Daily Duty

AFTER ACTION REPORT: 04 NOV 05, 0742 HOURS. Mission: place defensive charges in an ongoing strategic battle to prevent possible enemy breechs in friendly zone. Departed Forward Operating Base in an expedited fashion. Inserted into west sector of friendly controlled territory. Locals call this "The Front Yard". Cover was provided by Central Command while charges were placed. Once charges were placed, commenced forced march back to F.O.B McDonald. Mission successful.

It seems to me that the teenagers that are around now are becoming more disrespectful each year. So many things contribute to this trend that it is very hard to pinpoint any one reason. The most general explanation that I can think of is time. Obviously everything changes over time. Everything is subject to some sort of change when time is taken into account. Culture and social life in my opinion is one of the most rapidly changing aspects of our lives. The family values from just 20 years ago are quite different than what most people experience today. With the advancement of our technological capabilities, our culture was changed. From the changes in our culture, our social life was changed. This in turn changed the way that we parent our children. Which in turn changed our culture, which changed the technology.......its all very confusing. There are hundreds of books that line the local bookstores describing parenting techniques. The disturbing fact is that people need to turn to books to learn about family values when they should have been learning from their parents. But living in a perfect world we are not. All I can hope for at this point is that the neighbor kids will stop stomping through my front yard, or stop throwing empty Mountain Dew cans in the back. We'll see what happens with the current campaign of what I like to call "Yard Mines".


"Son, we live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by dogs with poop. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Bailey? I have more responsibility here than you could possibly fathom. You weep from the smell, and you curse the dogs. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That the crap in the front lawn, while tragic, probably saved lives. And that my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. I know deep down in places you don't talk about at parties, you WANT me on that wall, you NEED me on that wall. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then question the manner in which I provide it. I prefer you said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon, and stand to post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to!"