I will not get into any philosophical or moral debates; but I do feel that I have to answer this one statement. I served 24 years on active duty, and an additional 7 so far in government service as a civilian, still going to combat zones and getting shot at. While I agree with your basic premise that war is bad and should be avoided if at all possible, it is not always possible to do so. Most soldiers hate it more than you do, especially the ones out there getting shot at all the time. While the military exists to accomplish the missions given to it by our civilian leaders,it does put its people a close second to accomplishing the mission. The military is a very large bureaucracy run by human beings, and they have personalities and attitudes just like everyone else. They make decisions, good and bad. We do care about our people, our country, our dogs, our families, peace and people in general. It is the rare soldier who does not. It was soldiers, the dog handlers, who fought to get the policy changed on the final disposition of the dogs, because they cared so much. I have personally risked my life to protect and help civilians all over the world. I sacrificed much of my time with my family to go and perform these missions. The U.S. military has performed more humanitarian operations than anyone except the Red Cross. We fed and sheltered more people than they did. We lose more friends and family members than anyone else during war time, and in many cases we watch them die in horrible ways. We care, about you and every other person in this country.

Please do not use such a general description for the military. It is a human endeavor, and it has all the good and bad that humans posses. It also has a broad cross section of the American population. We follow the direction of our elected leaders. It is not perfect, but these men and women do not deserve to all be lumped into such a negative category.

I apologize to all for this if it is inappropriate. I could not leave it unanswered. I will remove myself from these forums if it is deemed necessary by the moderators.