Friendly fire.

[tvmercia]

I hate these goodbyes. My brother in law is of to Afghanistan on Tuesday. I wish these wars would end soon. I was hoping his bit was done and dusted after he got back from Iraq. Its not the enemy i worry about, its him working alongside the Yanks i worry about.

well if 'these wars' ended your brother in law would be out of a job.

on a separate note, unrelated to your brother in law, i do wish the families of soldiers who are on active service would stop moaning. they could quite easily have joined the police force, or been a security guard on an industrial estate, but no, they chose to join the army. so why moan when they are required to shoot people on the other side of the world for months at a time? it was their choice.

[Lorns]

Alot of ex servicemen are now coppers or security. There are also a fair few who lIve on the street.

[Stuart*]

I am a pacifist at heart so I do have a deep-seated objection to wars and conflicts.

However, I also strongly object to those who join the armed forces, are happy to draw the salary and perks and then complain when they are called upon to perform according to their job description. War is an horrific and traumatic experience but it is what they are paid for and trained to deal with. There is also a great deal of support available for those who suffer psychological problems (as there are in most large organisations).

When working for MOD I was often speechless at the attitude of some sailors being drafted to a ship away from base (and their families) for 6 months. It's almost as though they didn't expect it.

There is no National Service. People aren't conscripted to serve in the armed forces, it is a voluntary move and they must accept that the consequnces may be unfavourable.