A SOLDIER'S PERSPECTIVE
THE WEB'S LEADING MILITARY BLOG SINCE 2004
You know, I get fed up with the Occupy Wall Street idiots. I’ve been going around and around with some of them on Twitter and am convinced that this has nothing to do with corporate greed and everything to do with individual greed.
Talk to any hippie out there and they’ll tell you what they want: free college, a living wage (regardless of employment status – a free paycheck), mortgage and rent forgiveness, etc. The list of things they want for free are astronomical. Yet, they don’t wonder how those things are paid for. These kids – most of them – have never worked an honest day in their lives. Like everyone else before them, they finish college with student loans and have to start at the bottom of the corporate ladder when they graduate. That’s life. Suck it up.
But, this post isn’t about the so-called 99%ers, as they call themselves. However, it does highlight another group of minorities I’d like to talk about – the 0.45%ers.
According to the last census, the United States is comprised of over 300 million citizens. In World War II, 11.2% of the nation served in four years. In Vietnam, 4.3% served in 12 years. Since 2001, only 0.45% of our population has served in the Global War on Terror.
These 0.45% are the targets of increasing scrutiny. They work 60+ hour workweeks – longer in combat zones. Their bodies are beaten and battered. They endure extremely long absences from their families. They miss births, deaths, anniversaries and family milestones. They sacrifice much more than the so-called “99%” and don’t ask for anything more than what their country promised them for these sacrifices. They also have college loans, but choose to work to pay them off. Most of them don’t have the luxury of having a rich mommy and daddy to pay their bills.
Ranger Up has done it again in recognizing this .45%. I wish I were back in the states so I could wear it myself to one of these “rallies” of whiners and selfish brats.
If you pre-order this shirt now, you’ll get a $3 discount. Send it to your favoriate .45%er!
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[UPDATE] The "Face" of Military Dating Scams - The Wall of Shame
New Scam to be aware of……….I am 2LT. Anderson Darrell Clinton , an off
Steve
“I’ve been going around and around with some of them on Twitter”
Is it like on this blog? You know, you go round and round but when you get bested by someone you delete the whole post and pretend it never happened. Typical bully, you can not take what you dish out. Have a tantrum, take the ball then run home. Isn’t around that time of year when you claim you aren’t going to blog anymore? “For real this time, I mean it”! “One last post them I’m done blogging forever…one last, last post then the world won’t have CJ Yon to kick around anymore”!
“They endure extremely long absences from their families. They miss births, deaths, anniversaries and family milestone”
How many hoops did you jump through to get to deploy this time? Didn’t you have to convince the army you should get to go? Why? So you can complain about missing your family?
“I wish I were back in the states so I could wear it myself to one of these “rallies” of whiners and selfish brats.”
Or maybe you could wear it when you go to petition an elected representative about how you shouldn’t have to pay your fair share of sales tax on your truck. Why is it when you do something you are standing up for the rights of people everywhere but when it’s people you don’t agree with they are whiners and selfish brats?
There are veterans at the occupy events too. But since you don’t agree with them you will invent some reason why they are not real veterans or are unworthy of the respect you expect people to show you.
CJ
Look everyone, it’s Steve again with the same comments on a different blog post. *Yawn. It’s Steve, NOT a part of the .45%. They don’t come any lefter than Steve.
Utahrd
How is it relevant that he is NOT part of the 0.45%? Is it because there is something wholly special about soldiers that makes them above criticism from the 99.55% of the population who don’t serve in uniform?
I think he makes some valid points. And you are doing a disservice to yourself and your readers by dismissing them outright because he seems “left,”
CJ
It’s a comment. No. He doesn’t make any valid points about this post. He is spouting his typical ad hominem rhetoric. He doesn’t SEEM left, he’s LEFT the reservation altogether.
Steve
I participated in the war on terror as an air marshal. 2002-2005. I deployed every day I showed up for work. Oh, and I joined the army when it wasn’t cool.
Sean
No, it’s because he’s a complete retard who ENTIRELY misses the point. By answering his own rhetorical question he reveals his insincerity and, by extension, his inability to learn or gain anything by being here.
Utahrd
Well, I don’t agree with you that working as an air marshal is the same as deploying… Also, joining the army before it was “cool”– get a grip; people don’t join the armed forces today because they think it is “cool.”
I suppose I read Steve’s comments not as ad hominem attacks, but rather as generalizations.
- CJ, will you claim that no soldier TRIES to get deployed?
- Will you claim that no soldier feels that society OWES him/her even though he/she VOLUNTEERED?
- Will you deny the fact that some veterans and active duty soldiers support the protests?
Personally, I think you are out of line by trying to represent to the world that the 0.45% in uniform agrees with your views completely. They don’t, and you owe it to your readers not to mislead them.
Steve
Utahrd, what I are talking about? One of the reasons I joined was because I thought it was cool. Back in the late 70′s and early 80′s, as a result of the Viet Nam War the military generally wasn’t very highly thought of. In the mid to late 70′s West Point had record low applications. Not until the first Gulf War did the military return to the position of respect and admiration we see today. So I stand by my statement that I joined the military when it wasn’t cool.
How did I not deploy as an Air Marshal? Everyday, I left my family and got on a plane with the intention of engaging enemies of our nation. I held a TS, had government travel orders, was armed and was on what was then perceived as the front line in the war on terror. How did I get travel and per diem if I wasn’t deployed? Was the distress my wife and children felt (because of my chosen line of work) any less than the distress felt by the family of somoen in uniform? In effect I was part of a <0.45% who participated in the war on terror but who didn't complain that not enough people were thanking me for my service.
"Personally, I think you are out of line by trying to represent to the world that the 0.45% in uniform agrees with your views completely. They don’t, and you owe it to your readers not to mislead them."
Excellent points.
Even though I am a military veteran and a participant in the war on terror CJ wants to imply I can't have a valid opinion on the current military situation because I am not one of the 0.45%. By that logic CJ can not have a valid opinion on anything in the US because he is not part of the 99%. Especially unions. CJ has never been a union member so he can hold no valid opinion on unions.
You also don't get to complain about the hardship of deploying on you or your family when you jumped through as many hoops as you did so you could deploy with your unit. Instead of us thanking you, you should be thanking us for our tax dollars you used convincing the army you should get to go. I'm pretty sure the army could have gotten by without you there, but I doubt you could have gotten by with that realization.
CJ
I never suggested that anyone, much less the 0.45%, agrees with me. You have a knack for putting words where none exist. I sure hope you aren’t a detective, but that would explain so many innocent people behind bars.
1) No.
2) No.
3) No.
See how easy that is, Utahrd.
Utahrd
Cool. You have a knack for degenerating a conversation into name calling and condescension.
Steve is right when he points out that a soldier who tries to get deployed deserves little sympathy for missing family milestones. It is, after all, an all volunteer force. If you disagree, you should explain why rather than shut down debate by claiming that Steve’s opinion doesn’t matter because he is left and “NOT part of the 0.45%.”
And how do you account for the fact that veterans join the rallies too? How can they “sacrifice much more than the so-called ’99%’” when they claim to be a part of the 99%?
And as for you suggesting that the 0.45% agrees with you — the name of your blog is “A Soldier’s Perspective.” Did I put those words there? With such an ambitious blog name, your post on a “soldier’s perspective” of the Occupy Wall Street protests should probably just have the following:
“Politics is beyond the scope of military competence.” – Samuel P Huntington, The Soldier and the State
I think it is great that you have a political opinion. Good for you. But you are out of your league in claiming either implicitly or explicitly that you represent the American soldier.
SNAFU
Utahrd, CJ is not claiming by the name of the blog that the opinions written here are the opinions of ALL Soldiers, but instead of A Soldier, hence the name, A Soldier’s Perspective. Makes logical sense to me, as it does to most of the readers and authors here.
Utahrd
Steve, still don’t agree with you entirely on your service (thanks, by the way) but I don’t think our disagreement is entirely relevant to what we are both arguing– that CJ doesn’t have the authority to represent the 0.45% as non-supportive of the “99%ers.”
But I’ve already wasted too much time with this post. CJ’s tendency to speak in absolutes and generalizations should clue in intelligent readers that he doesn’t know what he is talking about. Lets just hope there are enough intelligent readers out there that CJ’s writing doesn’t actually make an impact in the world…
CJ
Yeah, let’s hope. After all, my goal isn’t to influence the world but to tell my side of things. If you don’t like my opinions on things there is an easy solution.
PJ
As a pilot in the AF for 13 years and flown in eveything from Operation Northern and Southern Watch to OIF and OEF, I find it pretty disrespectful and obsurd to insinuate that the reason anyone deploys time after time again is of thier own choice, only so that they may have some leverage in a war of words later. There are far more things that I would rather do to gain leverage on a position than to sacrifice my time and put my life on the line. But perhaps that’s it…not enough people have died…it’s not bloody enough for you to respect…this is an easy war…we aren’t in any real danger these days, therefore what is anyone really sacrificing these days by doing a deployment.
Funny, not 5 years ago the Cindy Shennan’s of the world were crying because too many had died already. The general populous has know clue what sacrifice is…back then the number was 2,000 or so killed. “Oh please stop sending our men and women to die”, they cried…did any of them realize that the number killed the day of any one of the famous beach landings at Iwo Jima or Normandy dwarfed that number…no perspective, they just wanted to passively protest something and go home and sit down in front of their Xbox at the end of the day, no real sacrifice there, but they feel that is being a part of something somehow. That’s child play IMO, anyone with a degree from Tree Hugger Ranch can do that. I am actively protesting something being in the military. I am protesting with my actions, that no enemy will take what God has given to America…freedom and opportunity. Interesting how the social tides shift from its too dangerous to its a joke to deploy…easy to judge from your foreclosed house that you’re still allowed to live in while you skip out on payments and save up for your next so-called entitlement that you won’t be held personally accountable for when that fails either despite your habitual poor decision making because as far as you’re concerned it’s Wall Street that screwed you, not ythe fact that you were gambling by living outside your means and you got caught with your pants down when the economy turned south briefly.
The fact of the matter is when people say they volunteered for another deployment like some sort of thrill junkie, its all an illusion of control because the fact is: volunteer or not, they were getting sent back any ways, perhaps the only thing they controlled was the timing of it +\- a few months. While I may have made a few generalizations to make my point, you too are making generalization yet at the same time you mock, belittle and make light of our current military members for the real sacrifices they are making today.
While the men and women of the military are not above being criticized, it always tells me something when we’ve gotten to a point when there is no one else left to pick on that we set our sites on those that protect our country. It reminds me how easily misguided passionate people that have no daily sense of purpose can get when they begin to attack what they forget I actually provide for them. Luckily, I will still serve despite their lack of appreciation…it’s a calling. Something I believe that only a small number of people understand; realizing that its an equally small number of people who are dumb enough to challenge it’s authenticity from outside the organization.
Utahrd
Huh… I’m an infantryman. You fly, eh? How many times have you missed a meal? 8 hours of sleep, is that right? 6 month deployments?
CJ
No, I don’t fly. How many times have I missed in a meal in the last day? Try 3. Shall I keep going back so we can continue this pecker measuring contest? My deployments have been 12 month, with my SF rotations in S. America being the exception.
Utahrd
Hey CJ,
Those questions weren’t directed at you. And I’m not interested in starting a “pecker measuring contest” because it isn’t relevant or productive. My point is simply that PJ should get off his high horse and not try to hide behind military service as imbuing him with the only true understanding of sacrifice.
CJ, you still haven’t answered my questions however:
- What gives you the right in presumptuously naming your blog “A Soldier’s Perspective” to represent the 0.45%’s views?
- How do you reconcile the fact that you have lumped some of the soldiers who have served and sacrificed into that group of hippies you claim are so entitled?
I’d be satisfied with a simple “Oh, the world isn’t as black and white as I paint it. Tough questions out there.”
Am I correct in saying that you believe that anyone who disagrees with you does so only because they aren’t as smart as you?
So… 3 questions for you here CJ.
Thanks.
Utahrd.
CJ
- What gives you the right in presumptuously naming your blog “A Soldier’s Perspective” to represent the 0.45%’s views? The Constitution give me the right as well as copyright laws to name my blog anything I want. Should I quote the First Amendment for you or do you realize what a stupid question this is? There is nothing presumptuous about it. I am a Soldier. This is my perspective. There’s it’s “A Soldier’s Perspective.” But, to dumb it down for you, it’s not “The Soldiers’ Perspective” or “Every Soldier’s Perspective” or “This Is What Every Soldier Thinks.” The use of “a” in the title signifies a singular subject. “Soldier’s” is likewise singular possessive, indicating that a Soldier is about to own or possess something. That something is the “Perspective.” No charge for that free English lesson.
- How do you reconcile the fact that you have lumped some of the soldiers who have served and sacrificed into that group of hippies you claim are so entitled? Easy. Soldiers can easily become hippies and forget the lessons about hard work, duty, and honor they were taught while in the military. Not every Soldier in the military is a stellar example of our Warrior Ethos and not every veteran is an upstanding citizen. Any Soldier, in my opinion, complaining that they aren’t getting enough free stuff is a hippie.
Am I correct in saying that you believe that anyone who disagrees with you does so only because they aren’t as smart as you? No, you are not correct. I’m sure they are very smart. Just misinformed and unaware of our republican form of democracy and the benefits of capitalism.
Utahrd
Hey CJ,
- It seems that you have a fundamental misunderstanding of the English language. You see, the indefinite article “a” as in “A soldier’s perspective” refers to a non-specific or non-particular member of a group.
As a fun test for you and your kids, you can try to decipher the linguistic difference between “A soldier complaining about not getting enough free stuff is a hippie” and “Any soldier complaining about not getting enough free stuff is a hippie.”
- Speaking of which, I generally sympathize with this view. Entitlement disgusts me. Just look at these jackasses trying to get out of paying for their checked bags: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy1k6XWH8y0
- Interestingly open-minded response. I wonder whether you are as open-minded about the weaknesses of democracy and capitalism. Or are you so firm in your beliefs that you believe there cannot possibly be anything better?
Thanks.
Utahrd
PJ
I could have predicted such a response from you Utahrd. And from your quick and unappreciative response to a sister service that plays a huge role in keeping your butt: ‘pink side in’, it’s obvious to me that you have never relied on air support during your deployment, if you even did one, or left the wire, so that tells me a few things about you–all of which lead to a limited experience in the service, perhaps a jaded one, but certainly no understanding of joint interoperability.
Although I would probably impress you with my deployment count and timeline of combat tours and combat hours, it would only lead to more immature comparison questioning by you because there is nothing to attack. It’s that type of immaturity which looses you a voice of credibility. Time served is time served…
Perhaps what’s more interesting in your response is the reason behind why people ask to deploy again…there are many reasons: for some its a calling, for others its to play a role of big brother, for some its an illusion of control, some just cant function in society becuase the outside cant relate, for others they dont have a choice, but you help me illustrate another one. Peer pressure. “How many deployments you got man?”
So what’s interesting about that is its a lose-lose for anyone trying to engage on this with you. Sympathy for soldiers are apparently only warranted if they didn’t volunteer to go back on another deployment, yet your measure of a “real” soldier is one that has multiple deployments. How is that fair? About as fair as me saying, if you werent boots on the ground in Iraq between Mar-May 03, you had it easy. Or me saying, if you don’t have shrapnel in your body, then you haven’t seen combat. Thats the immature think of our inexperienced soldiers that you display.
And Steve, the reasons people say they go back are never as simple as they illude, so to not volunteer to help out a family by mowing their grass because Dad volunteered to go back is ridiculous…he’s a reservist, thats how he gets paid, but that doesn’t mean the family left behind deserves not to be helped still…I’m sure he’d be appreciative of any help you gave is family while he was gone.
Utahrd
Hey PJ,
I’m sure you didn’t predict that response because you were too busy talking down to me to consider that I might be in the military (“you mock, belittle and make light of our current military members for the real sacrifices they are making today.”).
You seem to be a little self conscious about your service. Truly, you shouldn’t be. Of course I recognize the importance and value of the Air Force. At the same time, I have a difficult time objectively saying that the sacrifices, risk and discomfort of the average airmen is comparable to that of the average infantrymen. But I digress– service is service. So let us not get held up trying to determine who has sacrificed more. Ultimately, I think it is possible to have an honest conversation without trying to interject “[those who disagree with me ] forget I actually provide for them.”
As an aside, I am being careful to explicitly quote your claims that I disagree with. CJ makes a fair point when he warns against twisting words.
Thanks,
Utahrd
Steve
My neighbor deployed to Afghanistan for a year with his reserve unit. Got back to his family and unionized government job and hated it so much 6 months later he volunteered to go to Iraq and fill in with some other unit. So now I am supposed to keep him in my prayers when they announce his name in church on Sunday. I am supposed to help out with the yard upkeep because he is busy serving his country. Cut me a break. He told me it was better over there because he wasn’t accountable for anything.
SFC (ret.) Andrew Reed
CJ,
These two cats eat too many paint chips when they were younger?
Just curious.
Take care over there and Godspeed!
Andy
Roy Scranton
CJ,
My question, as a “fellow” 0.45%-er, is what you think democracy is supposed to be, if it’s not people standing up for themselves and taking charge of their lives? The red, white, and blue I wore on my shoulder in Baghdad represents the 99%, not some corporation.
You say: “Like everyone else before them, they finish college with student loans and have to start at the bottom of the corporate ladder when they graduate. That’s life. Suck it up.” Well, that’s great you can be a tough guy. That’s great you think your kids should have to take it bending over from corporate greedheads. That’s great you think it’s okay for a system to lock people into indentured servitude with crippling loans while they get the basic credentials they need to get a decent job.
But none of that is “life,” none of it’s America, and none of it is democratic. It’s an exploitative corporate economic model that is beating the crap out of the working class.
So, if you think getting taken advantage of, ripped off, and left behind is “American,” “democratic,” or the way things should be, then go ahead and keep sucking it up. But if that’s the case, I don’t know what the hell you were fighting for.
yrs,
Roy Scranton (OIF 2003-2004)
CJ
Roy, corporations are made up of people. The face that you use Gmail is proof you support corporations. They are full of people that work at every level of society. Most corporations are publicly owned by people who own stock in the companies – like me. If you use the Thrift Savings Plan, your future relies on those corporations you despise. What makes us the great country we are is these corporations!
As for college, it’s not corporate greedheads. Tuition is expensive not because of corporate greed, but because of government intrusions. The people aren’t FORCED into taking college loans, so if there is “indentured servitude” it’s voluntary – much like military service. Smart kids bust their ass saving up for college, getting good grades to qualify for grants and scholarships, or working jobs while studying. Others join the military to work for their education. If that means that it takes six years to get a degree instead of four, so be it. Don’t play this sob story about debt to me! I’m not buying your “I deserve a free ride” crap in spite of your service. As a former Soldier (or Marine or whatever), there are many options available to you that cover much, if not all, of the cost.
No one is getting taken advantage of except the taxpayers at the expense of you lazy slobs wanting everything without working for it!
yrs,
CJ Grisham (Panama 1997, Columbia 1999, OIF 2002-2003, OEF 2011-1012)
Steve
You’re only a REAL veteran if you hold the same beliefs as CJ!
CJ
See, Steve understands it, even if he has to put words in my mouth. He’s the smartest man on the planet.
Margie
Hmm…I think calling the whole OWS whiners and selfish brats is an over simplification. There are people at the Occupy sites with jobs and families that also pay taxes. The government can bail out Wall Street but not people who have been laid off and can’t find a job. I have an ex-MP buddy who can’t find a job even though he has applied for just about every menial job. I know another who is going to be homeless soon. Veterans have a higher unemployment rate compared to the rest of the nation. Additionally, one in four homeless are veterans. The Army has sent me to get my Master’s and for that I am grateful. (Side note employment rates for veterans with more education are higher.) I don’t think it’s too much to ask for corporations to pay taxes. 78 corporations didn’t pay any taxes or had a negative tax rate. I also don’t think it’s wrong to make a profit or corporations are inherently evil. There needs to be a balance.
I hope between deployments and training that all servicemen and women will find time and gumption to continue with higher education. It is one of the main discriminators of finding employment after service.
Richter
You have such a great country and constitution, why do you waste your time on bickering like this. The military is there to protect the state which is comprised of citizens, who may choose to criticize the military and\or state as is their right under your constitution. The military is not there to criticize the state or it’s citizens, and neither are the citizens expected to support the military in any way or form, according to their right to freedom. There is obviously exceptions to this rule, WWII being a good example.
If you choose to serve, good for you. If you don’t, fine. Either way, you are a citizen of the U.S, first and foremost. Start acting like the First World country you claim to be and stop whining at each other.
Because to us in the rest of the world, you often appear to be complete idiots.