As Peter pointed out, I may have broken my own rules in posting the Support Our Troops announcement, so in the interest of fairness, I have removed the announcement and the thread.

This should not be construed as any sort of discouragement of discussion about what equipment might be of use to or appreciated by those participating in current military operations, a perfectly non-political subject.

LATER: As George noted so well in the other thread, people check the forum to see what's new on ETS and I have reposted the note, less the potentially political statements, to point the way to the new information. This is in accordance with my usual SOP for new or updated pages on ETS.

Mr Ritter, I for one was not offended by that post, and just yesterday I gave 60 people this webaddress to view that post, in order that they could pass on that info <img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> Now i have to try and find a way to direct folks to it <img src="images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> Could you please email it to me in it's entirety, so I can print it out and get 100's of copies made to distribute? I want EVERY single person in US Military uniforms on active duty in the War Theater to recieve a 'Care Package'. To this extent I have closed one of my brokerage accounts, and am going to contribute a sizeable amount of cash towards the $25 USO care plan. PLEASE reconsider putting it back up. I don't understand how people on this forum could NOT want that post here; considering the USA's VERY survival counts on those overseas succeeding in their missions. Thanks, Gene

Well, not everyone who participates is American and while I can make or break the rules as I see fit, <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> it benefits all of uson this forum more if I try to comply with my own rules not to post a politically charged message, from their ideological POV. I could also argue, with some merit, that I didn't break my rules, but again, the end result would likely be counterproductive. In any case, the article/page is still there, it hasn't gone anywhere. Any reference you might email should point directly to the page at:

http://www.equipped.org/deployed_military_suggestions.htm

I commend you on your contributions and am happy I was able to assist you in some small way.

I submit to the Forum that just about any post here offends someone. If someone recommends a Boker knife, somebody will be upset because it's German... Cold Steel because it's Japanese. I'm sure snare wire and fish hook discussions are the bane of PETA's existence and are considered extremely political to them. The ability to please the masses is impossible and ANYTHING can be turned into a political battle.

What Mr. Ritter did was post something that had the ability to make a lot of service personnel in an extremely harsh environment more comfortable. I don't remember a heading on the post saying "CLICK ME" or else. The heading was "Support our Troops". If you do not desire to support our troops, then don't click on the link. I fully appreciate anyones right to support/not support. In fact, I've spent over 21 years in the Marine Corps, in part to ensure that the "non-silent minority" could snivel at will.

If ONE service person doesn't get a care package because we had to cater to the feelings of .001% of the masses, then the cost was too high. Some members (me included) go straight to the Forum from the front page daily. We rely on posts from Doug when the front page has been updated with new information. Removing that post ensures that some members will never see that info, or they will see it too late. I highly recommend that the entire thread be re-posted.

If it turns out that I am in the .001% group and that 99.9% of the Forum agrees with the non-silent minority, then so be it. If you disagree with a post, say so... but not at the expense of others. Don't rob a service person of something that makes his crappy life a little better, just so you can feel at peace with yourself.

Another point: I think most of us (of course not all), would agree that ETS is unmatched in the amount of information, suggestions, tips, etc. pertaining to survival issues. That information and the Forum are completely free of charge to all who desire to access it. In addition to the support of our troops overseas, we need to financially support the staff of ETS, so they can continue to provide this cutting edge information.

Nothing is free; someone is footing the bill to keep this site going. Don't be surprised when you get out of bed one day to check the Forum, or research an item and it's no longer there. Then we can go to 100 different sites to get our scoop... like we used to do. Loosen up the purse strings and donate some money to ETS. They sure as hell deserve it!

Sorry... I'm not usually a "soap-box" kinda guy, but this one raised my blood pressure a notch or two.

Take care, George

George,

Thanks for your kind words and support. The issue wasn't one of disagreement wtih what I wrote, but rather about our rules, which I also wrote, and often pointedly enforce. :-) As I said earlier, I could well have ignored the point, but I think fairness dictated I remove the post. Your point on notice, however, is well taken. I have a solution. <img src="images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Mr. Ritter,
I don't live in the USA (I'm Canadian) but l do have family and friends who are American (it's a rare Canadian who doesn't!),some in the US military, and I certainly appreciated the information that you provided.
Thank you

I, and I am sure, them, appreciate your support.

URAH! Thank you for this 'cover fire' George, and your years as a US Marine Defending Life, Liberty, and Justice for ALL in this Country. I salute the Man, his uniform, and Our Flag, Semper Paratus! Gene <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />