There's a couple of guys I was close to during my Florida days who joined the Marines right after 9/11. I imagine they're in country or have been. Hope they're OK.

I have friend, newly minted Army Officer, who's going in the summer. I'm scared for him, but he's a good man, smart. I believe that he can do some good.

Nope. No close friends who are serving. But heard about friends of acquaintances and been to a few talks by some.

Somehow this picture makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, you know. It truly is relevant to your post, LT, or so I hope.

My nephew recently enlisted in the Army for a substantial signing bonus. However according to my sister, because of his criminal background (minor shit), he is ineligible for hazardous duty pay and so he will not be assigned to Iraq in the foreseeable future.

This would make sense (in the military meaning of 'sense') if duty in Iraq required a minimal clearance.

Affirmative to the original question.

I've had 4 cousins go over and come back, and 2-3 close friends go and come back...

A close friend from work is in the reserves and is being deployed at the end of the month...

Three friends joined the services at the end of their senior year, two returned with lifetime disabilities. One has severe complications with internal injuries and requires copious amounts of painkillers and trauma therapy and the other received nerve damage from an IED blast and lost his sense of taste and smell permanently. Both at the age of 20.

It's kind of fucked up to get baked with your buds again after they've been halfway around the world and permanently damaged mentally and physically; having seen those sights and put men down in acts of panic and desperation... kicking in doors, ziptying all the males around their age, barking orders in the middle of the night.

In fact I was driving around blazing up a buddy right after he got home for his first break in a long time, he kept apologizing for his paranoia and the way he would position himself in the passenger side of my vehicle... as if he was holding his service rifle, staring at every rooftop, street corner, civilian, halfway cracked blinds behind a window...

Three friends: one that had one tour and has been home safe for a couple of years, another that had two tours and wants to go back for more, and another that is there now and should be coming home soon. The first guy hasn't changed because of it. The others seem to have become empty shells of what they used to be.

The second guy that wants to go back for more was in a convoy when the driver of his truck got shot in the shoulder. They have a picture of him without his shirt (showing the wound) and he's smiling eerily.

Two went over, one is still there on convoy duty, one died there.

Yes several in various states of animation, intactness and deployment... god love us, them and everybody.

If anything at all happens to my buddy over there, I'm going after Bush myself. And yes, Carmina, I believe your pic is relevant and is the only symbol of hope I've seen in this country in the last eight years.

No.

I hope all your friends and family come home safe and sound. My condolences for those who haven't.

Friend of a friend died over there. His name was Greg, and that's just about I remember about him that I will say here. We weren't close or even really friends, but you asked. Also another friend is in the Marines and I think his mother took her own life while he was deployed.

This is one fucked-up decade.