" Oorah! Corporal "

" Thank You Neal for your bravery and believing in the freedom you fought for. I am so proud of all our troops and I agree we need to keep fighting. The Media is so lopsided showing us just the horrors of the war, but the Men I have talked to that have come back feel the same way as you. They are proud to be fighting for Freedom too bad these arm chair couch potatoes in the U.S. don't get it. Thank you Again I salute you. "

" Thank you for your information and for serving our country. "

" Mr. Bassett I agree 100% with you. You were in Iraq at the same time, not the same spot, but the same time that my son Marine LCrpl Phillip West was killed in the battle of Fallujah. While it has been almost 3 years, he also reported many good thing occuring there. You were there March of 2004 to Feb 2005? He was in 3/1 India June 2004 until his death on Nov 19 2004. They issued many medicines, food, water, and eliminated a lot of bad guys. Thank you for your service- shame on the protestors that used phillip's name at the protest last week, you are despicable! . "

" Cpl. Bassett, thank you for your service! We have not been hit since 9/11 and we are free because of you and men like you! No matter how the media twists it, it doesn't change the reality of what you and others like you have done for this country. When you see little kids or people of all ages enjoying the freedom and peace of this nation I hope you will always take joy in knowing you had a part in that. God bless our servicemen (and women!). "

" I too, served in this war/occupation, and have seen and been a part of many great things that we Americans do because we are who we are. One reason the reporting on the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan are ostensibly one sided and vague could be because reporters simply won't go out "there" beyond the FOBs. Another reason may be because there are few reporters who have served their country so they have no idea what they are reporting. Can someone please bring back Ernie Pyle? "

" that people like Cpl. Bassett are giving us their best effort in trying to win the "war on terror". But there are just too many things that are not going right in Iraq in spite of all the good things that are being accomplished. To whit, here is another disheartening report from the front: BAGHDAD - Iraq's power grid is on the brink of collapse because of insurgent sabotage, rising demand, fuel shortages and provinces that are unplugging local power stations from the national grid, officials said Saturday. Electricity Ministry spokesman Aziz al-Shimari said power generation nationally is only meeting half the demand, and there had been four nationwide blackouts over the past two days. The shortages across the country are the worst since the summer of 2003, shortly after the U.S.-led invasion to topple Saddam Hussein, he said. Power supplies in Baghdad have been sporadic all summer...The water supply in the capital has also been severely curtailed ..." It goes on and on while our own infrastructure here in the U.S. now seems suspect. If we are to follow what many here post in blind allegiance to controlling Iraq at all costs, then we are indeed in a pickle. We need to rethink this strategy! I don't know the answer, but what we are doing is not working...and the money we are spending may, indeed, be costing our day-to-day safety at home. Maybe we can't withdraw from our predicament at this point, but if this is so maybe we need fresh ideas with new leadership...because the job ain't gettin' done! Some may call this "cut and run" in an effort to dismiss ideas that criticize the current administration in Washington and to protect their political turf, but maybe we should think of this kind of strategy as fallback and regroup. In light of all that has transpired inside and outside of the U.S. in the past 7 years this seems a prudent move. Everybody, please be smart, not stubborn. "

" thank you for the positive comments. I hope that I didn't offend any fellow veterans in my article. For those who still don't believe in what we are doing. I only have these few points to say. Adolf Hitler only got as far as he did cause good people failed to act in time. If we fail to learn from the past then we are doomed to re-live it.
There are a few minor mistakes in this artice though. I got out of the Marines In 2007. At the end of 2005 I was coming back from my first Iraq deployment. My reporter did a wonderfull job but crossed those two dates sadly.

Semper Fi "