hi anne - that was a wonderful posting about war.
i did time (6 months) on the namibian (then south west africa) and angolan border during the war there during 1980. i didnt see any actual action there - i worked in the weather reporting dept, helped out on comms, and air traffic controlling (the only zero rank holding atc in the entire air force - we - me & the military just didnt get along - my file had big red writing across the front - "NO PROMOTION" and i am so fucking proud of that achievement now :-) anyhoo - part of my duties involved me going into the ops room every hour to write the latest weather data/forcast. so i got to see all the "top secret" stuff lying around. photographs, reports etc. war dehumanises. it turns ordinary people into fucking morons, who will do stupid, violent, cruel and inhumane things, in the situation. and will then spend the rest of their lives without getting over it. often damaging/destroying people around them in the process. suicides in military service are common. accidental deaths are common. so are murders. (esp non coms - corporals, sergeants etc) these three killed more people than the war did where i was unfortunate enough to be. yeah - we had all three. anybody who supports, or looks for war, either doesnt understand what its all about, or is a complete fool. i can make no apology for that statement - its the truth. sorry about the strong language - its a strong subject which brings up strong emotions. if i had my way thered be no more war, no more weapons, no more armies. but i guess that aint gonna happen, "that was just a dream some of us had" ron np =- baxtop -- work it out coincidentally bringing back wonderful memories of an incredible weekend - including catching tina turner live - before she jumped the shark - spent with the bandmembers & friends in 1980 - just before heading off to war!!!!
