Miscellaneous > The Sallyport

For those in peril on the sea...

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Lord Chagatai:
Prayers are out to them and the families....as well as you..


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Ian:
Thank you all for your kind words of support.

The saddest part of this whole thing is that they shouldn't have even been there.  The USS Nimitz strike group should have been home by now.  But because of political posturing over Syria they were extended and sent to that region.  And as a result LCDR Landon Jones never met his newborn child, and CWO3 Jon Gibson doesn't get to kiss his wife and hug his kids after another deployment. 

Please don't ever think for one second that even the smallest thing you see our politicians BSing about on TV and groveling for support over doesn't directly put our servicemen and women directly in to harm's way and put lives at risk even when no bullets are flying at the US military itself.  Also don't think for one second that those same politicians will ever shed a tear for these American heroes who gave their lives so that certain people could look tough on the world stage.  The same politicians who have an unprecedented percentage of members who have never served in the military or have children who serve, yet deploy the military more and more and for longer and longer than has ever been done.

http://bangordailynews.com/2013/09/28/living/words-from-a-grieving-widow/

**EDIT**
PayPal accounts have been set up for donations to the families
LCDR Landon Jones:
landonjonesmemorialfund@gmail.com

CWO3 Jon Gibson:
jongmemorial@yahoo.com

Sir Edward:

Yeah, that's something that a lot of people don't get. Deployments are risky, even when no shots are fired. Bad weather, mechanical problems, human mistakes, they all can add up into lost lives.

Sir Douglas:
Amen. They see the troops as pawns and statistics instead of human beings. It's a shame. How easy is it to say, "Oh, yeah, let's send a hundred more guys out there. A thousand. Ten thousand. They're just numbers."

I have a lot of respect for people who have served. My dad is a Vietnam vet, and the general public treated those guys like dirt when they came home. I wasn't around then, but I still think it's shaped my current opinions on servicemen. Whether or not you agree with the politics behind whatever war they're in, the fact is that these guys go into some of the worst places in the world and go through things that no one should have to experience, while the guys in charge sit back and say, "Eh, let's send in a few more".

Again, I sincerely thank you guys for your service.

/rant

Sir Martyn:
I am sorry for your loss Ian and will keep their families in our thoughts.

I hope their sacrifice won't be in vain.  If (and it's a big one) the end game in Syria results in lives saved and over the longer term better prospects for some kind of future for the next generation in region, then perhaps this will have been about more than just posturing - time will tell.

You're right that many don't consider the reasons or circumstances behind where folks serve or why - nor did many ask why we have a presence in many dangerous places around the world until events lend themselves to convenient politicization - by both sides (i.e., Benghazi). 

But I digress, apologies.

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