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Message 1 of 6 was Deleted
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| | | | | 5.2 in reply to 5.1 | |
we can meet up and continue this "discussion" in person rather than behind a computer monitor in your parents basement. and btw its "POG", not "POGE", it means Personnel Other than Grunt", but I am sure you couldn't know that being since you had to be one judging by your writing style.
Sgt. Kevin Metz
Edited 3/10/2008 2:45 pm ET by PhillySysOp2 |
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| | | | | 5.3 in reply to 5.1 | |
| You are more than welcome to join us for our second tour to Iraq this fall Hero. |
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Message 4 of 6 was Deleted
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| | | | | 5.5 in reply to 5.2 | |
I notice the post you're relying to was deleted, possibly because whoever wrote it needs a brain transplant. Before I forget thanks for serving from a Vietnam Vet. I gather from your post that "grunt" is being used again for those in the infantry. It was used at times in my war, Vietnam. However, in the central highlands where I was in 1969-70 with the 173rd Airborne the preferred term was either "11-boonie" or "boonie-rat". I think the latter term might have been inspired in part by a tv show about allied commandos in North Africa in WWII called "Desert Rats". I was more or less a REMF or RAMF Rear Echelon or Rear Area you know what. although the post office where I worked wasn't exactly in a rear area. We got shelled about once a month. Like in your war we couldn't be sure who the enemy was. We'd occasionally wonder if the Vietnamese barber who cut our hair in the afternoon would try to sneak through the wire at night and slit our throats. where I was most of our casualties, as in your war, didn't come from fighting the enemy but from what we called "mines and booby traps", primarily activated by trip wires hidden in the vegetation. Unfortunately for you bomb making technology has substantially improved since Vietnam. You also had the disadvantage of attackers anxious to commit suicide. One thing that those who haven't served in a combat zone don't understand is that it doesn't matter what the odds of getting killed are as long as they are above zero. You have a better chance of serving a tour in Iraq than we had of surviving a tour in Vietnam, particularly when I was there, and we had a better chance of surviving than those who served in Korea and WWII. HOwever, no one knows in advance if there is a bullet or shell or mine with his name on it out there someplace. No one knows if he, or she in your war, will survive the next explosion. Even if none of your buddies is killed, knowing in the back of your mind that it could happen anytime creates stress. One other similarity between your war and my war is that at least in the beginning of your war the generals didn't really know how to handle the war. I believe that situation has changed. Paradoxically The two worst strategies in war are to be too aggressive and not aggressive enough. The later strategy can allow the enemy to control the tempo of the war. Winning in war and in football requires both an offense and a defense. |
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| | | | | 5.6 in reply to 5.5 | |
| thank you for your reply, my message was directed at a message that has since been deleted, but someone was basically saying this story was written about us because we were less under stress than previous conflicts. i understand the magnitude of any conflict and regardless of whether you served in the rear or on the lines, if you were there you can speak about with the knowledge of being a combat veteren. the post referred to us as "POGs" which is someone you call who is not in the infantry. the way it was written seemed to be from a former soldier who never actually experienced anything remotely lifethreatening. in no way did i mean to downplay vietnam or any other conflict that took place. thanks for your reply |
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