I will probably get my man friend in trouble for writing this. However, I haven’t learned my lesson from getting fired and I’m going to write it anyway.

I am PISSED OFF at the United States Army. Let me tell you why.

My former boyfriend, John, has been in the shithole known as Tikrit, Iraq for over a year. He was supposed to come home in July after 12 months, but because we’ve allowed our government to run rampant because we hate Arabs, his tour got extended to 15 months. And let me tell you something about Tikrit… no one goes there. Politicians visit the Green Zone in Baghdad and all that shit, but they don’t take the road north because… well, because odds are good that they’ll get blown up. I have a friend who works for Senator Bob Casey, who just visited Iraq and Jordan. I asked if the Senator ended up going to Tikrit, to which my friend responded in the negative. I commented that it was probably too dangerous a place for a US Senator, to which his girlfriend replied “Oh, well, they always have lots of security when they travel over there, so he would have been fine.” She’s sweet and means well, but is naive… if bodyguards were enough to ensure safety, why have we lost over 3000 men to this endless war? An IED is an IED, and it will blow the shit out of you.

The kicker to all of this is that I recently found out that the grand homecoming party John’s family and I have been looking forward to will not be happening. This is because the US Army doesn’t allow its soldiers to, you know, take a fucking break after they return. John’s family gets 72 hours to visit with him at Fort Bragg when he gets home, then has to wait until Christmas when he gets a two-week leave. Now, I understand that the Army is concerned for its soldiers’ mental health and wellbeing (as they should be), but… 72 hours? Can’t they hang at the base for a while, under observation, then maybe get a couple weeks off at home? I mean… I realize the guys sign up for this… I’m not disputing that fact… but don’t they deserve to see their families… and former girlfriends… after 15 months in hell?

I thought they did.

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