Pentagon: Social networking sites are off-limits

Thank you Rick. I was a 12B

Thank you Rick. I was a 12B for 8 years, never had to go anywhere. I am glad that people like you are willing to do what is asked of you.

We all need to keep in mind that ours has been a Voluntary military for decades. None of these soldiers were dragged from their homes, handed a rifle and put on a plane. They chose to do this the same as I chose to do it for my 8 years.

I was never sent into a combat zone, I happened to fall in between Desert Storm and Enduring Freedom. If I had been sent, I would have gone. One thing I remember from basic training is the understanding that from the point you put on the uniform, you aren't a civilian any longer. Civilians have their laws but soldiers have a much stricter set of laws called the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Pretty much anything civilian law covers it covers, and much more. Essentially a soldier belongs to the military. There are no group votes on whether to take a mission or not, you just do it.

Do I feel bad that soldiers are losing access? Yes, but on the other side, my grandfather could barely get letters out of Europe to the rest of his family.

Get over yourselves and worry more about how we treat these guys when they get home.

Yes, long-term deployments

Yes, long-term deployments and the imminent threat of danger make for an uncomfortable situation, but the situation is temporary. And, yes, my fellow soldiers, who also share the same experiences and same dangers, sometimes are injured or killed while performing their duties. But we know why we're here -- we're here to keep the enemy here, away from the States, away from attacking our homes, family and country. And we don't want to be anywhere else at this moment in time, because we understand the importance of our presence here. If we're not here fighting the enemy, we will be fighting them on our own soil, barricaded in our own homes. It was quite plainly demonstrated in our country on September 11, 2001, what fanatical, unprincipled madmen will do to others when they have the opportunity.

Would you not spend a year in Hell, a far worse place than where we now stand, to save all of that which is precious to you? If not, I pity you for your lack of commitment and passion, for not having a cause in your heart worth defending to your last breath. We don't fight for the love of war, war being a horrid thing that is best avoided, but instead we fight for the love of peace. I do not pity those that will die and be maimed here on this battlefield, we who stand for our beliefs and our country and give all that we have. We know in our final moments that there is nothing more we can possibly do to protect those we love and protect, because we give all that we have in that defense. And we trust that our fellow soldiers will also do the same, and because of that, we know that our family, friends and country will be safe.

So I and my fellow soldiers give up smelling good, eating fancy meals and sleeping in late on Saturdays for a year or two to preserve our freedoms and way of life, so that we have a safe, free place to return home to. We'll even be doing the same for you as well, despite the fact that you may not appreciate our commitment. That's the greatest bargain I've ever made.

Let's stick a bunch of our

Let's stick a bunch of our guys in the middle of a civil war in Iraq, put them in life threatening situations without proper equipment and a severe lack of training, give them 3rd rate medical care after their lives are virtually destroyed due to catastrophic injuries, force them to do extended tours, and then take away their ability to communicate with the world outside of Iraq, and with their friends and family? They don't show that on the Army commercial...