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Why not ban firearms and any sort of weapons to be used by any American troops against any enemy?

We’ll just use Carters, Clintons, Daschels, 0’s, Bidens, etc. instead.
Hmmmm, but that would surely be against the Rules of War to use that much Hot Air at once..

[...] here to see the original:  US Troops React to Possible Smoking Ban Filed Under: Latest News [...]

Wow! Just wow is all I can say. Hey! Go kill other human beings, watch your friends get killed, fight, destroy, kill and maim….but NO SMOKING DAMMN IT!

What a freakin joke. Can government PLEASE stop playing nanny?! PLEASE?!

If the Liberals say we need to stay out of their vaginas regarding abortion then they need to stay outta the lungs of smokers.

The government is so hypocritical these days.

You can get shot, have your limbs blown off, suffer third degree burns for your country. You can suffer from shell shock, battle fatigue, operational exhaustion, post-traumatic stress disorder or whatever the current euphemism is for the extreme stress of killing other people, watching your friends die and getting constantly attacked. You can get sent to die in a foreign country at the whim of armchair generals and bureaucrats. You will suffer from visable and invisable scars of being a combat veteran… but smoking is bad for you, you can’t do it anymore.

What a crock… if they want to cut spending, stop buying $50 hammers… let the guys willing to die for their country have at least a few simple pleasures, however unhealthy it is, for the risks they take.

The fact is that a lot of our servicemen started smoking while in the military. Cigarette companies used to give away small packs of cigarettes in C rations for just that purpose. This ban is easy to enforce and long overdue but should be phased in slowly. There should be no smoking in boot camp. People who enlist and smoke would have to quit. No smoking should be permitted in any building on bases and servicemen who do smoke should undergo smoking programs so that they can quit. Your ability to do so should be reflected in your upcoming review. Smoking in a combat zone is just plain stupid. It often gives away your position, especially at night.

Smoking is a horrible, addicting habit that disables and in too many cases kills. If you really care about service members you should want them to quit. A lot of older veterans are now suffering from the effects of the smoking habit that they picked up while in the service.

“Smoking is a horrible, addicting habit that disables and in too many cases kills.” ~Airwick

Very true but it’s not illegal and therefore not yours or anyone else’s right to say “nope you can’t do it”.

I can say this off your quote: “warfare is a horrible, addicting habit that DISABLES and in too many cases KILLS.” I mean really.

Geez,
You are correct that smoking is not illegal. But the military CAN dictate to its members that it does not want them to partake of the habit. Our military is not a democracy; they defend it. People who smoke are generally in poorer health and not as able to perform physically exhausting tasks as those who do not smoke. That issue goes to readiness. In addition, smoking in a combat situation can threaten not only the smoker but those around him as well (and NOT due to second hand smoke). A lighter or a glowing cigarette can give away your position and even alert the enemy of your presence.

After a horrible fire fight in which a young soldier is shot in the leg and pulled to safety behind a brick wall, he asks his Sergeant for a smoke. The answer is you know they outlawed them. The private leans back closes his eyes and the first image that comes to his mind is his Commander in Chief slipping out the back door of the White House to lite one up. He opens his eyes and tells the Sergeant “don’t even think about asking me to RE-UP

If they had a ban on cigarette smoking in the military the sergeant would not have one to give him and he would have no need to ask for one. If you were a non smoker who was involved in an accident over here would you ask the paramedic for a cigarette when he/she arrived on the scene? Why would you assume that anyone who suffers an injury would automatically ask for a smoke?

So, just how would this ban work? Will they banned from smoking just at war, or in the office? How about when they are in training or TDY? Can they smoke at home if it is government quarters or in their civilian home? Do we give tests to see if they are smoking? How about a ban on all federal employees since taxpayers pay their health insurance. No one who is paid by any tax dollars are allowed to smoke. No senator, or congressman, or president or their families because we pay their insurance also. Lets just include policeman, fireman, teachers bus drivers, all city and state employees. Then when we are done with that lets work on food items that soldiers should not eat and ban that.

“JHB July 17th, 2009 – 9:43 am

Why not ban firearms and any sort of weapons to be used by any American troops against any enemy?”

Chuck Schumer once tried when he was a congressman.

I forgot about the guard and reserves. If during a national emergency or state emergency do we not deploy the smokers to help out. Or do we make the national guard quit also evan though they only work part time in the military. This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard and could only be defended by those who have never served or been at war.

I was in the Army is the late 80’s/early 90’s. Recruits were forbidden from using tobacco products of any kind during basic/AIT. After that you could do what you want. I was in the 82nd and there was pressure to not smoke. Sometimes outright punishment. The military has been anti-tobacco for a long time.

You don’t smoke on patrol. Hollywood is not a good referrence.

“This is the dumbest thing I have ever heard and could only be defended by those who have never served or been at war”.

Sorry, milwifey, I have done both (USMC, 1967-1971; Vietnam, 1969-1970). Other is right. A unit is only as fast as its slowest man. If you are in an outfit (like the 82nd) that is required to “get up and go”, go fast, and be prepared to fight when you get there, the last thing that you need is a bunch of guys gagging and wheezing slowing down the rest. He is also correct in his observation that combat is not like a John Wayne movie. Try carrying up to 100 pounds of stuff while puffing on a cigarette and see how far you get!

airwick, you missed the point of my story which is about the hypocrasy of our leaders saying “do as I say not as I do”.

”
not a sheeple July 17th, 2009 – 1:55 pm

airwick, you missed the point of my story which is about the hypocrasy of our leaders saying “do as I say not as I do”.”

Well that is a serviceman’s lot in life. They, by necessity, do not get the same freedoms as civilians.
An old soldier saying “The military defends democracy but does not practice it”

Yet they still volunteer. Thats why we praise them.

not a sheeple,
I was about to answer you but couldn’t top Other’s response. I agree with you, however, that the President should give up smoking as an example to others, particularly his children.

I really don’t think you will find soldiers stopping mid mission to light up. What you will find is after the mission back at the home base having a legal cigarette. I don’t like smoking and never have smoked. Neither does my husband with 22 years active duty (still on active duty) and about 3 1/2 years in Iraq in the last 4. It is legal and if the soldier can do the mission and pass the PT test then who are we to tell him no. The military does not encourage smoking and offers many ways to quit. While I respect your years in and agree that smoking is stupid, I am tired of the military being a social experiment by those who have not make it their careers. Four years in and one year in Vietnam 40 years ago does not give you the insight in to todays military. I am not discounting your time in at all. It is the same discussion I had with my father who was in the Air Force for 33 years. It is different now. It has changed so much since my husband entered. When you were in and at age 20 at least you could buy a beer legally. These young men and women can enter at 18 spend a year training and already a year in combat and still not be able to buy a beer or glass of wine.

And Airwick – “IF” you were in Vietnam then you are as I say a crying little 60’s b.itch – I remember seeing quit a bit of footage of many guys smoking and gasping for air when they stormed the beaches in Europe and the Pacific.
And those guys fought harder and longer than you did my boy. AND THEY WON THEIR WAR!
Maybe Airwick should have been toking a Lucky Strike instead of a joint like they did in the 60’s…..
You are nothing more than a guilt ridden liberal Airwick……now shush.

I don’t support the proposed tobacco prohibition.
I wouldn’t begrudge any soldier back at base camp any tobacco usage.
I just don’t think its a big surprise that the military is headed that way.

“It is legal and if the soldier can do the mission and pass the PT test then who are we to tell him no”

But we also know those PT tests get easier as the years go by. Hell they lowered the standards soon after I got to Bragg.

Milwifey,
I look at a smoking ban as a fitness issue, not a social experiment. As I mentioned earlier, the ability to perform physically is critical to the mission. Even if a soldier (or Marine) can pass a PT test he (or she) would clearly be better prepared if he/she didn’t smoke. There is also a safety consideration regarding barracks. Fires started by smokers falling asleep are still common in this country.

There is also the issue of how you board your servicemen. Do smokers room with other smokers only? What if a non smoker does not want to be near a smoker? The military may have changed since I was in but I am willing to guess that they still like a structured, ordered atmosphere. Uniformity has always been the rule. It makes it easier to run things.

I also agree with you that it is silly to deny someone that can go off to war a beer. If nothing else, service members should be allowed to drink on base in “clubs”. Most of the clubs are (were) near the barracks so driving would not be an issue.

CommonSense,
Gee…Thanks for your service, too.

I only thank those who serve who have the decency to think and defend the rights of those serving.
Those who believe in the thought process of “STOP f..ckin with the Military”
And basewd on your desire to wrap up your twisted beliefs based on a fitness issue – we have people sitting in a room in Maryland flying a drone over Pakistan lighting up terrorists……how much LESS physical can things get in the modern Military?
And based on your comments:
“There is also the issue of how you board your servicemen. Do smokers room with other smokers only? What if a non smoker does not want to be near a smoker? The military may have changed since I was in but I am willing to guess that they still like a structured, ordered atmosphere. Uniformity has always been the rule. It makes it easier to run things.”
You must be against gays in the Military right? I mean what if a straight soldier doesn’t want to sleep next to a gay soldier……
Oh and we should keep them from eating fast food – that is a serious health issue too. But then again are we not talking about the most UN HEALTHY occupation around anyway? I mean where I work today; they never taught me about shooting, artilary spotting, tank track replacement or emergency field medical treatment

CommonSense,
Another difference between us is that I never placed a caveat on those who served. They ALL earned my respect.

The fact is that a lot of the military brass does not want smoking either. As far as Gays in the military is concerned, what you said about a straight soldier not wanting to share quarters with a gay soldier is correct and is why there is a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in effect. I do not agree with the concept of “coming out” in the military for that reason and believe that the present system works well enough for now. It is often not clear who is gay or not from physical appearance; it is pretty easy to tell who smokes.

I don’t know how they do things in the modern Army but the philosophy in the Marines was that regardless of MOS, EVERYONE was a rifleman and had to pass a periodic physical readiness test. The thought is that, if the cr@p hit the fan, all personnel had to be able to defend themselves.

“Another difference between us is that I never placed a caveat on those who served. They ALL earned my respect.”
Yet if they smoke you don’t respect them enough to leave them to their own choices or vices as you “see it”.
And even better:
“I do not agree with the concept of “coming out” in the military for that reason and believe that the present system works well enough for now.”
So it’s okay for the current policy of leather chaps while on R&R but a Marlboro will get you to Levenworth….
Yet another example of misguided Liberal thought processes and twisted logic.
You must’ve been the only Marine in history to ever have blush in his camo kit.

Take my smokes….just leave the Penthouse and other Mag’s

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