Met a Gulf and Iraq War Veteran today and he was pissed

Take this for what you will because I have no links or no proof since I had a discussion with this guy today.

My lady and I are on vacation in the Appalachian Mountains and we were eating breakfast at the Waffle House this morning. I overheard a conversation that this guy was having with someone on the phone. He screamed, "I love my country, but I hate what they have done to me and my friends."

15 minutes later I was paying for our meal right beside where the guy was sitting. I struck up a conversation with him by telling him what I overheard him saying. He told me that he does love this country but he hated what the government has done to him.

"They turned me into a killing machine. They give you a shot to keep you up for seven days, then they give you a shot to make you sleep for seven days."

I had never heard of this before. Have any of you?

He showed me three medals he had which one was the purple heart, one I believe was the medal of valor and I'm not sure about the other one. He did say that he didnt deserve the third one because the friends that died deserved it more than he did. He said that he was one of the first ones in Iraq after they carpet bombed it. He asked me if I knew how it felt to see dozens of innocent children and their body parts scattered all across the sand, along with their families. All of it for OIL. He said that most of those fighting over there knew they were there so America could control the OIL.

I asked him if he thought we would go into Syria and he told me that we already had forces on the ground in Syria, but nobody knew it yet. He said America was doing a lot that nobody knew about. He said that they turned him into a machine and when he came out he had so many nightmares when he could shut his eyes that it drove him crazy and now the government has thrown him away like a piece of used trash.

When he was talking about all the children and all the body parts, my eyes started watering along with my lady. He showed us his leg that was torn apart by shrapnel from a roadside bomb, then started talking about how the government is ripping up the Constitution that he and his friends had sworn to uphold. He said that America was at a breaking point.

I asked him if he thought Iran would get Nukes. He said really seriously that Iran and rest of the countries already have Nukes. He also said that the government knows about all the terrorists sleeper cells that are inside the United States, they just dont know when they will start striking the heart of America. He said that he didnt think that they really cared if they started their Jihad inside America, because America only had one thing on its mind and that is OIL. He said that we would see WW3 really soon starting in the Middle East.

I asked him how many from the military would stand with the people if TSHTF. He said that most of them would because they are getting sick of all the killing of innocent people to line the pockets of the rich.

I found out that I overheard a conversation that he was having with his therapist. I really believe that everything this guy told me is the truth. Not once was this guy joking and he was dead serious when he spoke. I believed what he told me before I ever met him. He just confirmed a lot of things for me. I just had never heard of the shot that would keep the soldiers up for 7 days at a time.

I told him that my brother was being deployed to Afghanistan next month and he begged me to talk him out of it somehow, but like I told him, that was useless of me to try. He said he has seen a lot of guys like my brother. Really Gung-Ho to get over their to serve their country, then freeze up the first time they get into battle and get their heads blown off, and the ones that make it end up like him.

I just wanted to share this with you guys cause it shook me up pretty good this morning, to hear it from someone who had been there and experienced it first hand. Thoughts?

Ehhhhh... An intresting story but absent anything concrete info from this guy to verify it, to me its just a story and nothing else.

Was the guy even in military uniform or civilian clothes? If he was in uniform, was it correct and consistent with current standards?

To many what if's and unknown questions to draw a conclusion.

reply to post by Xcathdra


The guy wasnt in uniform. You could see the pain and terror in his eyes when he talked about it. I dont know how to convince you he was telling the truth and I wont try. You would have had to be there. He cried when talking about all the body parts of all the children that were slaughtered. He looked me right in the eyes the whole time we were talking. IMHO, the guy was very truthful about what he said. The guy was a torn soul. You could see and feel his pain. He was real. Like I said in the OP, you can take it for what its worth. Just thought Id share it....

reply to post by kennylee


If u see him again tell him,,, "no more wars" .

thnks.

reply to post by kennylee

Thanks for posting this.
I absolutely believe it, no question.
At some point we all have to realize we are governed by psychotic killers, it is really as simple as that. Human life means nothing to them, American or otherwise.

Thought I would chime in a bit, In my line of work I see vets with PTSD regularly...they share many of the same feelings and all of them know they aren't "normal" anymore and they won't be "normal" again having been through and seen what they have seen. Its difficult to rehab the mentallity of soldiers...

reply to post by Sly1one

Is that what you do?
Rehab work?
Just curious.

I was in Iraq in '07-'08, and the only stimulant I saw was the generic energy drink "Rip It" that the Army so generously provided. I know that pilots and aircrews had real uppers available, and some guys running convoys used them, but they were always pills or gum. This isn't to say I doubt this guy's story. The nature of his trauma may have warped the details a bit, but the basic idea seems plausible.

reply to post by kennylee


Thank You for taking the time to share this. What you are saying definitely rings true as I've heard similar things from my brother-in-law who was in both Afghan and Iraq in 2003 and 2004. It tears me up to think of what we've done to the best and brightest of an entire generation here. More than one, actually, since they are taking raw recruits into boot well into their late 30's now.

At the same time your story gives me renewed hope that, far from what some in Government and the Media have said, our vets are not a threat to us as citizens but may very well be what helps us get through the dark times I believe we have in the months and years ahead of us.

Thanks again for taking the time to post this.

Wow. I believe you to.. Just the pain and anguish in his eyes and in his voice would haunt me, not to speak of the things he has seen and done.
I had an uncle who was a paratrooper in Vietnam. He was definitely never the same again. PTSS.
I remember when he came home, he was 25 yrs old, and his hair was completely white. I remember everyone talking about it. Not one black hair left in his head. And he was only 25.

Unfortunately, most people will only wake up on the irrelevance of war after they have already experienced it first hand.

reply to post by kennylee


Did you buy him breakfast ?

reply to post by kennylee


a few years ago i did read of a drug manufactured for the US Govt. oddly enough, this drug had (at that time) been tested on Canadian soldiers (by their Govt). it was successful in keeping soldiers fully awake and aware for several days, as if those tested had actually received the sleep they needed and awoke again.

the article mentioned those concerned with the testing were very pleased that soldiers were able to go back to a normal sleep/awake regimen with little problems being detected.

i do not recall a mention of a second drug for sleeping purposes. there was no mention of using a needle to administer doses.

i remember reading this because it struck me as very peculiar that a USA Govt drug test was being performed on Canadian military personnel. i recall wondering to myself how closely are our Govt.'s tied to be doing such a thing.

i apologize: i do not remember if this i read online or in a magazine article. i've shared with you everything i can recall.

reply to post by kennylee


I'm sure his story is quite possible. People forget just how compartmentalized the military is. You're on a need to know. It could happen and most would know nothing about it.

There are soldiers coming back from the Middle East all the time that figured out what was going on and are now against the war. Especially when they find out how they where used for an agenda rather than just serving their country.

I am more than willing to fight for my country and it's freedoms but not when it's at the cost of innocent lives over a resource that is making the rich richer and the poor deader.

reply to post by kennylee


I have never had a shot in over 30years of service that kept me up for seven days, and I've had plenty of shots over the years.

The trauma he say he's experianced does sound plausible though.

But then again, I knew a guy who had been discharged from the Army after a DUI/Motorcycle accident. I caught him later in life telling his buds that all the scars were from a firefight. He never deployed.

I always take a war story with a grain of salt. There are a lot of posers/con artists out there.

reply to post by LargeFries


Here is the story I believe you are referring to.

Drug to keep soldiers awake for 7 days.

I had first read about it several years back as being a drug under testing with French troops. Basically methamphetamine in it's effects without addiction or a crash when it wears off. A miracle drug, I recall the story in the paper calling it. I'll just bet the Human mind still does funny things when sleep deprived over and over again combined with situations so high stress, many of us will never know anything like it.

I know a few guys who have recently returned home and none of them really match this description. The ones who have seen real combat are just happy to be alive and don't like talking about the politics. Most of them know about the oil etc. but seem uncomfortable bad mouthing the mission, if you press the issue they clam up and that's the end of the conversation.
Some of them have a bad week and say they miss Iraq, I think they miss their buddies and the freedom they had over there, not to mention all the cool "toys" they got to play with.
Never heard of any "shot" or drug to alter sleep patterns, they want them healthy and fit so it really doesn't seem logical or necessary.

reply to post by UmbraSumus

I offered but he declined. Said he can hardly keep food down. This guy was having a really hard time dealing with all the gore and death he has seen. I really felt for him.

I'm an injured vet and the only good feeling shot I ever got was morophine. They give you a lot of crazy things in the military to keep you going for that next few days. I am awaiting the results of a liver biopsy because 1000mg of tylenol, 100 mg of tramadol, and a slew of other meds every 4-6 hours has screwed my liver up to the point it's almost life threatening.

I will say that the VA does have a habit if letting vets die before compensation / treament, and certainly will look the other way if you don't get treatment. They also do very little to inform the veterans of services, most of the time leaving them to discover things along a ridiculously long appeal process.

I've never seen a shot that kept you up for 7 days, and like the other guy, shots were definatly a hobby in the military. I also don't see the validity or need for a shot keeping you up that long, because no matter how crappy the living conditions are, you will get a few winks here and there.

I've been on 24/7 QRF for days on end, running missions of 16+ hrs in length back to back, and not once did some doc come up to me with some funny juice in a needle. I would probably refuse on the grounds of it being unsanitary to give to me in the field.

Anyway, this guy does sound bogus on account of that small and confusing detail.

I guess it's also good to note I was an infantryman, so I've seen pretty much everything this guy could have seen and more. When I was over there in '07 it was pretty intense. At least where we were at.

reply to post by kennylee


I do believe there are Americans already on the ground in Syria....and I do not doubt that story. Preparations are already underway for a Syrian invasion of sorts.

I can't wait to see the back of Assad and his ilk!