look at the odds of dying in a car accident... shit... i would rather die working for something (even if it is in a training excercise) knowing that i have been something than be killed on my way to work by some asshole who doesn't stop for a red light. as long as i have a chance to take some motherfuckers down with me i'll be happy.
death is a part of life. to have one you have to have the other. in order to live, you must risk dying. people who let go of their fear of death go further than those who don't. in all aspects of life.
personally, i agree that the 18 and 19 year old kids don't know shit about what they are getting into. this is real. life and death. pain and anger. killing without hesitation. the chance of catching a bullet in the head and being dead before you hit the ground. yeah, lots of shit that the recruiter doesn't mention. lots of things that people conveniently don't mention.
shit, son... that hurt me to read... and the question wasn't even addressed to me...and did anybody you know go out and not come back?
fuck... talk to just about any random civilian of a decent age and they will have known someone who has died. talk to anyone in the military for long enough and i guarantee that they will have known someone who has died. this is no different, except the quality and caliber of the men involved. this is part of life, and an even larger part of any soldiers life. let alone a warriors.
last i checked "I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy" is still in the Creed.
Rangers never forget.