Soldier Earns Silver Star for Her Role in Defeating Ambush

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/16/AR2005061601551.html

Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester fought her way through an enemy ambush south of Baghdad, killing three insurgents with her M-4 rifle to save fellow soldiers' lives -- and yesterday became the first woman since World War II to win the Silver Star medal for valor in combat.

The 23-year-old retail store manager from Bowling Green, Ky., won the award for skillfully leading her team of military police soldiers in a counterattack after about 50 insurgents ambushed a supply convoy they were guarding near Salman Pak on March 20.

Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester is the first female soldier since World War II to receive the Silver Star medal for valor in combat. (
After insurgents hit the convoy with a barrage of fire from machine guns, AK-47 assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, Hester "maneuvered her team through the kill zone into a flanking position where she assaulted a trench line with grenades and M203 rounds," according to the Army citation accompanying the Silver Star.

<snip>

A female driver with the unit, Spec. Ashley J. Pullen of Danville, Ky., also won the Bronze Star for her bravery. Pullen laid down fire to suppress insurgents and then "exposed herself to heavy AIF fires in order to provide medical assistance to her critically injured comrades," saving several lives, her citation said.

[wtmusic]

1. Yay for our side

Very happy that they made it out of there alive. Why does it still seem so fucked up?

[anarchy1999]

2. Retail manager for whom? Wal- Mart? I would not be surprised.

Everyone here feeling really moved and patriotic yet? Thank heavens for this dear girl.

Sarcasm I can't turn off. And may I add, I am really sorry for not being able to do so. It is just so much hype and BS. How are these girls going to cope when they come home? Plus let us all hope they've not been to terribly poisened by depleted uranium. It will all be okay, right? I don't think so!!!!!!!!!

[nadinbrzezinski]

3. Actually you go girl

you see them idiots want to keep women out of combat for combat is not the proper place fer women folk... so you go girl

And being proud of her winning the silver star has nothing to do with jingoism

Suporting them troops does not equal suporting the war... as a vet (another country) and a wife of a vet (US Navy Chief) I can tell the difference, so sad many on DU cannot.

Now the date this was issued is coincidental...

And how are they going to cope when they come home? Here is WHERE YOU COME IN.. we honor our trroops by demanding that the country takes care of our vets and honors their service... this is separate from suporting the war.... demand they get the VA care they will need, whether physical or psycological or both.

[RamboLiberal]

6. I agree with you nadinbrzezinski

I too am sad when I see such cynicism on DU where any bravery by soldiers is degraded. She did what all good soldiers do, she took care of her brothers and sisters in arms.

And it's because of Repukes that a retail sales manager has to supplement their income by serving in Guard or Reserves. It's not the fault of the troops they find themselves in Iraq.

And while we love to poke fun at the chickenhawks I bet a lot of us at DU would be in brown stained pants as well if we found ourselves in the situation this woman trooper and her comrades found themselves in.

As a woman I'm proud that they serve so bravely while the knuckle draggers in Congress try to "protect them from combat".

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

11. And "I" disagree with you 100%-->DU cynisism? no-

Bravery and survival are 2 different things.
Bravery would be refusing to go to Iraq.
There is no draft.
Troops are there and if they figure a way to survive that's great.
I hope they ALL survive.

But this government cares nothing about their welfare, exposes them to depleted uranium, doesn't supply adequate armor and protection, denies benefits, forces wouned to pay for their own meals.

There are tens of thousands of "wounded" who are missing their arms and legs because of this illegal invasion of a country that never posed a threat to us.

All troops home now!

[anarchy1999]

12. Please make plans to attend the Vets for Peace Conference in August;.

I'm trying to do all I can you guys. (you guys, it's a northern slang).

We have to start taking care of our troops!! I don't think there is a single issue I'm more passionate about. Thank you. S.

[Ilsa]

29. Great post nadinbrzezinski!

I'm happy for Sgt Hester and her team. I'm glad they defended themselves and hopefully will come home alive and well and have whatever support they need at home. :patriot:

[CHICKEN CAPITOL USA]

46. cheering our team on to kill is unethical

I don't care about celebrating ANY of it for
ANY reason !!
It's childish.
We need to grow past the team spirit and get our troops the hell out of there!
NOW!

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[RamboLiberal]

7. No she killed to do what all good troopers do

protecting her brothers and sisters in arms. Not her fault she's there.

And I don't consider those in Iraq who kill with their suicide attacks any heroes!

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

8. she still killed those defending their homes-We do NOT belong there

for ANY reason.
Saddam is gone...no purpose to be there except for oil.
Troops home now!

[Baclava]

9. Denigrating women in combat...oh, how cool.....NOT!

How many times have you put YOUR life on the line for ANYTHING?

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

10. Denigrating Sending TROOPS to kill people! You DAMN STRAIGHT BABY!

Did I denigrate "women"? NO
or troops? NO
I say occupying countries is immoral and celebrating the killing of those RESISTING our occupation is VERY reminiscient of the rah rah of NAZI Germany.
We invaded their home illegally, the Downing Street memo proves they cooked the intelligence--They suckered everyone.

AND YOU APPROVE?

If so, feel free to go wave a flag and get a yellow ribbon -
But don't tell me I'm denigrating women.

And you are WAY out of line assuming anything about my "never" putting my life on the line. That's a pretty blind assumption isn't it?
Tell me about your heroic accomplishments and maybe, just maybe, I'll tell you about mine.

[Baclava]

32. I spent 6 months in Baghdad in '03

One of my buddies was killed on the convoy across Iraq from Kuwait...and we had many women on that ride, too. They did their job just fine.

[ElectroPrincess]

33. As a woman Army Veteran, I thank you - We do our jobs like the men /eom

[kentuck]

34. Danville, Ky?

The area around Danville and Bardstown had the most male soldiers killed per capita than any other area of the country in the Vietnam war...

[QC]

16. oh come now--our brave keyboard cowboys fight the good fight every day!

{snerk}

[RamboLiberal]

14. Yeah blowing up your fellow citizens is "defending your home"

Bull! Bush made a huge error and he lied to get his war. But I also refuse to glorify most of these insurgents as some kind of "freedom fighters"!

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

21. you're a fool if you believe the corporate media

These people are resisting our occupation-don't fool yourself to think they are just barbarians killing for the sake of killing !

[Renew Deal]

36. You're a fool if you don't think

there are fools there killing for the sake of killing. Unfortunately, there are both. There are people that want the US out and there are people that want to start a civil war that will force the US to leave. The US may leave, but who would be left in charge?

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

45. not our problem--never was- we have no stake in it as a country

but the oil industry does.
Bernie Ward (KGO radio) indicated last night that there was already a civil war underway even before we invaded.

Governing Iraq is not our job,
Worrying about who will be in charge when we leave is not our problem,

But it WAS our mistake to let Congress give up their War powers to an unstable alcoholic rich spoiled brat.

Our Vice President was head of Halliburton!
They are making billions upon billions on no bid contracts!

They just WANT you to feel like it's some sort of team effort for freedom.
The only freedom involved is their freedom to exploit the oil resources in the region.

They do not care who dies as long as it's not one of their own "upper class".
Chimp has not attended ONE funeral.
We're letting these guys hijack those who volunteered to serve.
Cannon fodder for the corporate elite... it's disgraceful!

[slackmaster]

48. If that's true then the "insurgents" are strategically challenged

I would have called them "fucking morons" but that would be insensitive.

If they really want the US out of there, all they have to do is stop the violence and wait for us to leave. The sooner the country seems secure, the sooner our people will be out of there.

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

50. how NAIVE-if some country invaded the U.S. you'd wait for them to LEAVE?

that is not very "patriotic" is it?
Isn't it sort of wimpy and weak to sit back and wait for your invaders to leave?
I guarantee you most everyone on D.U. would take action against invaders one way or another.

I can just hear you thinking: "But no one invaded the U.S. of A." --
Yes, I realize that--i'm just saying that "if" they did we'd give'm hell til they left--

What'd you say? "We're Murka, we're the most powerful nation on earth, no one would invade us"
Yes, I know we are America, but hypothetically if some country did invade us we'd protect ourselves as we did against England in the American Revolution, using every dirty trick in the book...
Now I hear you saying-"but we're bringing them freedom"--
Yeah, martial law under occupation is real freedom isn't it?

My Point: It doesn't take any deep insight to see why citizens of an invaded country would use any means necessary to "purge" any occupying forces.
They have all suffered losses of their loved ones due to our indescriminate bombing.
There are probably very few who haven't lost a relative or a family member.
Talk about ANGER! These guys are FURIOUS!
Confirmed use of NAPALM on the citizens of Fallujah?
Cluster bombs?
All public utilities like sewer and water and electricity are STILL out in most parts of the country? Still?
Talk about pissed off!!
No psychology degree required to undertand their mindframe.

[slackmaster]

51. It would be their best strategy in the long run

I can just hear you thinking: "But no one invaded the U.S. of A." --
Yes, I realize that--i'm just saying that "if" they did we'd give'm hell til they left--

There's no other country on Earth big enough to bully us into submission. When you are licked in a fight with an adversary far more powerful tha you, sometimes the best thing to do is go hide until they get bored and leave. No group of Iraqi militia or insurgents could possibly defeat the US and the UK militarily.

What'd you say? "We're Murka, we're the most powerful nation on earth, no one would invade us"

Other than the lame attempt at lampooning my speech patterns I agree with that. Nobody in their right mind would invade this country.

My Point: It doesn't take any deep insight to see why citizens of an invaded country would use any means necessary to "purge" any occupying forces.

Iraqis are not of one mind. Several distinct groups that hate each others' guts all want a piece of the pie, or the whole thing all to themselves and they don't really care about forming a nation that works for everyone who lives within the artificial border of what we call Iraq.

No psychology degree required to undertand their mindframe.

I have a psychology degree, I DO understand their mindframe. What I'm saying is there is a relatively painless way to get the invaders out so they can finish fighting among themselves in peace, but their anger and group-think will never allow them to take the strategically superior approach.

[FlemingsGhost]

52. Gee ... where to begin tearing apart your steaming pile?

"There's no other country on Earth big enough to bully us into submission"

Actually you are correct, it took a handful of corporate-friendly oilmen and a compliant media.

--------------------------

"When you are licked in a fight with an adversary far more powerful tha you, sometimes the best thing to do is go hide until they get bored and leave."

According to that logic, Democrats should just go hide for awhile. I'm sure Republican will get "bored and leave."

--------------------------

"No group of Iraqi militia or insurgents could possibly defeat the US and the UK militarily."

Ummmmm ... in a guerilla war, not losing **IS** winning. "Uncle Ho" taught us that gem.

--------------------

"Iraqis are not of one mind."

Well actually, they are. Most, if not all, want our troops to leave. This is a popular uprising, my friend.

-------------------

You may have a psychology degree (although I am doubtful,) but I'm guessing History wasn't your bag. And considering your laughable excuses for military strategy, I'd say you probably work in the Pentagon.

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

55. excellent post!!!!---great job!

*****love that part about the "handful of corporate friendly oil men and a compliant media"*****!!!!!

[slackmaster]

60. Many of us will welcome our Canadian liberators

When they come to kick the Bush regime out of office and restore Democracy.

slackmaster: "When you are licked in a fight with an adversary far more powerful tha you, sometimes the best thing to do is go hide until they get bored and leave."

FlemingsGhost replies: According to that logic, Democrats should just go hide for awhile. I'm sure Republican will get "bored and leave."

Have you ever taken a course on logic, FlemingsGhost? Looks like you failed the part on analogies. The fact is US presence in Iraq is being perpetuated, not discouraged, by the insurgency. If the insurgents shaved their beards, went into the woodwork for a year, and quietly infiltrated the Iraqi police and military and the puppet government the US is setting up, they'd be in a much better position to restore their power. But they are too caught up in their anger to figure that out.

Being a Web Administrator gets boring sometimes. Maybe I should become a leader of the Iraqi insurgency.

Naw.

FlemingsGhost: Most, if not all, want our troops to leave. This is a popular uprising, my friend.

And the more innocent Iraqis that die from the suicide bombings, the more popular the uprising gets, right?

:dunce:

[FlemingsGhost]

64. Custer returns!

Now, why would the insurgency change a tactic that is working? They are "winning," you know.



"And the more innocent Iraqis that die from the suicide bombings, the more popular the uprising gets, right?"

----------------------

Oh right, when innocent Iraqis die at the hands of foreign troops, it's called "liberation." My bad. And what's the newspeak word for torturing and sexually molesting innocent Iraqis, again?


My advice: Stick to being a web administrator.

[Renew Deal]

35. The fact that we do not belong there

is irrelevant.

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

44. how ridiculous ! -"why we are there" is the MOST relevant issue

That idea that " we're there now and it doesn't matter how we got there"
has GOT to be the weakest, lamest excuse EVER for cheering our "team" on and for supporting mass killing of "people"--members of both our"team" and "the Iraqi" team.

If you want sports get some beer and turn on your T.V. on Sunday.
War is NOT a sport.

And invasion of a country that has not attacked us is still not justified even if it happened a couple of years ago--How many more Americans have to come home in boxes and with half their limbs blown off?
This is serious shit.

[saigon68]

26. ADIOS

[Booster]

5. Wow. I'm proud of those young women. Wish they were home.

[anarchy1999]

13. The thought of women with rifles in hand killing people for whatever

reason makes me ill. There is no justification. We are a sad nation.

[FlemingsGhost]

15. The true "heroes," died that day ...

... the ones fighting for their homes, families and the right to govern themselves.

Sgt. Leigh Ann Hester had no busines being there, in the first place. No amount of rationalizing can change that fact.

[QC]

17. It's interesting how you have such abundant sympathy for suicide bombers

and none at all for people who signed up to defend their country and were instead railroaded into fighting a colonial war.

Reminds me of something the great Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "If malice and vanity wear the coat of philanthropy, shall that pass?"

[FlemingsGhost]

18. And it's interesting how you oversimplify and generalize.

Wise men speak their minds, fools quote them.

[QC]

19. And I am properly chastened by DU's resident authority on foolishness.

Have you given any thought at all to why our people have ended up in Iraq? Do you honestly think they want to be there? Are you so comfortably ensconced in the warm, secure lap of middle-class privilege that you don't have the slightest sense of the necessity that drives so many people into military service? It certainly sounds that way.

[FlemingsGhost]

20. That's quite an assumption, QC.

Or is that projection, disguised as indignation?

[QC]

22. No, it's the most reasonable conclusion to be drawn from your own words.

It's certainly not projection, considering that I have absolutely no experience of being comfortably middle-class and thus can't project bourgeois cluelessness onto others (though I certainly can recognize it when it's shoved in my face).

When people sanctimoniously yammer about how "They don't have to be there! There's no draft!" and the like, it's a safe bet that they know nothing about necessity.

If it makes you feel all big and tough to sit in the comfort of your home condemning people who are actually in danger, then feel free. Whatever gets you through the night....

But when that keyboard cowboy rush wears off, you might want to consider the possibility that one can oppose the war without condemning those who have been forced to fight it. Black/white thinking is very limiting, you know--maybe you should try to escape from it.

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

24. your reasoning is the most"dualistic black & white thinking"on this thread

I'm not jumping for joy every time one of "our guys" kills one of "their guys" just because someone might think I like "their guys" !!!!!!!

Think about this killing objectively please.

It is absolutley un-necessary and disgraceful !
in a modern society?
Support your troops by working to bring them home.

[Renew Deal]

37. The whole war is unnecessary and disgraceful

but that's not relevant to this argument. This argument is about 1 soldier that won an award in combat. Nothing more, nothing less. And th way I am reading the story, she deserved it.

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

23. sympathy for suicide bombers?Wha? R U serious?-you mistake opposition with

support.
Opposition to this illegal invasion does not mean support for those Iraqis who harm people.
It doesn't take a genius to realize "why" they are fighting against the forces that occupy their country.

The best way to win is to LEAVE.

It's patriotic to speak out against the unethical use of troops.

There is not one good reason to remain in Iraq.

And there was never even one good reason to invade a country that posed no threat to us or its neighbors. It's illegal by international law.

[The Magistrate]

25. An Excellent Quote, Mr. Q.C.

The matter is, indeed, not all that simple.

It seems to me you are correct that most of the U.S. soldiers now in Iraq are doing something other than what they thought they were signing up for, though most of them probably do feel what they ae doing is defending their country and benfitting ordinary Iraqis, as that is what the military culture they are part of requires them to think, and it is dangerous to be too different from one's comrades in such circumstances.

The right to resist invasion does not convey an exemption from the laws of war to the partisans who exercise that right, and there is a good deal of criminality engaged in by the Iraqi resistance forces. Attacks aimed at personnel of the puppet government, or employees of the occupation forces, are legitimate, and in carrying them out, the partisan forces are entitled to the same latitude regarding "collateral damage" that the regulars are. People cannot have this both ways: if a U.S. bomber pilot is to be denounced as a murderer because a bomb aimed at a partisan position killed a number of non-combatants also, than a partisan fighter who detonates himself near a queue of men enlisting for the police and also involves a number of persons doing their morning shopping in a market across the street in the detonation must also be denounced as a murderer, and if he is not so denounced, neither can the pilot be. Such acts as the kidnapping of aid workers and foreign businessmen, and their subsequent execution, of course, are unargueably crimes. So are attacks aimed against Iraqi civilians of a different sectarian or ethnic allegiance, because these are feltv to be collaborators, or in the hope of provoking civil war, or because of simple hate for that group felt by the perpetrators, similarly crimes, beyond any argument.

Nor is it true that all armed bodies today resisting the U.S. occupation of Iraq are simply fighting for their families and homes and freedom. A number of them are fighting to be tyrants over their fellows once the United States is gone.

[Vladimir]

63. I must take issue with this notion

of not being able to have it both ways - the pilot is a criminal regardless of collateral damage, because they are engaging in an illegal war (and actually, because their cause is wrong, legal or no. For example, the presence of foreign troops was 'legalised' by a UN resolution about a year after the fact - but no one sane would see that as legitimising it. The clear illegality of the original act of war makes the argument here even easier though). Collateral damage is a sad fact of war (a government which engages in a war but states that it does not wish there to be civilian casualties is delusional, or lying, or most likely both), but the issue is proportionality. Bombing a cafe packed with civilians to assasinate a government minister is one thing, bombing a cue of recruits where you may kill some bystanders is quite another. Furthermore, the defending side does have some generally recognised leeway anyhow - since they are usually outnumbered and outgunned, most accept the right of resistance fighters to conduct ambushes wearing civilian clothes and the like.

PS please see my post below on the nature of the insurgency. While not all those fighting the occupation seek freedom for Iraqis, on that you are quite right, we forfeited any interest in that matter when we invaded.

[The Magistrate]

66. Fair Enough, Sir

My intent was to address only the specific act, not the framework in which it takes place. Those are seperate questions, and in a case where the illegality is the prosecution of a war itself, the responsibility is on those in command: even in the wake of the Second World War, ordinary Axis soldiers were not tried for waging a war of aggression, though many were convicted of specific criminal acts during it, and those acts would have been just as criminal in a war of defense. The Geneva Accords do not really contain the leeway you suggest; indeed, partisan forces are supposed to bear some identifying mark when engaged in combat, and a strict view of the matter could consider any action by any member of such a firce who does not do so criminal. That is a regulation that, as a practical matter, no one could really be expected to abide by, but it is there nonetheless.

[thebigidea]

28. if they were shot to death in combat, how are they also suicide bombers?

or are you saying that all who join the resistance in Iraq are automatically suicide bombers with links to Al Qaeda?

[slackmaster]

49. They were wannabe suicide bombers

They should be happy - they accomplished half of their mission objectives.

[thebigidea]

58. what the fuck is a "wannabe suicide bomber"?

you either are, or you aren't. Absolutely pathetic.

[slackmaster]

61. Someone who is prepared to blow himself or herself up but gets killed

Before he or she can detonate his or her explosives.

Absolutely pathetic.

Or maybe too clever and incisive for your small minded view to assimilate.

[Vladimir]

62. Except that most Iraqi people

fighting the occupation by military means are not suicide bombers, nor are they attacking civilians. Please note:

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?ItemID=7670



I wish that people would stop characterising the resistance, which is neither monolithic nor has a centralised command structure, as a terrorist organisation hell bent on suicide bombings and subversion of democracy. There are reactionary elements within it, but the majority of fighters are fighting the occupiers. When you use phrases like 'sympathy for suicide bombers' even when referring to those elements of the resistance fighting US troops in the area, which they have a legitimate right to do, you play into the hands of those who want this occupation to continue until some mythical stability (meaning acceptance of US hegemony over the Iraqi government) is achieved.

I have a large amount of sympathy for US soldiers, many of whom are from the poorest segments of US society and signed up as the only way of getting a decent education/helth-care in life. I have far more sympathy, though, for the anti-colonial freedom fighters of Iraq.

[The Magistrate]

68. We Would Seem, Sir, To Be In Substantial Agreement Here

My view that some leading factions of the Iraqi resistance aim to exercise tyranny, and tyranny of a sort that could hardly be supported by persons of left and progressive outlook, is not an argument for continuation of the U.S. occupation, which is itself a tyranny no person of left and progressive views could regard as wholesome. It is pressed, on occassion, for two reasons. First, because it seems worth pointing out that the thing is not, as you are well aware, a simple matter of white hats versus black hats, but rather one in which just about everyone involved is villainous in some manner. There is nothing wrong with favoring one villain over another, of course, providing one is aware of doing so, and does not attempt to ascribe virtues that are fictional to the prefered set of rogues. Second, because it seems worth pointing out that there will be no good outcome to this situation, particularly from the point of view of the people of Iraq. One way or another, they are going to be tyrannized over by reactionaries, and this, too, is something people of left and progressive views need to keep a steady eye on.

"I prefer the wicked to the foolish. The wicked sometimes rest."

[Vladimir]

70. I agree in a theoretical sense

practically speaking, it is an issue of propaganda - if the Iraqi resistance is to be regarded as monolithic (and no public figure does anything but), then it might as well be classified according to the actions of its major components. And the major components, while they do not agree on the post war settelment, are not fighting their own people. I agree that the outcome may well be a sorry one for the people of Iraq, in the short term anyway, but it will be a far worse one for the region as a whole if the current state of affairs prevails and is legitimised. And for ourselves too, because "victory" here may well delude some people into thinking that this project needs to be reapplied. But ultimately, I am more optimistic vis-a-vis the resistance than you are - if the Basra Oil Union is anything to go by, there are substantial progressive forces there.

If and when we withdraw, of course, the next rallying cry must be for reparations. Not least because the promise of money for genuine reconstruction (not, of course, tied to any political platform) may well keep any civil conflicts there in check.

[bushisanidiot]

27. If she's gay and comes out, will AWOL Bush rip the medal out of her

hands?

[iowa_democrat]

30. Keep this story

When either runs for public office as a democrat in 25 years, it will turn out that the "Convoy Police Veterans For Truth" group will put out a hardhitting book and documentary showing what "really" happened and accusing her of being a traitor. The mainstream media will run with the story for a whole month. Hopefully SHE will continue to fight even then.

Way to go ladies, you make me proud that we have great Americans fighting a lousy war, I am very very sorry that you are over there and not back here.

[agincourt]

47. Thanks for your post,

because that's exactly what happened to John Kerry. Heroically serving your country means nothing unless it helps the rotten GOP nowadays.

[speedingbullet]

31. Sorry if I've Become Cynical

I hope that this is really about honoring a brave woman. It's high time that our female service people receive their credit. There has been so much crap and outright lies thrown at us that I can't help wondering if this is part of the Army's recruiting scheme. I hope not.

[ismnotwasm]

38. As the mother of a active miliatary woman

I'm proud of these young women. But how I wish their recoginition was in another place, perhaps another time. I know well that soldiers are taught to protect each other, they HAVE to rely on each other. To remain alive, one has to be a well trained and quick thinking soldier in combat wherever it is. And as we all know, many times that isn't nearly enough. My daughter actually told me that many soldiers feel that conservatives ie. republicans,are the only ones that supported them when they left, and welcomed them when they came back. She is often torn politically, even though she can't stand bush. She told me that she got two raises under bush. I told her what about the cuts for vets? She said "that's true" I accidently taught my grandson to say 'bush sucks' when ever he sees him on tv, when we took care of him when she was in Afghanistan. She told me that where she is going to be stationed now is a republican stronghold, and she better not get lynched. ( My grandson still says "I don't like him" even after I explained that it was only Nana's opinion, and lots of people have different opinions)So yes, I support our troops. Now that my daughter has returned, I'm planning on getting involved in the adopt a soldier program, you sent letters, and packages of things the army doesn't provide. (My dad sent my daughter pounds of high quality coffee beans, and a grinder --she was the shit over there, they trade stuff)
As far as they war itself, I cannot, and will not support this war. It's bullshit, our soldiers are getting killed because we have greedy sociopaths running this country. As a general rule, I don't support any war. I wish there was another way, remember that 'what if they gave a war and nobody came slogan?' that's kind of the way I feel. I will support out soldiers, always, but with a dichotomy of emotions. When those kids come back, some of them are going to be so fucked up, and this government is goint to treat them just like they did the Vietnam vets. Healthcare cuts and inadequate mental health support. Some Vets have told me that they have pretty good benefits, it all depends on what "percent" you are. Many have to fight the VA tooth and nail to get what should freely be given. So it's going to be a mess. Sometimes I listen to "Universal Soldier" by Donavan, (no mention of females in it of course) It sums up how I feel fairly well. War begets war. And THIS war, in the long-term, will cause more misery and strife that is believable.

[Lisa]

39. I hope we can find a way other than war ...

... to make advances in women's lib and racial equality!

Perhaps some conservatives can only think about these things in terms of combat. I remember encountering one elderly man who grudgingly admitted that giving full civil rights to African Americans was acceptable "only because they fought well in WWII". From what I've heard from ex-military friends, I suspect that the sergeant who got the Silver Star, and your daughter as well, are better than most of the guys in their outfits -- an inordinate number of people seem to feel it's their duty to drive women out of the armed forces, and one has to be very skilled and persistent to even get recognized. I hope things are better now, but I've heard some awful stories of double standards.

I'm starting to wonder if some of the perceived conservative support for returning soldiers might be due to the ideological changes since WWII. In that war, it was the conservatives who had opposed getting involved -- although by the end, my impression is that support for the troops was widespread across the political spectrum. (In the lead-up to the war, the people who went to fight fascism only got support from the left, and were mocked and derided by the mainstream press and politicians.) I don't know about the US, but in other places returning veterans helped elect left-leaning governments, like the socialists in Britain and Saskatchewan. But later conflicts were more to the conservatives' liking because they were against communism or anything they thought favored it. So they embraced the troops as "their own", and that pro-military association stuck in people's minds (even though a lot of moderates and progressives had family involved as well, and supported them even though they were critical of US policy).

[Zerex71]

40. And when Jessica Lynch wouldn't go along with the 5gon script...

Now they need a new made-for-TV hero.

[daleo]

42. The war grows increasingly unpopular among U.S. citizens

When that happens, the awarding of medals goes up proportionately, in an effort to pump up patriotic fervor. I think this is probably true of any conflict.

That isn't to say that the individuals involved don't deserve recognition. But the awarding of medals (or any equivalent honor) has multiple purposes, one of which is propaganda.

[RamboLiberal]

43. Note there was no big deal made of this woman getting the medal

Just a news story.

She deserves that Silver Star IMHO.

Now I will argue that the Army too quickly awarded Pat Tillman the same medal. They awarded it so quickly! But I for one would not make it a big deal and try to strip it from a dead man. The aholes in the WH and the Pentagon have already done enough crap the way they lied to Tillman's family.

[BreweryYardRat]

41. Good for her.

[Roland99]

53. Great work and sharp thinking by a young woman in a horrid situation.

[Jacobin]

54. So, she killed some Iraqis who were trying to repel foreign invaders

What's to cheer about?

In Bush's War there are no winners, only losers, because there was no cause for the invasion.

[blackhorse]

56. "The real glory of war . . .

. . . is surviving."

-- Samuel Fuller, film director and war veteran

[deadparrot]

57. Good for her.

Doubtless what this young woman did saved the lives of many of her fellow soldiers.

However, I pray for her safe reentry into society, as I pray for the physical and mental health of every combat soldier returning to civilian life. She sounds like she's been through a hell of a lot. Readjusting can't be an easy process.

I also pray for those civilians in Iraq, because there is no black and white. In wartime, we have a tendency to forget about nuance. I'm far from an expert on the subject, but I think this situation is far more complicated than many would like to comprehend.

This is such a sad situation all around.

[Cocoa]

59. maybe this will help the poll numbers

in order to impact the polls, the whores have to get this young person all over the TV. Let's see if Sgt. Hester becomes a household name.

[lies and propaganda]

65. And she will never be the same again....

...because she is a woman that just killed three people. A medal doesnt make your nightmares go away.

[ngGale]

67. This is wonderful and I hope...

all return home safely. :patriot:

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

69. what's "wonderful" about killing people in an occupied country?

Disneyland is "wonderful".
Love is "wonderful".
A child playing is "wonderful".
A puppy dog wagging his tail is "wonderful".

a woman killing Iraqis is NOT wonderful!!