thanks for the insightful comment and sorry to hear about your first marriage.
funny avatar !

In reply to this comment by Hive13:
I was out of the Army in 2001, was on Individual Ready Reserve until 2003 and I was reactivated in Feb of 2003 after being a civilian for 2 years. I had 4 months left on my 8 years, too.

The lack of imagery analyst NCO's was to blame. So I went from civilian life to war zone just like that. I hated it, it sucked and basically destroyed my first marriage, but I sucked it up and did what i had to do. I knew what I was signing up for and I just happened to be one of the few that they actually pull off IRR.

thank you very much !

In reply to this comment by MarineGunrock:
Congrats on the gold. Here's an upvote. Bastard

thakn yuo. fixde !

In reply to this comment by raven:
dude, qruel... its: 'soldiers', L before D.

yea, unfortunately not all members apply that same mentality when voting for videos

In reply to this comment by MarineGunrock:
Well, the video didn't suck. It didn't warrant adoqnvote. Remember - there are three options - up, ignore, and down

In reply to this comment by qruel:
thanks for not downvoting in light of your passionate response :-)

In reply to this comment by MarineGunrock:
Fuck this movie. Even though it's all fictitious, it can blow me. Trying to make the military look bad by recalling soldiers. Fuck the writer and director. Fuck Hollywood. Everyone knows they own your ass for eight years. I still owe them three. If they should recall me, I'd squeeze my now-fat ass into my cammies and hop on the next plane to wherever it is they send me, because that's what I swore to do. I wouldn't pussy out like a little bitch.
"I honored my contract and the Army should do the same" If you're going to make a movie, know what the fuck you're talking about. Like I said, they own your ass for 8 years. Just because you served four, that doesn't mean they can't send your ass back.

thanks for not downvoting in light of your passionate response :-)

In reply to this comment by MarineGunrock:
Fuck this movie. Even though it's all fictitious, it can blow me. Trying to make the military look bad by recalling soldiers. Fuck the writer and director. Fuck Hollywood. Everyone knows they own your ass for eight years. I still owe them three. If they should recall me, I'd squeeze my now-fat ass into my cammies and hop on the next plane to wherever it is they send me, because that's what I swore to do. I wouldn't pussy out like a little bitch.
"I honored my contract and the Army should do the same" If you're going to make a movie, know what the fuck you're talking about. Like I said, they own your ass for 8 years. Just because you served four, that doesn't mean they can't send your ass back.

Interesting "Stop Loss" info from wikipedia

The stop-loss policy, in the United States military, is the retention of troops to remain in service beyond their expected term of service.[1] It has been argued that soldiers contractually agree to partake in stop-loss, but this may or may not be the case, and the issue is still being debated, both in public and in federal court. Stop loss was created by Congress after the Vietnam War. Stop-loss has been justified on the legal basis of paragraph 9(c) which states: "In the event of war, my enlistment in the Armed Forces continues until six (6) months after the war ends, unless the enlistment is ended sooner by the President of the United States" but which has not been reviewed in full by a federal court system.

The use of this provision has been criticized by many as abuse of the spirit of the law, due to the fact it is often used in circmstances that Congress has not yet declared as war, such as in the current occupation in Iraq.

Stop-loss was first significantly used just before and during the first Gulf War. According to a military publication[1], "the Army last used stop loss during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm in 1990 when President George H. W. Bush delegated stop loss authority to the defense secretary." Since then, it has been used more extensively; since 2001 primarily after the national State of emergency declared by President George W. Bush

Stop-loss, as well as the practice of involuntary extension, have been controversial. In a campaign speech in 2004, former presidential candidate John Kerry described stop-loss policy as a "backdoor draft."[1]

The first legal challenge to this policy came in August 2004, with a lawsuit challenged by an anonymous National Guardsman in California.[2] A basis for the suit is that stop-loss does not apply to the current situation in Iraq, which is a military occupation and not a war zone. Another argument used in the case is that it broke the contract of the guardsman, as he had already fulfilled his IRR obligation.

The first legal challenge to the extension of term of service of military call-up or contract occurred during the American Civil War, when a soldier was courtmartialed by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton himself.

Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, as one of his first acts in his position, penned a memo compelling commanders to "minimize" the stop-lossing of soldiers.

The United States Department of Defense now has begun a program to replace the stop-loss, as it is "too controversial". The new program, known as Involuntary Extension, is a circumvention of stop-loss, and simply changes the ETS [end time service] date on a soldier's LES (Leave and Earnings Statement).

The Army claims that enlisted soldiers facing stop loss can now voluntarily separate from the United States Army by request, under provision 3-12, but this is deceptive because only after they complete an involuntary deployment of twelve to fifteen months and 90 days "stabilization time" can they apply.

Iraq Veterans Against the War, an activist organization of former and current service members, in solidarity with former Specialist and Iraq vet Evan Knappenberger, has announced a national "Stop the Stop-Loss" campaign at a recent press conference where they were holding a week-long vigil in a tower erected on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Other anti-Stop-Loss vigils have occured in Bellingham, Washington, and Colorado Springs, Colorado

Whoa, I wasn't expecting the soldier to be holding his protest in uniform. That is way, way out of line. As Lurch mentioned, you sign a contract when you enlist that makes it clear that you're at the beck and call of the US government for eight years. Stop loss sucks and is completely unfair, especially considering that most Americans are completely unwilling to serve a day, let alone years. The fact of the matter is however, that having your time on active duty extended is a possibility that is made known from the moment you enlist, and as such it should be considered before signing the contract not after the extension has occurred.

Frankly, I think it's pretty disgusting how unwilling most Americans are to serve during a time of war. Whether you are for or against the war, Americans are suffering and sacrificing at this very moment. That the nation isn't willing to help shoulder that burden and instead prefers not to think about it, is pretty low in my opinion. Even if you think the ruck march is a complete and utter waste of time and energy, you shoulder the ruck sack of the guy who is struggling so that you can all make it through. When the Ancient Greeks debated in their assemblies whether or not to go to war, the people arguing for and voting for war knew full well that either they themselves or their sons would be fighting in it. Perhaps if more Americans didn't choose to ignore military service, we wouldn't have chosen this war to begin with.

When I joined up, no one said shit about a stop loss rule (it was pre-9/11). Now I've got 8 months left and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I don't get pulled for another tour, I just want to concentrate on school. As far as I'm concerned, I signed up for 8 yrs, thats it. I didn't sign up for 8 yrs. and then maybe some more depending on how desperate the military is. I just wanna get it done and over with.

Total fabrication based on the reactions of those too ignorant to understand that one simple truth... It's the M-I-L-I-T-A-R-Y, dumba$$!

First, the whole "lying to cover a drug incident" I find a little hard to believe from my own experience. I was denied entry into the service simply because, over the phone, I "self adjudicated" myself by (jokingly) answering honestly that I was "arrested" as a minor for pulling change out of a water fountain (seriously). Now, tell me again how they are lying about felonies, just to make quota...

The contract is NOT unilateral. The contract states what it states, and within that contract it give the government the right to do those things. Now, if you sign a contract in which the contract states that it may be changed on a whim... it was your decision to sign it, therefore, NOT UNILATERAL.

Stop Loss is pretty much written into military contracts as well. Going in, you ARE informed of your active duity status and inactive duty responsibilities. Why in GOD'S NAME would they have an "inactive" duty, other than to keep you on in case of the need for redeployment in times of war. That's a gimme, folks.

And, as for the Montgomery GI Bill... Oh, you mean you can't use it when you are in the service? You can't use it when you are active duty in a battlefield? Wow... what a shock... IDIOT!

So, the majority of the military is of working class or lower. Hmmm... Do I blame McDonalds for having to employ the less educated and unhireable? Why? Because you don't need a degree to flip a burger or pull a trigger. McDonalds is a fast food company, the military is? People? That's right, the military; used for defense, not for quantum physics.

So, the female soldiers feel that they must come back and be more watchful in the military, than they do walking down the street? I think not. The numbers they give, only point out that there is a .02% difference between the military and general public, when it comes to reported sexual assaults. (But, this is sort of hard for people to understand, when they can't even comprehend the fact that the military isn't McDonalds).

(200,000+/- cases reported annually out of nearly 300,000,000 population nationally (.06%). 2,374 reported in 2005, out of a military force of almost 3,000,000 (.08%)).

It's like... not only can they not figure out that guns kill, but they can't even use their brains for higher level functions such as research.

And... the kicker... "Oh, you mean, we might DIE or get wounded if we go to war?"

This not so much a video vilifying the recruiters, but giving reason to increase the age of legal adulthood in the US. If you are telling me that they cannot comprehend this... raise the age.