"The American Soldier"

LONG TIME OVER DUE!!!
For years they have been under-rated

They're still under-rated, unappreciated by too many, and have one of the hardest jobs in the world, being hated by most of it.
They deserve Person of the year, or I guess now People of the year, and more of course.

Excellent!!!!!!!

I like it but they should have made it something alomg the lines of "The American Serviceman"  Understanding the ground pounders are the tip of the spear there is a lot the other branches have contributed.  We got the USAF and USN taking care of business too.  Maybe it doesn't seem so big a deal but there's kids out on the flight deck putting in 18 hour shifts fueling, loading ordnance, directing aircraft, etc.  That is a hard job and it's dangerous too.  And we all like to rip the USAF but they were integral in both Afghanistan and Iraq.  I know a girl who is USAFR and she was given orders to the sandbox last February and she ain't home yet.  I'm not trying to diminsh anyone but got to give credit where it's due, plus I had to prop up my Navy a bit.  After all we give those Marines a ride to the fight to begin with[:D]

[beer]

But how is he/she portrade?

SGtar15

Very cool. I like that.


Unfortunately, the designation of Person of the Year is not [b]always[/b] a positive light.  The Person of the Year is selected for how great of an impact they have had on the world.  You see, Time magazine has previously made Ayatollah Khomeini and Adolf Hitler Man of the Year as well.

We're going to have to open the cover of that magazine to see exactly what light they are shown in.

Damn Straight!

Every generation we will be reminded!

The Lord willing, it will always be so.

LET FREEDOM RING!

Excellant choice!

Looks like I'll be buying my first copy of TIME in more than a decade. I wonder how they'll spin this selection: For better...or worse?

Do you have a bigger pic of that?

Here's the teaser from the Times web site;  
 
Posted Sunday, December 21, 2003; 7:45 a.m.EST

[b]The American Soldier[/b]

"They swept across Iraq and conquered it in 21 days. They stand guard on streets pot-holed with skepticism and rancor. They caught Saddam Hussein. They are the face of America, its might and good will, in a region unused to democracy. The U.S. G.I. is TIME's Person of the Year  
 
Modern history has a way of being modest with its gifts and blunt with its reckonings. Good news comes like a breeze you feel but don't notice; the markets are up, the air is cleaner, we're beating heart disease. It is the bad news that comes with a blast or a crash, to stop us in midsentence to stare at the TV, and shudder.

Maybe that's why we are startled by gratitude in the season of peace. To have pulled Saddam Hussein from his hole in the ground brings the possibility of pulling an entire country out of the dark. In an exhausting year when we've been witness to battles well beyond the battlefields—in the streets, in our homes, with our allies—to share good news felt like breaking a long fast, all the better since it came by surprise. And who delivered this gift, against all odds and risks? The same citizens who share the duty of living with, and dying for, a country's most fateful decisions.

Scholars can debate whether the Bush Doctrine is the most muscular expression of national interest in a half-century; the generals may ponder whether warmaking or peacekeeping is the more fearsome assignment; civilians will remember a winter wrapped in yellow ribbons and duct tape. But in a year when it felt at times as if we had nothing in common anymore, we were united in this hope: that our men and women at arms might soon come safely home, because their job was done. They are the bright, sharp instrument of a blunt policy, and success or failure in a war unlike any in history ultimately rests with them."

About freakin time, Time, I thought theyd do thier usual and pick someone like Jaques Cirac, Kofi Anan, or Tim Robbins as usual. Way to go to once for Time Magazine.

Remember after the 1991 Gulf War?
Who did Time pick as Man of the Year?
TED FUCKING TURNER !

CanI put that on my resume?

Awards
1995-1st Armored Division Distinguished Leader
2003-Time Magazine's "Man of the Year"

And how can we thank our troops?

Go [url]www.heromiles.org[/url] and donate your flyer miles so a Soldier can fly home for free.

If I had miles, I would donate all of them to our excellent soldiers.

Edited to add: Crap! the site is down... sorry for posting a dead link. I hope it comes up.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=947223

and check out post #8.  Those crazy guys over there are a scream!

Its about FKing time!!!

Not that I want to take away from this moment.... but what is up with that trigger discipline?

[url]http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20031221/capt.ny10712211322.time_person_of_the_year_ny107.jpg[/url]

[img]http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20031221/capt.ny10712211322.time_person_of_the_year_ny107.jpg[/img]

Is that a chick in front? [>:/]

my guess is that those are models dressed up as soldiers for the PR shot. Those guys don't look combat hard.

mike

Duh!
it is time magazine, after all.
Not like they would show boys from the Bat know would they?
Very politically correct pic.
I am suprised they through the anglo male in.  Need a latino.  Especially since latinos are far more prevelent in combat units than blacks (or whites, by percentage)

Glad to see American Fighters shown the respect they have earned for the last two centuries.

They already cut that post.

Finally TIME does something right.

Now, will DU get ripped on talk radio again tomorrow morning and have to shut down their registration page again?

I was shocked Time did such a cool and UN-PC thing.

My hats off to the person who made the call.

It's very PC - at least the picture is.

Having a chick in front (finger on trigger of course [rolleyes]) shows she can lead and fight just as well as the guys behind her.

[:|]

I'll have to wait and read the story to see what kind of "slant" they take on it.

Could it be these guys are actors dressed in camo? Which would explain why the guy has his finger on the trigger?

I agree. Our freedom has been bought and paid for by hundreds of thousands of men and women from all the branches of service who gave up EVERYTHING so that we could be free. Too many of whom sleep where they fell.

True.
Time seems to pick quite a few unsavory characters for their "Man/Woman/Person/Thing of the year.  Remember who they were considering back at the end of 2001?

Any ways, it is about time!

Bilster

They had a Time editor on FNC this morning. The two soldiers in back were in a Hummer along with a reporter from Time, when a grenade was tossed into the vehicle. The reporter tried to grab the grenade and throw it out the window when it went off. The reporter was injured and eventually lost his hand due to the grenade (I think one of the soldiers was also injured by shrapnel). The soldier in front is a woman and is the medic that treated the soldier and the reporter.

BTW..for those who think it is a political correct picture, it is a complete coincidence that the subjects consist of a white guy, a black guy and a woman.

Psssst... wanna buy a bridge for dirtcheap?

Psst, they named their unit and gave details.  Psst.

Would like to have heard something like this 32 years ago instead of the crap we did hear back then.

Oookeedokey... And if the Time Reporter was riding with two blonde-haired blue-eyed white guys and was patched up by a third white guy, you all really think there'd be three white guys on the cover? [rolleyes]

Pssst....You're right...I forgot about the secret memo...

"All reporters are to be assigned escorts consisting of one white guy and one black guy. If  injured, they are to be treated by female medical personnel, preferably hispanic, but if unavailable a white female will be considered an acceptable alternative."

Fuckin-A right!


Edit: Before anyone makes an assumption, No, I didn't wasn't in the service at the time LARRYG refers to (too young, being born in '64). Those that did, however, have always had my utmost respect and gratitude.

Not the first time the American GI has been Man, er, excuse me - Person of the year.

[url]http://www.time.com/time/time100/heroes/profile/gi01.html[/url]

The American G.I.
From disparate roots but united by patriotic courage, U.S. soldiers preserved freedom around the world

You and many others must not have seen the Negative shit that Time has been running all year - this pissant cover hardly makes up for it, or covers up Time's gross Liberal / Anti-War bias.

This guy has it right - http://www.mudvillegazette.com/archives/000483.html

[img]http://www.mudvillegazette.com/images/ti.jpg[/img][img]http://www.mudvillegazette.com/images/t2.jpg[/img][img]http://www.mudvillegazette.com/images/t3.jpg[/img][img]http://www.mudvillegazette.com/images/t4.jpg[/img][img]http://www.mudvillegazette.com/images/t5.jpg[/img]

Oops. I killed it.