Army Guy

When we say access i'm assuming we are talking about not being able to afford nutrious food....which raises a few other questions. Is it a choice they make ....ie how many times have we seen people decide to spend that on something else other than drinking , gambling, on fast food or garbage food, luxery items what ever....so my question would be if we took these bad decisions out how many Canadians would still not be able to afford nutruious food. And i get it sometimes you just feel the need for something, and go out and buy it, atleast i do, but me and my family are lucky, and we have never been without the basic items ever, but if my family ever went hungry i'd be having a yard sale. I've yet to see a Canadian family on some NGO advertizment that looks like a third world one. Do we enable them i mean within Canada there are dozens of programs for kids to get good food, at school, local food bank, at work, town city and provincial government has programs....what incentives do we provide, to get off this assistaence, or for that matter, to make better chioces... As for the UN rubbing our faces in it. Like most articles i've read on the topic , i agree i'm sure there are bigger fish to fry, than Canada....but there is some truth into what this guys says, some truth not all, always room for improvement. Perhaps we can take that inter national Aid monies and improve our programs here at home....but i'm sure we don't want more big government coming in and telling us hey...sir, put the beer back, you got a family to feed, or sister place the big mac down there is better food out there for you....so where do you draw the line...

As one that has been blown up myself on serveral occasions, i did not find the remarks offensive, nor is it in my opinion that it was meant to be offensive...infact the CDS has himself been involved in IED's personally. Do i think the families would think it would be a joke, no i don't think so. and one would have to watch your targeted listener in this case the CDS but we did elect people not machines and they do tend to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.

NO rick is right there is a movement going on right now, but it's not out west rick it's right here in the maritimes.....thats right, it's being faught right now as Ontarians, New Brunswickers and NFLDers have been digging massive trenches all along the Quebec borders hoping that one day it just sets itself adrift, those new ice breakers we are building are actually tugs and we are going to tow their asses back to france.....

Happy Canada Day, The Best Country in the world. Where in this country we don't really care who's flag you fly, who you worship, what is your Hockey team, ....where you can choose your profession, get a decent education, raise and feed your family in relative safety, and key your neibors car for hanging his flag upside down.

So Canada takes a hit because it cheaper to buy a big mac than it is a bag of apples, last time i checked it was a personal choice not governed by the government. which is true social justice last time i checked. Like i said before you should get out more and travel the globe, see social justice as it real is, i once seen solmolians strip a dead animal carcass that had been rotten for days just for some scraps of protein while the warlords and their lackies threw out enough food to feed a small village everyday. Under the UN we would be forced to watch the tech's hyjack most of the food shipments everyday, we sat and watched and reported but then again i doubt you've been forced to watch as the weak died fighting over some split grain........countries like these social justice is ruled by who every has the most guns....And we in the west don't give a shit we don't have the will to make it right....there is no welfare system there, nor food banks, just NGO's who don't have enough food to go around....because the guys with the guns ensure they take their share first....when was the last time a canadian did not eat for weeks on end....but this is not about eating it's about having a choice between a big mac and a bag of apples is it not... stop your whinning.

No, it takes more than a few shipments of food, and a truck load of cash to over come most of these problems. people suffering is a huge money generating bussiness, as large as the Military complex, make it un profitable then maybe you'll have a chance to make it just. Don't let those NGO fool you they may claim they are unprofitable organizations, goggle their top employees and find out what they are getting paid...even the UN has plenty of bad apples, Money drives this whole industry....it also attracts some very unsavoiry people....want to end world hunger find the will to gather the supplies up and deliver them directly to those that need them, at gun piont if you have to.....if you don't you will fail. The world does not have the stomach to confront these monsters with military force, we tried that in Somolia how'd that work out for us.... Name one that has. did we stay in somolia, to help millions from starving, what did we do in Rwanda....

Maybe you should get a passport and start traveling around the globe, before whining about Canada's equality problems...can't afford the traveling join the Army they'll send you first class, to all the worlds sweat spots free of charge.....maybe you'll see equality up close and personal....

how do you make something relevent that very few nations pay attention to in the first place

All your missing now is a few tears and a phone number and i'd send you some money...

I'd love to see this happen, but in my opinion i don't think we have the time or effort to take anything defense related seriously....

Punked: Personally I hate when we spend everything single red cent of tax dollars on military expenditure, and close down school, medical care and so on to finance it. Why do you love that? See we can both play to the extreme exaggeration game although it doesn't actually help the debate in anyway and makes us both look foolish. WOW...you are playing the exageration game arn't you But if you had any proof that education and our health care was suffering to bring our military into the next century...Canadians would have went on the rampage long ago ...You make it sound like our country is one huge military complex where a bulk of our tax dollars are spent in it's maintance. When in Reality we spend only 8 cents out of every tax dollar you send in on defence. I think the question all Canadians sould be asking is how did our military get into it's current state, and how many programs bennifited from it's gutting, and neglect. And they should ask them was it worth it. Canadian soldiers paided for those cuts in blood and life....without as much as a whine from them, no debates, on costs, none on how costs should be laid out over the next 36 years. none that there was not a fair and open bidding process....Nope they went to serve thier country in what ever they wanted to send us to war in....Canadians should think about that , we are not your enemy, we are not just a dept that likes to spend your money....we are you, your brothers and sisters, daughters, sons, who want to give something back to this great nation, only we want to given a fair chance on coming come back to our families as well.... link

To be fair that is not what is said at all... And i don't believe either of those to reasons were not listed as reasons to purchase F-35's ..... Just a question though if Russian aircraft do not pose any threat then why do we waste hundrds of thousands of tax dollars incepting every one...why not just ignore them , call it a day, and save a bundle...But in order for us to invest this kind of resource and manpower there must by a threat to warrent a response. There is no context to the analyst opinion, just that whom ever works in the Adm policy branch, or adminstration branch, and may have written a briefing note for the ministers and now we are to tone our response SOP's based on this briefing note written by a clerk maybe you can give us alittle more than that.

Well according to my public record, this project has not even left the drafters pages. no construction or oil has been pumped through this public record oil pipe line. In fact a different route was chosen , and is completed with OIL being pumped through it. It kind of deflates the rest of the theory along with it ....

It has been changing, and not for the better, but for the worse, Peacekeeping today is nothing of what it used to be, The UN used to be respected, it's mandate respected, it's troops given alot of latitude to carry out their jobs...not anymore, very few countries have any time for anything UN today, shit we have a hard time policing our selfs within the UN without worring about 3 rd world countries. I think the results show the proof not much good comes from an impotent organization run by 3 rd world dictators.... Thats not the only program on the NDP hitlist, but i'll get back to that....and lets be honest with each other, we both know where this F-35 project is going, the odds of this program surviving long term are not very good. DND will ride the fairy tale wave until another party is ready to change the ride, DND will be told to choose another horse and we will simple as that..well when you have someone by the balls it's as simple as that... if anything it will be cancelled just out of shear spite, we've seen this happen to many times but it is how we chose some of our equipment.... So lets talk about the review, I think we have talked about the entire F-35 project from top to bottom including what the colors are going to be on the side of the seats...and we are still not any closer to making a deal for these A/C which locks us into nothing... Our F-18's will continue to fly, and will fly until our government tells us to stop....Canada will never have a shortage of men and women that are willing to serve our great nation...Never....DND has made it clear,on many occasions this is the plane they want, it's not the fact that ...NO was the answer from the people , it was the fact it was swept aside...After all the opposite side really does not have any better excuses than DND has just different ones....But in the end DND will have a much different plane than is planed for today, it will be choosen by the people, which is as right as a forumla one driver not choosing his car.... The NDPs already said it will review every outstanding program on the books...and when you read between the lines to peacekeeping, and add the final drop to ensure it is affordable, thats political talk for gut....It is one thing to produce the NDP military ideas, but we have to put into context what they are doing with the rest of the bouncing ball, if deficit reduction is on the books then odds are no increase for the military really simple stuff....but you military idea fairy is just that they survive until 24 hours after election....then flushed , as with any party... No i agree it HAD purpose, and unless there was a massive facelift given to the UN or perhaps Canada decides to go at it alone or with another defencive pack,,,,i would say no. Our enemies have chosen this path for us, and they don't plan on making it an easier for us...it's dirty warfare, when one man can go to war with an entire nation. The NDP does have alot of nice programs for soldiers, infact i'd go out on a limb and say most of todays programs have been champinioned by the NDP. but in say that although we would like to have it all we simply can't afford it...and if you asked a soldier to choose this one would choose equipment.... I just wanted to vist my orginal state for a second to clarifiy a few things, when discussing agendas i meant over Oil,resources or other political agendas...and for the most part there are none in this war, Sure there was talk about a pipe line still to be built, then there was trillions in minerals still in the earth, there was no second guessing why we were there. unless you had tinfiol. As for the part on Canadian solders not hanging their heads in shame i meant it, every last breath of it...And while it is easy to bring up examples that individual soldiers did to fuck things up,.... never to the piont they had to hang their heads in shame or fear retribution from the Canadian public...as yours implies .... So lets put your example into context shall we, yes this incident did happen, and yes it was reported to have happened in other locations as well....And as disgusting as it is, This is one of many events that our soldiers have struggled with in this conflict. This is not the first time this event has been reported, in fact if you research it it has been reported many times, by Canadian soldiers.... In fact Canadain soldiers have come to blows or traded aimed shots at these events....So to say the Canadian Focres has stood by making it sound like we had all lined up to see the show is just plain wrong. And this event although practiced by many in Afghanistan and considered as part of there culture to some piont, can we really piont our fingers at our soldiers and say SHAME on you,for letting this happen.... can we piont our fingers at our soldiers who just turned their heads, who did not know or have the training to handle this situation ....when they still had a mission to accomplish and required these very people to accomplish it...a mission that would have brought aid or help to so many more....Ya war sucks and if everyone told you it was any different lied.... The Afghan mission was orginally a liberal one, but it was still a good one... unlike most military missions we take on are filled or counter filled with agendas to the piont we are not sure why we are over there in the first place. Aghanistan was different we went there to punish someone, after which we were to rebuild the nation....No Oil, no Pipe lines, or trillions in Minerals....unless you had on a tinfiol hat....or following some retarded UN ROE which stated you had to die first before shooting back....we finally had a chance to use our training to save lives when needed plus take them if need be...we had the options, not some New York pimpled face desk officer who had the night shift.....Canadians were making decisions in regards to Canadian lives.... No there is a 3 rd chioce fiscal and responsable expenditures to the military much like we do averaging for our home oil or electrical grid.....it needs to be constant, and steady not full of ups and downs...Today if it takes 15 to 20 years just to purchases something thats a problem....every time we look for cuts it's the military that is pushed forward, ....and if we ever think we are going to get out of debt in the next hundrd years your crazy stop using it as some holy grail ....if we need to cut we cut everything....

Your right we have boxes and boxes of paper airplanes we could use in an emergency.... I'd also like to piont out we have that Canada has a longer Military tradition of fighting conflicts than it has ever spent on Peacekeeping and fromm our piont of veiw YOU seem to be ruining that. Nobody is talking about being a major factor, just living up to our present commitments and treaities....As a G-8 nation that should be well within our mandate.... Before you get down and pray to the peacekeeping gods, you should do a little research on the topic, peacekeeping does not look at all what Mr Pearson designed it for...it's rather a slap in the face to him and the troops that are forced to take part in it. Another great Canadian past time, when not talking about the old days of peacekeeping "back in 74 when we passed that whole truck of blankets out"....we fall back on the stead fast position of slamming uncle sam and his merry band of men.... Thats because we are the only country that deserves the freedom we live with, and the rest of the world well screw them....it is after all our tax dollars...

Madmax: Useless... would depend on your view piont and at what piont you were looking in from. Lets also remember that Bosina was the first of our large Rotations, with only 3 brigade to choose from it was not hard to reach burn out...does not say anything about the quality of the mission, be it from the troops piont of view, our Nation, or the people themselfs....and in those 3 terms i think you'd be hard press to find one without a lot of warts.... Yes, there is a time and place for peacekeeping, just not in all the same places we've tried them. Soldiers were chosen to perform peacekeeping for a reason...i hope you were not suggesting that you don't need a set of nuts to do it, walking between 2 heavily armed sides with just a rifle to settle disputes takes a big set of nuts. i don't care who you are, you need those gung ho types, it is what makes up a portion of being a soldier...to be able to run toward trouble when others are running away... We have seen both, just more junk than good ones. Every soldier was a front line soldier, everyday we lived in that hell, we woke up wiped our asses then went to work killing people, protecting people, digging wells,building schools, firehalls, police stations....But lets not forget that Canadians had it exactly the way they wanted, no more , no less.... The NDP line is affordable and sustainable because it guts our core military strentgh....I'm surprised you can't see that, i guess it is kind of hard through all the smoking mirrors..... Those touting Peacekeeping missions as the flavour of the day your wrong, Any peacekeping under the UN is as dangerous as it gets, and i don't think we will ever be reliving any of those days any time soon. It's cheaper because you don't need half the equipment or training....but in the long term it will only hurt those soldiers you plan on sending around the globe.... Being a peacekeeper first you must master being a soldier....then a diplomate... then a skilled talker...once you've mastered all that then you need an extra healthy dose of common sense, that eludes us while on these missions.... Everyone is shaking their heads , sounds about right, sounds reasonable...UN soldiers show up in white lab coats, hand out blankets, pillows, and lots of candies...but that is not what peacekeeping is about...Thats not what your pushing here...It's been preverted beyond recognition.... then there is the 90's... scared with so much fear and hatred for UN missions....(Sigs guy )has mentioned it here already, UN missions are filled with war crimes , both sides flexing their muscles, raping, murdering, looting, ethic cleansing all right in the front of the UN ...in front of Canadian soldiers....Don't worry we won't embrass you , we'll puke , we'll turn our heards, shit we will try and stop it all only to be told to stand down, not to interfer, record histroy....we'll do our part.......we'll scrub our uniforms to remove all the blood, so we will be parade inspection ready for our return flight back to Canada...Myself , well me and many of my comrads have promised "never" to go on another UN mission again. and if that means retirement then so be it... Afghanistan was the first mission in a long time we did not have 4 or 5 agendas ,... were we could practice our trade without hanging our heads in shame...take action to save someone...and to kill those that really responsable for a long list of crimes....Thanks NDP, but no thanks...

The Media is full of examples of the new Purcurement projects that have been brought forward and made public, including the new ships, new fighters, new Amry vehs, etc in all the touted price tag of over 490 bil over 20 years is not news at all, In fact many Canadians have been asking How,when,and why these projects are needed...and i agree that explaining these projects to the general public has been a major fail on DND's and the governments side of the house, but i also place the blame on the lack of concern by the general public to get concerned...yes the new fighter program has gather alot of interest, but this is just a small portion of the 490 bil that really need to be looked at. And when we take a look at each program we find that the numbers of equipment are really very small, infact most projects are not to replace capabilities we have on a one for one basis but rather much smaller than we had before, fighters one example, new ships another. Army equipment another... And this is just my opinion that our Military has never been a priority,for any thing, infact it is usally a major source of cut backs, so other things can be funded....atleast in the last 30 years. That and the fact there is just no interest in the general public to see our military modernized or anything else. But really as fast as these projects have been announced they have been put on the back burner, delayed or canceled all together...All due to lack of funding...and most military members, along with interested General public members we all get it... But sooner or later Canada is going to have to make these minimum investments in our military or make some harder decisions on what we want to keep, or pass on to another nation. And when i say minimum, we are really talking about the bare bones minimum, i mean really 65 jets, 100 tanks, these numbers we embarassing for a nation of our size, and standing within the G-8. My link Concerns over any military project should be discussed, and Our government should be crystal clear on the intent, and the military needs to stay out of political events as much as possiable. That being said the whole process needs to be looked at like i've said what is our role, what is expected, but as far is what equipment is needed to cover these tasks that should remain a miliraty decision.... It's my opinion that the Canadian public needs to decide what roles DND is to have, DND should brief the government on the different roles and their costs, then some hard decisions should be made , regardless of affordability..instead of pretending and faking that we can do it all......making plans then canceling them...promising those men and women that have alreay commited their lives and time to serving this nation with a realistic plan and realistic promises so they can make up their own minds to stay or go... We have been living with these very types of decisions for ever, and it is not until the military has paid for these decisions with lives, that the public come on our side....lets not forget the iltis, LSVW, MLVW, and HLVW chose to have these vehs in Afghanistan, or getting tanks there as well , there are countless of other choses as well....And when you combine these , with our less than steller proformance in purcurement, not to mention how long we actually keep equipment thats long gone to the dogs, a perfect example of this is our Leo tanks which have still not replaced our older designs...only a few of the new Leo IIA4 designs have been delivered for training and today those new A6 models have been returned back to Germany,while in the mean time we still are using the Original tanks we purchased...even 3 rd world countries have updated there equipment.... And i would agree with you if the general public actually gave a shit, but replacing a tank is not a 15 year process, nor is keeping them for 30 or more years...Nor is agreeing that we should only buy 100 of these then when broken down, having a brigade with only 15 of these tanks ...is actually quit sad...So while climnbing into the best equipment is a good chose today 30 years from now will be well Fu****ed.

Really, I find your claim that this is news to most Canadians hard to swallow..In fact most Canadians have asked this very question plenty of times, How are we going to afford all these purchases...Show us the Money....the figure of 480 bil over 20 years has been published many times....perhaps we have been distracted trying to swallow the price tag for new fighters...but that does negate that the cons have pushed this massive number out plenty of times...you have just choose to ingnore it. And nobody even blinked...in fact we readily accept that well over 50 bil is being spent on Ship building...and yet you suggest that we can't add up all these projects on our own..we need to be spoon feed promises....To come to the same conclusion affording this spending is going to mean changes...instead we piont our fingers at the cons and scream, you failed to keep your promise, while in the back ground you've been fighting the cons tooth and nail for spending or upgrading our military period. And when the cons come to the same conclusion you start blaming them for not keeping their promises. Perhaps it's time we left the politics to the wing nuts and concerned ourselfs with educating our selfs on the the problems in our country.. As for painting the Cons as the saviors af our military, At least it is a major topic on their radar, wish i could say that for any past ruling party....unless you can prove other wise....In fact i remember a liberal party making huge plans, for the military once which included whacky things such as Nuk Subs, with all the fancy trimmings....those plans made it just past the election date....But atleast the Cons have started projects, even made good on some of them... As for the SO CALLED years of neglect, if it takes 480 bil dollars to repair what do you call it...i mean very few new capabilites have been added in those purchases, most will be spent on just replacing or keeping capibilites we have now....if you ask me 480 Bil speaks for itself "Neglect" is a politically correct way for saying gutted.... DND has no choice, it follows orders given by our political masters, they make decissions based on public opinion, Canadians don't have enough time to make rational decisions, so they support what ever the media feeds them....DND makes recommendations , that are not always followed.... Whats Canadians should be asking about is how much do we value our security, do we really need a military, and what would i be willing to live without not to worry about security ever.... Instead today we place a value on a human life in terms of dollars instead of asking the right question of would i want my son or daughter to climb into this equipment and go to war....

No i was explaining why the Avg Canadian decides to serve his country, And Yes we do care who decides, we want it done based on facts and research, something the Avg Canadian either does not have access to or fails to do any research... That is not what "support the troops " means it you have our back, ensuring we are properly equiped for the jobs we are assigned, make sure we are looked after if and when we do come back with phyiscal or mental proeblems, it means supporting our families when we are gone , or killed. It's got nothing to do with the mission....Really a union... the people of Canada not up to the task ....it seems not, and now you want a say in were we go, how we are equiped, etc etc .... I disagree, it is just a topic that Canadians are not interested in... That is a pretty big claim you've made, that our political masters have none and now need the assistance of the Avg Canadian to keep their moral and ethical compass pionting true and straight...what about doing what is right for the majority of Canadians,were the needs of the many out wiegh the needs of the few....and what if doing the right thing is unmoral or unethical...what then... As far as getting all the facts and info to the general public , having a debate, then getting everyone to a voting station....would take forever...on top of the fact not all the fact or info is meant for the general public....Look how long it took our government to react to Rwanda genicide....i can't fathom the people making a quick decision on anything....and what if you did not get aq super majority...we just let nature take it's course....Thats very ethical and moral is it not.... No it is a perfect example of the majority of Canadians speaking out on a topic they have no clue about, it's a canadian tradition actually....The Airforce chose this aircraft, because it is the one they will climb into to defend this nation and our foreign policys abroad....it is the aircraft that gives them the best chance of coming back alive....what most Canadian do not take into account that once the current military force is expended in combat it will be their turn.... Morally unquestionable conflicts...is their such a thing ? These aircraft are wpns of war, they are designed and used for a couple of things, whoaing you at air shows and bringing death and destruction to our enemies....our enemies are chosen by a staff you we would all hope make those calls with info and intel not available to all.... So now i'm a starship trooper for stating facts...so the majority of canadians when asked who supports the troops most if not all will stick up their hands ....and yet our current state of the military is being driven by the cons not the majority of people demanding from their current government to repair that state....their has been media articles after media articles on how well our military treats our wounded vets, with mental and phyiscal wounds....and when our government does nothing the poeple are quite....when our vets are treated like forgotten people , we turn the other way... Let me ask you this if you were in my shoes would you openly give them the power to decide which conflict we are going to enter...or would you be pissed and openly state they have not earned that right....And if it sounds like starship trooper shit to you then your not listening... It's been tried a thousand times and proven a thousand times Canadians don't give a shit about military matters... I know basically soldiers are to be seen but not heard, locked up in glass cases only to be opened when needed....got a news flash for you...I pay taxes, and i do vote, i have the same rights as any Canadian out there.... The majority of Canadians think all we do is hand out blankets and cookies, shit they still think we a peace keeping nation...Canadians are uncomnfortable with the thought that Canadian soldiers are killing others to defend our foreign policies....and your right it's not about me...nor is it about you...if "WE" don't like it use your freedoms to change it....if they are to damn lazy to change it, then tell them to STFU....stop your whinning.... My first tour i remembered getting on the plane thousands of people lined the streets and were at the airport, their support was real...once they found out we were killing people they quickly changed that support....then they conviently forgot about us....that is until we were accused of doing something , unfounded or not...who does that, and then still has the balls to say "I support the troops" and now you want to vote on conflicts and wars....no thanks, i'll take my chances with the elected governments. If i sound jaded it is because i am just like you are with our current governmental system....

OIL revenue , really Afghanistan is 179 th in the world in regards to OIL production, it created a whooping 2.5 bil in revenues in 2009...

Bleeding heart: One could also say that about the those that use the quote so they are not accused of supporting the troops...it's used by all sides to deliver political messages that don't do anything for the troops except no ones likes to be singled out....

Gosthacked: Gosthacked you need to seek him out, right now he needs someone to talk to, trust me he'll thank you later...

The Average Canadian soldier just wants to serve his nation, some see it as their way of giving back, some see it as a job, some see it as a way to see the world....or to have a job with some job security. You ask why soldiers don't settle on anything less. What difference does this make to a soldier, "it does not make any difference, and why should it" it does not change the job that we do or how we do it....do you think your any better at picking what conflict you send us to? Do you think the Average Canadian knows or has acess to more info than the government...info is the critical piece, to make informed decisions....Do you think this info should be made public ? DO you think Canadians would really put any more thought into going to war or on operations than they do about any other militay matters ? And i don't want to take anything away from those few that do, Smallc, dereck,Sigs CPL,BC2004,DOP, and a few others that keep current because the topic because it interests them, but for the majority of Canadians it does not, infact it is a topic the have an opinion on but don't have the knowlegde base to make any decision on...And well, since it is a topic that i my life may depend on , no i don't want the Avg joe deciding anything in regards to the military. Perfect example of this is the F-35 project...in the end unless the cons can hold onto power until late 2020 there will be no f-35, why because the majority of Canadians don't want it...they know more than the Airforce, and want something different and won't stop until that happens. And it will as history shows us...it has become a political tool which will be used, regardless of the military application. In my opinion they have not earned that right, and i use the current state of our military as an example, sure while it is reflected on our government the people have the power to change it if only they had the will. while it may piss some off they way we treat our vets or soldiers we don't have the will to do anything about it...SO we let it ride.... Next comment how do you plan to get people out to vote ? shit we can't even make it to the polling stations on a federal election..... Next i don't want that responsiablity in the avg joes hands, the government has done a poor job in handling military affairs , it would only get worse if all Canadians shared in that process. So i ask you what will a referendum accomplish, will it give you peace of mind, what does the average voter get out of this.... Because in the end our military will have the same job, to close with and destroy our enemies...a job that canadians are not comfortable with, and yet still need... I also want to remind you that when the Afghan conflict first started we did have a Majority in favour....thousands showed up in trneton to see us off...cheering and yelling thinking we were going over there and the taliban were just going to give up in the face of our mighty Army, a product of Canada and it's military will....we went , we killed, we captured, and short time later Canadians changed their mind....and for 10 long years forgot about it's soldiers....how does voting change any of that...

DId he not recieve this process already, and was he not found guilty. And while in a perfect world that would work, yes it looks good on papers and charters,etc etc but history has recorded that the law is not blind nor is every one treated equally under it. And in this case we don't believe he has done something wrong he has been convicted, so it is fact. his snetence has been reduced to 8 years, for the murder of a US soldier, for carrying out terrorist activities in another country, for which he has not been tried for, or justice served in Adfghanistan, he has betrayed his country....and justice is blind and everyone is equal under it....i wonder if the Latest US soldier to be tried for murder will be treated the same way....

They got nothing.... Your right, soldiers are no better than any ordinary citizen, and perhaps you did not read all my links a single soldier who is killed in battle gets a free funeral, thats it...not entitled to any workmans comp, no Civilian ins, get dismamember and the VAC will pay out up to 250 k if you die and your married....then your released and put on the street.... your aware that a cab driver can get life ins, upon accidental death can make millions....and yet there is only one life ins company that will cover a soldier in combat, and the max pay out is 250 k ....