big deal dude. I'm just a SSgt. in the Air Force, but I'm supporting the officers appointed above me, and they (hopefully) are supporting me as well. We're AWACS on the ground, pretty much, and we basically tell the fighters where to go, where the bad guys are, and what they're doing in the air. We then commit them to those enemy fighters and blow them out of the sky. That's my job, to make sure missiles are fired at the right targets and that bombs make their targets as well.
I write in this forum because I dig it, not because I want to throw my weight around. The point I'm making is that I know what's going on in the military and around the world, because I've been there, rather than some yahoo living in his parents' basement typing on a computer about how he knows what's really going to happen. That's all. I can't predict SHIT. I know only what's released to me, and truthfully I don't know a fucking thing about what's going to happen in Iraq, whether we attack or not. I just don't know. I hope we don't, and truthfully, I feel that we are going about this a little too fast. I'm a firm believer in getting backup, and although we've got backup from everyone but Germany and France, I still think we need them on board...as bad as I hate to admit it. I think we should exhaust every measure so that the world knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are right. We know we're right because we know specifics that others do not...however, the public doesn't know that. I feel that it should be one of our priorities to collect as much incriminating evidence as possible, so that we can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt what has to be done.
I do want to clear one thing up, however. I don't want people to shut up. I don't mind hearing what someone has to say, because that's what I'm over here for. If someone has a case against the war, I would like it to be a clear, concise, and well thought out argument...not "FUCK BUSH, HE'S A WARMONGER!!!", which is exactly what's happening. If you want to be taken seriously, you have to come at me with more facts and less attitude. I'm sure I've given attitude at one time or another, and that's my downfall. However, it angers me to the point of meltdown when I see people taking all this for granted, and not doing anything about it. Also, if you would read my other posts, you would see that I said, and I quote ...."I'm not about to sit here and say that the United States is going to pour billions into deploying to the Great Sandbox in preparation for a possible war, WHICH IS NOT CERTAIN, and not get some sort of reparations to offset the cost."...end quote. I understand why people don't like America...I just don't understand why they choose to blame everyone under the sun. America is a far cry from the perfect country...if anything, they are only in the top five in the world. I believe Norway was voted the best country to live a few years ago. America is full of corruption, evil, and hatred....JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER COUNTRY OUT THERE. But do you know why all those other countries don't get any publicity? Because we are the big kid on the block. With anything, the bigger an entity you are, the bigger a target you become for criticism. You know why you hate us? Because you can. Because you know that talking shit about America isn't going to start any kind of war. We take the moral high ground, and our country is the type of country where you can be a citizen of America, hate the country, burn the flag, spit on the people who defend it, and still retain all the rights of a person who loves everything about it. That's why our country is so wonderful. Why don't you go to Iraq and talk shit about Saddam Hussein? In less than a minute you'll get snatched up and your tongue will be cut out. This is why I don't mind hearing Americans talk shit. I mean, it hurts my feelings, and it hurts me really deep inside to know that my own people despise me, but they are free to feel that way, and I will continue to fight any country who challenges that right. I might dislike the people who mistreat us, but I'll never waver in defending that freedom. That's the difference between you and me.
Being a free country doesn't mean that you can say anything you want without any repercussions. You find it ironic that we fight for free speech and then get pissed off about what we hear. That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard in my entire life. That's exactly what free speech is. You don't HAVE to agree with anything if you don't want to. BUT YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO SAY WHAT YOU FEEL. I can tell a bleeding heart liberal fuckstain to shut the fuck up if I want to because he pisses me off. That's my right, and it's also his right to say something that pisses me off. THAT'S FREE SPEECH. No one ever said anything about you had to agree on the issue. Duh. Moron.
I thought that maybe the forum would appreciate a fresh outlook on things, someone from the inside who has experienced all of this first hand. I see that I have offended your sensibilities, and although I am sorry to offend you, tough shit. Suck it up. Deal with it.
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