From an Australian whose son is in Iraq
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Gentlemen,
I am an Australian and my son is an Australian - as
far as we are concerned there is not place on God's
earth better than Australia, and there are no people
better than Australians.
That was until the past week or so.
My son is in the Australian Army and he is currently
on deployment in Iraq. I can not go into his duties
in great depth, but shall we say that he and his
fellow army buddies are on a glorified guard duty
looking after the Australian Embassy. They don't go
out looking for 'action', though it is a different
story in Afghanistan, there the Aussie troops chase
the baddies over the hills and into the valleys..
My son and I just ended a long 'phone conversation
and here are some of his comments, believe me this
is what he said. We have all seen the bullshit
emails written by some clown in his lounge room
pretending to be at the coal face, but this is what
was said.:
'Before I came over here I thought we (the
Australian Army) were pretty shit hot..... was I
ever wrong!....The Yanks (I hope you don't mind me
using that word) are so professional from the top to
the bottom that it is almost embarrassing to be in
their company, and to call yourself a
soldier....don't get me wrong, we are good at what
we do but the Yanks are so much better.....they are
complete at what they do, how they do it and their
attitude is awesome....they don't complain they just
get on with the job and they do it right.....I carry
a Minimi (SAW) so I am not real worried about a
confrontation but I tell you I feel safer just
knowing that the US Army is close by....If we got
into trouble I know that our boys would come running
and we could deal with it but they would probably be
passed by a load of Hummers.
No questions asked, no glory sought, the Americans
would just fight with us and for us because that is
their nature, to protect those in need of
protection.....We use the American Mess so you could
say that we are fed by the Americans.....they have
every right to be pissed at that but they don't
bitch about that they just make us feel as welcome
as possible....what gets to me is that the Yanks
don't walk around with a 'we are better than you
attitude' and they could because they are, they
treat us as equals and as brothers in arms. If
nothing else, coming here has taught me that the
Americans are a truly great Nation and a truly great
bunch of people.....
Let's face it they don't HAVE to be here, they could
stay in America and beat the shit out of anyone who
threatened them, BUT THEY ARE HERE because they
believe they should be here, and the Iraqis would be
screwed if they weren't here.....When I come home,
you and I we are going to the US, we will buy some
bikes and we are going riding....'
The reason why I am sharing this with you is because
I realize that you (as a nation) must get pretty
pissed with all the criticism you receive by the
so-called 'know it alls' who are sitting at home -
safe. The reality is that they are safe, just as I
am, because of America. If the world went arse up
tomorrow there is little all we (Australia) could do
about it, but I know that the Americans would be
there putting themselves on the line for others.
That to me is the sign of greatness.
The most precious thing in my life is my son, I look
at him and I thank God that I am fortunate enough to
be able to spend time in his company. We laugh, we
discuss, we argue, we dummy spit, we have the same
blood. I am not happy that he is where he is but
that is his duty. He joined the Army to protect and
to defend, not to play games. I mightn't like it but
I accept it. My reasons for not liking it are
selfish and self centered. I felt assured that he
would be safe because he is in a well trained army
with an excellent record, BUT NOW, I feel a whole
lot better knowing that he is with your sons,
daughters, brothers and sisters.
Whilst he was growing up, I was always there to
look after him, I would not let harm befall him and
I would always put myself before him to protect him.
I can't do that now. When it comes to looking after
him now he and his mates will do the job, but also
THANK GOD FOR AMERICA.
Gentlemen, I have rambled on for too long. but as I
finish I say to you, as a foreigner and outsider, a
nation is only a collection of its people and its
attitude is the attitude of its people, collectively
and as individuals. I am really glad you are here on
this Earth and I respect you as a nation and as
people.
Stand up and feel proud because you deserve it,
there is no one else who will do what America does
without question. The next time someone howls you
down, take some comfort in the fact that America is
defending their right to act like an idiot.
Finally, thank you for looking after my son.
Peter Turner
