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<blockquote data-quote="witzend" data-source="post: 315211" data-attributes="member: 99"><p>Oh, my... I feel so badly for her and her family. I don't pretend to know the answer to what the right thing to say or do for this particular situation is, other than what I would feel right saying or doing in any situation where a friend is hurting. Ask if they are ok, and let them know that you are there if they need them.</p><p></p><p>Part of the answer to your first question lies in the answer to your second question. I'll kind of bunch them together on this part. The violence you have been hearing about is happening for the most part in Afghanistan. There was a terrible set of bombings in Kabul yesterday, but most of the guys in Iraq have been reporting boredom up until this week. Afghanistan, on the other hand, has been in the news almost daily with violence. There is a request from the general in the field to send 40,000 troops to Afghanistan, so I'm sure there's some anxiety there.</p><p></p><p>As to why we never hear anything at home, it was decided when these wars were started that we would never see any body bags, footage of violence/battles, or military/civilian discord on the news at home because it might lower our morale at home and we might start making demands about ending the wars. Some of us believe that it's actually because many people would lose the stomach for war if we were reminded what it really means. After all, the Viet Nam war was fought 40+ years ago, and most of our young people don't have a clue. It was only late this year that the first coffin photo was allowed to be published. According to "The Private Military Herald", private contractors outnumber military personnel in the middle east 74k to 68k. The military personnel are expected to do more of the dirty work like searching for roadside bombs, etc.</p><p></p><p>I'll stop now before I start adding opinions. Offer your friend your ear and your assistance where you can. Military families are no different from anyone else. Everyone has troubles, and everyone's troubles are caused by different things. All you can do is be there.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="witzend, post: 315211, member: 99"] Oh, my... I feel so badly for her and her family. I don't pretend to know the answer to what the right thing to say or do for this particular situation is, other than what I would feel right saying or doing in any situation where a friend is hurting. Ask if they are ok, and let them know that you are there if they need them. Part of the answer to your first question lies in the answer to your second question. I'll kind of bunch them together on this part. The violence you have been hearing about is happening for the most part in Afghanistan. There was a terrible set of bombings in Kabul yesterday, but most of the guys in Iraq have been reporting boredom up until this week. Afghanistan, on the other hand, has been in the news almost daily with violence. There is a request from the general in the field to send 40,000 troops to Afghanistan, so I'm sure there's some anxiety there. As to why we never hear anything at home, it was decided when these wars were started that we would never see any body bags, footage of violence/battles, or military/civilian discord on the news at home because it might lower our morale at home and we might start making demands about ending the wars. Some of us believe that it's actually because many people would lose the stomach for war if we were reminded what it really means. After all, the Viet Nam war was fought 40+ years ago, and most of our young people don't have a clue. It was only late this year that the first coffin photo was allowed to be published. According to "The Private Military Herald", private contractors outnumber military personnel in the middle east 74k to 68k. The military personnel are expected to do more of the dirty work like searching for roadside bombs, etc. I'll stop now before I start adding opinions. Offer your friend your ear and your assistance where you can. Military families are no different from anyone else. Everyone has troubles, and everyone's troubles are caused by different things. All you can do is be there. [/QUOTE]
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