Again when we first invaded it is a completely different story, but now things are relatively nice. While you are much safer on a ship, you have a better quality of life on the ground. I say "To each his own" because your choice will be based on whether you value safety or quality of life more.
This post is also intended to let sailors on ships/subs know that they are making a big sacrifice for their country. I felt somewhat meaningless when I was on the ship because my sacrifice didn't compare to the sacrifice of the boots on the ground. Well no disrespect to the boots on the ground, but I think sailors have it worse.
First, I don't know who you are, but you do not need to log into Nukeworker.com and talk to me about MY sacrifices I made in the Navy. You don't have to compare your "garden of eden" compound that you sit in and tell me it's better/worse than Ship/Submarine life. As Justin said, it's NOT apples/apples, so here's another person trying to figure out what your point really is in Nukeworker today.
I fail to see how "great" you have it in Afghanistan. Here are a few stats for you:
http://icasualties.org/oef/http://projects.washingtonpost.com/fallen/afghanistan/http://projects.washingtonpost.com/fallen/dates/2010/feb/03/david--j-hartman/If you have facts to debate the issue further to your point, than post them. I'd love to read accounts of how solders think they're having a grand 'ole time over there.
So, if you're ready to stand by your golden perspective, then I challenge you to man-up and send a letter to David J. Hartman's mother and convince HER how "great" is is over there in a War Zone. Do you think David Hartman got the chance to eat a hamburger with some General before he died over there? There's a serious mission going on OUTSIDE your compound, that you like to isolate in comparison to Sub life, which again is ridiculous. In fact, I read your post as belittling the people dying over there with your immature "perspective" of military life.
Personally, if I was sent to Afghanistan today and had a job that kept me inside a highly protective zone eating "sliders" with Generals, then I'd be a little embarrassed to Blog the world how I get to stay warm/safe while people around me were dying. I'd log onto a Blog and thank the families of my fallen comrades and give the accurate perspective (as Justin also articulates) that "we're all doing what we can to survive and we're all praying to come home alive" which leads to the lifetime of camaraderie(that Marlin discussed)...regardless of your rank, title, or military service. That is why, lad, this Forum is so passionate, so dedicated, and so fond of their time in the military: it was a hard life at times and we could rely on each other. WWII vets, Vietnam war vets, cold war vets, Gulf war vets...all the same. Luckily, in the Nuclear Industry, that can happen outside the military. (I knew there had to be a way for me to steer this topic towards something germane to this forum).
The President of the United States did NOT commission that General to eat hamburgers with E-3s in some tent overseas. If you've been made to feel "special" by that event, then in my 20+ years of enlisted/officer experience, you don't understand what it means to be either one. If you'd like to differ with me and continue this thread, please PM me the name of your General. I'll bet you $0.25 that not only can I find a way to contact him, but I'll be happy to post HIS "perspective" of eating tents in the secure compound while his 17 year-old soldier (and others to come) is dead. I'll gladly share your post here with him and ask if this is really an accurate picture of life over there. I'm guessing that he IS thinking about David Hartman's mother and many other solders wondering what tomorrow will bring for his Command. I'm certain he isn't worried about logging into some Blog and trying to convince the world how "great" is is over there. Here's the difference I'd expect to hear: HE has to go to bed at night with the weight of those deaths on his shoulders...under his command...in a time of war...then, live with it for the rest of his life. Maybe one day you'll leave that warm tent on an unsafe mission while being in charge of a group of junior enlisted solders and maybe then you'll understand what MY perspective is trying to share. Maybe some day you'll be burdened with the responsibility and authority to make life-and-death decisions that you will be held accountable for...positively or negatively. Maybe then you'll be a senior officer yourself and decide to sit with a young E-3 one day in the galley and ask him how his day went. Maybe you'll find yourself wondering whether or not that young E-3 will not be going home tomorrow as a result of a bad decision that you made.
I'm sorry that your shipboard experience was unrewarding for you. This forum is filled with stories of similar situations laden with disloyalty, lack of integrity, and utter mismanagement of some of these ships. We've all heard (and maybe seen) the stories of prostitution rings, drug rings, suicides, etc...in addition to some problematic technical issues. We've all worked for (or heard of) the "worst COs in the world". I challenge you to be part of the solution in those bad situations, to stay positive, to be the one that someone still sane in your chain of command can look to for help when THEY need it. You'll then find how easy it is to write an outstanding resume and how valuable you are to the civilian world as well. I'm sure your compound is filled with enlisted folks complaining how much their situation and assigned leadership sucks there, probably in contract to your post of the same situation...just as they did on your first ship perhaps. Neither is perfect, but the difference is in YOUR attitude.
God Bless and Stay Safe over there. I pray for your return and the ability to blog the world about your stories for decades to come. I really do. I've known others to go to Afghanistan and be less fortunate than you and I are today.
Co60