[LisaCA]

hi,

as I mentioned in the original thread, my dad was in the Navy. I also have a ton of relatives that were in the military: granddad was in the army (gassed in france WWI, died later partly from injuries), uncle in the air force (wwII, korea), 3 or 4 uncles in the navy (Korea, vietnam), former BIL Navy (gulf war I), and many cousins in all branches. Dad served in the navy 23 years, wwII, korea, vietnam. I was born at the end of his navy career, so I visited the exciting towns of Bremerton WA and Corpus Christi TX, and Newport RI.

my dad loved his time in the service. He was the son of a sharecropper, helped as a sharecropper, then fled the farm in North Carolina to visit around the world, places he would never have been. While we differ politically about whether he should have been in all those places , I love the stories he tells about the former Yugoslavia, Japan, the Philippines, Spain, Italy etc. For a sharecropper, the navy really opened up his world. It also introduced him to mom, which led to me so I'm grateful to the navy. Dad loved his 23 years in the military so much that now, when he goes mentally awol (79, suffering from a number of health issues including plaque on the brain), he revisits 1945-1947 . We joke it was the time before he met mom or had us, but I think it was the fun he had as a 17-19 yr old, touring the world.

there were clearly plusses and minuses about the military, and from what mom says, it isn't a career choice for the weak of heart (she moved 17 times in 23 years ). I think as a kid you weren't alone-there were other military brats around you all the time.

I have to say the comment in the original thread was at best ill informed. my husband works with military people all the time, and I occasionally attend functions with military spouses. They are just like us-some are great parents, some stink at parenting, and like most of america, most fall somewhere in between. They are all nice to me (the weird liberal vegetarian), and for that I'm grateful. I'd have no problem having my daughter raised in a military family.

And here's to hoping GWBush increases military pay! These are hard working people, who put up with a lot of $#@! to serve their country. I may not agree with every place they're sent and every task they're asked to do, but that doesn't affect my support for military personnel as they attempt to do what we as a country ask of them.