Because we're in... the arrrr-me

[Rouves Hawke]

Okay maybe not the Army, but Navy at least! Yeah, I finally joined up! I ship out to boot May 12th, and so far it's been a pretty interesting experience. It's cool, they timed it for me so that I'd be able to come home around november, I'll be home for christmas!... that is if I survive bootcamp Until then, I twiddle my thumbs and wait... and build up some muscle. ;D

[ORJ_Brand]

Good luck! I'm sure you'll do well... I have respect for anyone willing to potentially put their lives at risk to protect the freedoms we enjoy...

*Salutes*

uk.youtube.com/watch?v=InBXu-iY7cw

[ORJ_Brand]

Couldn't resist adding the link to this youtube clip from the TV series "Tour of Duty" - with the cool theme tune "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones.

(If anyone's wondering - yes it occured to me to post this after having posted the other Stones theme tune from the Vista thread).

uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xckWQ8Rt9j8

[Jos Nelsh]

You're crazy, birdo, I'll give you that. ;D

Methinks you'll be fine. Let's hope you're going to like the job!

[Mereel Ma'viin]

Best wishes, Hawkebird, and best of luck to you Let us know how you're doing when the opportunity arises, 'kay?

I also want to say how much I respect the men and women, soldiers, sailors and pilots alike, who are willing to go into harm's way to defend total strangers. Allow me to add my salute to Brand's

*Snaps to attention and salutes*

[Rouves Hawke]

Thanks guys! And I passed on those comments about the soldiers to my dad. He's a vet, and appreciates them a ton. So how bout you guys? Any friends or relatives in the military?

[Jos Nelsh]

My dad used to be a sergeant in the army. He was a medic. He was well educated and so could have easily made an officer rank, and he would have loved to, but my mother wouldn't let him.

I greatly respect anyone who serves in the army for obvious reasons. Personally I'm glad I escaped the draft by going to college, and by the time I got out they had abolished the draft. So now we only have professionals in the army over here. I wouldn't join myself, because I'm a very politically conscious person, and I do not support a lot of the military missions our country is involved in.

[Mereel Ma'viin]

I don't have any friends or relatives currently serving. However, my grandfather was a ship fitter during World War II, and during the last year of the war he was called up to serve aboard USS Saint Paul (which he may have worked on during construction, I'm not sure to this day). It was the vessel that fired the last hostile salvo of the war against the Home Islands of Japan, and it was present, with my grandfather aboard, in Tokyo Bay on September 2nd, 1945, when the Japanese surrendered.

Beyond the fact that my grandfather had served in the Navy in WWII, my family knew next to nothing about his service. After he died several years ago, we found memorabilia that he had kept, including a book documenting the Saint Paul's war cruise, which can be viewed online here. Learning about his time in the Navy gave me a new appreciation for his generation, and for those that followed in their footsteps, as well as a renewed interest in the study of history.

[Hyde]

Luckily, I never had any close relatives or friends in the army... and I say luckily because in this part of the world we have a sad history when it comes to the armed forces.
And personally... well, here they eliminated the draft when I was around 12, and I wouldn't join either for many reasons. due to the "sad history" I mentioned earlier, of course, but mostly ideological.

I wish you the best for this endevour, Hawke . And by that I mean I sincerely hope your time in the navy will be peaceful one.