The Unauthorized Randy “Duke” Cunningham Page

Just spending a little time thinking about those willing to risk their lives in the service, which I think has been admired by mankind from the time the first rock was thrown to kill someone in a rival tribe, and how the military service has only been put on a much higher pedestal in the last 100 years. Until then a soldier was essentially scum. WWII can be easily pointed to when that was radically changed. After Vietnam it took 20 or 30 years of carefully crafted reorganization and PR efforts to get the fighting man's image back. I was born in 1968 and can remember the treatment and after effects on 'Nam veterans. I guess I belong to a certain percentage of the population filled with the spirit that leads us to follow the path of the warrior. Growing up I held those guys in a state of awe and never lost it. When I joined up many of the First Sergeants had served in Vietnam and they did very well passing down a great deal of lore and knowledge that saved our asses on many occasions.

So, I've established that I assign a very high emotional value in regard to our fighting men.

But, I know for a solid FACT that service doesn't make you some kind of saint. I also know that even though you are part of an organization that is regimented and coordinated daily, it doesn't mean that you can assign us with any kind of stereotype. We are humans and as different as snowflakes. Don't tell me I'm Blue State, and don't tell me I'm Red State. I've seen sh@t that more often than not leaves me seeing nothing but the color of bullsh@t. I was trying to put it all together as a rant but I ran across a fella named Stryker that put it down on a blog far better than I could. So here's the link:
http://www.sgtstryker.com/weblog/archives/003610.php