"Interesting Bowser how someone that I take it has never spent a day in uniform, is so in tune with the freedoms soldiers have to express themselves. "

It's also interesting that some have claimed they were in the miltary when they weren't.

"People that have never lived under the UCMJ don't seem to understand that you completely lose your civilian rights under the Constitution except for those rights that are mimicked under the UCMJ. It becomes your new Bible and Constitution once you enlist. Many leaders in the military try to not press the articles that remove basic rights but all it takes is some redneck power-hungry officer or senior enlisted hack to push the limits of the regulations and you find out quickly what a tremendous amount of personal liberty you give up. "

Of course some think that this is wrong, they think that a miltary should be some kind of democracy. Of course anyone actually spent any time in the miltary or those who haven't been in a miltary can see this as a foolish idea.

"The military leaders basically control every aspect of your life (and possibly your death) if they desire."

Even Kerry apparently had the wits to know that this isn't actually the way things work: leaders are dependent on those below them.

"Abuses can be prosecuted but it's an uphill battle with the scale of justice heavily tilted towards the command structure. A solider speaking out against foreign policy may not have direct action taken against them but could find themselves always taking the point on patrols, placed into dangerous assignments, have their work hours or location changed, get bad evaluations, etc."

Why the fuck would a soldier want to "speak out" about foreign policy- as mentioned above the miltary isn't a democracy nor is it a debating society.

"Then there's the peer pressure of being surrounded by a higher percentage of really brutal rednecks than you'd find in the general population."

Brutal rednecks??
Rednecks are never the problem. The more "brutal rednecks" the better.

"Imagine being in a street gang and telling your fellow members that the rival gang has some very quality members in it that deserve some compassion. "

Not hard to imagine.