My son in law is being sent to Iran - well, the Persian Gulf

[ashling]

My daughter called the other day to tell me that is aircraft carrier is being sent to the Persian Gulf.

[w8liftinglady]

1. i'm sending healing thoughts your way.

hopefully,his tour will be brief,and you will be reunited soon.

We care,if you need to vent.
Beth

[midnight]

2. So nicely said... Hopefully a brief tour and then home again.

[mwrguy]

3. I hope he doesn't have to help kill anyone

Please talk to him about his career choice.

[proteus_lives]

7. What's wrong with a career in the Navy?

Out of curiosity.

[bherrera]

12. Maybe because US soldiers do not fight for the USA

They fight for the empire. Which is not a good reason to die.

[proteus_lives]

14. U.S. service members would disagree with you.

They swear an oath to defend the United States and the Constitution. That what they believe they're doing even if they disagree with mission they're sent upon.

The Navy has a proud tradition of that. Remember rescuing the tanker captain in '09? Was that for empire?

[Obamanaut]

9. Navy is not a bad career choice. I started four days after HS graduation.

Retired 28 years later. During those years I got a degree, a wife, two daughters, and got to see a lot of the world I would not have otherwise seen.

[medeak]

4. best to you and family but....

isn't that classified info?

[rug]

13. I doubt either al Qaeda or the Taliban are going to attack an aircraft carrier.

No other wars going on yet, are there?

[mdmc]

5. ..

[lunatica]

6. Do you think this is some preamble to a military action against Iran?

I don't know enough about any deployments in the Persian Gulf.

[proteus_lives]

8. DU's been predicting military action against Iran since 2004.

If it didn't happen under Dubya, it won't happen now.

[bherrera]

11. No, it is bluff

I discuss this in a different place.

[bherrera]

10. US carriers go to the Gulf every day

The US carriers go to the Persian Gulf all the time. It is what they call "show the imperial flag" movement. If they had to fight a war Iran, they would not enter the Gulf, because it is too close to Iran, and the Iranians could damage the US ships.

But all this warmongering on the part of Americans is bluff. It is something they do to please the Israel and the Military Complex lobby, which is very powerful and has a lot of influence over US politicians. The Israelis want the US to start another war, which they do on behalf of Israel. But I think President Obama is a fairly smart man, unlike President Bush, who was an idiot. This does not mean president Obama is sufficiently smart to stand and oppose the generals, the military industrial complex, and the israel lobby. Thus Americans will suffer and die in the Middle East and Afghanistan for many years, I think.

[proteus_lives]

15. Ah, you're one of those types.

So, how long have you believed the "joooooows" run the U.S. government?

:tinfoilhat:

[Hannah Bell]

17. wtf? poster said nothing like that. is the israel lobby a fiction invented by nazis?

[proteus_lives]

18. So do you also believe the Israeli lobby controls our foreign policy?

:eyes:

[Hannah Bell]

22. point out where the poster said the "israeli" lobby CONTROLS our foreign policy.

[proteus_lives]

23. Plain enough.

"It is something they do to please the Israel and the Military Complex lobby, which is very powerful and has a lot of influence over US politicians."

"The Israelis want the US to start another war, which they do on behalf of Israel."

So we start wars on behalf of Israel? News to me.

"his does not mean president Obama is sufficiently smart to stand and oppose the generals, the military industrial complex, and the israel lobby."

So Obama isn't smart enough or willing to stand up to the Israeli lobby.

He speaks plainly enough.

Do you agree with him?

[Hannah Bell]

24. if you say so. goodbye.

[proteus_lives]

25. I take it since you keep dodging the question, that you agree with him.

Is that true?

[Hannah Bell]

26. someday you're going to choke on all those straw men, "pro". goodbye again.

[proteus_lives]

27. Sorry the question makes you so uncomfortable.

I will assure you that our government isn't secretly led by Israel.

You may realize that one day.

[MineralMan]

29. You say goodbye. I say hello.

Hello, hello!

[Dappleganger]

16. Happy sailing.

Relatively speaking, on a ship is a fairly safe place to be. I was a navy brat, btw. Our entire neighborhood was filled with navy families, active duty and retired. We were very supportive when the spouses were deployed.

[Obamanaut]

19. He will not be alone. There are several thousand sailors and marines

on the ship with him.

If he is so inclined this is a good time to get in some college courses if he doesn't have a degree. google 'navy college program for afloat college education'

[pinboy3niner]

20. Wishing him a good tour...

...and a separation that goes by quicky for both him and your daughter.

My niece's husband served in the Gulf on the Enterprise a few years back, and I know the separation was a real hardship for them.

He once explained to me the color-coded job system they had for the crews on the flight deck, and even though Rachel Maddow also covereded it on a show she did from a carrier a while back, it's still Greek to this Army vet. :) Perhaps when you do a later update you'll include a brief refresher on which jobs the Goofy Grapes and the others do.

Fair winds and following seas to your son-in-law--and to your daughter.

[Obamanaut]

28. I truly enjoyed working on the flight deck of carriers. I was always

in one of the squadrons making up the airwing, and deployed in various amounts of time aboard the USS John F Kennedy, the USS Midway, USS America, USS Eisenhower, USS Independence.

Here is link to site that explains color codes of jerseys with brief description of jobs http://www.navysite.de/cvn/catcolor.htm

[pinboy3niner]

30. Thanks, Obamanaut

The chart makes a handy cheat sheet.

[grantcart]

21. Fifty percent of the world's petroleum transits through the Persian Gulf

and that is why we have a permanent presence and postings there are usually uneventful.

Good wishes on his trip. Boredom will be his greatest enemy.