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    adamjohnson08Hamilton Nolan
    11/11/13 4:47pm

    Serious question. Outside of "defending your country" why would someone do this to themselves willingly?

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      Johnnybenchhandsadamjohnson08
      11/11/13 5:08pm

      Service, Honor, often times a means to an end, ever heard of the GI Bill? Some people also use the Military as a way out of their personal strife, you know taking accountability for their future, and not wanting to be a part of a cycle. It has its good and bad.

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      Blueberrypiesadamjohnson08
      11/11/13 5:20pm

      Reasons I've heard for joining:
      Money
      Pension
      Medals
      Patriotism
      Tradition
      Desperation
      Adventure
      Travel

      ...there are more, but you get the point. If you fit in, the military can be an amazing experience. If you don't, and/or something awful happens to you during your service, it can be absolute hell. It's a crapshoot, really, and there are innumerable ways to hurt yourself or be hurt by someone else.

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    nothipHamilton Nolan
    11/11/13 4:05pm

    GOD BLESS OUR TROOPS (That is...until they come back and want psychiatric help, food stamps, or any sort of assistance from the government, those damn leeches! They need to learn to pull themselves up from their bootstraps like I did!)

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      PeteRRHamilton Nolan
      11/11/13 3:27pm

      What is exacerbating the situation is they're being discharged into an economy that is sputtering along.

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        Chamomiles DavisPeteRR
        11/11/13 3:45pm

        This has shades of the "Bonus Army" incident. Let's hope the outcome is much, much different.

        /Screw MacArthur & Patton

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        slipdiscoPeteRR
        11/12/13 6:11am

        JOIN THE INDUSTRIAL RESERVES!

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      Patsy StoneHamilton Nolan
      11/11/13 7:38pm

      This is America. We only like soldiers when they are in the military. Just like we only like unborn children. Former soldiers and babies have a lot in common. Once they're out - they are on their own. It's the American way. It's the Republican way

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        FavelaPatsy Stone
        11/11/13 8:04pm

        You tell 'em Pats.

        GIF
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      toothpetardHamilton Nolan
      11/11/13 3:40pm

      Bootstraps, wharrgarrbl.

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        Set Fire to the Room--do it now (fiends NOT friends)Hamilton Nolan
        11/11/13 3:40pm

        I dunno, HamNo, it seems like these veterans are asking for an awful lot. I tied a ribbon around my tree, and I think that's more than enough expression of my support.

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          neopatriotSet Fire to the Room--do it now (fiends NOT friends)
          11/11/13 5:28pm

          I am a veteran. Once I chose to get out, I became no better than you. Every year that I am out the less military and the more civilian I am. I lost my job this year and I felt I deserved NO better chance than the next guy just because of a few years a spent back in the day. We all have bills to pay. My life is no sacred than yours.

          As far as some kind of counciling our training right before seperation, maybe. But what other employer does this for its employees? When I got laid off it was with a phone call at 8pm on a Friday. That is what civilians get. If anything civilians need more help than vets. Military is a pretty recession proof job where I never worried about having a roof over my head, meal to eat, or medical care. Civilians have none of this.

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          communistyogurtSet Fire to the Room--do it now (fiends NOT friends)
          11/11/13 9:19pm

          fiends and friends, it is very disrespectfule to say that a ribbon around a tree is something substantial to show your support for the men and women who served and serve our country

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        MeanMrMustardHamilton Nolan
        11/11/13 4:01pm

        That seems like a great fund. Those people are doing such great work. Seems like a good way to spend a life. I'll donate.

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          theodorebloatHamilton Nolan
          11/11/13 7:32pm

          The Doe Fund sounds just wonderful (again).

          I think it's shameful that the government that employed these veterans doesn't take care of these needs themselves. If it did, however, more people might start to wonder why it didn't also provide a better safety net for everyone else, too.

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            dawntreader22theodorebloat
            11/13/13 4:59pm

            The VA does have homeless programs.

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            theodorebloatdawntreader22
            11/13/13 5:19pm

            Yes, and they are inadequate to the task.

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