Part of that problem is that civilian employers have no clue about one
form of training that Marines, for example, receive that none of their
civilian applicants get: leadership. Most three-stripers or NCOs can
manage rings around just about any recent college graduate, and has a
can-do attitude very few college kids can even comprehend, let alone match.

Any squid can learn on-the-job the TASKS involved in most jobs not
requiring college degrees. But who's the most valuable person in most
complex undertakings? An outstanding leader. Just as the operational
services learned decades ago, a good leader can usually do more with a
dozen followers than a bad leader can do with a hundred.

Sounds like our military and national leaders need to better educate
employers as to their troops' qualifications beyond bomb-loading and
sniping.

I.P.

Well, then the companies are stupid.  I ALWAYS give the nod to a veteran.
Not out of loyalty (well maybe some of that) but because they are always, or
almost always, squared away.  It is a real boon to train new people who have
already learned that which cannot be taught in a business setting.  In my
eyes, college is good, age is better, military is still better.

if you get to hear a chance to hear the song "the 8th of november" by
big and rich, please do so.  it has been a big hit across the country.

it is based on the true happenings of that day in vietnam and they are
going to repeat the special show on the CMT channel this weekend on the
the making of the 8th of november with the person who was responsible
for the song itself.  a 25 year veteran who was one of the survivors.

big and rich explain how they all met and they take a camera crew back
to vietnam to the exact hill that the song is written about.

the climax of the show - was the closure for "niles".    in a 10 foot
deep crater that was made where a B-52 dropped a bomb, they made a hole
in the bottom of that crater and buried the boots that they had to cut
off the "niles" on the 8th of november when his leg was shot up - the
person who the song is written about.

also, big and rich took this one step further.  they are giving a
concert at the georgia army base to raise money for the memorial to
honor all the fallen heroes of the 173rd.

other singers have joined in for this effort.

here's the lyrics....

BIG & RICH LYRICS

"8th Of November"

Said goodbye to his momma as he left South Dakota
To fight for the red, white and blue
He was 19 and green with a new M-16
Just doing what he had to do
He was dropped in the jungle where the choppers would rumble
With the smell of napalm in the air
And the sergeant said...look up ahead
Like a dark evil cloud, 1,200 came down on him and 29 more
They fought for their lives but most of them died in the 173rd Airborne

[Chorus:]
On the 8th of November the angels were crying
As they carried his brothers away
With the fire raining down and the hell all around
There were few men left standing that day
Saw the eagle fly through a clear blue sky
1965, the 8th of November

Now he's 58 and his pony tail's gray
But the battle still plays in his head
He limps when he walks but he's strong when he talks
About the Shrapnel they left in his leg
He puts on a gray suit over his Airborne tattoo
And he ties it on one time a year
And remembers the fallen as he orders a tall one
And swallows it down with his tears

[Chorus]
Saw the eagle fly through a clear blue sky
1965...
On the 8th of November the angels were crying
As they carried his brother away
With the fire raining down and the hell all around
There were few men left standing that day

[Chorus]
Said goodbye to his momma as he left South Dakota
TO fight for the red, white and blue
He was nineteen and green with a new M-16
Just doing what he had to do

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional    
"Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is
invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."
http://community.webtv.net/PALMER_ENT/doc