What do you think "the Troops" think about having to kill Iraqis

[patrice]

for doing what the Troops themselves, and every red-blooded American, would do if the U.S. were invaded?

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. the troops do what needs to be done to come home

period

[patrice]

2. I know. I'm a veteran, so I understand about the chain of command,

though I've never been in combat, I had to think about how I would deal with that personally, because you have to do as you are told after you raise your right hand and swear in.

[nadinbrzezinski]

4. Go watch Jarhead

your answer might be n there, or go watch All Quiet in the Western Front....

For those who have been in combat understand those troops are not there for mother, apple pie or the murican dream, they are there for each other... by the way welcome for your service, but it will truly depend

if soembody is actively trying to kill them, I don't think they will have that many problems in years to come, if they are not being actively shot at, you can guarantee PTSD, that is your other anwer, PTSD is at historic highs.

[soup]

12. Discovery Times has a documentary series

called 'Off To War' on Saturday nights with members of an Arkansas National Guard group deployed to Iraq. It follows them and their families through the time spent. It's very well done and I'd recommend it, too, to get a glimpse of what's happening and how this particular group of soldiers get through being there and how they feel about it.

http://times.discovery.com/convergence/offtowar/offtowar.html

Note: I'd avoid the message board there, though (unless you feel up to it) - just checked it out and now I've got a headache from banging my head against the computer after reading through the posts and some of the deliberate blind ignorance expressed there.

[SteppingRazor]

3. I don't think you can generalize "the troops"...

There's some real gung-ho characters that are desperate to get over there and get into combat. At the same time, there's others that never wanted to go, and just want to get back home.

To just wonder what the "troops" think about combat or killing Iraqis is something of an over-simplification, I think.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. And the gun ho tend to be full of piss and vinegar young troops

who have not been over there yet.

[knowbody0]

6. i have a friend back from Iraq

who says the military turns them into killing machines taught to turn on or off on command, to obey their commander in chief without question.
he calls me now and again, really drunk, often crying.

fucking sad

[nadinbrzezinski]

7. Try to get your friend onto any good veteran group

where he can go and ahem talk with others and start getting treated. The nightmares will never go away, ever... but he needs to be able to do dela with his guilt or I can guarantee he will become a statistic.

Done some very informal debriefs with some marines and they have been through hell and then some... that is war... and the country does not get it

[knowbody0]

11. he only hangs out with his military friends

and calls ptsd a "pussy" disease.
Vietnam redux

[BJW]

8. Depends on whether they've drunk the Kool-Aid or not--eom

[SomewhereOutThere424]

9. Soldiers aren't trained to think

They're trained to kill. But obviously, a lot of them there aren't soldiers. Just a lot of reservesmen and very undertrained kids. That's why this war should end. We didn't send 100% battle hardened soldiers to do this, or else we would have 'won' already.

On edit, I can't really say that about all soldiers though. All's quiet on the western front is a beautiful display of the question you asked.

[indepat]

10. When troops with a modicum of decency are required to commit unthinkable

acts (like one or more of a litany of war crimes), when they come home, they likely will have a lifetime of nightmares and guilt and likely will have a very hard time adjusting to civilian/family life IMHO.

Edited for clarity