Sometimes Soldiers Die

I'm not pro-war and I'm definitely not pro-Bush, but it drives me crazy when anyone linked to the military complains about the risks involved.
Jeremy Hinzman abandoned his unit before they were sent to Iraq because he didn't want to kill anyone. It's the American Army when you join up, for whatever reason, you should be prepared for the fact that you might have to kill someone.
In today's Globe, the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq was out protesting the war and she wants to talk to Bush. Her son was awar of the consequences of joining the army and going to Iraq, 'Mom, I have to go. It's my duty. My buddies are going.' Unfortunatey, her son Casey Sheehan was killed after only five days in Iraq. The question she would like to ask President Bush, "I want him to tell me why my son died." She says she doesn't believe Bush's excuses for the war.
Regardless of whether or not she agrees with the war her son was in the army. He was prepared to go overseas and be involved in an active conflict. There is no draft. The American Military is strictly voluntary and her son would have known the risks when he joined and didn't want to avoid his agreement to the military. This is something his mother obviously could not accept.
I have great sympathy for Ms. Sheehan, but her son signed up for this and while the war itself is questionable, and though she may be against the war her son was obviously alright with fulfilling his duty.
This is a weird thing for me to blog about, but people like Jeremy Hinzman drive me nuts. I understand how expensive education, especially in the U.S., is and that joining the military can help with costs. But, you're stilling joining the military and have to understand that it comes with consequences. The military isn't a place for cheap education it's an organization with a long history of killing people and having people killed.
Draft dodgers were smart, when the military wouldn't have let them out of service they left. But if, like Hinzman, you join the army and decide shortly before you are to get shipped to Iraq you can't go because you don't want to kill anyone -- you were stupid to join the army anyways.
Pardon my ranting, I'm done.