I definitely wouldn't say "Joe Sailor's" opinions are the norm. I have a close friend (Marine) that just returned from serving a year on an ETT. He said it was the best experience of his life. In fact, I volunteered to relieve him after 7 months because the Corps was doing 7 month ETTs to Afghanistan. About 4 months into the deployment, he asked to stay for a year because he believed in the mission, the ANA he was working with, and felt he was making a difference.

I think part of the problem with "Joe Sailor's" remarks stem from his other post that says he joined the Navy to drop anchor in Thailand. Such a shame that we can't drop a guy like this in Kabul or Kandahar and have him realize the importance of the mission. Last I checked Al Qaeda's training camps weren't in Bangkok.