Ask me about the Army...

[VenusBlue]

I am in the military, and I am currently in Iraq...I am also a civilian back home...and personally identify more with people in the civilian sector of life. Any questions and I will be happy to answer...

[skysaw]

Thanks for the offer of information. I am curious about the following: 1. Are there a good number of servicemen over there who off-the-record feel the war is misguided or should be rethought? 2. Is there any obvious correlation between belief in the cause, and length of time spent in Iraq?

[Neruo]

Hey man, welcome to the site and such (you seem rather new). Is all of Iraq as Chaotic as bagdad, or is it just reasonably dangerous? And how much is normal life still going in Iraq? Are people still going to school and such? Greetings, and don't get shot (or accidentally shoot innocent people). : )

[Mes Tarrant]

Does the army over there feel it's as pointless as many civilians back home think? Hey thanks a lot for this thread. Awww I see you have a frown by "location". Oh and how are you personally faring over there?

[13redfan]

I applied to join the South African airforce in February, I wanted to be a fighter pilot but it turns out I have mild bilateral hearing loss, so I couldn't fly in the military Anyway, before I knew I was deafish, I had decided that if I couldn't get into the South African airforce (we have number issues here, like of all the people taken in so many have to be black, so many have to be white, so many have to be female etc. etc. so if you're not in the top 10 candidates for your "bracket" then you don't stand much chance of getting in) I was going to look into getting citizenship and joining the USAF or RAF. My question is how much involvement do they have in the war over there, and how effective are they, on all lines (transport, fighter and choppers), from your experience?

[Universal Mind]

I am in the military, and I am currently in Iraq...I am also a civilian back home...and personally identify more with people in the civilian sector of life. Any questions and I will be happy to answer... For real? Very cool. I thank you for going through something so unimaginable for the sake of spreading democracy in the Middle East and fighting terrorist scum. There are about a million questions I could ask you, but I will ask you just a few major ones instead. 1. How often do you meet Iraqis who show appreciation for what the Coalition has done and is doing? 2. What do you think Iraq will be like in 50 years? 3. How long do you think it will be before Iraq will be able to survive on its own as a democracy without Coalition help? 4. If Iraq does make it on its own, do you think the spirit of freedom will spread to the neighboring countries and eventually result in their democratization also?

[NeAvO]

Tell me do you always agree with the orders you're given? Do you fight for your beliefs or because someone told you to fight? Is there anything fun to do out there?

[Harrycombs]

I have one question. What do the civilians think of the war? Also, be safe!

[CoLd BlooDed]

Have you killed anyone?

[VenusBlue]

Ok, There are alot of questions here...So I can only really answer a few each time I am on. That said, I will try and give you quality answers, as opposed to a huge qauntity of answers. If I avoid certain questions, please dont be offended, I would love to answer them, but there are just some things I cant talk about...(Exact numbers of troops, equipment specs, so on) Q. Are there a good number of servicemen over there who off-the-record feel the war is misguided or should be rethought?-Skysaw A. We all have our ideas and opinions. I can truthfully say there are alot of soldiers who think this war is misguided...I can also say that alot of soldiers feel we are making a great difference here. Q. How often do you meet Iraqis who show appreciation for what you have done or are doing?-Universal Mind A. I think most Iraqis are indifferent to us. The exception is the kurdish parts of Iraq. The Kurds love us and we have an almost celebrity status there. Students from the university talk to us (They study alot of english), and we are able to walk around thier area of Iraq without worrying about someone trying to kill us. Q. Do you always agree with the orders you are given?-NeAvO A. Nope. Not by any stretch at all. I really see 2 kinds of orders. Orders are either someone telling me what to do, or a policy someone with alot of rank creates telling everyone what to do. Much of the time the policies are stupid, and you find out about them when you violate them...as that kind of information is put out poorly, and quickly. Q. Do I fight for my beliefs, or because someone told me to fight?-NeAvO A. I fight for the people I serve with. I fight in self-defense, or the defense of the people I am with. Q.Is there anything fun to do out there?-Neavo A.This place is pretty boring. Before my platoon was disbanded our hobby was to drive around and hit every dangerous area we could find. Other than that I have been trying to attain lucidity, find rules to break, read, talk with family, Listen to music and now I check the forums here. Q.Does the army over there feel it's as pointless as many civilians back home think?-Mes Tarrant A. This Goes alot with my first Question of this post really...As A National Guard Soldier, most of us just want to get this over with and go home. Anyways, that is it for tonight, I have to go, as it is getting late, and wakeup could be anytime tomarrow...Its been fun, and everyone do take care.

[Universal Mind]

VenusBlue, thanks for answering my question. I know you have been asked a lot of them and can't get to all of them, but I have one very big question that I would love to read an opinion on from somebody who is fighting in Iraq. I should have listed it as my first question, and I consider it the million dollar question of the whole situation... *What do you think Iraq will be like in 50 years?* If you could tell me what you think about that, I will consider that enough questions for me in this thread. It is the biggest question I have about the Iraq war. Please try to get to it whenever you find a convenient time. Thanks.

[VenusBlue]

VenusBlue, thanks for answering my question. I know you have been asked a lot of them and can't get to all of them, but I have one very big question that I would love to read an opinion on from somebody who is fighting in Iraq. I should have listed it as my first question, and I consider it the million dollar question of the whole situation... *What do you think Iraq will be like in 50 years?* If you could tell me what you think about that, I will consider that enough questions for me in this thread. It is the biggest question I have about the Iraq war. Please try to get to it whenever you find a convenient time. Thanks. I have no clue at all. The major cities (Baghdad and Mosul) seem to be held together with duct tape. The average person here lives in builings that would be condemned in the US. The infrastructure here is pretty lacking too, as much of the time thier sewage just drains into the road. (I am a gunner too, so if my driver is retarded, and drives through a lake of sewage at 60, I get to take a shower...) That said, these people dont understand freedom right now, and since there isnt a variety of people to interact with, people are still killed for thier beliefs here, and they are surrounded by fundamentalist and militant countries, I seriously don't know what will happen there. This probably isn't the style answer you were looking for, but heh, I seriously have no idea, there are alot of variables, and things in this place that need to play out before an educated guess can be made.

[VenusBlue]

Have you killed anyone? I don't know for sure really...There was one time, when my squad was driving down a road at night. I saw an explosion go off on the other side of the median, it was huge...but nowhere near any of us. Just as it went off I was thinking to myself "Why the fuck would they blow it up so far away from..." and then I heard gunshots and saw the guys muzzle flash in the window, so I lined my sights up on the flashes of light and I shot like 20 rounds his way...and he quit shooting. Later on people searched the area and no human remains were found...although we couldnt pinpoint the exact building we lit up, since all the buildings in Iraq are falling apart, and really look about the same.

[VenusBlue]

I applied to join the South African airforce in February, I wanted to be a fighter pilot but it turns out I have mild bilateral hearing loss, so I couldn't fly in the military Anyway, before I knew I was deafish, I had decided that if I couldn't get into the South African airforce (we have number issues here, like of all the people taken in so many have to be black, so many have to be white, so many have to be female etc. etc. so if you're not in the top 10 candidates for your "bracket" then you don't stand much chance of getting in) I was going to look into getting citizenship and joining the USAF or RAF. My question is how much involvement do they have in the war over there, and how effective are they, on all lines (transport, fighter and choppers), from your experience? There will be some stuff I cant really answer in depth here...I can tell you this though...Choppers transport wounded when people arent in driving distance to a place where care is available...and Choppers provide us support to...and when they provide support they fuck people up real horrorshow...As for planes and airforce involvement...planes take us in country, and planes take us out of country, that is about the only thing I myself have seen planes used for in Iraq.

[VenusBlue]

Hey man, welcome to the site and such (you seem rather new). Is all of Iraq as Chaotic as bagdad, or is it just reasonably dangerous? And how much is normal life still going in Iraq? Are people still going to school and such? Greetings, and don't get shot (or accidentally shoot innocent people). : ) Nope. Mosul still gets it's share of days where it is hit hard (one day 6 car bombs went off at the same time...was fucking loud) but not nearly as horrorshow as Baghdad by anymeans...I am not scared of things that go boom for the mostpart...but there are things in baghdad that I am terrified of, and have no desire to encounter. Besides Mosul and Baghdad, there is Kurdistan. The place is ruled by the Kurdish tribe, and the people there love us. We can walk around in Kurdistan, and not be afraid of the locals trying to kill us...sit down in thier restaurants, go to thier shops...that kinda thing. It's a real nice place to visit from time to time.

[13redfan]

There will be some stuff I cant really answer in depth here...I can tell you this though...Choppers transport wounded when people arent in driving distance to a place where care is available...and Choppers provide us support to...and when they provide support they fuck people up real horrorshow...As for planes and airforce involvement...planes take us in country, and planes take us out of country, that is about the only thing I myself have seen planes used for in Iraq. Cool, thanks for answering! I thought it may be along those lines, I was interesting in hearing it though. Good luck with the war, you're doing something I respect but wouldn't do myself, so yeah.

[VenusBlue]

No problem at all

[Tornado Joe]

Hey Venus, great to have you with us and taking the time to come on with all that's going on over there. I can only hope the site and members are making a difference in your life (if anything, a nice distraction). I got a question that's not really Iraq related (if you don't mind) - since you mentioned you're trying to get lucid over there, how is being in the situation you're in (away from home, pressure of war, etc) effecting your dreams? Do you dream mostly of your life there, or back at home? Do you think the chances are greater that you may be able to have a DILD, since you may have a dream of being home, yet knowing that you're away from there - could be a dreamsign. I'm just curious, it's possible you've developed some dreamsigns that you may not have recoginzed yet. While stress is usually a lucidity killer, there may be an upside.

[CoLd BlooDed]

Thanks for answering my question, Venus. That does sound pretty intense. You are providing a great service coming here and offering what you know, so thank you. Now, if you don't mind, what's something you like about Iraq, if anything? And what's the craziest thing you've seen over there?

[VenusBlue]

Hey Venus, great to have you with us and taking the time to come on with all that's going on over there. I can only hope the site and members are making a difference in your life (if anything, a nice distraction). I got a question that's not really Iraq related (if you don't mind) - since you mentioned you're trying to get lucid over there, how is being in the situation you're in (away from home, pressure of war, etc) effecting your dreams? Do you dream mostly of your life there, or back at home? Do you think the chances are greater that you may be able to have a DILD, since you may have a dream of being home, yet knowing that you're away from there - could be a dreamsign. I'm just curious, it's possible you've developed some dreamsigns that you may not have recoginzed yet. While stress is usually a lucidity killer, there may be an upside. Well, I dream about life at home and life here equally really. I am working on programming family members and friends in as dreamsigns, as well as anything not related to my current situation...So far I have had 2 DILDS (working on adding that to my sig lol) and both of them were just triggered by really odd things (Pennywise the Clown from "IT" was one of them) As for being stressed, I'm not that stressed. Being shot at and blown up excite me (I know it sounds kinda fucked up) but the only stressfull thing here is when hire ranking people try to tell us how to do our job when all they do is sit behind a desk...on base...not getting shot at and blown up. Thanks for answering my question, Venus. That does sound pretty intense. You are providing a great service coming here and offering what you know, so thank you. Now, if you don't mind, what's something you like about Iraq, if anything? And what's the craziest thing you've seen over there? I like the action in Iraq. I have only been in one firefight and I want to be in more...And the roadside bombs normally dont do anything, kinda like fireworks, just closer, and sometimes bigger, and less pretty. The most fucked up thing I've seen was when we had a carbomb go off and kill alot of Iraqis. There was a guy who got cut in half under a pile of rubble, he was still alive, and screaming, but we couldnt really do anything for him. We patched up what civilians we could, got the area under control, and then left.

[VenusBlue]

Hey Venus, great to have you with us and taking the time to come on with all that's going on over there. I can only hope the site and members are making a difference in your life (if anything, a nice distraction). I got a question that's not really Iraq related (if you don't mind) - since you mentioned you're trying to get lucid over there, how is being in the situation you're in (away from home, pressure of war, etc) effecting your dreams? Do you dream mostly of your life there, or back at home? Do you think the chances are greater that you may be able to have a DILD, since you may have a dream of being home, yet knowing that you're away from there - could be a dreamsign. I'm just curious, it's possible you've developed some dreamsigns that you may not have recoginzed yet. While stress is usually a lucidity killer, there may be an upside. Well, I dream about life at home and life here equally really. I am working on programming family members and friends in as dreamsigns, as well as anything not related to my current situation...So far I have had 2 DILDS (working on adding that to my sig lol) and both of them were just triggered by really odd things (Pennywise the Clown from "IT" was one of them) As for being stressed, I'm not that stressed. Being shot at and blown up excite me (I know it sounds kinda fucked up) but the only stressfull thing here is when hire ranking people try to tell us how to do our job when all they do is sit behind a desk...on base...not getting shot at and blown up. Oh yes, the dreamviews community is a great distaction, not a whole lot to do here really, so the community has been a great way to kill some time, and actually learn something in the process. Thanks for answering my question, Venus. That does sound pretty intense. You are providing a great service coming here and offering what you know, so thank you. Now, if you don't mind, what's something you like about Iraq, if anything? And what's the craziest thing you've seen over there? I like the action in Iraq. I have only been in one firefight and I want to be in more...And the roadside bombs normally dont do anything, kinda like fireworks, just closer, and sometimes bigger, and less pretty. The most fucked up thing I've seen was when we had a carbomb go off and kill alot of Iraqis. There was a guy who got cut in half under a pile of rubble, he was still alive, and screaming, but we couldnt really do anything for him. We patched up what civilians we could, got the area under control, and then left.

[CymekSniper]

I am thinking of joining the military myself and I was wondering, what is the best way to break it to your parents that you are joining? My parents don't want me to join the military and see that I am thinking of it and have urged me not to.

[LucidDreamGod]

Ok I've been thinking about joining the army for along time now, I got 2 questions: 1. I hear you can't do much if your colorblind (I would probably qualify as colorblind) and I was wondering if you can still specialise in computers if your colorblind I don't know if thats a stupid question but I went searching for army specialtys and like a bunch required color vision, you might not know this, but just in case you do. 2. Ok if you specialise in something in the army you still have to go out and be an infantry man don't you, or do you spend all your time on that specialty, like how often do you spend doing something you specialised in? it must suck trying to get lds in the army you probably don't get much sleep.

[VenusBlue]

I am thinking of joining the military myself and I was wondering, what is the best way to break it to your parents that you are joining? My parents don't want me to join the military and see that I am thinking of it and have urged me not to. I broke it to my family like this... "I am joining the National Guard for College money. I am enlisting as an MP, please sign my release form Here...and Here..." However, I do not know your parents too well so I cannot say exactly how to do so. I would suggest asking for thier support in your decision to join...and I would suggest giving them good reasons that support your decision. I will also recomend you give this decision plenty of time...If you are seeing a recruiter, don't let him pressure you into making the decision all quick like...You have until you are 37 I think before you start having problems getting in...anyways, take care, and good luck with everything

[VenusBlue]

Ok I've been thinking about joining the army for along time now, I got 2 questions: 1. I hear you can't do much if your colorblind (I would probably qualify as colorblind) and I was wondering if you can still specialise in computers if your colorblind I don't know if thats a stupid question but I went searching for army specialtys and like a bunch required color vision, you might not know this, but just in case you do. 2. Ok if you specialise in something in the army you still have to go out and be an infantry man don't you, or do you spend all your time on that specialty, like how often do you spend doing something you specialised in? it must suck trying to get lds in the army you probably don't get much sleep. Ok, every job in the army really is a specialization, just some specializations have fewer people than most. Certain specialties go on patrol with the unit they are attached to, like medics. If mission dictates, they may do jobs the unit they are supporting would do in addition to thier own. Other Specialties, like commo, might spend the whole day fixing radios, and distributing communications equipment, and never leave the base. As for being colorblind, If you hunt around with recruiters, I am pretty sure you can find one that will have few qualms letting you in due to you being colorblind. We have a man in my unit that reenlisted as a Sgt. He is 46, overweight, has been out of the army 20 years, and, when he has been stressed in the past he has had mild angina attacks. As for not getting alot of sleep...all depends on where you are at. I myself will get as little as 4(rarely) and as much as (14) occasional, I would say I average a good 7-9 hours though. The main obstacle with LDing is the community setting, the varying schedule, and the damn mortars. They normally are nowhere near us at all, but every now and then they get close...They are a bitch and a half if you are trying to WILD lol. Anyways, hope this helps, and take care.