Extremist are nuts on either side. Moderation is key in seeking the truth.

OIF 2 Veteran 13th COSCOM  2 FEB - 23 OCT 04

The way I interpret the commandment of "thou shall not kill" is that you shall not murder another human being.

IMO combat is not murder.  The first time I pulled the trigger of my M4 in Iraq I was big time pissed at the tangos that were aiming to kill me and my hooahs.  I hate to say it but it felt good to finally fire my weapon against the enemy.

Tangos cutting off the head of living captives that to me is murder.

The Bible in mainly the OT is full of stories in which combat was allowed as part of God's will.

Both Moses and Abraham were actually military leaders [tacticians] trained by God for the purpose of leading men into mortal combat.  At one time Abraham mounted a night time raid to rescue his nephew Lot from the Mesopotamians.  Lot was rescued with many Mesopotamians resulting KIA in the engagement.  Joshua was another military leader of the OT, read for example what happened in Joshua 8, previous to that he also had a military campaign at Jerico [Israelites destroyed Jerico]. 

In more modern times...from 1939 to 1944 the people of Western and Eastern Europe were brutalized and enslaved by Hitler's Third Reich thugs.  In 1941 and 1942 God began training the American infantryman, paratrooper and rangers.  When those hooahs landed in Normandy four years after France fell to Hitler's thugs it marked the end of their abuse upon the people of Western Europe.  Now their match had landed inisde Hitler's Atlantic Wall and the free ride was over.  Each one of those enemy kills was a good one if it they brought us closer and closer to the end of a war that had already claimed millions of lives.

Anyway that is my $.02 this Christmas Eve regarding the difference between killing in combat and right out murder.  Maybe B4B and skypilot can expand on it later better than I can.  Merry Christmas.

Extremist are nuts on either side. Moderation is key in seeking the truth.

OIF 2 Veteran 13th COSCOM  2 FEB - 23 OCT 04

As to the nature of the particular circumstances when that unfortunate situation happens, its between you and the maker Himself.

If you go to church and you think for a second that they dont accept you, find a new church. As a combat soldier you do those things and bear the full weight and price so that others do not. I believe God has a special place for true soldiers.

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Hmm... talk about deja vu... I felt exactly the same way at one time. I would volunteer for gaurd duty, CQ, etc so that the married guys could get the time with their family during the hollidays... not for purely altruistic reasons but because it provided a means for me to avoid any emotional human contact during the Christmas season. Killing another human being, no matter the circumstances, is not a natural act. We all react differantly to our participation in the process... for myself the answer was isolating myself from the society which I protected. When I run into folks who I served with these days, they are invariably surprised to see me laughing and gregarious because they only knew me as the cold and calculating bastard I used to be.

People change over time... for me the day came when a damned good friend made me realize that I deserved to by happy and that just because I excelled at shooting, moving, and communicating... that was not the entire point of my existance. Not long after that epipheny I passed on re-enlisting and ETS'ed from the Army to live my life rather than hiding from it.

AirborneNBCNCO, I've been in your shoes... people are reacting to how you perceive yourself rather than any inate prejudices towards you on their part. Here's a wake up call... you do deserve all the happiness life can provide. Take your experience and live with it... don't shut yourself off from society because you think you don't belong to it.

It is not an easy transition but I can tell you that it's worth making...

 

"The degenerative and loony should never be denigrated but, rather, thanked. In their absence, the rest of you would be obliged to fill congressional seats... positions naturally unsavory to the sane and honorable."

Thorax

Rey, you're right on target.  There are actually two different Hebrew terms for murder and for killing in combat.  The term in the ten commandments is the one for murder.  The thinking is based on the other commandments.  Don't murder people to take what they have or because you are angry with them.  However, in times of war Soldiers are commanded by God to do their duty and be subject to those in authority over them. 

While it is far from politically correct, particularly within my corps, to say so.  This is a conflict of good vs. evil and there are no two ways about it.  I truely believe that if we intend to win this war we need to ask God's blessings upon our efforts.

"...my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but to be always ready, no matter when it may overtake me." He added, after a pause, looking me full in the face: "That is the way all men should live, and then all would be equally brave"

General "Stonewall" Jackson

When President Roosevelt addressed the Nation on the morning of June 6, 1944 what he offered was prayer and the word of God.  That should tell us a lot regarding the ultimate outcome of the most bloody war in the history of the world.

Romans 13: 2 - 4...tells us why sometimes killing in combat is necessary.  It also tells us that there are forces that are evil and forces that are "good".  Then it is a matter of who you are serving as a soldier?

In WW2 our CinC [Prez] was a God fearing/believing man.