How many know, when you are in the military you cannot disagree with your superiors, by word or letter .?
541104
You can disagree but you'll have a price to pay.  One aspect of this is to look at the number of veterans that are running for political office now.  Only 1 or 2% are running as republicans the rest 98%+ are running as Democrates.  That makes the biggest statement yet as to how many of the military don't agree with Bush and his policies.
390048
Most retired military personal have had between 20 and 30 years of formality. That's a long time to deal with that sort of behavior...but usually the people who don't want to be called "sir" are Non-commissioned Officer Sargent's and so on.  They do not want to be confused with "Officers" non-coms work for a living...
1080631
I'm registered as an Independant but consider myself a consertive. I'm with you. It should not matter what name someone wears but what he believes to be right.  As an old combat vet ( Nam ), I can tell you that when all the far left get up and strart critizing the whole administration and main stream media get the band wagon ;it cost lives that are in harms way.
606609
god please if you are in the army and are an enlisted not an officer which its very obvious you are not then you are very aware that according to the UCMJ it is illigal for an enlisted person whether its male or female to have a freindship relationship with an officer whether they are male or female. \narticle 134-23 of the UCMJ states\nThat the accused was a commissioned or warrant officer; \n\n(2) That the accused fraternized on terms of military equality with one or more certain enlisted member(s) in a certain manner; \n\n(3) That the accused then knew the person(s) to be (an) enlisted member(s); \n\n(4) That such fraternization violated the custom of the accused’s service that officers shall not fraternize with enlisted members on terms of military equality; and \n\n(5) That, under the circumstances, the conduct of the accused was to the prejudice of good order and discipline in the armed forces or was of a nature to bring discredit upon the armed forces. \n\nExplanation. \n\nThe gist of this offense is a violation of the custom of the armed forces against fraternization. Not all contact or association between officers and enlisted persons is an offense. Whether the contact or association in question is an offense depends on the surrounding circumstances. Factors to be considered include whether the conduct has compromised the chain of command, resulted in the appearance of partiality, or otherwise undermined good order, discipline, authority, or morale. The acts and circumstances must be such as to lead a reason-able person experienced in the problems of military leadership to conclude that the good order and discipline of the armed forces has been prejudiced by their tendency to compromise the respect of enlisted persons for the professionalism, integrity, and obligations of an officer. \n(2) Regulations. Regulations, directives, and orders may also govern conduct between officer and enlisted personnel on both a service-wide and a local basis. Relationships between enlisted persons of different ranks, or between officers of different ranks may be similarly covered. Violations of such regulations directives, or orders may be punishable under Article 92
248741
depends on the person. i am against the war completely, but some of my friends are for it. A few of my best friends are Marines and one of them is in Iraq right now.  We all agree that we disagree with the war and some of the President's decisions, but that does not affect our relationship at all. They respect my views as I respect theirs, and I definately have respect for all of our troops overseas.
963340
How about if you STOP Stereotyping the Military Servicemember and REALIZE this -- we DO have a Code of Conduct that we MUST work within ... and we do NOT go about indiscriminately killing unarmed people.
953205
There is no such thing as "fair" in the military.  Thanks for asking.
1033595
Please don't disrespect our fine men and women in uniform by calling this a "military" question.
704428
Thanks for adding that you did not include spouses. I hate it when people look at us like we are idiots because we have clearly never been in the military but will step up and answer a question. Some people should understand that though we will never be able to say we have been there, we know more than any regular civilian ever will. I also agree with James here if you have not been in the military, married to a service member, or grew up as a military brat then do not pretend you know anything.
740612
Ask your superior officer.
755192
I agree with the other poster. Why would a SSG not know this? Or at least know where to find the info? I am a retired SSG, and, man, you're making us NCO's look bad.
409480
As a Marine Gunnery Sgt. I will give you the best advice I know how to give you. First, don't appologize. Other than being a sign of weakness, it also acknowledges acceptance of wrongdoing. And what you said, and why you said it was NOT wrong. Honest open debate is ALWAYS a good thing, even if closed minded people, or uneducated people are around who don't know how to do so. You were merely playing the role of the Devil's advocate. It took guts to do such a thing, and I for one, commend you for it. And to those who would challenge you for doing so, I would simply remind them that that is what I have served my entire carreer to protect and defend. I have been shot, and I have killed, simply to defend your right, and the rights of others worldwide to play the Devil's advocate without fear of retribution.
298501
I have SEVERAL very good friends who are Marines or ex-Marines. Most of them are ALOT smarter than they are given credit for. They all do have one thing in common... \nThey all think they are the best... AT EVERYTHING!! & They have little to NO respect for any other service or even fellow Marines who don't do the same job they do. I sit and talk to one of my best friends he & I are like brothers. BUT!!... He hates the Army and thinks anyone who served in the Army must have joined because they weren't able to handle the Marines. And the other branches rate even lower!!\n\noldarronxxx We ALL serve and do what we do at a moments notice & leave our family behind for 6, 12, or even 18 months at a time! Ohh... and That "Blanket of Freedom" isn't provided by just the Marines & they are NOT always the first in nor the last out!\nThats more of that "brainwashed" stuff everyone is talking about.
903725
Well. You shouldn't. Especially if these people join the army just because they are not capable of doing anything else.\nI don't try to underestimate the army, I even respect the people who join a lot, as long as their motives are right.\nBut I would never accept what they say, just because they say it, especially political opinions, because every country misinforms the army about many situations and facts.\nI believe that people should discuss and accept each others opinions and nobody who ever he is, or whatever he does for a living, should try to enforce their opinions to others.
571031
No, of course not...I have great pride in my Dad and the service that he is in and that I served in also...WE elect the politicians who decide where and when to send these forces to fight and therefore it is all of us who bear the onus if those politicians make seemingly bad and/or unpopular decisions...I still feel much pride in our military...In our politicians?  That's another question...........
847985
What an exceptional and thoughtful question. This is what goes thru my mind a lot, since I try to get along with as many people as I can, and try to find that 'common ground', so that life and the job or whatever can flow more smoothly along. Sometimes I think that if more people were like this, we wouldn't have as many wars or as much strife as we do. So yes, I do that often.
635317
Been there, done that, Viet Nam.  The extreme right thinks you can do no wrong and the extremem left thinks you can do no right.  As I looked over the answeres here, just like in American society the majority of people will support you.  A soldier does not have a blank check to do what he wants during a war and is always responsible for what he does.  You state your feelings excellently and it is impossible for those who have never been through a combat experience to know what you are going through in your thoughts and in the actions you have to perfrom during combat.  You must  live with your experiences the rest of your life.  No, it is not easy being a soldier and I pray that you have made the right decisions in your experiences.  I would never judge you and neither should anyone else except God. You sound like the kind of soldier that all of America can be proud of.  Always do the right thing and don't worry about people that want to condemn you, they don't really count.